THE
LIBERTINE (1969)Director: Pasquale Festa-Companile
First Run Features
THE
LIBERTINE (1969)European sex comedies can be a
pretty sorry bunch. The Italians, French, Spanish, and German film communities
are the best-known creators of silly, dirty laugh-a-thons which are neither
funny or sexy, or at least by United States or United Kingdom standards. But
if a sex comedy is picked up by Radley Metzger's Audobon Films, you know it
has to be something special. THE LIBERTINE is a pleasant departure from the
expected flat dirty jokes and ogling fat comics of the typical Euro sex comedy.
Instead, the film is fresh, witty, and sexy all in one go.
Catherine Spaak (CAT O'NINE TAILS)
is Mimi, a young woman whose husband has recently died. Unfortunately for her,
she "can't feel a thing." She learns of a piece of apartment property
from his attorney and while perusing the penthouse, discovers 8mm footage of
her husband having bizarre role-play trysts with an abundance of other women,
including Claudia, her best friend! Upset not only that her husband was a philandering
sexual fiend, but especially because he didn't consider her adventurous enough
to partake in his sexual shenanigans, Mimi snatches a copy of "Psychopathis
Sexualis" from the local bookstore, ignores the filthy comments of the
vendor, and dives into the world of the sexually different. And different is
putting it quite plainly. She pretends to be a hooker to get a ride from Gabriele
Tinti (BLACK EMANUELLE), joins tennis 
instructor
Philippe Leroy (THE FRIGHTENED WOMAN) in the shower, and is surprised by a sadistic
encounter with "Mr. X" Luigi Pistilli (TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE)!!
But her carnal adventures are stopped short when she falls for X-ray specialist
Jean-Louis Trintignant (A MAN AND A WOMAN) and poses as one of his students
to get closer to him.
What a refreshingly funny film
this is! Expecting another visually stunning pop-art sex flick typical of the
output from Metzger's Audobon Films, viewers will not only see a film of that
nature, but also a film that is boldly funny even in this day and age! While
viewing this DVD, I found myself chuckling and laughing right outloud and not
at the expectedly dated 60s customs and hairdos, but at the borderline brilliance
of the dialogue and the characters. 
Catherine
Spaak is superb as the explorative Mimi, her forever innocent face accenting
each one of her encounters marvelously. Jean-Louis Trintignant isn't given much
to do, but the final 20 minutes of the film he shares with Spaak are hilarious
and unforgettable.
The screenplay (written by a woman no less, Nicola Ferrari-Ottavio) is quite startling in its ability to provoke laughter at just the right moments, then turn around and scorch up the screen in the next scene. Ferrari-Ottavio also has her finger firmly placed on the pulse of the modern woman, and while the trailer and all advertising for THE LIBERTINE will lead most viewers into expecting a softcore sex romp, it is in fact an ideal couples film and in some places, not unlike a romantic comedy made by the likes of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere today!! Of course this is a far better film than one of those...
First
Run Features' DVD of THE LIBERTINE is a welcome one on the market and thankfully
the film is presented in the widescreen format at 1.85:1. Explained in informative
liner notes by Nathaniel Thompson of Mondo Digital, the print used for the film
is the European cut of the film with inserts from the American version. Now,
according to Thompson, the inserts were ONLY available in the American version,
which I find very hard to believe. I could see a print used of the American
version with scenes only in the European version inserted, but this situation
seems a little strange. Nevertheless, quality of the presentation fluctuates
from clear, crisp color to faded, scratchy color. But this presentation is still
the longest version of the film available, so no complaints seem valid when
handed this information.
Considering how barebones First Run's DVDs usually are, LIBERTINE is surprisingly different. The original theatrical trailer is on hand here, but it is a different cut from the preview I saw originally on Something Weird's TWISTED SEX VOL. 1. This cut has a few more scenes added and has more musical jump-cuts than the previous one. This trailer also ends differently: the title card "Persons Under 18 Will Not Be Admitted" over the finale instead of "No Persons Under 18 Will Be Admitted" over a freeze-frame of the finale. A 14-image photo and poster gallery is very meager, but is nice to have. Seven minutes of outtakes are worth of having for collectors, and includes a different take of the scene with Spaak writing a question mark on the mens' restroom sign and more outtakes of Venantino Venantini spraying his girlfriend with a hose in slow motion. A vintage trailer gallery includes previews for fellow First Run Features THE FRIGHTENED WOMAN (with Dagmar Lassander!), DANIELLA BY NIGHT (with Elke Sommer!), VIBRATION, THE NUDE SET, and others. Overall, not bad for a DVD from this particular company, but it's still too little for the hefty retail price!
Director Pasquale Festa-Companile (HITCH HIKE, the WHEN WOMEN HAD TAILS series) delivers a sexual frenzy of hip 60s imagery, hilarious setpieces and situations, and a topnotch cast with THE LIBERTINE. If you've never seen a First Run Feature, this is a good place to start. (Casey Scott)