Let me preface my review by stating two facts, first, let me point out that I saw the 1975 French film and not the 2002 American version for which I will do a comparison review later when I locate a copy. Secondly, I've never read the novel. It’s one of those classics that I've been meaning to read but haven't. Nevertheless, reading the book might have interfered with appreciating the movie, which at first I wasn't sure I liked in the first place, anyway.

According to The Story of O, the movie, O is a young woman on a quest for love and self-discovery in the world of BDSM. She first attends a sort of school for submissives learning to obey by daily subjection to whippings as well as to other inducements of pain and humiliation. Eventually, her first master gives her to another and that's when the plot really heats up but I recommend watching the film yourself to discover the rest.

My recommendation comes as a surprise considering my negative reaction to the film's beginning. To be blunt, the film is somewhat cheesy. For example, a narrator explains what's happening throughout the film as if the dialogue and plot don't speak loudly enough to each character's feelings. Given the script's directness, one feels slightly hit over the head with certain details meant to insure entry into the minds of its characters.

The grand sets, overacting and exaggerated emotions remind me of old blue movies on late night cable. The director of The Story of O, presumably a pseudonym, is no joke named Just Jaekin. He directed another soft-core B-movie classic, the infamous Emmanuelle. His career seems chiefly centered on the provocative so I assumed even before watching the film that I'd be in for loads of nudity and lots of melodrama but not much else. .

In the end, I liked the film more than expected. Although, it's equally over the top, as other films in the genre are, The Story of O isn't merely an excuse for gratuitous nudity. Exposed flesh rather seems incidental to the plot leading to a far more engaging storyline than presupposed. I'd compare it loosely to my previously reviewed film pick, Secretary, another coming of age, love story with an S&M backdrop.

What shocked me weren't the whippings or other acts of domination and submission but the non-graphic sexual nature of these scenes. One sees naked tits and ass but full-frontal nudity is kept to a minimum for actors of both genders. Meanwhile, despite the subdued sexuality and blatant melodrama, many scenes in the film remain both erotic and arousing.

Again, with no detailed knowledge of the book, The Story of O film on its own merits, despite some faults or even perhaps, because of them, is a rather engaging and arousing soft-core S&M love story and is surely one classic of the genre.