Bluebeard (1972)

[lester1/2jr]

Theres something about this movie that says WTF to me. Richard Burton seems crazy, not the character he's playing, him. The garish colors in the massive mansion where most of this takes place add to this effect. If you have delicate sensibilities you might want to skip it, not because of any horrible gore or offensive lewdness. It's perfectly straightforward and comprehensible,  it's just kinda... wtf! Something about it feels like people in sanitariums would really get a kick out of it.


Richard Burton hams it up as Bluebeard who actually has a blue colored beard for some reason. He is some kind of nazi big cheese who keeps killing his wives. The 7th wife (Joey Heatherton) discovers this and he recounts the deaths to her so after about the 45 minute mark most of it is flashbacks to interludes with various hot young women who for one reason or other become so annoying to Bluebeard he offs them. It's deeply sexist but also hilarious. One of them won't stop singing, another won't stop talking about her exes. Some unenlightened, backward type guys will really be able to relate to Bluebeard here.

The movie is campy but very good. The pace is sometimes a little slow and it required a couple of breaks to finish. Heatherton is kind of like Goldie Hawn: blonde, skinny, a little sexy, alot annoying and silly. She looks great though. Raquel Welch, Sybil Danning and other very attractive women show up and get naked (before they are murdered).

The DVD looks good, it's regular size not widescreen or pan and scan, there are no extras though. It's kind of like a darker, trashier Bedazzled. I really liked it.

4.5/5



Morricone provided the lopingly enchanting theme song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb9bGaNbOsU

[Rev. Powell]

This one always seemed interesting because of the cast.

How much nudity/exploitation is there in this?  Wall to wall, or is it just a taste, enough to get an "R" rating? 

[lester1/2jr]

somewhere between those two. The nudity isn't very explicit but there is a fair amount of it and the women are Bond girl type high class screen babes.

[The Burgomaster]

I remember wanting to see this when I was a kid (I probably had no idea what it was about, but it was rated R and Raquel Welch was in it . . .)  Years later, it came out on VHS and I rented it.  Not what I was expecting.