User reviews

It is not difficult to understand why this languorous Franco ero-drama caused quite the controversy when released in 1970. It is sexually frank and throws in incest, lesbianism and interracial kissing with gleeful abandon.

Today, it seems very tame from a graphic point of view, but its sexual politics are way ahead of the ultra-conservative (sexual) climate the film industry currently operates in.

This is not an el cheapo Franco flutter shot on a castle set with bad lighting and hit-and-miss focus. It is beautifully shot by Manuel Merino and, as always, Bruno Nicolai delivers a rich, evocative score.

Eugenie's "journey" into perversion encompasses light lesbianism, a little rough intercourse and some soft whipping of her tender breasts. She emerges more lost and confused than liberated and ends up wandering nude for several minutes on an island; this sequence, the film's strongest, is quite surreal.

Marie Liljedahl, who plays Eugenie, is not Soledad Miranda, and is quite bland in her leading lady role.

Jack Taylor is suitably oily as Maria Rohm's lust-filled brother and Rohm makes the most of her role as Eugene's corrupter.

I like EUGENIE DE SADE quite a bit more than this and find it far more erotic, but this is worth a look, if not high praise.

In a career that spanned seven decades, Jess Franco achieved over 200 directorial credits in numerous genres, with the quality of his output varying wildly from inspired surrealism to entertaining sleaze to almost unwatchable garbage (with the majority tending to veer towards the latter). However, although Franco's skill as a film-maker was questionable, his ability to get hot Euro-totty to strip off in front of a camera and do whatever he asked was never in doubt, and large doses of frequent female nudity frequently made his movies more bearable.

Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion is a prime example of an otherwise rather dull (despite the lurid subject matter) and not particularly well directed movie made more enjoyable largely thanks to Franco's remarkable way with women. His two female stars in this film—regular Franco actress Maria Rohm and Swedish sex-bomb Marie Liljedahl—regularly disrobe, give each other rub-downs, and indulge in all manner of kinky activities, all of which helps the time pass a lot less painfully.

Stylistically, the film is fairly typical of Franco's work from the 60s and early 70s, when his films reflected the fashion and mood of the times, exploited the liberated attitudes of the young and incorporated psychedelic visuals to enhance the hallucinatory vibe. Nudity aside, the groovy music by Bruno Nicolai is probably the films greatest strength, his jazzy score really adding to the creepy, decadent vibe. The film is also notable for it's cameo by Christopher Lee, who doesn't get involved in the saucy action, but is still probably not all that proud of his involvement.

5.5 out of 10, happily rounded up to 6 for the lovely Marie Liljedah, who almost rivals Christina Lindberg in the major Swedish babe stakes.

"Eugenie" is a scandalous story from the Marquis de Sade about a naive young girl who is sold by her father into the servitude of a married pair of depraved libertines who proceed to seduce and debauch her. Not surprisingly, it has not received a lot cinematic treatment (and could probably not even be made these days). Even the incredibly prolific and repetitive Jesus Franco only made two versions of the story, this and one in the early 80's called "Erotismo" ("Eugenie de Sade", made a year later with Soledad Miranda, is also based on a De Sade story, but is about a very different character also named Eugenie).

This is no doubt the better version. It was made at a time when Franco had access to plenty of a money through producer Harry Allen Towers and quality international stars, not only Maria Rohm and Jack Taylor as the libertine couple, but even Christopher Lee (who apparently had no idea what he was getting into) as the leader of the strange sex cult the pair belong to. As the title character Eugenie, Swedish actress Marie "Inga" Lillejahl is a typical Franco actress of the period--not as talented as some Franco collaborators like Soledad Miranda or Rosalba Neri, but very beautiful and classy unlike many of his later actresses (including his wife Lina Romay, who beautiful as she was, had a bad tendency of indulging the director in his most tasteless cinematic fantasies). Lillejahl, I might also add, was older than the character she played, and it turns out it's much better to cast a twenty year old as a fourteen year in a fairly explicit role than an actual fourteen year old as he did in "Erotismo" (Katja Beinert, who ironically could have easily passed for twenty), not only for moral reasons but also artistic ones--just as a drunk is best played by someone who is not actually drunk, a naive innocent is most effectively played by someone who is NOT actually a naive innocent.

The beautiful, dream-like style of the movie also does a lot to mitigate the inherent sleaziness of the subject matter. The scenes of Lillejahl stumbling naked along barren sand dunes with lots of phallic jutting rocks as the morning sun comes up are very memorable (even if they don't make a lot of sense). The repetitive opening and closing sequences Franco uses is a hoary device that goes all the way back to the British classic "Dead of Night", but it is quite effective and really adds to the dream-like atmosphere. One of the "good" Franco movies.

After I finished watching this pitiful movie, I understood the term "Euro-trash.' There is not one redeemable value in this pseudo erotic attempt of a movie. A young girl supposedly is corrupted by a couple of well to do perverts in a single visit to a luxury island. This movie made in 1969 and therefore full frontal nudity of women seems to be the maximum thrill Jess Franco was shooting for. This is mixed with a single scene of lesbian love, a single scene of soft sadism and very lengthy boring dialogue. The script is a joke, and the "acting" is terrible and the sound track unbearable. Yes, I had to fast forward many times just to make it to the end. If Ed Woods was the worst director ever in Hollywood, he met his match in Jess Franco who made a string of trashy pictures around sado masochistic fantasies loosely inspired by De Sade's opus. The only recognizable actor was Christopher Lee who delivers a lifeless performance with ridiculous lines.

The intoxicatingly sexy Marie Liljedahl plays the title role, an innocent young woman who is invited to spend time on an island paradise with Madame Saint Ange (Maria Rohm) and her creepy brother Mirvel (Jack Taylor). She discovers that the intention is to initiate her into a variety of depravities presided over by the dapper, elegant Dolmance (Sir Christopher Lee).

"Eugenie...the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion" will not be to all tastes, and indeed it has been deemed controversial over the years. Based on the novel "Philosophy in the Boudoir" by none other than The Marquis de Sade, it makes ideal material for the celebrated cult filmmaker Jess Franco. Franco had made more than his fair share of trash during his career, and viewers will likely be impressed with the way that he marries art and sleaze in this stylish production. Granted, it moves at a snails' pace, there are too many out of focus shots, and the music score is loud and Godawful enough at times to really take you out of the action. But Francos' creation of imagery is highly striking, and he does a fine job working with the cinematic aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The dialogue is provocative and literate, especially when it's spoken by Lee. Prolific producer Harry Alan Towers scripted, using his standard pseudonym of "Peter Welbeck".

Franco always had some incredibly beautiful and sexy women in his films, and this is no exception. Liljedahl is very appealing and is particularly easy to watch. The whole cast - also including Paul Muller and Anney Kablan - is good, with Lee providing a special treat with his cameo appearance(s).

While pretty explicit - there's a generous dose of nudity - the film is also violent without being very gory. It should do the trick for any lover of exploitation.

Seven out of 10.

Eugenie is a film that shocked 1969 audiences, with interracial kissing, woman-to-woman fondling, and brother-sister sex games. It is beautifully filmed, sublimely acted (within its cult pedigree), and has reams of coolness, which makes it a good bet for modern audiences. If you get bored watching Connery drive his Aston Martin to a romantic rendezvous for some witty repartee, Eugenie will likely bore you. If you prefer graphic to simulated, you might find it lame. But if you can buy into the characters and appreciate the care of the filmmaking, Eugenie is a rewarding, disturbing piece of celluloid. In the interview, Franco states "Of all my films, it is the one I hate the least." If you know Franco and his staggering body of work, that's saying something.

Having read a lot of positive reviews about this film on the Internet (and the mystique surrounding it due to unavailability), it was no real surprise that it would be the first Jess Franco title I decided to seek out. Overall, I'm very glad I finally took the plunge to discover for myself Franco's very distinctive world-view. And I know this is one film I'll be looking forward to watch again – and not purely for its exploitation value, mind you!

De Sade was most certainly a writer ahead of his time, so the updating to modern times comes off particularly well here. Production values are efficient enough and generally manage to belie the low-budget Franco and producer Harry Alan Towers had to work with; Franco's mise-en-scene is quite confident and the film is certainly good to look at. Still, what holds one's attention here is the invigorating 'atmosphere' of decadence which Franco manages to create around a flimsy but fascinating plot. Perhaps thankfully, the film is not all that long so that it does not overstay its welcome.

While there is certainly a great deal of nudity on display, the film rises above being mere exploitation fare - which I assume is a rare feat for this director, considering his notorious reputation. It is aided a great deal by genuinely interesting characterizations, particularly the two female leads: Eugenie's blind faith in her obviously more experienced mentor is so complete that she doesn't realize until too late that she is being manipulated; Marianne herself comes off as fairly sympathetic despite her devious nature – all in all, a human being, and we feel sorry for her when she dies (at least, I did!); even the minor supporting characters are put to good use, like the black boatman/guitar player and the deaf-mute servant, which is not often the case with these type of films.

Having said all this, I would be lying if I said I thought that EUGENIE… THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION was a perfect viewing experience. Despite the attractive scenery, I found the numerous out-of-focus shots very distracting and rather than aiding the hallucinatory nature of the story, they end up being merely annoying. Furthermore, I felt that some of the S & M sequences could have been better staged. Besides, there are some inconsistencies in the plot as well: whereas the black boatman is at first depicted as being contrary to the pagan practices, he is seen to join in during the final ceremony where Marianne meets her come-uppance.

The casting is OK, I guess, but it still comes up short in my opinion: Marie Liljedahl, nice-looking though she obviously is, is not entirely comfortable with the complexities of her role (particularly towards the end, where she is unable to properly communicate Eugenie's psychological 'degradation') [N.B.: I tend to agree with what Glenn Erickson wrote about this in his review of the R1 DVD on the 'DVD Savant' website: 'The supposed 'corruption' of Eugenie is completely unconvincing - she remains a duped puppet. When she kills the first time it is out of fear, and the second time is just not fully explained. You don't get the idea that she's progressed to the point where she can 'replace' her hostess in the cult, and that turns out not to be the plan anyway.']; likewise, Jack Taylor - though suitably enigmatic and, at times, even vulnerable - hardly makes for a compelling screen presence. On the other hand, for me, Maria Rohm is the focus of the entire film and she also gives the best performance. Christopher Lee, despite his brief appearance, is smoothly sinister and a definite plus to the proceedings; in fact, he and Rohm make for a much more convincingly 'evil' pair. Then there is Bruno Nicolai's music: a very fine score and a memorable one, but which I feel is, in spots, a bit too jovial for its purpose.

I had already read that the story of the film was 'imagined' by Marianne in online reviews, but it still managed to take me by surprise when it happened. At first I was a bit let-down by this 'flashback' device – for me the film would have ended ideally when Eugenie runs out of the house, comes upon the graves on the beach and realizes that she is trapped on the island which is enclosed by barbed wire. Even the next morning shot when the police siren is heard sounding off in the distance was rather unnecessary. However, upon realizing that everything that we had been watching has yet to take place, rather than seeming a 'cop-out' (akin to what contemporary critics had said of the similar ending to Fritz Lang's marvelous THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW [1944]), it just added a new layer of subversion to the proceedings. It not only implies that Marianne actually relishes the thought of perishing at the hands of her beloved Eugenie but also that this eventuality would be the epitome of a vicious circle of lovers killing each other as a climactic finale on which to end their relationship, tenuous as that may have been: Mirvel (Marianne's stepbrother and long-time lover) kills Theresa (also perhaps once Marianne's lover); Mirvel is in turn killed by Eugenie (Marianne's present lover); Eugenie was to have been killed by Marianne but with the aid of Dolmance (conceivably once also Marianne's lover) kills Marianne instead; Dolmance (also presumably lusting for Eugenie) double-crosses her and pins all three murders onto her, etc.

The acceptance of the dream-state as the environment in which the film is ultimately taking place seems to excuse and indeed justify some of those technical fallacies and character inconsistencies of which I spoke earlier, for what dream is anything but an imperfect and half-remembered rendition of real-life events? In the end, therefore, the impression I was left with regarding the ending was more comparable to the open-ended and ambiguous one found in Luis Bunuel's magnificent BELLE DE JOUR (1967) which could be interpreted in any number of legitimate ways.

Though the film was apparently shot in English, the soundtrack was looped later in the studio. In this respect, it isn't too bad if not always in synch which can prove a distraction. After the many glowing reviews I had read, I found the DVD transfer to be somewhat disappointing (even if I can entirely understand its shortcomings) but, as it is, there is simply too much grain in exterior shots and the print is also a little faded in spots. The extras are fantastic: the 17-minute documentary is excellent indeed, particularly Franco's sincere ruminations about the film and his own working conditions; he comes off as a quite pleasant, even intelligent, man – and completely unpretentious. Tim Lucas' liner notes are a good read, even if he feels a bit over-awed by the film's many (and doubtless genuine) 'qualities'.

In the end, EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION - or, as it's called on Anchor Bay UK's R2 disc, MARQUIS DE SADE'S PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR - may not be a very subtle film (certainly not much is left to the spectator's imagination) but, for all its faults, is quite often a sublime one.

A young woman (Marie Liljedahl) is sold into a life of servitude where she becomes the sexual plaything of a rich and depraved brother and sister duo.

Well, by Jess Franco standards, this is probably one of his above average films. There are some horror elements (a cult, some torture) and more than enough soft-core pornography (completely unnecessary, but that is just what you come to expect from a Franco film). And Christopher Lee, which is always a treat.

The plot is incredibly simple, and if you take out the nude scenes, you are left with maybe thirty minutes of actual story. The movie is still decent, however, thanks to Franco's camera. He does have a few good shots and angles that make this stylish, the film quality is better than much of his work... and there is a coloration theme that deserves credit (red hues), even if I do not fully grasp what he is going for.

This is an film which is based on the book "Philosophy in the Boudoir" by the Marquis de Sade. Originally written in 1795, it is perhaps the most representative of all the Marquis de Sade's works. The script very cleverly adapts the original story for the modern time (that is 1970). Dialog is brilliant (Christopher Lee is mostly reading the original text by de Sade). Music is excellent. Acting is superb by all actors, most notably Maria Rohm, Jack Taylor and Christopher Lee. Marie Liljedahl is very convincing as the innocent young girl (she was just 19 while shooting). I don't like the idea to have an even younger actress for the part (like some other comment here seems to advise)! The cinematography fascinatingly uses the space on screen in focusing (and sometimes not focusing) different aspects of the image. But I must admit that this technique works much better on the big screen. Luckily I had the possibility the see this amazing piece of art in a theatrical screening. The film is highly recommended if you like the work of Luis Bunuel, Orson Welles, Douglas Sirk, Roman Polanski, Perdo Almodovar or David Lynch.

That all said, avoid the film if your just looking for a cheap skin flick. You won't find it here. Go to your next videostore and rent something else: "If you want to watch porn, then buy the real thing" (like one other reviewer said). This one has absolutely nothing to do with porn. If you never heard of de Sade and if you have no interest in art and an experimental approach of film-making, you will find this film boring, stupid and you won't understand what's it about.

I'm sorry, I just can't be objective about 'Eugenie'. As I already love Jess Franco movies I can't even begin to imagine what someone unfamiliar with his output would make of this one. They'd probably be bored I suppose, but it's difficult to say. If you already groove behind Franco's strange and stylish sexploitation movies you will enjoy this one, loosely based on the Marquis De Sade. Franco regulars Jack Taylor ('Succubus'), Maria Rohm ('The Bloody Judge') and Paul Muller ('Vampyros Lesbos') are on hand, but the main reason to watch this is for the gorgeous Marie Liljedahl, best remembered as the star of 60s erotic cult fave 'Inga', and the appearance of horror legend Christopher Lee. Lee basically did this one as a favour for producer Harry Alan Towers, filmed for one day, and was later shocked to see the nudity that surrounded him. Franco made some borderline hardcore movies in his career, but despite being inspired by De Sade, 'Eugenie' isn't one of them, and is really quite tame. There's lots of nudity, and a bit of whipping, but that's about it. Eugenie's "journey into perversion" mainly appears to involve having her breasts fondled by various people and smoking a funny cigarette, but as Ms. Liljedahl is such a major babe most viewers will not be disappointed. The movie seems to have a much larger budget than many of Franco's other similar movies, and while the ultra-groovy soundtrack isn't as mind-blowing as 'Vampyros Lesbos' it's still very cool. So Franco fans will really dig this one, but newcomers are best advised checking out 'Succubus' or 'Vampyros Lesbos' first. Jess Franco's movies are certainly an acquired taste, but once you get hooked they are a real delight! I've only seen about a dozen out of his 200+ (or is that 300+?) output, and I would put 'Eugenie' somewhere in the middle. Not his best, but still recommended to fans of 1960s Eurosleaze.

I am not ashamed to say I bought this entirely for the lead. She is incredible throughout. I was quite surprised to find myself enjoying the film, but it's certainly not very deep and it's all very silly. If you like Jess Franco films, he described this as the film he "hates the least". That might be an endorsement. I'm not sure.

Interesting film, probably not worth watching unless you have the hots for the girl on the cover - something which lead to me picking up the box repeatedly until I eventually bought it. The film otherwise has its moments - some scenes reminiscent of Polanski and Lynch - only bloated and confused. Enjoyable enough if you like Hammer Horror films, etc.

I wish she was in more films though.

Jess Franco - smut king with talent. Maybe not at his best in this film, but worth buying for de Sade's writings flung into (what was then) present day, as an innocent girl gets seduced by a pervy couple and goes to stay with them upon her father's agreement. She gets sucked into a perversion story before becoming the perversion herself, when violent things naturally happen.

The sex is very restrained for a Franco film, and Chris Lee looks vaguely ashamed in a limited role. But Lee's comments on the DVD about finding himself in a film showing in porn cinemas in Soho, entirely to his surprise, are worthy of purchase alone. He also praises Franco, as he should - the guy has vision, but don't ask me what that vision is!

To see Jess Franco at his erotic best, buy Female Vampire. For Franco completists, and fans of: quirky genre films, the forgotten roles of Christopher Lee, or mildly spicy filmic delights - get to see Eugenie!

It seems I thought even more of this when first seen and I felt it, 'Absolutely sublime.' and 'Faultless' but now I feel maybe 'Venus in Furs' is even better. Beautifully made with sumptuous set design and costumerie and performances including a menacing one from Jack Taylor, are all fine. Featuring one of Bruno Nicolai's better scores this maintains an eerie sexiness throughout and thanks to Christopher Lees' central performance as narrator/De Sade all is most satisfactory. I think on this second viewing I was left feeling that it could either have been a little tougher and/or a little sexier but maybe it just caught me in the wrong mood and another viewing will have me purring with delight as before.

Eugenie...the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion (1970)

*** (out of 4)

Jess Franco takes Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in the Boudoir and turns it into one of his best films. A young woman named Eugenie (Marie Liljedahl) is sent off to an island with Madame Saint Ange (Maria Rohm) and her perverted brother (Jack Taylor) and before long the two are sexually assaulting the girl as they act out various de Sade stories. EUGENIE is certainly one of the most bizarre films from this era and I don't think anyone other than Franco could have pulled the material off. I'm sure someone could have filmed a pretty version of this story but I think Franco perfectly nailed the situations because we're basically given one big nightmare for this girl with a psychedelic vision and a terrific score by Bruno Nicolai. What works so well with this film is the vision on its director because you really do feel as if you're watching some sort of strange and perverted trip. I really loved the red tinting that Franco used during certainly scenes and especially all through the finale. This really does add a surreal feel to everything you're watching. Add in the terrific score, which at times is rather playful (example: when Rohm helps Liljedahl with a bath) and at other times creepy and perverse. Another major plus is that Franco is given one of his best casts to work with. I thought Liljedahl was very good in her role. Yes, there are times where she can't fully capture the deprived situation of the character but other than this I thought the actress looked the part and was quite believable during the seduction scenes. Taylor isn't a master actor or anything but he manages to turn in a fine performance as does Paul Muller in his brief role and Herbert Fux in his cameo. It's also fun seeing someone like Christopher Lee in a film like this even though he wasn't aware of what type of film they were making around him. Rohm is the real stand out here as she's really one of the main vocal points in the film. She certainly has the look of the character but also manages to make you believe in everything she's doing. EUGENIE has some flaws throughout including some pacing issues and there are times where the soft or out of focus cinematography is just rather annoying. Still, this isn't a very easy story to tell but Franco brings it to life like only he can.

Eugenie is prolific director Jesus Franco's adaption of the Marquis de Sade's 'Philosophy in the Boudoir'. He made several films based on de Sade's writings. In my opinion, this is one of the best films that he ever directed; seemingly he himself said that it was his own personal favourite of his works and it has certainly been made with considerably more care than Franco became known for. It came out at a time when he was making films for producer Harry Alan Towers and, like the others from this cycle; it does seem to have a lot more production value than Franco would soon become known for. After all, this one features British acting legend Christopher Lee in the role of the mysterious character Dolmance. Apparently Lee was not best happy when he saw the completed film on account of the abundant nudity and sleaze – he said Franco added these parts in when he wasn't on set, in fairness viewing the film with this in mind it does appear perfectly likely that this indeed happened.

Aside from Lee, the film stars Franco regular Maria Rohm as Mme. de St. Ange, who reads the Marquis book and fantasises about its decadent contents. The sweet Marie Liljedahl plays the title character Eugenie, the young innocent who is lured into sin by Mme. de St. Ange on her island retreat, alongside her lover Mirvel (Jack Taylor). These two libertines drug her and abuse her in ways that involve sadomasochistic games, inspired by the dark master of ceremonies, Dolmance and his obedient followers.

What really makes this Franco film stand out is that despite containing lots of nudity and perversion – including the then taboo subjects of sadomasochism, lesbianism and inter-racial kisses, and the still taboo subject of incest - it benefits from very nice cinematography, including some rather attractively shot island scenery; while it also has some lush music from Bruno Nicolai to add additional class to proceedings. When you take into account that it looks and sounds good, has interesting actors and a story that makes sense, what you are left with is a genuinely stylish sexploitation film. A film that shows both Franco and its sub-genre at their best.

Franco fans like to hold up EUGENIE as proof of his technical prowess. In fact, it only stands as further testament to his ineptitude. Okay, so Franco had access to the crane on this one... and so excited is he that he uses it again and again, with no imagination or purpose. The cinematographer was clearly a bit more accomplished than usual too, in fact the budget is clearly higher than your average Franco pic. But don't worry, his amateurism shines right through. Ridiculous casting (Liljedahl is way to old and tarty to play an 'innocent young girl'), lame dialogue, bad acting, inappropriate and clueless use of the camera, lame attempts at surrealism, un-erotic soft porn sequences... all the usual Franco 'trademarks' are here in abundance. If you want to watch porn, then buy the real thing. If you want to watch a movie, don't waste your time here.