The Pleasure
| The Pleasure | |
|---|---|
 Italian theatrical release poster by Enzo Sciotti | |
| Directed by | Joe D'Amato |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Music by | Cluster[1] |
| Cinematography | Joe D'Amato[1] |
| Edited by | Franco Alessandri[1] |
Production companies |
Filmirage[1] |
Running time | 94 minutes[2] |
| Country | Italy[1] |
The Pleasure (Il piacere) is a 1985 Italian sex film directed by Joe D'Amato.
Plot
The film is set in Venice in the 1930s, where Gerard, an aristocrat is in mourning after the death of his mistress Leonora. He listens to tapes of them having sex and recalls of a carnival trip where they learned to experience their uninhibited sex life with the call girl Haunani (Laura Gesmar).
Gerard is now a guardian to Edmund and Ursuala. Edmund suffers from epilepsy, which he finds can be cured when he has an affair with Fiorella, the maid. Ursula discovers Gerard's tapes and decides she wants to loser her virginity to him. Gerard is unwilling to, which encourages Ursula to act like her mother by fondling strangers in theatres and working in a brothel. With help from Haunani, Gerard tracks down Ursula, where she is about to offer her virginity to the highest bidder. Gerard gives the best offer and has sex with Ursula, who has destroyed all his mementos of Leonora.
Cast
- Andrea Guzon as Leonora / Ursula
- Gabriele Tinti as Gerard Villeneuve
- Marco Mattioli as Edmund
- Lilli Carati as Fiorella
- Laura Gemser as Haunani
- Dagmar Lassander as Rosa
- Maurice Poli as Boris the stableman (uncredited)
- Domiziano Arcangeli (uncredited)
Release
The film grossed over 3 million Italian lira on its release.[3]
Reception
Kim Newman (Monthly Film Bulletin) described the film as an "ill-advised imitation of Tinto Brass' already soporific and offensive La Chiave (The Key)"[2] Newman noted that D'Amato's cinematography was "more careful than usual even attempting some genuine artiness" but that his "porno style hasn't changed sine the days when he would churn out ten Em(m)anuelle films a year."[2]
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Newman, Kim (1986). "Il piacere (The Pleasure)". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 53 no. 624. British Film Institute. p. 180.
- 1 2 3 Newman, Kim (1986). "Il piacere (The Pleasure)". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 53 no. 624. British Film Institute. p. 181.
- ↑ "Lilli Carati" (in Italian). TELLUS folio. Retrieved May 1, 2016.