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Corinne Clery, Udo Kier, Anthony Steel, Jean Gaven, Martine Kelly ... see more see more... , Alain Noury , Gabriel Cattand , Jean-Pierre Andréani , Christiane Minazzoli , Roger Trapp , Laure Moutoussamy , Michèle Montel , Nadine Perles , Alain Jarry

Based on the best-selling novel by Dominique Aury (who wrote it under the pen name "Pauline Reage"), this erotic tale of sexual dominance and submission was directed by Just Jaeckin, who was following... read more read more... his success as the creator of another softcore erotic film, Emmanuelle (1974). French fashion photographer O (Corinne Clery) is spirited away by her boyfriend Rene (Udo Kier) to a retreat where she is imprisoned by a jailer, Pierre (Jean Gaven), whose job is to beat her when she is disobedient. O is outfitted in garb that makes her sexually available to a variety of anonymous partners, the entire episode designed to prove Rene's love for and possession of O. Pierre's task is to break her spirit and make her submissive, but he does not entirely succeed. Returned to Paris, O resumes her life with Rene, their relationship strengthened by the experience. Rene jeopardizes their future, however, by attempting to "give" O to his stepbrother, Sir Stephen (Anthony Steel), who begins to fall in love with his new prize. After the early 1980s explosion in the video rental market, the film was followed by a sequel, Histoire d'O: Chapitre 2 (1984). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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47% liked it

1,120 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

5 critics

NC-17, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Just Jaeckin

Release Date: November 14, 1975

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DVD Release Date: December 10, 2002

Stats: 90 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (90)

  • cancercapricorn2002
    April 4, 2012
    cancercapricorn2002
    One of the hardest things to do for me is watch a film adapted from a novel I have read. Sadly, one is often expecting more and left with less, and for this reason I resisted watching this movie for many many years. But I can say, the purist might easily find many faults, indeed ... read moreI had, but as a film I can respect it and recommend it as a good film about romance, titillation and for its time a bold attempt to capture a complex and controversial novel on film.

    The casting was mostly superb. Each main character was believable, even if they did not fully walk off the pages so to speak. As the title character, Corinne Clery physically fulfilled the part of O, and I found her to have delivered a lovely rendering of the character, as the other actors seemed to also achieve.

    The Story of O is a love story, and at bottom I think the film artfully delivered a good romance movie. I expected bad pornography but was very pleased with the it, certainly it has some kitsch and the S&M might offend some, but even that actually gets delivered rather gingerly and I thought respectfully. Perhaps that is my greatest concern with the film, that it gently tells a hard story, that it masks what should have been unmasked, but it is unfair to pommel the film over that because I am not certain the real story could have been told on film even in France.

    It is respectful criticism that I only fault the film for drifting from the story on points that I feel cause the film to become more about filming than storytelling. I also must say that the film at times was too literal from the novel and seemed to lose some of the context that I say this in recognition that the novel is not an easy story to convey because it is subject to a lot of interpretation by the reader.

    I think the more tragic ending of the book would not have served this film, the apparent happy ending for O and Rene and Sir Stephan makes this film its own interpretation, one I can respect and even enjoy.

    I recommend a reading of the book to any viewer and feel that if one can view how O is pursuing uninhibited and unconditional love, even at great sacrifice, then both book and movie might have greater impact than a visage of Ms. Clery's lovely body and some kinky overlays of Sadomasochism.
  • divinetrash
    April 4, 2012
    divinetrash
    The film is amazing to look at, everyone involved is incredibly gorgeous and the locations are all fantastic, and the performances are pretty good, too, but it's hard to ''enjoy'' given how mysoginist it comes out. It's very interesting to explore relationships through sex, and h... read moreow love can make a slave out of us all, but not when the film only gives women such a hard time about it.
  • chadroesti
    April 4, 2012
    chadroesti
    WTF??? Seriously WTF? This movie is only for you masochists and crazy women. Or if you are 13 - serious T&A in this. PEACH right up your alley - you can stream it on netfix and fast forward through the talking. Set in the days of when men were men and women were...hairy. It... read more's a garden woman, let it grow!
  • xterminal
    April 4, 2012
    xterminal
    The Story of O (Just Jaeckin, 1975)

    French softcore director Just Jaeckin made his name-and made history-with the most successful softcore film of all time, 1974's Emmanuelle, which launched a massive franchise, brought some small semblance of artistr... read morey to softcore filmmaking, and in many ways legitimized the genre. In other words, Jaeckin could probably have retired after that one film and left the world an enduring legacy. But some folks just can't leave well enough alone, and so Jeckin set out, with all the hubris in the world, to make the definitive softcore version of what is, quite possibly, the most famous erotic novel of all time, Histoire d'O. Published in 1954 by "Pauline Reage" (a pen name, we have since learned, for feisty French intellectual Dominique Aury), the novel ignited controversy well beyond its rather modest artistry, and in the decades between book and adaptation, it sold in vast quantities. How could this possibly go wrong, when pretty much everyone who's going to be going to see your movie has already read the book, and when, let's face it, it's impossible to make a softcore version of the material anyway? The outcome of this should be obvious; whom the gods would destroy, they first fill with hubris.

    Plot: a woman known only as O (Moonraker's Corinne Clery) is dating Rene (Suspiria's Udo Kier). As we open, they're in a car, being driven to a country mansion. We soon find it is a school of sorts, where women are taught submission through long session of S&M and an inability to say no to any of the school's masters who would have them. After she is well-trained enough, Rene reclaims her and, seemingly on a whim, hands her over to his half-brother, Sir Stephen (The Wooden Horse's Anthony Steel), ay which point, not surprising to anyone but Rene, a love triangle develops. Ain't life grand.

    The movie fails on just about every count; the sex is un-sexy, the S&M is so badly-filmed that, as has been pointed out in almost every review, O spends hours being flogged and yet never has a mark on her, and the action stops every few minutes for what are, essentially, lectures to the audience on Sadean philosophy. I'm sure someone, somewhere, knows of a reason to watch this movie, but I can't come up with one other than that Clery and Kier were both destined for much bigger things. * 1/2
  • fb677587177
    April 4, 2012
    fb677587177
    My eyes glazed over with boredom almost instantly when I tried to watch this. I don't think I've ever heard narration more bland and clinical, or seen less action (besides of the sexual variety) in a film. This is an absolute waste of time.
  • Catieliz
    April 4, 2012
    Catieliz
    Good bizarre movie about the s/m life style. Both people getting what they want in the end. It is a power play, a game of wills, and means to an end. It is good, but I wish I could learn or see a bit more.
    Good movie.
  • seppeku2
    April 4, 2012
    seppeku2
    I read this book which was amazing andvery disturbing this movie howeer fell waaaaaayyyyyy short of being disturbing erotic or anything else it really failed to present its essence the way the book did, I did love that Udo Kier played Rene thats pretty much Amazing!
  • sirthorn
    April 4, 2012
    sirthorn
    An erotic classic, love, control, domination, submission, power, awakening, thought provoking story... I GOT ROPE & FEATHERS... Yes, that is what happened to the chicken hahahaaaaa *evil grin* only joking PETA!
  • poppyfieldz
    October 6, 2009
    poppyfieldz
    victorian and medieval undertones.... a little strange for someone whose understanding of S&M relationships is rooted in the post-industrial more gothic late 20th century...
  • pelzig
    April 1, 2009
    pelzig
    Classic story of submission and the power of love.






    Classic story of submission and the power of love.















    Classic movie on

View All The Story of O Reviews

Critic Reviews

Christopher Null
November 30, 2002
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

The standard, with Emmanuelle, against which all late-night Cinemax films are measured. Full Review

Cole Smithey
March 8, 2008
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
July 21, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Michael Szymanski
January 30, 2003
Michael Szymanski, Zap2it.com

No review available.

Philip Martin
December 30, 2002
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Derek Adams
February 9, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

Click to read the article Full Review

Linda Ruth Williams
March 5, 2002
Linda Ruth Williams, Sight and Sound

No review available.

January 1, 2000
Empire Magazine

Click to read the article Full Review

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