The late Francis Leroi abandoned his customary bourgeois-bashing for this, arguably his masterpiece, and the results are none the worse for it.
France's most popular adult film actress of all time, Brigitte Lahaie, who has never looked or acted better, stars as the blushing bride of brooding lord of the manor Patrick Bruno, a handsome man as well as a competent thespian whose only other credit seems to have been for Lois Koenigswerther's indistinguishable JE SUIS AVIDE D'HOMMES, notable only for a rare hardcore appearance by soft-core siren Gilda Arancio. Once they have arrived at his luxurious château however, Bruno all but ignores his youthful spouse and her perfectly natural yearning for carnal consummation.
A practicing libertine himself, as amply evidenced by his frequent visits to the local brothel, he wants to assure his inexperienced wife will fit right into his self-styled decadent existence before committing to her both sexually and emotionally. Punctuated by spiked glasses of milk at bedtime, Brigitte is submitted to a sizzling series of intimate initiations instigated by maid Karine Gambier (of Jess Franco's delirious SEXY SISTERS fame), stable boy Jean-Pierre Armand and elderly butler Robert Leray.
Basically, that's the full amount of plot there is, yet this film is conspicuously separated from meat 'n' potatoes porn by the director's achingly erotic build-up to each carnal crescendo. Leroi takes his merry time seducing the viewer, something female viewers (especially those into romance novels and, considering their sales figures, they must be legion) should particularly appreciate, with Lahaie's wide-eyed innocent being gradually ravished, culminating in a sturdy sandwich sequence, which was still something of an uncommon occurrence in '70s porn.
Additional highlights include the lady's passionate Mills & Boon tryst with Armand amid the horses and her insidious Sapphic education at the hands of the deliciously depraved Gambier, their flawless bodies strewn with whithered autumn leaves, accompanied by the haunting whistling of the wind on the soundtrack.
The imagination-fueling location is put to exemplary use by François About's phenomenal widescreen cinematography and even the unsettling, softly tinkling (and distinctly non-porno type) music genuinely adds to the overwhelming atmosphere of dread mixed with mounting delight. This talented filmmaker may have concocted movies more lavish and popular (PETITES FILLES AU BORDEL and REVES DE CUIR immediately come to mind) but this is his standout achievement by far, making it one of the finest European adult movies ever by definition.
France's most popular adult film actress of all time, Brigitte Lahaie, who has never looked or acted better, stars as the blushing bride of brooding lord of the manor Patrick Bruno, a handsome man as well as a competent thespian whose only other credit seems to have been for Lois Koenigswerther's indistinguishable JE SUIS AVIDE D'HOMMES, notable only for a rare hardcore appearance by soft-core siren Gilda Arancio. Once they have arrived at his luxurious château however, Bruno all but ignores his youthful spouse and her perfectly natural yearning for carnal consummation.
A practicing libertine himself, as amply evidenced by his frequent visits to the local brothel, he wants to assure his inexperienced wife will fit right into his self-styled decadent existence before committing to her both sexually and emotionally. Punctuated by spiked glasses of milk at bedtime, Brigitte is submitted to a sizzling series of intimate initiations instigated by maid Karine Gambier (of Jess Franco's delirious SEXY SISTERS fame), stable boy Jean-Pierre Armand and elderly butler Robert Leray.
Basically, that's the full amount of plot there is, yet this film is conspicuously separated from meat 'n' potatoes porn by the director's achingly erotic build-up to each carnal crescendo. Leroi takes his merry time seducing the viewer, something female viewers (especially those into romance novels and, considering their sales figures, they must be legion) should particularly appreciate, with Lahaie's wide-eyed innocent being gradually ravished, culminating in a sturdy sandwich sequence, which was still something of an uncommon occurrence in '70s porn.
Additional highlights include the lady's passionate Mills & Boon tryst with Armand amid the horses and her insidious Sapphic education at the hands of the deliciously depraved Gambier, their flawless bodies strewn with whithered autumn leaves, accompanied by the haunting whistling of the wind on the soundtrack.
The imagination-fueling location is put to exemplary use by François About's phenomenal widescreen cinematography and even the unsettling, softly tinkling (and distinctly non-porno type) music genuinely adds to the overwhelming atmosphere of dread mixed with mounting delight. This talented filmmaker may have concocted movies more lavish and popular (PETITES FILLES AU BORDEL and REVES DE CUIR immediately come to mind) but this is his standout achievement by far, making it one of the finest European adult movies ever by definition.