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Marquis de Sade: Justine
1969 124 min Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, United States of America R 18+
★5.9
Drama, Horror
Director: Jesús Franco
Trailers
Description
Without a family, penniless and separated from her sister, a beautiful chaste woman will have to cope with an endless parade of villains, perverts and degenerates who will claim not only her treasured virtue but also her life.
Starring
Klaus Kinski
Actor
Romina Power
Actor
Maria Rohm
Actor
Key opinion
Jesús Franco’s 1969 adaptation of Marquis de Sade's work is widely viewed as a sanitized, stylized period drama that largely abandons the source material's transgressive nature. While critics appreciate the performances and aesthetic elements, the consensus remains that it fails as a faithful adaptation, oscillating between being a flawed but competent historical film and a naive, decorative production.
| Acting | The performances by lead actors like Romina Power, Klaus Kinski, and Jack Palance are generally noted as strong and compelling assets to the production. | |
| Production | The film’s cinematography and production design favor a polished, classical, and baroque aesthetic that successfully masks the project's low budget. | |
| Adaptation | The film heavily deviates from the source material, excising the novel’s philosophical depth, explicit violence, and darker themes in favor of a restrained, light, and overly theatrical tone. | |
| Originality | Opinions on the film's artistic success are divided; some praise it as a stylish, atmospheric historical drama, while others find it to be naive, artificial, and devoid of the narrative force found in de Sade’s writing. |