ChikPapa
Very disappointed :(
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
John Brooks
No need for a long review here.Annoyance: the then typical American anti-propaganda propaganda effect in that Bluebeard had to be a Nazi of course, what else.Overall, the vulgarization of the original novel is quite easily drawn.-Bluebeard is no longer monstrous, but a handsome middle-aged man. -The room isn't filled with blood and hooks, but is "sterilized" by the concept of a refrigerated vault. And the rest of the plot modifications serve this version's setting not too bad, and aren't vociferously treacherous to the book...Finally, the beautiful women, especially the superb Joey Heatherton and all the nude really do give this the classic touch of the 60's-early 70's profane cinematic scope.Not as kitsch as others claim to be fair...
moonspinner55
Richard Burton would seem ideally cast as a literal lady-killer in post-WWI Austria, yet his lead performance as "Bluebeard" never catches fire--and, as a result, the picture is a stillborn piece of macabre-y which is never thrilling enough nor funny enough to sustain interest for long. Former war pilot-turned-wealthy Baron (complete with a bluish beard to mask his scars) marries a succession of women who rub him the wrong way after rubbing up against him. It isn't that he dislikes women--he hates what their lust turns him into (seems the Baron suffers from bedroom problems). French-Italian-West German co-production has a striking art direction and design, but suffers from continual poor taste. Veteran director Edward Dmytryk is as tough on the animals as he is on the female victims, and an early hunting montage of creatures being shot and writhing in pain on the ground is unbelievably insensitive. Joey Heatherton tries hard in the largest femme role as the Baron's seventh wife, but Dmytryk undercuts her performance with a cheesy succession of nude shots. It appears the producers wanted titillation, satire and black comedy, but Dmytryk doesn't have the nimble touch to pull this trifecta off. For star-watchers, Raquel Welch and Virna Lisi are around for about six minutes apiece, while Burton remains in a deadly low-key throughout (although creepy at times, Burton is just faking his way through). Filmed in Budapest, the picture has an interesting look and some definite signs of style, but the narrative is a mess. A young handmaiden is involved in an accident while crossing a bridge, which we are to assume was orchestrated by the Baron, but we never learn why he chose to do this, how he managed to pull this stunt off, or whether or not the girl was killed. The screenwriters--Dmytryk among them--have even thrown in a Nazi-styled subplot which only serves as a shortcut to the finale (as if this Bluebeard weren't nasty enough, he's also made a war criminal!). It's an ungodly mess, crude and off-putting, though not without some shamefaced fascination. *1/2 from ****
Flak_Magnet
This movie was basically awesome: consistently statuesque women, exquisite castles, campy acting, ridiculous script, plenty of nudity, six murders, Richard Burton, and a pervasive, Euro-style charm that made even the sleaziest moments really fun and laughable. We ended up getting this as a Sybil Danning/Raquel Welch fan, and were really blown over by the film's consistent campiness and general Eurosleaze greatness. As far as Eurotrash goes, "Bluebeard" is double platinum. This was a really big budget production, and a lot of money went into the art direction. That said, expect great looking costumes and sets, which often rival the women as overall cinematic eye candy. I have to mention the ladies again, because they are stunning. Listen to this cast: Raquel Welch, Sybil Danning, Joey Heatherton, Virna Lisi, Nathalie Delon, Karin Schubert...."Bluebeard" plays out like a virtual "Whos Who" of A-list 1970's bombshells. Anyway, the script is ludicrous and silly, as is Joey Heatherton's performance as the female lead, but Richard Burton does a terrific job holding everything together. Raquel Welch plays one of the murdered wives, (and a nun to boot), and she's in the film for about 10-min. Sybil Danning plays a prostitute, and she has a pretty dank lesbian scene, but her screen time is similarly brief. The film's mystery elements are pretty predictable, but the whole affair is campy and attractive enough for it not to matter much. It is a bit long, and there is a tasteless hunting scene where a range of animals are shot, but I can't discount how fun most of this was. A Eurosleaze classic. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet
MARIO GAUCI
In the past, I’d watched three other versions (four, if one includes Charles Chaplin’s variation MONSIEUR VERDOUX [1947]) about the famous fictional serial killer Landru – the 1944 Edgar G. Ulmer/John Carradine and 1963 Claude Chabrol/Charles Denner BLUEBEARD and the W. Lee Wilder/George Sanders BLUEBEARD’S TEN HONEYMOONS from 1960.Actually, this one is best approached as “Euro-Cult” (what with its flashes of nudity from a bevy of international beauties) rather than a historical piece – BLUEBEARD, incidentally, was a production of the Salkinds, soon to enjoy critical success with Richard Lester’s “Three Musketeers” films and, eventually, the money would come pouring in with the “Superman” franchise. Besides, the tone is unsurprisingly one of black comedy – with the titular ladies’ man revealed as an impotent who’s forced to kill a succession of spouses so as to keep this embarrassing fact a secret! Incidentally, it also transpires that events as depicted on-screen may well be fabricated since the real reason for the killings only emerges towards the end: “Bluebeard” – a WWI air ace – recounts his romantic misadventures to his latest conquest, a young American showgirl, after she’s cajoled by her husband towards the discovery of a secret passage leading to the vault wherein all the bodies of his former wives lie frozen! The treatment is somewhat heavy-handed (with obvious predatory symbols, for instance): its connotations to Nazism, too, prove unnecessary – and, consequently, Bluebeard’s demise/come-uppance seems fateful when it should have been slyly ironic. All of which results in an uneven film with a tendency towards camp – though undeniably abetted by the overall handsome look (“Euro-Cult” regular Gabor Pogany is the cinematographer) and a typically imposing score by Ennio Morricone; incidentally, I had used portions of a funereal motif from the soundtrack of this film for my final short during the NYFA course I took in Hollywood a couple of years back! Individual contributions by the star cast, then, are also variable: to begin with, Richard Burton’s thespian skills were often misused during this particular period – lending his services to interesting but often ill-advised ventures (three more of which I watched only recently, namely DOCTOR FAUSTUS [1967], CANDY [1968] and THE ASSASSINATION OF TROTSKY [1972]); in this case, he sports a silly colored beard (the script having interpreted the title all-too-literally, but which might actually be an indication that it shouldn’t be taken seriously) and looks alternately bored and exasperated throughout! The ladies are all easy on the eyes but also surprisingly willing, with Joey Heatherton as the stunning current bride getting the lion’s share of the running-time. The others – in order of appearance – are Karin Schubert (when Burton’s deficiency, excused at first by a period of convalescence ostensibly suffering from a war wound, can no longer be concealed, she threatens to expose him to public ridicule and this triggers off his homicidal ‘urge’!); Virna Lisi (enjoying herself as she drives Burton to distraction with her incessant singing of corny love songs!); Nathalie Delon (a model whose inexperience in love leads her to take lessons from prostitute Sybil Danning, but the two become instant lovers!); Raquel Welch (a nymphomaniac who attempts to stifle the habit by, ahem, donning it i.e. she becomes a nun!); Marilu' Tolo (again, fun as an outspoken feminist – who even kicks Burton where it hurts! – but who also turns out to be a closet masochist); and Agostina Belli (as an outwardly-innocent but actually spoilt child-bride).Going back to that “Euro Cult” comment, BLUEBEARD may have been influenced by the giallo work of Mario Bava – with its set of glamorous female victims (as in BLOOD AND BLACK LACE [1964]) and the novel methods of assassination (in the wake of A BAY OF BLOOD [1971]). Still, amid its forced Hitchcock references (the embalmed mother from PSYCHO [1960] and the falcon attack a' la THE BIRDS [1963]), it appears that Burton & Co. were consciously emulating the previous year’s success THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971) – a low-budgeted but stylish vehicle for horror icon Vincent Price. Of course, one can’t forget to mention the film’s affinity with the classic Ealing black comedy KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949) in its nonchalant, inevitably comical attitude to murder.
