Bluebeard is a retelling of the story of Bluebeard, who murdered all of his wives, and kept them frozen in a walk-in freezer. Richard Burton plays Bluebeard, and is not the highlight of this film. The film is full of beautiful women, most of whom take off some or all of their clothes, but they are also not the highlight. What makes this DVD, and the reason I suggest any of you who are collectors to buy it is the art direction, cinematography, and the best restoration for DVD I have seen. As a comparison, here are the images I created from a VHS version a few months ago (1, 2, 3)

This International film was directed by Edward Dmytryk, who spent time in jail in the 50's for contempt of congress for refusing to testify against the communists (he had been a party member). He realized that, even though he hated the idea of the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), that he was hurting his family and ruining his life by not testifying against the communists he now hated. It didn't help, because he was blacklisted by the Hollywood film industry (he was one of the Hollywood Ten) and had to leave the country to continue working. Funding came from many countries, and the backers demanded an international cast, and even specified that they must be nude in some cases. Burton was paid "generous expenses" and given a percentage of the gross. The film was shot in Budapest, Hungry which provided lovely exteriors. This film does not stand on it's own as great cinema, but is more than worth the cost as eye candy.

Thumbnails Thumbnails part 2 Thumbnails part 3

Agostina Belli (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Joey Heatherton (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) Karin Schubert (1, 2, 3, 4) Marilu Tolo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Nathalie Delon (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) Raquel Welch Sybil Danning Virna Lisi

#4-6 are 'caps from "Wild Wild West". Undoubtedly the only thing of any positive value to come out of this movie...Salma's butt and cleavage! When will Hollywood learn that an ensemble cast of great actors headed by a talented director doesn't mean squat if the story sucks!

What ticked me off the most was that the "Wild Wild West" TV show was one of my favorites as a kid. I tried to catch as many of those reruns as possible. In the days before cable, we didn't have a lot of choices...As a young boy in America in the late 70's, if I wanted action on TV, I could either watch "Starsky and Hutch", "C.H.I.P.S", "The 6 Million Dollar Man", or reruns of "Batman", and "Wild Wild West". Even for a 7 year old, that was a no-brainer.... Face it, the best of "Starsky and Hutch" and "C.H.I.P.S" blew chunks! (Except for Huggy Bear...he was pretty fly). "The 6 Million Dollar Man"...of course I had to watch that one since Mom bought me the Col. Steve Austin doll with roll-up skin and removable bionics, Plus the metal lunch box! "Batman"...good for mind numbing Saturday morning stuff, but even as a kid barely old enough eat let possess the faculties needed to critique entertainment, I new at age 7 that I was getting a little old for that stuff.

Then there was "Wild Wild West", a show almost as campy as "Batman", but not so goofy. Combined with cowboys, Indians, gunfights, silly disguises, hot chicks with breasts bulging out of their western wear, and let's not forget, that train plus all of the James Bond-esque gadgets were really cool too.