Die Marquise von Sade

Lina Romay is stunning in a dual role here, in an atmospheric hardcore feature loosely inspired by "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Her principal role is that of "Doriana" Gray, a mysterious young lesbian living in a secluded castle. The kicker is that Doriana has a twin sister who's been institutionalized practically from birth. Despite her many sexual encounters, Doriana isn't able to derive any real satisfaction from them, while the twin sister simultaneously experiences enough sexual ecstasy for the both of them.

Directed by Romay's extremely prolific filmmaker husband, Jess Franco, this is interesting as far as adult films go. It foregoes such things as story in favour of multiple sex scenes, both lesbian and heterosexual. (Doriana has a male servant named Ziros (Raymond Hardy) who gets his fair share of action.) The abundant female and male nudity will definitely keep viewers happy. There's even a hint of something like vampirism due to the fact that people don't always survive these sexual unions. Franco's film does seem to have *some* intellectual aspirations, given that Doriana is interviewed by a journalist (Monica Swinn) who is intrigued by her personality and lifestyle. And "Die Marquise von Sade" is attractively photographed (by Peter Baumgartner and Franco himself) and designed, with an amusing sitar-based music score composed by Walter Baumgartner.

Of course, the main reason to watch is to see Romay, Franco's longtime muse, in a thoroughly uninhibited performance. She's quite enticing.

Seven out of 10.