The Story of O – Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Reviews, Film, Reviews

The Story of O is a gateway for people curious about the kinky life. The book quickly became an underground sensation. It charted an independent woman’s acceptance of the submissive lifestyle. Its extreme mixture of romance, sexuality and violence inspired way too many BDSM websites. The movie brought flesh to the carnality found on the pages. During the ‘70s, filmmakers produced and marketed classy X-rated films. This was the era of Emmanuelle, Caligula, The Score and other Eurotique productions. They dared to have a sensual plot fill in for the lack of penetration close-ups. The Story of O taps into a civilized debauchery. The screen contains more corporal punishment than a parochial school in 1975. There’s no sparing of the rod in this epic.

The movie kicks off with O (Corinne Clery) in the back of limo with her boyfriend (Udo Keir). They’re going to a mysterious chateau in the French countryside to experience a special kind of couples workshop. O gets turned into a sex slave that’s shared with the men at the chateau. There’s also a little girl-girl action; but there’s more to the program than mere sex. There’s lessons in bondage, beatings and deprivation. O’s desire to please her man gets her through the extreme exercises. What she also learns is that her man has promised her to the extra creepy Sir Stephen. He uses her as his human pet. She keeps up her career as a fashion photographer, but now follows the dictums of her owners. She can’t blow off any phone calls from her men. She recruits one of her models to join the lifestyle. The big question at the end is if she really going to be submissive to these men or will she come to her senses?

If you were shocked by seeing Janet Jackson’s barely exposed breast, you have zero business watching The Story of O. The iconic image has the future Bond girl strapped spread eagle to pillars, naked, sweaty and proud to show off her fresh bruises. This is the movie your local minister swore would sear your soul. This is the 104-minute international cut and not the 98-minute cut that’s always been distributed in the U.S. Don’t get too excited about the extra footage. None of the scenes were deleted for extreme content. The six scenes are quite dull. Mostly just connecting moments. You’ll know when you’re watching one since the film reverts to the French soundtrack with English subtitles.

The Story of O still packs a shock with its mixture of sophisticated European production standards and a painful erotic edge. Udo Keir’s creepy eyes set the tone. You know he’s not looking for a girl like mom. The sessions at the chateau will either horrify you or make you take notes. The Story of O can be a great first date film if you met in a local dungeon.

The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The image is a 1080p transfer. The film averages around 16 mbps rates. This is the cleanest I’ve ever seen the film. There’s still a little futz now and then. Hard to tell how much the Blu-ray has helped since it’s a soft focus film with plenty of smoke taking the edge off the rooms. The 2.0 audio is in English, Spanish and French. Hard to tell what is the native language since all the dialogue sounds like it was recorded in the ADR booth. The levels are good enough to hear the crack of the crop on a few exposed rumps. Director Justin Jaeckin’s commentary is in French. He’s extremely talkative. There’s no subtitles for him so you’ll need to get an interpreter. The film is subtitled in English.

Photo Gallery (3:24) is a montage of publicity photos from the film. All the naughtiness is captured in the 1080p.

Biography is merely text about Corinne Clery, Udo Kier and Just Jaeckin. Did you know Corinne Clery was in Moonraker? I would guess Octopussy. The bios are in a box within a box on the screen so it’s kinda annoying to read it when you don’t have a 60 inch set.

Trailer (3:04) focuses on the crop action. This isn’t being sold as a soft focus romance. This is a red-band trailer.

The Story of O represents a time when a small film about a woman going to an extreme to prove her love was embraced by theatergoers. Fans of “Cinemax After Dark” will be stunned at seeing this gem at 1080p.

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Somerville House presents The Story of O. Directed by Just Jaeckin. Starring Corinne Clery and Udo Kier. Written by Sebastien Japrisot. Running time: 98 minutes. Unrated. Released on DVD: November 11, 2008. Available at Amazon.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.