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The film struggled to gain a wide release in Brit- ain. The distributor, New Realm, eventually suc- ceeded in releasing IMMORAL TALES in May 1977 with an X certificate imposed—not by the BBFC (British Board of Film Censors), who had rejected the film, but by the GLC (Greater London Council), meaning that the picture could not be shown out- side London. IMMORAL TALES would not receive an official certificate until June 1995, when the BBFC passed the film uncut at “18” for its VHS release by Connoisseur Video. A further release, by Nouveaux Pictures, would follow two years later. As with “A Private Collection,” Arrow presents IMMORAL TALES in two versions: the four-part version released theatrically and on video, and— in its home video debut—the original five-part version running 125m 25s, which positions the story of “The Beast” between “Thérèse Philoso- pher” and “Erzsébet Báthory.” In addition to the two cuts of “A Private Collection,” the extras con- sist of a short introduction by Borowczyk histo- rian Daniel Bird; “Love Reveals Itself” (16m), an informative look at the making of IMMORAL TALES with contributions from Borowczyk’s as- sistant Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin and cinema- tographer Noël Véry, in which the casting decisions are discussed (Isabelle Adjani was considered for the role of Julie in “The Tide”), the locations (both “Erzsébet Báthory” and “Lucrezia Borgia” were


filmed in Sweden for financial reasons), and the revelation that real pig’s blood was used for Paloma Picasso’s blood-bath in “Erzsébet Báthory”; “Boro Brunch” (7m), which brings to- gether Duvergé-Ségrétin, Véry, Anatole Dauman’s daughter Florence, Philippe D’Argila (one of the producers of BLANCHE) and Zoe Zurstrassen (continuity supervisor on Borowczyk’s 1984 film Ars amandi, aka THE ART OF LOVE); and the original French theatrical trailer, which largely consists of footage from the Báthory episode. The 27-page illustrated booklet features essays by Daniel Bird, Michael Brooke, Philip Strick’s ex- cellent review of the film in the Summer 1977 issue of SIGHT & SOUND, and a collection of contempo- rary reviews, which range from the supportive (“Proves... that Borowczyk is one of the world’s most fascinating directors of objects and surfaces,” wrote Geoff Brown in THE FINANCIAL TIMES) to the dismissive (“Shocking or boring? Take your pick. I opt for the latter,” sneered Margaret Hinxman in the DAILY MAIL). Both versions of IMMORAL TALES and “A Pri- vate Collection” are attractively presented in their original aspect ratios of 1.66:1, remastered from the original 35mm negatives and with mono 1.0 audio and optional English subtitles. As with the previous discs, Borowczyk’s original poster design serves as a reversible sleeve.


Paloma Picasso as the Bloody Countess in the portmanteau film IMMORAL TALES.


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