This film is a curiousity that seems to have achieved cult status by showcasing the early Brigitte Bardot--okay, so she's easy to look at, but as a character she invites no audience identification whatsoever. Nor do the always reliable actors Christian Marquand ("Flight of the Phoenix," and director of one of THE worst movies of all time, "Candy") and Curt Jurgens, as two of the men "bewitched" by this unlikable bitch. The only sympathetic role in the whole film belongs to Jean-Louis Trintagnant, as the younger brother of the Marquand character.
And it is Trintagnant who is the unfortunate victim of the worst-choreographed fight scenes I have ever, EVER seen. Especially pathetic is the first fight with a dockyard tough: the blows and kicks are very obviously not connecting, and the sound effects are not only insufficient, they're out of synch with the onscreen action. The very worst John Wayne western from his pre-stardom period in the 3O's boasts better action sequences. Errol Flynn's legendarily awful "Cuban Rebel Girls," which resembles a home movie more than a film, has better fight scenes. In fact, I personally am but a community-theatre actor, and even I can fake giving and receiving punches better than Vadim's performers!
Two things puzzle me: Why did the people who meticulously "restored" the film for DVD not upgrade the sound effects to at least partially fix these absurd scenes? And how did Vadim's reputation ever survive this demonstration of ineptitude? Or is there some "artistic significance" associated with hilariously awful filmmaking that I am missing here?
And it is Trintagnant who is the unfortunate victim of the worst-choreographed fight scenes I have ever, EVER seen. Especially pathetic is the first fight with a dockyard tough: the blows and kicks are very obviously not connecting, and the sound effects are not only insufficient, they're out of synch with the onscreen action. The very worst John Wayne western from his pre-stardom period in the 3O's boasts better action sequences. Errol Flynn's legendarily awful "Cuban Rebel Girls," which resembles a home movie more than a film, has better fight scenes. In fact, I personally am but a community-theatre actor, and even I can fake giving and receiving punches better than Vadim's performers!
Two things puzzle me: Why did the people who meticulously "restored" the film for DVD not upgrade the sound effects to at least partially fix these absurd scenes? And how did Vadim's reputation ever survive this demonstration of ineptitude? Or is there some "artistic significance" associated with hilariously awful filmmaking that I am missing here?