Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83018 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-07-11
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 124 minutes

Amazon.com
Baron von Sepper (Richard Burton, who seems to sleepwalk through the film), a European aristocrat of vaguely Germanic heritage, marries and murders a succession of international lovelies (among them Raquel Welch, Virna Lisi, Nathalie Delon, and Marilù Tolo) before his seventh bride, peppy but coy showgirl Joey Heatherton, discovers his secret in a frozen basement museum. Would you believe the Baron is just a nice guy who's a poor judge of character? A man who loves deeply but perhaps not too wisely? Or that he harbors a deep, troubling psychosexual secret? Director Edward Dmytryk (The Caine Mutiny), who also cowrote this Euro-pudding coproduction, tosses in a bit of all three as he barrels through his reign of terror. He even attempts to milk laughs from a few of the executions, but despite its upbeat pace it drags through unnecessary exposition and dull, dead patches of life-size kewpie doll Heatherton padding around his castle. Richard Burton struggles with a hoary stage beard and a dull screenplay that labors under the pretense of wit to deliver a bored performance. This 1972 production gets some mileage from its guest cast (most of whom offer a tantalizing flash of flesh before succumbing to the Baron's homicidal impulses), but winds up as lifeless as Burton's vacant, weary stare. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Campy Black Comedy - Fiendish Fun!
Burton plays Baron Kurt Von Sepper, a wealthy Austrian upper crust aristocrat with a dark blue beard. He marries Greta (Karin Schubert), but she dies in a tragic hunting "accident." He meets street smart American showgirl, Anne (Joey Heatherton, who has a semi nude scene) and marries her after a whirlwind romance. One night alone at the Baron's palace Anne makes the ghastly discovery of a secret freezer chock full of former wives. Smart Anne tries to buy time before she becomes the newest addition to the freezer by convincing Bluebeard to tell her how all the women met their fates. He starts to tell her the tale of how each former wife met her fate.

Before I go any further, let me say that this film is overdone, campy, and sometimes, well, bad.

But that is what makes it fun.

The various ways that Bluebeard got rid of his other wives is absolutely hilarious. Virna Lisi, Nathalie Delon (along with her lesbian lover Sybil Danning), Raquel Welch, Marilu' Tolo, and Agostina Belli all die in some very interesting and campy ways. This is fiendishly fun black comedy at it's over the top best.

The color on this copy is gorgeous and rich, and the musical score is perfect for this macabre mischief.

If you like campy black comedy, check it out!

What a hoot! Fun blend of horror and comedy.
I was surprised to be entertained by this film since I'd heard it was bad. This dark comedy, dismissed in its initial theatrical release by critics and audiences alike, deserved better. It's a hoot! There is some beautiful cinematography, gorgeous sets, some fine acting, suspense and masterful segues between drama, horror, and comedy. The women, Bluebeard's doomed wives, are gorgeous, especially the lovely Joey Heatherton, who steals the movie from one of my all time favorite actors, Richard Burton. The murder scenes are graphic but so bizarre they both repel and make you laugh at the same time. They illustrate the absurdity at the core of Burton's sexually dysfunctional villain, a man of vast power and wealth who cannot acquire the most important thing in life, the love of any of his wives. Don't take it too seriously, just enjoy it.

Punch and Punchier
When Bluebeard was made, its sole intent seemed to be to get an international cadre of actresses out of their clothes while providing an unsettling mixture of sex and death (two elements bound to pack 'em into the theaters). Though pretty hot in its day, nearly 30 years later, it seems fairly tame in terms of exposed flesh, but retains a campy charm that was completely missed in the early 70s. Burton's hammy performance is not to be believed and the (nearly offensive) dizziness of his seven wives will have lovers of low humor chuckling more than watching Vincent Price at his most extreme in similar Roger Corman vehicles. Today, Bluebeard plays like a particularly mean-spirited Punch and Judy Show, and Joey Heatherton's turning the tables on Burton at the end is something you'll never forget. It's even more fun once you realize that semi-respectable director Edward Dmytryk probably took the whole thing seriously--but that doesn't mean you have to. Sure to get a reaction.