Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Games of Desire (1964)

Original tile: Die Lady

Directors: Hans Albin, Peter Berneis

Writer: Peter Berneis

Composer: Hermann Thieme

Starring: Ingrid Thulin, Paul Hubschmid, Nikos Kourkoulos, Gregor von Rezzori, Helen Vita, Claudine Auger, Cecille Geiers, Eric Helgar, Helga Lehner, Bernard Verley

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A Man's Unnatural Obsession...A Woman's Profane Lust For Fulfillment...

Plot: The wife of the Swedish Ambassador of Greece becomes involved in a doomed romantic triangle.


My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The picture opens with the promise of European sleaze but it fails to deliver the goods.  It's a light drama/romance of sorts that involves a stripper (who fails to bare all) and a love triangle.  What makes this reasonably enjoyable is the fun score and the beautiful Greek location shooting.  I watched the English dub which was done nicely.  The B&W photography looks good.  You can't help but notice in some that Ingrid Thulin, who starred in ten Ingmar Bergman pictures, has a deep tan. It's a little jarring.  I don't know why that stood out to me.  Again, the music is a gas (with a Riz Ortolani flavor) and the drama held my attention but ultimately it was just a German tease.    That's not a euphemism although it sounds like a real beaut.  It's a German production that straddles the line of exploitation but it's feet are on the dramatic side.

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