Maitresse - Criterion Collection

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Drifter Olivier (Gérard Depardieu) lands in Paris and partners up on a friend's home invasion. Ostensibly they're breaking into the vacant flat of a vacationing old lady, but in reality it's the kinky dungeon of a high-class dominatrix with a powerful client list. The bearish Depardieu falls for the lithe professional, blonde Ariane (Bulle Ogier) in a black bob wig and dressed in tight leather and latex, and soon moves into her handsome flat while she plies her trade downstairs. Barbet Schroeder's kinky little slice of sexual decadence is initially titillating and erotic, but soon turns grotesque. Ariane's clients desire her domination but only as contracted: They control their abuse. The romance becomes a warped mirror of her career, Ariane allowing Olivier the appearance of control as he slides behind the driver's seat of her car, but setting the parameters of his dominance. Easygoing Olivier soon begins to simmer with frustration and jealousy, unable to comprehend her twisted world of sexual deviance, and attempts to "save" her from her lifestyle. Schroeder pushes the portrayal of S&M and bondage to the limits with graphic scenes of pain, torment, and mutilation, presented with a bland detachment that makes them all the more uncomfortable to watch. He brings that same dispassionate attitude to the romance, which results in an uninvolving yet undeniably fascinating story of a quirky affair. --Sean Axmaker

Description

When he is implicated in the burglary of a Paris apartment, a young provincial (Gérard Depardieu) stumbles into the subterranean world of sadomasochism, becoming the upstairs lover of the apartment's mistress, who then finds the two levels of her carefully controlled existence beginning to interfere with each other. Barbet Schroeder's film examines the line between fantasy and reality, decadence and deprivation, and the distance one will go for love. The DVD also features a new interview with the director.

Customer Reviews:

Good film, but..........2007-01-10

Draggy in spots. Sometimes it can be hard to take Depardieu seriously as well, but when the film is engaging, it really rivets the attention, taking a look at its subject matter without venturing into prurientism.

Save your money.......2006-04-24

I bought this DVD based on the excellent reviews. As both an afficionado, and practitioner of kink, I am always looking for a good film in that genre. Not only is "Maitresse" poorly acted but the story line is completely unbelievable.

I also found the film "quality" leaving a lot to be desired. (Poor lighting) I found myself falling asleep about a third of the way through and just could not get into it.

The relationship and communication between the Domme and her clients was cold and unfeeling, and left me with the impression that I had just watched two robots doing physical things with each other. There was just no chemistry between the players.

Save your money!

Chamber of Commerce.......2005-07-18

"Maitresse" may beat upon every body around, but you can't say that Barbet Schroder beats about the bush. The director shows us torture, sadomasochism and sexual humiliation or, if you prefer, the business end of a whip. Many whips are used in this 1973 movie, now a sort of cult classic; The Criterion Collection DVD looks terrific and has a new interview with Schroeder that doesn't pretend to any depth. Almost against our will (perfect!), the movie draws us into its kinky extremities only eventually to lose its way. Among the digressions is a horrific slaughterhouse scene, in which a horse is butchered and eaten, that belongs in another movie entirely.

Bulle Ogler is seen as a blonde beauty in an upscale apartment who earns a lush living as a dominatrix in a downstairs dungeon designed by the Marquis de Sade. Her clients are rich and powerful and so, apparently, is she. That is what attracts a witless would-be burglar who becomes (in turn) her job assistant, live-in lover-protector, and soon an interfering opportunist who definitely is bad for business. He is played by a young Gerard Depardieu, a husky hunk even then. Europeans know how to treat these characters and subjects seriously and with a straight face. There's that to recommend it. There's also a scene in which the "maitresse" (mistress) nails a man's genitals to a block of wood. All in a day's work over there in Paris, France.

A Cinematic Revelation from one of the most daring directors!!!.......2005-07-09

Maitrese (Mistress) is such a fascinating ride from start to finish that even the scenes where you don't want to watch (which for some people is half the film) you must!!! I found myself wincing at some of the graphic BDSM (or is it sex) scenes but I kept watching to see what would happen next. Oddly enough, this is a love story with two of the most unlikely people to fall in love, a high class, wealthy prodominatrix and a petty thief. Gerard De Pardieu and Bulle Olgier ( one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life besides Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve) give startiling gut wrenching performances. The ending of this move is so liberating and real that it will either repulse you or arouse you or do both all at once. This movie might have been an influence on Cronenberg's Crash ( the way it was shot not the subject itself). I am glad to have seen this movie because it pulls no punches and though it was made 30 years ago, it will still be shocking to condescending moralist everywhere!!!

Raw and tender.......2005-04-11

I'm not sure if Barbet Schroeder wouldn't have preferred simply making a documentary about S/M rather than enfolding the S/M segments within a rather traditional love story, but I'm glad he chose the latter.

I was never a big fan of Gérard Depardieu, but found him to be wonderfully engaging in his role as Olivier, a young thief content to be kept by a somewhat older, much more industrious working woman, Ariane (played by Bulle Ogier). If this were an American movie, Olivier would be driven crazy by Ariane's profession, but Olivier accepts her job, enjoys the comfortable lifestyle it affords him, and occasionally helps Ariane out on her gigs, with sometimes hilarious results.

The only obstacle thwarting the course of their true love is a mysterious man who calls Ariane on her private line, to whom she pays a good bit of her earnings. Olivier finally takes some bumbling initiative in finding and confronting this man, with mixed results. He doesn't understand what he's getting himself into, because Ariane has not been completely honest with him.

In the end, though, persistence pays off, and Olivier and Ariane end up together, happy, and only slightly damaged.

I highly recommend this to fans of Depardieu and those interested in the career of director Barbet Schroeder. My only disappointment in the DVD is that there is only one special feature, a delightful interview with Schroder.

Warning: this film contains explicit scenes showing S/M sessions featuring cross-dressing, shoe fetishism, nudity, whipping, genital torture and ecstasy. There is also a very distressing scene of animal slaughter which puts the S/M scenes into perspective.

Average customer rating:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan
Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels
Be Cool, Like Taffin
Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!
Very original hero

Taffin
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Ray McAnally , Alison Doody , Jeremy Child , and Dearbhla Molloy
Director: Francis Megahy
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0792844068
Release Date: 2000-03-28

Description

Pierce Brosnan (The World Is Not Enough) is dashing and deadly in this powerhouse of passion, revenge and nonstop action. When a small Irish town is terrorized by a corrupt business syndicate,a lone hero wages an all-out war. Mark Taffin (Brosnan) is a tough-as-nails debt collector who's as quick with his wits as he is with his lightning-fast martial arts moves. So when powerful Sprawley Enterprises resorts to brutal tactics to silence townspeople who oppose the company's hazardous chemical plant, Taffin leaps to the citizens aid. Battling savage assassins and ruthless executives, he takes on the enemy in one blistering confrontation after another. But as he prepares for the final showdown, Taffin uncovers a terrifying plota deadly conspiracy that may reach the highest echelons of political power!

Customer Reviews:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan.......2007-06-11

This film is an engaging variation of the immortal theme of good battling with and finally winning over evil and great odds. It is engaging because Pierce Brosnan is a kind of modern Robin Hood, and is (as always) so good to look at, impossibly handsome but also an excellent actor, commanding attention. He has the kind of looks that makes this writer, rather uncharacteristically, wish that people could remain young forever. His co-stars in the film match him in performances that are convincing, with the exception of Alison Doody, who is beautiful too, but (in my opinion) somewhat cliched in her approach to her character, her acting abilities insufficient for a role which I feel is quite seminal in the story (in spite of the contemporary interest in sexual expression, there is more to acting than sex and/or taking one's clothes off). This is particularly noticeable in the final scenes, where she berates Taffin's former friends in the pub for not believing in him. Her delivery just didn't match the power of the words she was given to say. Nevertheless, the story ends in a way that is emotionally satisfying, thought slightly bittersweet, in that through misfortune, Taffin has to leave the small town where he grew up, to enter the larger stage of the world, which he is quite capable of taking on.

Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels.......2006-05-04

It is a well known fact that I am not a great admirer of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. Although he looked handsome enough to be James Bond he never looked tough enough. Much has been made of the fact that although the newest 007 Daniel Craig does not look handsome enough to play the secret agent (some going as far as to call him "ugly") he does look tough enough to play the part.
In fact I would say that Brosnan looked tougher in the thriller FOURTH PROTOCOL in the part of the Soviet agent (see my review on that product page) and in this movie (made around the same time as the Forsyth thriller) he managed to convey a certain dangerous quality.
In this movie, set in his native Ireland, Brosnan plays a debt collector (Mark Taffin) who when not working is happy to spend his time reading books on philosophy and theory. The movie starts by showing us Taffin collecting on some debts. These opening sequences establish his tough credentials as we see him beat up three men in a restaurant (and in the process demolish the establishments dining room) and go head to head with a barman and getting his way (with the help of a wine glass.) Yes, this guy is a toughie, but not one without a softer side displayed when he gives advice to a group of local youths on how to get even with a crooked car dealer who sold them a `lemon.'
Although disapproving of his methods the villagers approach him about saving a local sports field threatened by an access road and then stopping the construction of a chemical plant that was to have been served by the access road. In doing so Taffin must confront a shady Mr. Big-style business figure, his henchmen and an assorted group of corrupt politicians in the pocket of the magnate.
This is a very entertaining movie that reminded me of the Mike Figgis movie STORMY MONDAY in its depiction of provincial gang violence. But whereas that movie involved the attempt to foil an American developer (played by Tommy Lee Jones) from intimidating Sting's nightclub character in the English city of Newcastle, this movie is much more rural in its focus and is all the better for it. The characters are well drawn and the cast chosen takes full advantage turning in believable performances.
Brosnan's character avoids falling into the trap of being an unsympathetic character. The danger is there since he uses less than honorable tactics involving everything from blackmail to downright violence, but we know that he is fighting on the side of what is right and just so we can forgive him. He is also well drawn as a character and in addition to witnessing his troubles with girlfriend Charlotte, we also see him at home with his mother and brother. Its in these dramatic scenes that Brosnan really shows us why he is such an acclaimed actor. I have a new respect for him after seeing him in this movie.
On an interesting side note Brosnan is joined here by Alison Doody as Charlotte, who played the part of a Bond girl in the 007 movie A VIEW TO A KILL. Of course he would go on to play the lead in the series, but here the simply stunningly beautiful Doody shows acting promise that she was not permitted in her minor role as an assassin in the 007 picture. No doubt her performance here played a part in her getting the lead female role in the third Indiana Jones movie the following year.

Be Cool, Like Taffin.......2006-04-14

I really really enjoyed it. As a matter of fact if I could re-watch Taffin vs any of Pierce's Bond flicks, I'd take Taffin any day. I am always entertained more by English films (or in this case Irish), than I am by most American films, they just seem more unpredictable because I don't know what to expect. Taffin has Pierce looking really cool (and he still is semi young so more believable as a killer to me), plus the eye candy is not too shabby in this one with some nice topless views that you wont get in a Bond film. Is it full of plot holes? Yeah big time, but Pierce kicks some ass his way and does it in a funny way. Its an American 60's crime flick thats light on the moral dialog, its just the bad corporation and the little townsfolk hiring their gunslinger to protect them. Pierce does it in a very sly way and doesn't resort to the kill until he has to. I see a LOT of low votes on this film on IMDB, they must hate English speaking foreign films (or they're psycho Lazenby Bond lovers out to besmirch all of Pierce's films, lol). Me, I liked the films Pierce did around this time, like Livewire and the Deceivers. I think I've liked most flicks Pierce has been in that I saw (one of those Bond flicks with a bad-guy taking over the internet or something was lame but any Bond flick is good or bad based on the bad guy not so much the Bond), and Taffin had me smiling, it was cool entertainment. Will I be buying the DVD, maybe used, the Arab channel I watched it on had the nudity but bleeped out the profanity, go figure, lol. Looking for a cool, mindless, Irish (!), action flick? Check out Taffin, I'm glad I did!

Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!.......2004-04-12

Brosnan did an excellent job considering the story line and his youth.
Why do these idiots making films think they have to depend on a stripper to hook the guys. Wasn't the movie itself good enough?

We don't need to see what guys are like - we already know!
Story line was good enough to promote a bit of interest - the quest of how he would take out the villians kept the interest -- but the exploiting of women just keeps up -- I ain't seen a nude man yet -- would have to bury him under a pile of sh---- if I did.

Ah well, can't keep them all -- I blame hollywood for lousing up some great actors.

Very original hero.......2002-09-09

Though not a very popular movie with the public, this is a very interesting film starring Pierce Brosnan and Allison Doody. I own the DVD version, and it is very good. Though it is such a simple plot, I've never seen one like it. Never before have I seen a movie who's main character is a tough debt collector who stands up for the helpless in his small Irish town. When uncaring buisnessmen plan to build a power plant that would fill the town with pollution. Taffin uses all of his skills to battle the buisnessmen and help the towns people. Though I suppose it is an action movie, that is not its best advertisement. It is an original movie about a troubled debt collector helping his town.

Average customer rating:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan
Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels
Be Cool, Like Taffin
Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!
Very original hero

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ASIN: 0792837762
Release Date: 1998-01-13

Customer Reviews:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan.......2007-06-11

Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels.......2006-05-04

Be Cool, Like Taffin.......2006-04-14

Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!.......2004-04-12

Brosnan did an excellent job considering the story line and his youth.
Why do these idiots making films think they have to depend on a stripper to hook the guys. Wasn't the movie itself good enough?

Ah well, can't keep them all -- I blame hollywood for lousing up some great actors.

Very original hero.......2002-09-09

Average customer rating:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan
Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels
Be Cool, Like Taffin
Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!
Very original hero

Taffin [Region 2]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Ray McAnally , Alison Doody , Jeremy Child , and Dearbhla Molloy
Director: Francis Megahy
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005AVU0

Customer Reviews:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan.......2007-06-11

Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels.......2006-05-04

Be Cool, Like Taffin.......2006-04-14

Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!.......2004-04-12

Brosnan did an excellent job considering the story line and his youth.
Why do these idiots making films think they have to depend on a stripper to hook the guys. Wasn't the movie itself good enough?

Ah well, can't keep them all -- I blame hollywood for lousing up some great actors.

Very original hero.......2002-09-09

Average customer rating:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan
Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels
Be Cool, Like Taffin
Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!
Very original hero

Taffin
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Ray McAnally , Alison Doody , Jeremy Child , and Dearbhla Molloy
Director: Francis Megahy
Manufacturer: MGM Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004RFDO

Customer Reviews:

3 star film, 4 star brosnan.......2007-06-11

Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels.......2006-05-04

Be Cool, Like Taffin.......2006-04-14

Yeah! Right! Brosnan - great job!.......2004-04-12

Brosnan did an excellent job considering the story line and his youth.
Why do these idiots making films think they have to depend on a stripper to hook the guys. Wasn't the movie itself good enough?

Ah well, can't keep them all -- I blame hollywood for lousing up some great actors.

Very original hero.......2002-09-09

Average customer rating:

Taffin
Starring: Taffin
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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