Fanny Hill (1983)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Gerry O'Hara

Writers:

Stephen Chesley (writer)
John Cleland (novel)

Release Date:

15 July 1983 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Happily engaged to her handsome fiance, Charles, Fanny is soon hit with one misfortune after another...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Forced Sexual Contact | Female Rear Nudity | Fingering | Erotica

Cast

Lisa Foster	...	Fanny Hill (as Lisa Raines)
Oliver Reed	...	Mr. Edward Widdlecome
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Mr. Barville (as Wilfred Hyde White)
Shelley Winters	...	Mrs. Cole
Alfred Marks	...	Lecher
Paddie O'Neil	...	Mrs. Brown (as Paddy O'Neil)
Barry Stokes	...	Charles (as Jonathan York)
Maria Harper	...	Phoebe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lorraine Doyle	...	Martha

Also Known As:

Sex, Lies and Renaissance (UK)

Runtime:

Germany:98 min | USA:80 min (R-rated version) | France:92 min

Country:

West Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Company:

F.H. Filmproduction Limited

Trivia:

Last performance of Wilfrid Hyde-White.

Movie Connections:

Version of Fanny Hill (1964)

Soundtrack:

'Lascia ch'io pianga' from RINALDO

Erotic Rom-com

This version, or at least, my copy, has been censored, I am sure about it. Despite this, it contains so much nudity, especially from the very sexy Lisa Foster, that it should have come with a health warning, in a positive manner, mind you. My heart rate increased every time Lisa undresses, or suggest that she would undress.

I read the book some months back in my book club, probably because of its notorious reputation, but mainly because we needed controversial material for discussion. I enjoyed it immensely, both from the literature perspective and an erotic perspective. And then I watched the movie, again with my book club. My apprehension that movies generally don't live up to books (apart from Lord of the Rings), especially an adaptation of an erotic novel, soon evaporated. OK, much 'entertainement license' was taken when making the movie. OK, some of the acting, especially from the established stars were much exaggerated for their characters. See beyond these, and you will see a rather good movie, with a nice story line, sets, scenery, plots and some excellent acting from Lisa Foster, the lead and real star.

There are a few things that needs to be said about Lisa Forster, and this are not what I feel, but what my club member also thought and agreed. First, she is a very good actress. She is not just about taking her clothes off, which she does very often. This girl can act, emotion, laughter, naughtiness, deviousness. I think those of her fans are surprised that she did not go on to do more, a little stereotyping going on perhaps? Second, she is extremely beautiful, very pretty face, very sexy body that has nothing out of place, and everything in great proportion. She does does show off her body, completely nude or just topless, a lot in the movie, but never out of context. The nudity, and not just from Lisa, are all necessary and tasteful, nothing pornographic, and the amount is not overwhelming.

For all of my fellow members, the movie made the book so much more interesting and, put things into perspective, or bring a book to life. Wonderful stuff!