Histoires extraordinaires (1968)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

Federico Fellini
Louis Malle
(more)

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story) (segment "Metzengerstein")
Roger Vadim (adaptation) (segment "Metzengerstein") ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 July 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

the ultimate orgy of evil

Plot:

Three renowned European directors (Federico Fellini, Roger Vadim and Louis Malle) each adapt a Poe short...

Plot Keywords:

Life | Cousin | Desire | Rome | Priest

Cast

Brigitte Bardot	...	Giuseppina (segment "William Wilson")
Alain Delon	...	William Wilson (segment "William Wilson")
Jane Fonda	...	Contessa Frederique de Metzengerstein (segment "Metzengerstein")
Terence Stamp	...	Toby Dammit (segment "Toby Dammit")
James Robertson Justice	...	Countess' Advisor (segment "Metzengerstein")
Salvo Randone	...	Priest (segment "Toby Dammit")
Françoise Prévost	...	Friend of Countess (segment "Metzengerstein") (as Francoise Prevost)
Peter Fonda	...	Baron Wilhelm Berlifitzing (segment "Metzengerstein")
Marlène Alexandre	...	(segment "Metzengerstein")
Marie-Ange Aniès	...	(segment "Metzengerstein")
David Bresson
Katia Christine	...	Young Girl (segment "William Wilson") (as Katia Christina)
Peter Dane
Georges Douking	...	Du Lissier (segment "Metzengerstein")
Philippe Lemaire	...	Philippe (segment "Metzengerstein")
Carla Marlier	...	Claude (segment "Metzengerstein")
Serge Marquand	...	Hugues (segment "Metzengerstein")
Umberto D'Orsi	...	Hans (segment "William Wilson")
Renzo Palmer	...	Priest (segment "William Wilson")
Monica Pardo
Marco Stefanelli	...	Wilson as a child (segment "William Wilson")
Anne Tonietti	...	TV Commentator (segment "Toby Dammit")
Daniele Vargas	...	Professor (segment "William Wilson")
Marina Yaru	...	Child / The Devil (segment "Toby Dammit")
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fabrizio Angeli	...	1st Director (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Franco Arcalli	...	(uncredited)
Federico Boido	...	Party Guest (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Ernesto Colli	...	2nd Director (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Paul Cooper	...	2nd Interviewer (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Dakar	...	Black man at airport (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Audoin de Bardot	...	Page (segment "Metzengerstein") (uncredited)
Anny Duperey	...	1st Guest (segment "Metzengerstein") (uncredited)
John Karlsen	...	Schoolmaster in yard (segment "William Wilson") (uncredited)
Gabriel Lagay	...	(uncredited)
Irina Maleeva	...	Gypsy Fortne Teller (Segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Marco Messeri	...	One beatle (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Antonia Pietrosi	...	Actress (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Polidor	...	Old actor (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Mimmo Poli	...	Party Guest (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Vincent Price	...	Narrator (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Alfredo Rizzo	...	Angry man in car (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Maurice Ronet	...	Récitant (voice) (uncredited)
Marisa Traversi	...	Marilù Traversi (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Andréas Voutsinas	...	2nd Guest (segment "Metzengerstein") (uncredited)
Milena Vukotic	...	TV interviewer (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Aleardo Ward	...	1st Interviewer (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Clement Biddle Wood	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Federico Fellini		(segment "Toby Dammit")
Louis Malle		(segment "William Wilson")
Roger Vadim		(segment "Metzengerstein")

Writing credits
Edgar Allan Poe		(story "Metzengerstein") (segment "Metzengerstein") (as Edgar Allan Poë)
Roger Vadim		(adaptation) (segment "Metzengerstein") &
Pascal Cousin		(adaptation) (segment "Metzengerstein")
Edgar Allan Poe		(story "William Wilson") (segment "William Wilson") (as Edgar Allan Poë)
Louis Malle		(adaptation) (segment "William Wilson") &
Clement Biddle Wood		(adaptation) (segment "William Wilson")
Daniel Boulanger		(dialogue) (segment "William Wilson" and "Metzengerstein")
Edgar Allan Poe		(story "Ne pariez jamais votre tête avec le Diable {Never Bet the Devil Your Head}") (segment "Toby Dammit") (as Edgar A. Poë)
Federico Fellini		(adaptation) (segment "Toby Dammit") &
Bernardino Zapponi		(adaptation) (segment "Toby Dammit")

Produced by
Raymond Eger	....	producer
Alberto Grimaldi	....	producer (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)

Original Music by
Diego Masson		(segment "William Wilson")
Jean Prodromidès		(segment "Metzengerstein") (as Jean Prodromides)
Nino Rota		(segment "Toby Dammit")

Cinematography by
Tonino Delli Colli		(director of photography) (segment "William Wilson")
Claude Renoir		(director of photography) (segment "Metzengerstein")
Giuseppe Rotunno		(director of photography) (segment "Toby Dammit")

Film Editing by
Franco Arcalli		(segment "William Wilson")
Suzanne Baron		(segment "William Wilson")
Ruggero Mastroianni		(segment "Toby Dammit") (as Ruggiero Mastroianni)
Hélène Plemiannikov		(segment "Metzengerstein") (as Helene Plemiannikov)

Production Design by
Jean André		(segment "Metzengerstein") (as Jean Andre)
Piero Tosi		(supervising production designer) (segment "Toby Dammit")
Ghislain Uhry		(segment "William Wilson")

Art Direction by
Fabrizio Clerici		(segment "Toby Dammit")
Carlo Leva		(segment "William Wilson")

Production Management
André Cultet	....	production manager (segment "Metzengerstein") (as Andre Cultet)
Ludmilla Goulian	....	production manager (segment "Metzengerstein")
Thomas Sagone	....	production manager (segment "William Wilson" and "Toby Dammit") (as Tomaso Sagone)
Enzo Provenzale	....	general manager (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vana Caruso	....	assistant director (segment "William Wilson")
Michel Clément	....	assistant director (segment "Metzengerstein") (as Michel Clement)
Jean-Michel Lacor	....	assistant director (segment "Metzengerstein")
Eschilo Tarquini	....	assistant director (segment "Toby Dammit")
Serge Vallin	....	assistant director (segment "Metzengerstein")
Francesco Aluigi	....	assistant director (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)
Liliane Betti	....	assistant director (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)

Art Department
Jean Forestier	....	assistant art director (segment "Metzengerstein")

Visual Effects by
Joseph Nathanson	....	optical effects (segment "Toby Dammit") (as Joseph Natanson)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sergio Bergamini	....	camera operator (segment "William Wilson")
Philippe Brun	....	camera operator (segment "Metzengerstein")
Alain Douarinou	....	camera operator (segment "Metzengerstein")
Wladimir Ivanov	....	camera operator (segment "Metzengerstein")
Giuseppe Maccari	....	camera operator (segment "Toby Dammit")
Bernard Noisette	....	camera operator (segment "Metzengerstein")
Piero Servo	....	first assistant camera (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jacques Fonteray	....	costume designer: segment "Metzengerstein"
Piero Tosi	....	costume designer: segment "Toby Dammit"
Ghislain Uhry	....	costume designer: segment "William Wilson"
Carlo Leva	....	costume designer: segment "William Wilson" (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Catherine Gabrielidis	....	assistant editor (segment "Metzengerstein")
Piera Gabutti	....	assistant editor (segment "William Wilson")
Claire Gimiewski	....	assistant editor (segment "Metzengerstein")
Catherine Mazoyer	....	assistant editor (segment "William Wilson")
Vanda Olasio	....	assistant editor (segment "Toby Dammit")
Enzo Ocone	....	post-production (uncredited)

Other crew
Suzanne Durrenberger	....	script girl (segment "Metzengerstein")
Norma Giacchero	....	script girl (segment "Toby Dammit")
Sheila Rubin	....	script girl (segment "William Wilson")
Oreste Lionello	....	voice dubbing: Federico Boido (segment "Toby Dammit") (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Les Films Marceau (Paris)
• Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA)
• Cocinor
• Les Films Marceau

Distributors

• Cocinor (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Cinemagia (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Image Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Carita  Jane Fonda's wigs (segment "Metzengerstein")
• Eureka Edizioni Musicali  music publishing
• International Recordings  auditorium
• Paris Studios Cinéma  auditorium
• Societe Optiphone  magnetic recording

Also Known As:

Spirits of the Dead (USA)
Tales of Mystery
Tales of Mystery and Imagination (UK)
Tre passi nel delirio (Italy)
Trois histoires extraordinaires d'Edgar Poe
Histórias Extraordinárias (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
3 askelta yöhön (Finland) [fi]
Außergewöhnliche Geschichten (West Germany) [de]
Histoires extraordinaires (Canada: French title) [fr]
Historias extraordinarias (Spain) [es]
Kolme askelta yöhön (Finland) (alternative spelling) [fi]
Povesti extraordinare (Romania) [ro]
Rendkívüli történetek (Hungary) [hu]
Sami nabiji bodvisaken (Soviet Union: Georgian title) (festival title) [ka]
Seytanin kurbanlari (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Ston ilingo tis akolasias (Greece) [el]
Trzy kroki w szalenstwo (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | Italian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:16 | UK:18 (1990) (cut) | UK:X (1973) (cut) | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (1999) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Les Films Marceau

Trivia:

Peter O'Toole was originally cast as Toby Dammit. After he pulled out, Federico Fellini contacted a London casting agency and asked them to send the most decadent actors they had to Rome to see him. They sent Terence Stamp and James Fox, and Fellini chose Stamp.

Goofs:

Continuity: When young William Wilson splatters his fellow schoolmate with a tomato in class, the red stain on his victims face changes drastically from less to more after several moments.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

Soundtrack:

Ruby

Three beautiful and memorable short films make a wonderful anthology

"Spirits of the Dead"(1968) - adaptations of three Edgar Allen Poe stories by three European directors, Roger Vadim's "Metzengerstein" with Jane and Peter Fonda, Louis Malle's "William Wilson" (with Alain Delon and Briget Bardout), and Federico Fellini's "Toby Dammit". The universal opinion is that only Fellini's entry is worth watching and it is indeed, spectacular with Terence Stamp fitting so well in the Fellini's freak show that it is impossible to take your eyes off him. The reason I wanted to see the movie so much was the CD that I bought some time ago - a compilation of some of the most beautiful themes composed by Nino Rota for the films of Federico Fellini. "The Ultimate Best of Federico Fellini & Nino Rota" includes the tunes arranged in the medleys for 16 films directed by Fellini. These are the full orchestrations (as heard in the movies they come from) and just listening to the familiar melodies brings back the memories and the images. There was one track I kept listening to over and over. It was written for the Fellini's episode in the "Tre passi nel delirio" aka "Spirits of the Dead" (1968), "Toby Dammit". The soundtrack for "Toby Dammit" simply stands out among the romantic and poetic gems. It is rich, obsessive and creates uneasy and creepy atmosphere which is quite appropriate for an episode that features a desperate actor (Terence Stamp) in a pact with the devil. Besides the score "Toby Dammit" has plenty of great typically Felliniesque images , an unforgettable ending, and not the least, Terence Stamp who might've played one of his best roles as the famous English actor, drugged and drunk out of his mind who arrived in Rome for the Italian Film Academy Awards ceremony. Toby was also offered the role of Jesus in the Catholic Western but all he remembered that he had been promised a Ferrari for participating in the ceremony and Ferrari he will get...with the ride to hell that looks exactly like Rome at night where every turn takes you to the dead end and the Devil only knows the way out but you will pay him a price...

I found all three films interesting and involving in their own terms. I don't agree with the comments that call Vadim's adaptation a failure - it is certainly not. If anything, it is beautiful to look at and listen to and any film featuring Madam Roger Vadim (Jane Fonda was married to the director at the time) wearing the costumes that were certainly inspired by or even reused from "Barbarella" that was released in the same year, 1968 is worth watching. Vadim changed the short story by transforming a protagonist, 18 years old Baron Frederic Metzengerstein into 22 years old Contessa Frederica but he did not change her character. She is rich, bored, corrupted, and ruthless, a "petty Caligula", until she meets her cousin Wilhelm (played by Jane's brother, Peter Fonda). Making siblings playing cousins in love tells us something (or maybe a lot) about Vadim and his mysterious Slavic soul and reminds about Poe's own dramatic love for his first cousin, Virginia Eliza Clemm, whom he married when she was only 13 and whose death at the age of 25 from tuberculosis could have let to decline of his own mental state and his untimely death less than three years after her.

Poe explores in "William Wilson" very popular in the Art and literature subject of a man and his double that represents his conscience, his dark and hidden side. The short story brings to mind such famous works of literature as Hans Christian Andersen's "The Shadow", Adelbert Von Chamisso's "Peter Schlemiel: The Man Who Sold His Shadow", Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

In Louis Malle's short film, Wilson (Alain Delon) confesses his sinful and dreadful life to the priest recalling the outrageous and vicious deeds that have been prevented or disclosed by his exact double whose name is also William Wilson. Two scenes of the short film stand out. The first is a simply chilling Wilson's attempt to perform an autopsy on a living woman and the second – Wilson plays cards, cheating shamelessly, with rich and arrogant Giuseppina (Brigitte Bardot almost unrecognizable in a black wig that does almost impossible – makes her look ugly). While it may be not the best Poe's adaptation and perhaps the weakest of three films in the anthology, two Delons for the price of one is reason enough to see it. I am glad that I finally saw the film that has achieved a cult status with years but is not easily available (I had to wait for several weeks for it from Netflix even after I had bumped it to the top). What started with my interest in the musical score by Rota, ended as a memorable watching experience.