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Lady Chatterley's Lover

Lady Chatterley's Lover

Released Mar 01st, 1983
Running Time 107
Director Just Jaeckin
Cast Nicholas Clay, Sylvia Kristel, Shane Briant
Critical Rating AAA
Genre Alternative

Rating


Reviews

Sylvia Kristel, who made the name Emmanuelle famous, has become something of a legend in the softcore erotic film world. Her translucent, beautiful blue eyes; perpetually young and naturally pretty face; thin, well-rounded body and bulging nipples have made her the subject of the passionate dreams of millions of men around the world.

Her latest effort, Lady Chatterley’s Lover helps in sustaining that lustful image. Fans of Ms. Kristel know that they’ll never see real penetration with Sylvia and her many film lovers. But what she usually delivers – and this movie is no exception – is passion, sensuality and a certain amount of animal lust.

Based on the infamous D.H. Lawrence novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover depicts the woes of Lady Connie Chatterley, wife of the aristocratic Sir Clifford of England. It’s in the early 1920’s and England is at war with Germany. Sir Clifford goes off to battle, only to return paralyzed from the waist down. His lovely seductress wife devotes herself to his care, but is woefully bored with her life.

Deprived of sex, possibly forever, Lady Chatterley takes a lover – with all the blessings of her smug husband who wants to son so that he will have an heir to his humongous estate. She breaks the social class barrier, and falls in love with the estate’s gamekeeper, Oliver, played by the handsome Nicholas Clay.

Here, the story stands still and the eroticism builds to many fantastic climaxes. The softy lit sex scenes are shot with rare beauty and timing. Lady Chatterley practically has an orgasm the first time Oliver kisses her. Director Just Jaeckin plays no favorites as his camera continually follows the naked bodies of both Kristel and Clay. And in one particular sequence shot subjectively through Lady Chatterley’s eyes, Oliver is seen taking a warm, sensual bath in the cold of England’s autumn. Jaeckin, incidentally, also directed the original Emmanuelle.

The story concludes after Sir Clifford finds out about his wife’s bed-mate. He sends her off to visit her flirtatious sister in France while he proceeds to fire Oliver. When she returns, her husband is now able to walk slowly on crutches and she must choose between the man she truly loves and her prodigal lifestyle.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover may seem simply like an exercise in eroticism to some. But it’s also about a young woman’s need for sexual fulfillment and awareness. One lovely masturbation scene is all it takes to realize that Lady Chatterley has carnal needs that must be filled. Yet the story moves along with surprising subtlety, never getting bogged down with its often slow plot nor stringing too many erotic scenes together one after another. It’s very well-paced for a sexually-laced film.

As usual, videocassette quality from MGM/UA is quite good and the film loses little in its deduction to the small screen. Its theatrical release was in 1982. The film has an “R” rating and is recommended especially for couples who enjoy quiet evenings at home.



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