De Sade (film)

1969 film

De Sade

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Cy Endfield
Uncredited:
Roger Corman
Gordon Hessler
Written by| Richard Matheson
Based on| Life of Marquis de Sade
Produced by| Samuel Z. Arkoff
James H. Nicholson
Starring| Keir Dullea
Senta Berger
Lilli Palmer
Anna Massey
Sonja Ziemann
John Huston
Cinematography| Richard Angst
Edited by| Max Benedict
Hermann Haller
Music by| Billy Strange

Production
companies

American International Pictures
CCC Film
Trans-Continental Filmproduktion

Distributed by| American International Pictures (United States)
Columbia Film-Verleih (West Germany)

Release dates

* September 25, 1969 (1969-09-25) (New York)[1]
* August 1970 (1970-08) (West Germany)[2]

Running time

| 113 minutes
Countries| United States
West Germany
Language| English
Box office| $1.25 million[3][4][5]

De Sade (German: Das Ausschweifende Leben des Marquis De Sade) is a 1969 American-German drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Keir Dullea, Senta Berger and Lilli Palmer. It is based on the life of Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, named Louis Alphonse Donatien in the film.

Dullea, in his first film role since the 1968 release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, plays the title character in a film characterized by its psychedelic imagery and go-go sensibilities. As the dying Marquis recalls his life out of sequence, he is terrorized by his uncle and haunted by his own past of debauchery.

It was shot at the Spandau Studios in Berlin and the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets were designed by the art director Hans Jürgen Kiebach.

## Plot

[edit]

The middle-aged Marquis de Sade arrives at his ancestral estate of La Coste, having escaped incarceration. In the theater at the castle, he meets his uncle, the Abbe, who persuades him to stay to watch an entertainment that has been prepared for him. The play is a parody of the Marquis' parents haggling with M. and Mme. Montreuil over the prospective marriage of their children, leading to a flashback in time to the actual negotiations.

The young Louis flees the proposed marriage to Mlle. Renée de Montreuil, but returns and marries her under threat of imprisonment. Louis would prefer Renée's younger sister Anne, finding Renée to be very frightened and cold to his charms. At an orgy with several young prostitutes, Louis begins to get very rough in his play and explains some of his philosophy to the women, leading to the first in a long series of imprisonments.

Released into the custody of his mother-in-law Mme. de Montreuil, Louis finds himself a prisoner in his own home. When Anne is sent away to a convent school, Louis begins liaisons first with his mother-in-law's protégé, Mlle. Collette, and then with an actress, La Beauvoisin, for whom he builds a theater at La Coste. The first play performed is for the benefit of the Abbe, who is chagrined to see that the performance is about his own misuse of the young boy Louis. In a flashback, the actual event is played out, the Marquis's later deeds and philosophy thus being given a cold-Freudian origin.

Louis proceeds through a series of flashbacks involving his father's death, a mysterious and recurring old man, and the baptism day of one of Louis' own children, culminating in the scandal of Rose Keller, a widow whom he ties up and flagellates with a sword. Mme. de Montreuil is forced to pay Rose for her silence, and to send Louis back into exile at La Coste.

Louis continues to pursue Anne, and after an elaborate orgy where he is whipped into unconsciousness, he flees to Italy with the young woman. Returned to prison, Louis is tormented with visions of Mme. de Montreuil disowning Anne and his uncle the Abbe seducing her. Mme. de Montreuil visits him in prison, and tearfully tells him he has ruined her family and that he will remain imprisoned forever.

Back on the stage, a mock trial is held where the Marquis is accused of murdering Anne. The mysterious old man is present at the proceedings, and Anne herself appears to accuse Louis of her murder. Louis ruefully remembers Anne's death in Italy from the plague. An older Louis talks with Renée about their misfortunes and regrets, telling her he can find no meaning in life. At another drunken and destructive debauchery, Louis begins to see visions of Renée in the midst of his revel. The old man lies on his death bed in prison, crying out for Renee's forgiveness. It is revealed that the old man is the Marquis himself, following the young Marquis through his memories as he seeks his one moment of reality. Deciding to look one last time, the old man closes his eyes as the scene cuts back the middle-aged Marquis arriving at La Coste.

## Cast

[edit]

* Keir Dullea as Louis Alphonse Donatien de Sade
* Max Kiebach (uncredited) as young Louis
* Senta Berger as Anne de Montreuil
* John Huston as Abbé de Sade
* Lilli Palmer as Mme. de Montreuil
* Anna Massey as Renée de Montreuil
* Sonja Ziemann as La Beauvoisin
* Christiane Krüger as Laura, Louis' mistress
* Uta Levka as Rose Keller
* Barbara Stanek as Colette
* Susanne von Almassy as Louis' mother
* Friedrich Schoenfelder as Louis' father
* Herbert Weissbach as M. de Montreuil
* Maria Caleita (uncredited) as Marie
* Barboura Morris (uncredited) as Nun

## Development

[edit]

AIP announced they would make the film in 1967 to be based on Theatre of Horrors, an unpublished novel by Louis M. Heyward.[6]

Among the original directors discussed for the film were Michael Reeves and Gordon Hessler. Roger Corman worked on the script with Richard Matheson but was worried about being unable to show the fantasies, and disappointing the audience if they did not. He walked away and AIP hired Cy Endfield instead. Endfield changed the structure of Matheson's script, making it chronological and turning sequences that were fantasies in the script into actual events.[7]

During production it was announced that AIP would make De Sade and also Justine from the novel by De Sade.[8]

## Production

[edit]

Endfield came down with flu during filming and had to go to hospital. Corman was called in to replace him for the rest of the shoot. John Huston expressed dismay that he had not been asked to direct the film. Corman later claimed that AIP did not pay him what he felt he was owed for his work on the film, contributing to him leaving the company.[7]

### Connections to real life

[edit]

In real life, Sade was meant to be baptized with the name Donatien-Aldonse-Louis; neither of his parents were present at the ceremony, and the name Donatien-Alphonse-Francois was given to him in error. In his life, he used a number of pseudonyms and variations on his true name. During the French Revolution, he called himself simply "Louis Sade."[9]

## Reception

[edit]

### Critical

[edit]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film "is not quite as silly as it looks and sounds, but it comes very close. It successfully reduces one of the most fascinating figures of world literature to the role of not-so-straight man in a series of naughty tableaux vivants."[10] Variety called it "a dramatically compelling, creative and artful film" but warned, "True sado-masochists will be disappointed" because "the orgy scenes are silly, not obscene or erotic. And there is nothing shown or even suggested that is terrible enough to jail a man for life."[11] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film half of one star out of four and wrote, "Titillation is the name of this celluloid garbage, but even members of the bit and bridle set will be turned off by Keir Dullea ripping open pillows and pouring wine over harlots."[12] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times reported that the film was "not all that great as a skin-flick" and called Huston's performance "curiously energyless" and Dullea "incredibly phlegmatic."[13] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post described the film as "rather dull" and "a dreary theatrical pageant," with Dullea giving a "ludicrous" performance that "resembles nothing so much as Johnny Carson doing a take-off on de Sade."[14] Richard Combs of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that De Sade "both confirms and confounds expectations. An intellectually ambitious script by Richard Matheson mingles with some hideously tinted slow motion orgies; John Huston's magnificently decayed Abbé and Keir Dullea's own variety of mental torment play well against each other but in the end fail to clarify very much about de Sade and his obsessions."[15]

De Sade currently holds an 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10.[16]

### Box office

[edit]

Samuel Z. Arkoff of AIP said in 1974 that the film was his company's biggest flop to date. It grossed $1,250,000, more than other AIP films, but lost more money because of the large advertising bill.[5]

## Soundtrack

[edit]

A record album of the soundtrack music by Billy Strange was released in 1969 by Capitol Records (ST-5170). It has never been released on CD.

## Paperback novelization

[edit]

A novelization of Richard Matheson's screenplay was written by Edward Fenton under the pseudonym he almost always employed for media tie-in work, Henry Clement. It was released by Signet Books in September 1969. Ironically, under his own by-line, Fenton was best known as an author of books for children.

## See also

[edit]

* List of American films of 1969

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "De Sade - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
2. ^ "De Sade - History". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
3. ^ "De Sade (1969) - Box office / business". Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. August 27, 1969. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
4. ^ "TMe: Box Office Tops from 1960-1969".
5. ^ a b Strawn, Linda May (1975). "Samuel Z. Arkoff". In McCarthy, Todd; Flynn, Charles (eds.). Kings of the Bs : working within the Hollywood system : an anthology of film history and criticism. E. P. Dutton. pp. 262–263.
6. ^ "Behind 'The Broken Seal'" by A.H. WEILER. New York Times 22 Jan 1967: 91
7. ^ a b Mark McGee, Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures, McFarland, 1996 p268-270
8. ^ "AIP Budgets $5,000,000 for two major feature", Box Office 1 April 1968
9. ^ Neil Schaeffer, The Marquis de Sade: A Life, published 1999.
10. ^ Canby, Vincent (September 26, 1969). "Screen: 'De Sade' Opens at 2 Theaters". The New York Times. 40.
11. ^ "Film Reviews: de Sade". Variety. October 1, 1969. 28.
12. ^ Siskel, Gene (December 24, 1969). "Bond and de Sade". Chicago Tribune. 13.
13. ^ Champlin, Charles (September 26, 1969). "'DeSade' Mixes Sex and Violence". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 21.
14. ^ Arnold, Gary (October 7, 1969). "'De Sade': A Dreary Orgy". The Washington Post. B14.
15. ^ Combs, Richard (February 1971). "De Sade". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 38 (445): 21.
16. ^ "De Sade". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 20, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* De Sade at IMDb
* De Sade at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Richard Matheson

Novels|

* I Am Legend (1954)
* The Shrinking Man (1956)
* A Stir of Echoes (1958)
* The Beardless Warriors (1960)
* Hell House (1971)
* Bid Time Return (1975)
* What Dreams May Come (1978)
* Earthbound (1982)

Short stories|

* "Born of Man and Woman" (1950)
* "Button, Button" (1970)

Screenplays|

* The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
* House of Usher (1960)
* "The Last Flight" (1960)
* "Nick of Time" (1960)
* "A World of Difference" (1960)
* "A World of His Own" (1960)
* Master of the World (1961)
* The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
* "The Invaders" (1961)
* "Once Upon a Time" (1961)
* Night of the Eagle (1962)
* Tales of Terror (1962)
* "Little Girl Lost" (1962)
* "Young Man's Fancy" (1962)
* The Raven (1963)
* "Death Ship" (1963)
* "Mute" (1963)
* "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (1963)
* "Steel" (1963)
* The Comedy of Terrors (1964)
* The Last Man on Earth (1964)
* "Night Call" (1964)
* "Spur of the Moment" (1964)
* Fanatic (1965)
* The Young Warriors (1966)
* "The Enemy Within" (1966)
* The Devil Rides Out (1968)
* De Sade (1969)
* Duel (1971)
* The Night Stalker (1972)
* The Night Strangler (1973)
* The Legend of Hell House (1973)
* Dying Room Only (1973)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974)
* The Morning After (1974)
* Scream of the Wolf (1974)
* Trilogy of Terror (1975)
* Dead of Night (1977)
* The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)
* The Martian Chronicles (1980)
* Somewhere in Time (1980)
* Jaws 3-D (1983)
* Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
* "Button, Button" (1986)
* Loose Cannons (1990)
* The Dreamer of Oz (1990)
* Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics (1994)
* Trilogy of Terror II (1996)

Adaptations
by others|

* "And When the Sky Was Opened" (1959)
* "Third from the Sun" (1960)
* Cold Sweat (1970)
* The Omega Man (1971)
* The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)
* What Dreams May Come (1998)
* Stir of Echoes (1999)
* "Dance of the Dead" (2005)
* "My Ambition" (2006)
* I Am Legend (2007)
* I Am Omega (2007)
* The Box (2009)
* "The Splendid Source" (2010)
* Real Steel (2011)

Related|

* Richard Christian Matheson (son)
* Chris Matheson (son)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Cy Endfield

* Gentleman Joe Palooka (1946)
* Stork Bites Man (1947)
* The Argyle Secrets (1948)
* Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949)
* The Underworld Story (1950)
* The Sound of Fury (1950)
* Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952)
* Colonel March Investigates (1953)
* The Limping Man (1953)
* Impulse (1954)
* The Master Plan (1954)
* The Secret (1955)
* Child in the House (1956)
* Hell Drivers (1957)
* Sea Fury (1958)
* Jet Storm (1959)
* Mysterious Island (1961)
* Zulu (1964)
* Hide and Seek (1964)
* Sands of the Kalahari (1965)
* De Sade (1969)
* Universal Soldier (1971)

* v
* t
* e

Roger Corman

Filmography

Director|

* Five Guns West (1955)
* Apache Woman (1955)
* Day the World Ended (1955)
* The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955, uncredited)
* Swamp Women (1956)
* The Oklahoma Woman (1956)
* Gunslinger (1956)
* It Conquered the World (1956)
* Naked Paradise (1957)
* Carnival Rock (1957)
* Not of This Earth (1957)
* Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
* The Undead (1957)
* Rock All Night (1957)
* Teenage Doll (1957)
* Sorority Girl (1957)
* The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957)
* I Mobster (1958)
* War of the Satellites (1958)
* Machine-Gun Kelly (1958)
* Teenage Caveman (1958)
* She Gods of Shark Reef (1958)
* A Bucket of Blood (1959)
* The Wasp Woman (1959)
* Ski Troop Attack (1960)
* House of Usher (1960)
* The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
* Last Woman on Earth (1960)
* Atlas (1961)
* Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
* The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
* Premature Burial (1962)
* The Intruder (1962)
* Tales of Terror (1962)
* Tower of London (1962)
* The Young Racers (1963)
* The Raven (1963)
* The Terror (1963)
* The Haunted Palace (1963)
* X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes (1963)
* The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
* The Secret Invasion (1964)
* The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
* The Wild Angels (1966)
* The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
* The Trip (1967)
* A Time for Killing (1967, uncredited)
* The Wild Racers (1968, uncredited)
* Target: Harry (1969)
* De Sade (1969, uncredited)
* Bloody Mama (1970)
* Gas-s-s-s (1970)
* Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)
* Frankenstein Unbound (1990)

Producer only|

* Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954)
* The Fast and the Furious (1954)
* Dementia 13 (1963)
* Devil's Angels (1967)
* Boxcar Bertha (1972)
* Unholy Rollers (1972)
* I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973)
* Cockfighter (1974)
* Big Bad Mama (1974)
* Capone (1975)
* Death Race 2000 (1975)
* Fighting Mad (1976)
* Eat My Dust! (1976)
* Thunder and Lightning (1977)
* Deathsport (1978)
* Avalanche (1978)
* Saint Jack (1979)
* Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider (1979)
* Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
* Smokey Bites the Dust (1981)
* Galaxy of Terror (1981)
* Forbidden World (1982)
* Space Raiders (1983)
* Love Letters (1984)
* Cocaine Wars (1985)
* Big Bad Mama II (1987)
* Munchies (1987)
* The Terror Within (1989)
* Two to Tango (1989)
* Bloodfist (1989)
* Lords of the Deep (1989)
* Time Trackers (1989)
* Overexposed (1990)
* Watchers II (1990)
* Immortal Sins (1991)
* Kill Zone (1993)
* Dracula Rising (1993)
* Hellfire (1995)
* Scene of the Crime (1996)
* Black Scorpion II (1997)
* A Very Unlucky Leprechaun (1998)
* Running Woman (1998)
* The Haunting of Hell House (1999)
* White Pony (1999)
* Enemy Action (1999)
* The Suicide Club (2000)
* Stray Bullet II (2000)
* Moving Target (2000)
* Aladdin and the Adventure of All Time (2000)
* Nightfall (2000)
* Raptor (2001)
* When Eagles Strike (2003)
* The Hunt for Eagle One (2006)
* The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point (2006)
* Saurian (2006)
* Cyclops (2008)
* Splatter (2009)
* Dinoshark (2010)
* Sharktopus (2010)
* Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012)
* Palace of the Damned (2013)
* Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda (2014)
* Fist of the Dragon (2014)
* Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf (2015)
* Death Race 2050 (2017)

Related|

* Julie Corman (wife)
* Gene Corman (brother)
* Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
* Roger Corman Presents
* New World Pictures
* The Filmgroup
* New Concorde
* American International Pictures
* Millennium
* Concorde Anois
* New Hollywood

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