Histoires extraordinaires (1968)

Country of Origin: France / Italy
Year of Production: 1968
Running Times: 115 mins 15 sec (UK - video (PAL))     117 mins (USA)     121 mins
Length: 3314 metres
Format: Eastmancolor     35mm
Ratio: 1.75:1
Sound: mono

CREDITS

William Wilson

PRODUCTION
Production Manager: Tomaso Sagone

SCRIPT
Script: Louis Malle
Short Story: Edgar Allan Poe

DIRECTION
Director: Louis Malle
Assistant Director: Vana Caruso

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Tonino Delli Colli
Camera Operator: Sergio Bergamini

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editors: Franco Arcalli, Suzanne Baron
Assistant Editors: Piera Gabutti, Catherine Mazoyer

MUSIC
Music: Diego Masson

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Costume Designers: Carlo Leva, Ghislain Uhry

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Ghislain Uhry
Art Directors: Carlo Leva, Ghislain Uhry

CAST
Brigitte Bardot (Giuseppina)
Alain Delon (William Wilson)
Katia Christina (young girl)
Umberto D'Orsi (Hans)
Renzo Palmer (priest)
Marco Stefanelli (Wilson as a child)
Daniele Vargas (Professor)

Metzengerstein

PRODUCTION
Production Managers: André Cultet, Ludmilla Goulian

SCRIPT
Script: Roger Vadim, Pascal Cousin
Short Story: Edgar Allan Poe

DIRECTION
Director: Roger Vadim
Assistant Directors: Michel Clément, Jean-Michel Lacor, Serge Vallin

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Claude Renoir
Camera Operators: Philippe Brun, Alain Douarinou, Wladimir Ivanov, Bernard Noisette

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Helene Plemiannikov
Assistant Editor: Catherine Gabrielidis

MUSIC
Music: Jean Prodromidès

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Hair For Jane Fonda: Carita
Costume Designer: Jacques Fonteray

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Ghislain Uhry
Art Director: Jean Forestier
Set Decorator: Jean André

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Girl: Suzanne Durrenberger

CAST
Jane Fonda (Contessa Frederica)
James Robertson Justice (Countess' Advisor)
Françoise Prévost (friend of Countess)
Peter Fonda (Baron Wilhelm)
Georges Douking (Du Lissier)
Philippe Lemaire (Philippe)
Carla Marlier (Claude)
Serge Marquand (Hugues)
Maurice Ronet (narrator)

Toby Dammit

PRODUCTION
Production Manager: Tomaso Sagone

SCRIPT
Script: Federico Fellini
Short Story: Never Bet the Devil Your Head by Edgar Allan Poe

DIRECTION
Director: Federico Fellini
Assistant Director: Eschilo Tarquini

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Giuseppe Rotunno
Camera Operator: Giuseppe Maccari
1st Assistant Camera: Piero Servo

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Ruggiero Mastroianni
Assistant Editor: Vanda Ocasio

MUSIC
Music: Nino Rota

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Costume Designer: Piero Tosi

VISUAL EFFECTS
Optical Effects: Joseph Nathanson

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Ghislain Uhry
Art Director: Piero Tosi

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Girl: Norma Giacchero

CAST
Terence Stamp (Toby Dammit)
Salvo Randone (priest)
Anne Tonietti (TV commentator)
Marina Yaru (child / The Devil)

Shared Credits

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Les Films Marceau-Cocinor / Produzioni Europee Associati
Producer: Raymond Eger

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Post Production: Enzo Ocone

CAST
Vincent Price (English language version narrator)
Clement Biddle Wood (narrator)

PLOT SUMMARY

An anthology of three short stories. Metzengerstein: the cruel baroness Metzengerstein meets her match in the shape of her cousin Wilhelm. He's killed trying to save a horse from a stable fire, but not longsfter his death, a black horse appears in a tapestry, a stallion which seems to come to life. Could it be Wilhelm reincarnated? William Wilson: Wilson is a gambler and womaniser who is being stalked by a doppelganger. Toby Dammit: a Shakespearean actor travels to Rome to appear in a Catholic western ands up being pursued through the city by the devil has taken the form of a little girl with a white ball.

CAPSULE REVIEW

A beautiful and genuinely extraordinary anthology of Poe adaptations, with Fellini's Toby Dammit – complete with explicit nod to Bava's Operazione paura (1966) – standing out. Each section is graced by excellent performances and feature some unforgettable photography. One of the best big screen adaptations of Poe and simply one of the best horror movies ever made.

AVAILABILITY

UK
Video Distributors: Xtasy; Castle Pictures Ltd; Arrow

USA
Theatrical Distributors: AIP
Laserdisc Distributors: Image (ID 3561 WB)
DVD Distributors: Home Vision Entertainment (SPI120); Image Entertainment Inc (ID 4420 WBDVD)

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Finland
Rating: K-16

UK
Rating: 15; 18 (with 1 min 4 sec of cuts)
The first UK video release (on the Xtasy label) was completely missing the William Wilson episode and was rated 15. A 1990 reissue (on the Castle label) saw the sequence restored and the whole film carrying an 18 certificate. However, this version had 64 seconds removed from the William Wilson section. A 1994 re-issue, on Arrow, is strangely, completely uncut, the BBFC (in the space of just four years) changing their mind over 49 seconds of a scalpel being run over a woman's face and 15 seconds of Bardot being whipped by Delon.

USA
Rating: R

TIMELINE

1968
May
17: France - shown at the Cannes Film Festival

July
24: Italy - passed by the ratings board

August
14: Italy - theatrical release

1969
July
23: USA - theatrical release

1970
November
27: Finland - theatrical release

1990
November
8: UK - rated 18 by the BBFC (for video release - with 1 min 4 sec of cuts)

1996
October
9: USA - laserdisc release (Image (ID 3561 WB))

1998
May
20: USA - DVD release (Image Entertainment (ID 4420 WBDVD))

2001
November
27: USA - DVD release (Home Vision Entertainment (SPI120))

POSTER TAGS

Edgar Allen Poe's ultimate orgy!

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

3 askelta yöhön - Finnish title
Außergewöhnliche Geschichten - West German title
Historias extraordinarias - Spanish title
Histórias Extraordinárias - Portugese title
Rendkívüli történetek - Hungarian title
Sami nabiji bodvisaken - Soviet title
Spirits of the Dead – US title
Tales of Mystery
Tales of Mystery and Imagination – UK title
Tre passi nel delirio – Italian title
Trois histoires extraordinaires d'Edgar Poe

LINKS

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Fellini: Je suis un grand menteur (2002)

SEE ALSO
E O Craque Marcou (1997)
FeardotCom (2002)
Operazione paura (1966)
Der Student von Prag (1913)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

The Dark Side August 1995 p.12, 42 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin no. 471 (April 1973) (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

KEYWORDS

anthologies, doppelgangers, gambling, horses, obsession, short story into film, sword fights, whips

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009