Themes: Twins and Lookalikes, Obsessive Quests, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Jane Fonda, Terence Stamp, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, James Robertson Justice, Peter Fonda
Release Year: 1968
Country: IT/FR
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
Released in Europe as Histoires Extraordinaires and Tre Passi Nel Delirio, this is a portmanteau picture, comprised of three supernatural playlets based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. "Metzengerstein," directed by Roger Vadim, stars the director's then-wife Jane Fonda as a medieval woman prone to acts of vengeance. Her brother Peter Fonda is somewhat perversely cast as her cousin, for whom she holds incestuous yearnings. When he gives her the cold shoulder, she spitefully sets fire to his stable of horses. He is himself killed in the blaze, but it seems that he has been reincarnated as a horse. In "William Wilson," directed by Louis Malle, a sadistic Austrian officer (Alain Delon) commits various S&M misdeeds upon a variety of victims, including a woman (Brigitte Bardot) with whom he plays cards. The officer himself comes to grief when he finds that the Church will not allow him to say an act of contrition. And "Never Bet Your Head," directed by Federico Fellini, updates the Poe original by casting Terence Stamp as a self-indulgent movie star. Driving drunk one evening, the actor literally bets his head that he can escape a potentially fatal accident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This collection of three haunting tales of death by Edgar Allan Poe forms a stylish unit that blends together perfectly. While loosely adapted from Poe's work and less horrifying than Roger Corman's Poe films, the stories really capture the demented inner structure of the author's writing as opposed to focusing on the more graphic possibilities. "Metzengerstein" stars director Roger Vadim's then-wife Jane Fonda in the role of a sadistic baroness. Peter Fonda delivers a solemn performance as the cousin who seemingly returns to haunt Jane in the form of a majestic black horse. This opening segment is marked by its frank depiction of sexuality, as well as lush photography by Claude Renoir (notice the incredible shot of Jane riding on the cliffs above a roiling ocean) and fantastic costume design by Jacques Fonteray -- both of whom did equally impressive work on Barbarella. Jane Fonda actually spoke her own French dialogue for the part. The middle story is "William Wilson" directed by Louis Malle. The tale revolves around a nasty young man (Alain Delon) who finds himself continuously exposed as a fraud by a lookalike with the same name. This segment is the most graphic of the three (Delon's live near-dissection of a naked woman being the highlight) and is filled with a constant feeling of dread. Delon plays the role perfectly and finds an excellent foil in Brigitte Bardot whose weakness for cards results in an excruciating flogging sequence. "Toby Dammit" is the final tale and was directed by Federico Fellini with his usual surreal style that is both amusing and disturbing, often at the same time. Terence Stamp is excellent as a drunken movie star whose debauched life is haunted by the devil -- who appears to him in the form of a little girl. Stamp's frenetic performance is a topper in this eerie, beautifully directed tale, filled with the kinds of fantastic, surreal imagery that marked Fellini's work. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
