Story of O (film)

Story of O
Story of O
	Theatrical release poster
French	Histoire d'O
Directed by	Just Jaeckin
Screenplay by	Sébastien Japrisot
Based on	Story of O; by Pauline Réage
Produced by	Gérard Lorin; Eric Rochat;
Starring	Corinne Cléry; Udo Kier; Anthony Steel; Jean Gaven; Christiane Minazzoli; Martine Kelly; Jean-Pierre Andréani; Gabriel Cattand; Li Sellgren; Albane Navizet; Henri Piégay; Alain Noury;
Cinematography	Robert Fraisse; Yves Rolladec;
Edited by	Francine Pierre
Music by	Pierre Bachelet
Production; companies	S.N. Prodis; Yang Films; A.D. Creation; Terra-Filmkunst GmbH;
Distributed by	S.N. Prodis (France); Constantin Film (West Germany);
Release dates	28 August 1975 (France); 27 November 1975 (West Germany);
Running time	97 minutes; 104 minutes (extended cut);
Countries	France; West Germany;
Languages	French; English; Polish;

Story of O (French: Histoire d'O, IPA: [istwaʁ do]) is a 1975 erotic drama film directed by Just Jaeckin from a screenplay by Sébastien Japrisot, based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Pauline Réage.^[3] It stars Corinne Cléry and Udo Kier.

A sequel titled Story of O: Chapter 2 was released in 1984.

Plot[edit]

A young woman fashion photographer, known only as O, is taken by her lover René to Château Roissy, where she is subject to various sexual and sadomasochistic acts as part of her training to serve the members of the club.

At various times, she is stripped, blindfolded, chained, whipped, made to wear increasingly large plugs to widen her anus, pierced, branded on one of her buttocks, made to wear a bird mask, and taught to be constantly available for oral, vaginal, and anal intercourse. She leaves Roissy wearing an iron ring as a sign of her initiation and indicator to men in the society that she is a sex slave.

O meets a vain model named Jacqueline, whom she photographs and grows enamored with. René introduces O to his much older step-brother, Sir Stephen, and the two men share O, as René wishes O to learn to obey and serve someone whom she does not love. While Sir Stephen proves to be a more severe and strict master than René, O soon believes he is in love with her.

At Sir Stephen's direction, O is sent to an all-female country house in Samois, run by a woman named Anne-Marie, where she undergoes further beatings and training in submission. O's visit concludes with having rings pierced into her labia at the request of Sir Stephen, and receiving a brand with his initials.

Sir Stephen tells O that René is in love with Jacqueline, and that O must seduce her and get her to undergo training at Roissy. While at first resistant to getting Jacqueline to go to Roissy, O eventually agrees. Jacqueline moves into O's flat, and is seduced by her. O reveals her BDSM lifestyle and describes her stay at Roissy to Jacqueline, who is initially repulsed and disbelieving.

Sir Stephen shares O with two other men of his acquaintance, one simply known as "the commander" and the other a young man named Ivan. After one sexual encounter with O, Ivan believes himself to be in love with her and requests Sir Stephen release her. However O refuses to leave Sir Stephen.

O takes Jacqueline to Roissy where she will be trained to serve René. Later Sir Stephen and O visit the commander's home in Brittany for a party, where O is treated as a visual spectacle, wearing nothing but chains and an owl mask. Watching O at the party, Sir Stephen feels that his ownership of her is complete.

Some time after that, O asks Sir Stephen if he would endure the same punishments and experiences that she has undergone to show her unconditional love for him. When he says "I suppose so", she suddenly burns his hand with a hot cigarette holder, leaving there a circle, or an O.

Cast[edit]

Corinne Cléry as O
Udo Kier as René
Anthony Steel as Sir Stephen
Jean Gaven as Pierre
Li Sellgren as Jacqueline
Albane Navizet as Andree
Christiane Minazzoli as Anne-Marie
Alain Noury as Ivan
Martine Kelly [fr] as Therese
Jean-Pierre Andréani [fr] as Eric, maître
Gabriel Cattand as The commander
Henri Piégay [fr] as Maître
Florence Cayrol [fr] as Yvonne

Production[edit]

Story of O was the first in a series of sex-oriented films for Anthony Steel, although he was always clothed.^[4]

Reception[edit]

The film was refused a UK theatrical release certificate from the BBFC in 1975,^[3]^[5] but was eventually passed without cuts for DVD in 2000.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on ten reviews, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10.^[6]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Story of O de Just Jaeckin (1975)". Unifrance. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Histoire d'O" (in French). CNC. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b Williams, Linda Ruth (December 1999). "The Story of O". Sight & Sound. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009.
^ Vagg, Stephen (23 September 2020). "The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga". Filmink.
^ Our Arts Reporter. "Ban on a controversial French film by GLC". Times [London, England] 3 June 1976: 3. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 July 2012
^ "The Story of O". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

External links[edit]

[unifrance-1] "Story of O de Just Jaeckin (1975)". Unifrance. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

[cnc-2] "Histoire d'O" (in French). CNC. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

[bbfc-3] Williams, Linda Ruth (December 1999). "The Story of O". Sight & Sound. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009.

[vagg-4] Vagg, Stephen (23 September 2020). "The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga". Filmink.

[5] Our Arts Reporter. "Ban on a controversial French film by GLC". Times [London, England] 3 June 1976: 3. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 July 2012

[6] "The Story of O". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

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