''Story of O'' (french: Histoire d'O, links=no, ) is a 1975

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by

Just Jaeckin Just Jaeckin (8 August 1940 – 6 September 2022) was a French film director, photographer, and sculptor. Early life Jaeckin was born in Vichy, Allier, French State during the Second World War, but left with his mother and father for Englan ...

from a screenplay by

Sébastien Japrisot Sébastien Japrisot (4 July 1931 – 4 March 2003) was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke dow ...

, based on the 1954 novel of the same name by

Pauline Réage Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel '' Story of O'' (1954). Early life Born ...

. It stars

Corinne Cléry Corinne Cléry (born 23 March 1950), also known as Corinne Piccolo, is a French actress. She is known for the films ''Moonraker'' (1979), '' The Story of O'' (1975), ''Hitch-Hike'' (1977) and ''Yor, the Hunter from the Future'' (1983). Early l ...

and

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

. A sequel titled '' Story of O: Chapter 2'' was released in 1984.

Plot

A young woman fashion photographer, known only as O, is taken by her lover René to Château Roissy, where she is subject to various sexual and

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

acts as part of her training to serve the members of the club. At various times, she is stripped, blindfolded, chained, whipped, made to wear increasingly large plugs to widen her anus, pierced, branded on one of her buttocks, made to wear a bird mask, and taught to be constantly available for oral, vaginal, and anal intercourse. She leaves Roissy wearing an iron ring as a sign of her initiation and indicator to men in the society that she is a sex slave. O meets a vain model named Jacqueline, whom she photographs and grows enamored with. René introduces O to his much older step-brother, Sir Stephen, and the two men share O, as René wishes O to learn to obey and serve someone whom she does not love. While Sir Stephen proves to be a more severe and strict master than René, O soon believes he is in love with her. At Sir Stephen's direction, O is sent to an all-female country house in Samois, run by a woman named Anne-Marie, where she undergoes further beatings and training in submission. O's visit concludes with having rings pierced into her labia at the request of Sir Stephen, and receiving a brand with his initials. Sir Stephen tells O that René is in love with Jacqueline, and that O must seduce her and get her to undergo training at Roissy. While at first resistant to getting Jacqueline to go to Roissy, O eventually agrees. Jacqueline moves into O's flat, and is seduced by her. O reveals her BDSM lifestyle and describes her stay at Roissy to Jacqueline, who is initially repulsed and disbelieving. Sir Stephen shares O with two other men of his acquaintance, one simply known as "the commander" and the other a young man named Ivan. After one sexual encounter with O, Ivan believes himself to be in love with her and requests Sir Stephen release her. However O refuses to leave Sir Stephen. O takes Jacqueline to Roissy where she will be trained to serve René. Later Sir Stephen and O visit the commander's home in Brittany for a party, where O is treated as a visual spectacle, wearing nothing but chains and an owl mask. Watching O at the party, Sir Stephen feels that his ownership of her is complete. Some time after that, O asks Sir Stephen if he would endure the same punishments and experiences that she has undergone to show her unconditional love for him. When he says "I suppose so", she suddenly burns his hand with a hot cigarette holder, leaving there a circle, or an O.

Cast

Production

''Story of O'' was the first in a series of sex-oriented films for Anthony Steel, although he was always clothed.

Reception

The film was refused a UK theatrical release certificate from the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

in 1975, but was eventually passed without cuts for DVD in 2000. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on ten reviews, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Story of O 1975 films 1975 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s erotic drama films 1970s French-language films 1970s Polish-language films BDSM in films Canadian erotic drama films English-language Canadian films English-language French films English-language German films Films about fashion photographers Films based on French novels Films directed by Just Jaeckin French erotic drama films German erotic drama films West German films 1970s Canadian films 1970s French films 1970s German films