Thanks for the memories!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Walerian Borowczyk is best known for his 1975 sleaze flick 'The Beast', and with that film in mind; I don't think I was unjustified going into this one expecting some bizarre pornography. However, it turns out that isn't what this film is at all; it's actually 'erotica', which is unfortunately not so interesting. Sure there's plenty of hot female nudity, but it's all really slow and barely erotic in the slightest. As the title suggests, this film depicts 'tales' which are immoral; and there are four in total. The first is very simple but nicely put together. We follow a pair of cousins stuck on a beach together by the tide. The older and more sexually experienced of the pair sees it as an opportunity to teach the younger a thing or two. This story is not particularly impressive on the substance front; it's very short and not a lot happens, but it is really beautifully shot and anyone that appreciates good looking cinema will surely find something to like about it.I figured the first tale would be just a taster since it is so short, but unfortunately things go downhill from there and the second tale is the worst of the four. It takes on a period setting and basically just follows a young woman locked in her bedroom. Again, the cinematography is nice (though none of the locations are anything like as good as the beach in tale one) but the tale itself drags on too long to approaching anything like what I would call 'erotica'. The film is slightly redeemed by tale number three; which is by far the best of the bunch. Elizabeth Bathory has featured in cinema a few times; though not often enough. This tale again is slow and beautiful but the story actually holds some interest and Paloma Picasso's perfect naked figure emerging from a bath is blood is likely to be the only thing I will go on to remember about this film. I figured that if the fourth tale could match the third then the film would be a success overall; but unfortunately it's a turgid affair and doesn't compliment the penultimate story as well as I'd hoped. Split into four we have one good story, one decent one and two weak ones...not enough to recommend the film for unfortunately.

This extraordinary film has been sadly misunderstood by many for a simple reason: it is an erotic film that doesn't intend to turn you on. Rather, it is a display of sexual transgression throughout the ages told in reverse order. Each of the four chapters of Immoral Tales takes place further back in history, with the acts committed getting increasingly transgressive. The first is modern, containing semi-consensual sex between a cruel boy and his cousin. The second features religious-fixated masturbation and rape, the third lesbianism and murder, the fourth is an incestuous story of the Pope containing torture and murder, along with threesome sex. The final scene of the film is the baptism of the child of the Pope and his daughter: the androgynous baby is bathed in a radiant light as it stares into the camera, reminding us that the felonies of the fathers lead through the ages to bring about our sexual misdemeanors. Although Im. Tales is quite explicit (but still softcore, Borowczyk only did a little hardcore work) and may be arousing, but is hardly a skin flick. The compositions are too painterly (Borowczyk was a successful painter and animator before turning to film), the action too slow and morally ambiguous to get too worked up over without intellectual involvement. Borowczyk is my favorite European erotic filmmaker, and equal to Radley Metzger from a global standpoint. Contes Immoraux (Im. Tales) and Le Bete (the Beast) are his most accessible films, and a great starting point. My personal favorite is his version of Dr. Jekyll, which goes by several titles. Watch this film if you want to think about sex and your relation to the subject, not if you are just looking for a good item for foreplay.

Contes Immoraux/Immoral Tales(1974) is an erotic series of short films that opens with "The Tide". This first tale is about a young girl who is taught by her cousin about the connection between sex and the highest peak of a water wave. The story is average and is the least interesting. This tale is about how sex and intellectual thinking can go hand to hand. About how sex and the idea of sexual contact is thought up by the middle class. The second tale in the film is one of the two best tales in this sensual anthology. Its about a sexually repressed young woman that discovers her urges through her religion beliefs. Charlotte Alexandra who plays the sex hungry woman is excellent in the role as well as absolutely breathtaking and arousing. She finds her sexual pleasure through fantasies of sex and self sex using vegetables. The story is about a woman's yearning to be independant and feminine. The tale telling of the Countess Elisabeth Bathory is the best story. It takes place during the final hours of the countess before her arrest at the orders of the king. The story takes a shot at the government structure by showing its self indulgence and absolute corruption. Elisabeth Bathory was not a vampire in the traditional sense. First, she was still alive and did not suck blood. Paloma Picasso, daughter of the fame artist is wonderful in the role of the infamous countess(interestingly, when she is arrested the kings men put a suit on her that reminds me of the prisoner's arrest suit in Brazil). The next and final tale is about one of the most scandalous moments in the 20th Century. It features a shocking menage a trois that is very bold to view. The story is about the love affair between Lucrezia Borgia and her father, the pope plus another man. The sex sequences are disturbing and shocking. This story is very powerful in its depiction of religious corruption.

At first when I rented this movie I thought it was going to be one of those kinda boring old movies but still interesting, but it turned out to be a soft porno old movie just as boring. The first story is about a dumb fella who wants an oral over-haul on a seemingly damn cold bay. The second one is about a girl who likes to play with a cucumber on a very odd way. The third one is about lots of girls running around naked and maybe a little more, but since when the movie was about the half of the third story, me and my girl became so bored that we decided to make love instead of trying to understand how the director could make sex stories so boring (I know I have abused of the word "bore", but it was DAMN BORING!), we didn't watch that story and payed attention until the last story where we just saw a guy on a Pope disguise having his way with the supposedly Borgia girl up, down and from behind. Well, it was, in a single word, BORING. (Hope my language wasn't too strong) }:)