Product Description

He couldn't leave it alone... He couldn't leave it alive... The glamorous and sun-soaked French Riviera is the setting for intrigue, seduction and murder as the legendary Rene Clement (Purple Noon) directs an all-star international cast in "Joy House." A playboy and small-time con man, Marc makes the dangerous mistake of having an affair with a gangster's wife and finds himself on the run for his life. He thinks he's found the perfect hideout when a rich American widow and her sexy niece hire him as their live-in chauffeur at their posh villa. But Marc soon discovers that he is not the only refugee in this mysterious house where he is caught in the passionate snares of both women, who are full of deadly surprises. French heartthrob Alain Delon (Any Number Can Win) stars opposite two-time Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda (Klute, Coming Home) in this slick, sultry thriller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144907 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-08-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Black & White, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
Besides showcasing Barbarella-era Jane Fonda in one of her sexiest roles, Réné Clément’s thriller Joy House offers enough psychological suspense to count as horror. In it, Marc (Alain Délon of Purple Noon) agrees to indentured servitude to two women, Melinda (Jane Fonda) and her Aunt Barbara (Lola Albright) who hide him from police following a crime he has committed. Though the ladies appear from the outset to have renounced corruption for a life of monastic charity, their catfights over Marc result in his being trapped inside their castle, glamorously located in the French Riviera. The harder he tries to escape, the more he realizes he is trapped in the web woven by these two spider-like villainesses. Joy House’s suspense is wrapped in elegance. The stars, its settings, and the film’s score by Lalo Schifrin lifts it out of the B-movie, Hammer-film haunted house tale category. Like so many classic horror movies, most of the action takes place in a grand chateau, allowing Joy House to revel in its sense of claustrophobia. This recalls Mario Bava films, such as Black Sabbath and Hatchet for the Honeymoon, though the sexual tension implicit to Joy House is more akin to Jean Rollin’s movies, which focus as much on physical attraction as impending death. It also recalls Mommie Dearest or All About Eve, in which an elderly female competes with the younger for attention. Mirrored closet doors and reflective furniture throughout the mansion, as well as car rear-views, emphasize deception thematically in an especially Giallo way. However, there is zero gore here, and this film shies away from direct violence in favor of the implied, which is more in line with its sexually deviant undertow. --Trinie Dalton

Customer Reviews

Underrated French Classic
This wonderful little gem of a movie is terribly underrated. Talented director Rene Clement (Purple Noon, Forbidden Games, ETC.) is in top form with this suspensful crime drama that takes an unexpected twist and Alain Delon has never looked better (except in Purple Noon... maybe). Fans of Purple Noon and 1960s French crime cinema should really enjoy it!

All the actors give terrific involved performances and the energy between a young Jane Fonda (Barbarella era) and Alain Delon is electric!!

Also of note - Lalo Schifrin produced an amazing score for this film that will stick with you long after it's over.

The DVD quality is terrific and the film looks very sharp, which highlights Henri Decae's amazing cinematography. Well worth purchasing if you can't find the DVD for rent!

Surprisingly Good Suspenser
"Joy House", aka "Les Felins", is a surprisingly good suspenser, with more than enough twists and turns to keep you intrigued until the clever ending. Unfortunately, the film has been transfered to video with less than loving care. A scratchy, brittle-looking print has been letter-boxed slightly, then squeezed to further accomodate a standard-size TV screen. (They don't tell you that on the video box.) The results are wierdly off-putting and less than inviting. Perhaps the DVD of this title is an improvement over the video release. If not, some smart film preservationist would do well to see that a cleaner, crisper print is available for any future transfer. (In the correct aspect ratio, please!) I have a sneaking suspicion that "Joy House" may be an even better film than one would gather from its current video release. It's got an extremely attractive cast, beautiful settings, and top-notch craftsmen working behind the camera. Thankfully, the film never seems to take itself too seriously, moves at a good clip, and has an ending that's tension-packed and appropriately ironic. The only major drawback of the production might be its lack of color photography, otherwise it's almost comparable to Clement and Delon's earlier suspenser, "Purple Noon"... but not quite. Overall, "Joy House" is quite a good film, very entertaining, and, on the whole, worth purchasing, especially if you're a fan of Delon, Fonda, or the lesser-known Albright... just so long as you don't mind a video transfer that leaves a lot to be desired.(Good News! I've had a chance to compare the DVD with the VHS, and I'm happy to report that the DVD is pretty terrific, sound and picture wise. Everything you'd expect when you plunk your money down for a movie at home. A big, big improvement over the VHS version. Plus, there are two soundtracks on the disc: English and French. Only complaints: if you want to watch the film with its French soundtrack, there are no English subtitles to go with it, and, as someone else has noted, there are no DVD extras. But listen, if you're even halfway interested in seeing "Joy House", definitely, definitely watch the DVD edition and not that lousy VHS version.)

Jane Fonda classic from Rene Clement
Finally, a proper transfer of this 1964 early Jane Fonda classic from noted French director Rene Clement. Koch Lorber has done a fantastic job of issuing this - it's in the proper aspect ratio, with what appears to be a new transfer, and they've provided the English language version as well as the French language version released in the country of origin (with optional English subtitles for that version!). Bravo!