Recently I reviewed "Boccaccio 70" (Fellini, Visconti, De Sica) and that made me curious to another Omnibus film of the '60s "Histoires extraordinaires" (Vadim, Malle, Fellini). The connecting link between the three episodes is that they are all (loosely) based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe. In "Boccaccio 70" the female characters are all strong characters, in "Histoires extraordinaires" they are in the first place male fantasies.
In "Metzengerstein" (director Roger Vadim, star Jane Fonda) baron Metzengerstein has turned into a baronesse (Jane Fonda). The main reason seems to be to showcase the beautiful body of Jane Fonda, who was still in her Barbarella period.
"Toby Dammit" is a mini version of "8,5" (1963, Federico Fellini), this time not about the writers block of a director but about the alcohol problem of a respected Shakespeare actor (Terrence Stamp). The cynical vision of the film industry remains however the same.
Against all odds in my opninion the "William Wison" episode (director Louis Malle, star Alain Delon) is the best of all. It has some similarities with the story of "Jekyll and Hide". In "Jekyll and Hide" the good person is the standard, and the bad person is brought about by chemical drugs. In "William Wilson" the bad person is standard and the good one takes the form of a double.
In "Metzengerstein" (director Roger Vadim, star Jane Fonda) baron Metzengerstein has turned into a baronesse (Jane Fonda). The main reason seems to be to showcase the beautiful body of Jane Fonda, who was still in her Barbarella period.
"Toby Dammit" is a mini version of "8,5" (1963, Federico Fellini), this time not about the writers block of a director but about the alcohol problem of a respected Shakespeare actor (Terrence Stamp). The cynical vision of the film industry remains however the same.
Against all odds in my opninion the "William Wison" episode (director Louis Malle, star Alain Delon) is the best of all. It has some similarities with the story of "Jekyll and Hide". In "Jekyll and Hide" the good person is the standard, and the bad person is brought about by chemical drugs. In "William Wilson" the bad person is standard and the good one takes the form of a double.