Bilitis (1977)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I remember vaguely having heard the music of this film when I was a child, a wonderful score composed by Francis Lai. After waiting so many years to watch this movie, I was quite disappointed; the director (photographer David Hamilton) was able to create a dream-like atmosphere for the film, but that's about it. "Bilitis" is an almost plot less, erotic feature about a teenage girl who is confused about her sexuality (she is attracted to both girls and boys). Patty D'Arbanville plays the main role with a certain charm and naivety, but the rest of the characters are completely flat and uninteresting. Nevertheless, there is an acute sense of romance and nostalgic longing in this movie, plus the unforgettable soundtrack and fine cinematography (reminded me of impressionist paintings...) Rating: 5/10

When it was released this film caused a sensation. I watched it and was thrilled. Beautiful, usually young, naked women filmed in the classy style we knew so well from director Hamiltons photography. His photographs never become porn and the same is true for this movie. Today I saw it again and was bitterly disappointed. The soft core in extremely slow paced scenes, all filmed with some Vaseline on the lenses, actually is all there is. There is no real story, the characters remain beautiful and beautifully filmed bodies, but they are not real creatures with a soul. Actually nothing happens. It is like Hamilton is photographing using moving pictures rather than stills. And this gets so boring after a while. I even didn't watch the whole thing the second time, for I fell vast asleep. That is all that remains of this masterpiece: it is a very good sleeping pill. And you will never become addicted to it!Back then 7 out of 10, now 3 out of 10

This is an sensuous film with beautiful teenaged girls lovingly filmed undressing, and then playing, in a lake.In fact an edited version of 30 minutes would make my favourite film of all time. The pity is the other 60 minutes.My critique can be broken up into great, mediocre and disappointing.GreatWithout a doubt this film has the most erotic and sensous scenes I have ever scene. Specifically:Full frontal nudity of teenaged girls undressing, and then playing, in the lake;Dormitory scenes with Bilitis and her bestfriend;Semi-nude of love scenes between Melissa [Mona Kristensen]and Bilitis [Patti D'Arbanville];Bilitis having Melissa help undress Bilitis after a sea-side swim; andTheatrical performance with girls in see-through costumes.GoodThe tension between Melissa and her husband, Pierre [Gilles Kohler];The scenes of pre-war semi-rural France;The costume recreations-especially with the teenaged girls' school clothing.DisappointingThe lead male, Lucas [Bernard Giraudeau], who was a weak male-chauvinist. Maybe as this was a girls' boarding school there was a shortage of attractive boys/men around, and so they would have fantasised about any youngish new man who appeared on the scene.It would have been better if Bilitis and Pierre were attracted to one another as that that would have created sexual tension. He was the only male character that I liked, yet he only appeared in a few scenes.If not tension between Bilitis and Pierre , then between Pierre and the girl he was taking to the equestrian event in Monaco.Patti D'urbanville at 26-27 playing a 16-17 year old. Although the use of a substitute teenaged figure for the sensuous scenes were used.OverallI loved it.

I must have seen this movie on some early subscription service like ON TV or Spectravision, before super explicit pay services or video. I had to have been 18, and the fact that it was in french made it even more exotic. All i remembered all these years was the name of the actresss. It's how I located the title, so i must have fallen in love with Patti D'Arbanville around this time. Maybe Don Johnson did too.