Le bijou d'amour Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Le bijou d'amour Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 20, 2022

While 1976’s “Draguse” was more of a random viewing experience from director Patrice Rhomm, 1978’s “Le Bijou D’Amour” delivers a more consistent tale of sexuality and horror to follow. The feature details a reporter’s encounter with a cursed ring from Casanova, giving him seductive powers as his encounters the sinister ways of succubi living in a rural area. It’s more than just swinging adventures for the main character, who’s pulled into something more dangerous than initially believed, permitting Rhomm a chance to showcase his love of fetish play during fantasy encounters.

“Le Bijou D’Amour” builds slowly, establishing the lead character’s vocational demands and his way with women, but it takes a turn toward genre interests when he encounters the ring, which presents strange power and, if not passed on to someone else, triggers a curse that could destroy his life. Of course, such doom isn’t the point of “Le Bijou D’Amour,” which makes plenty of room for sexual scenarios, often involving a mix of softcore and hardcore displays, taking place in a heightened reality of sensuality. Rhomm explores the dangerous ways of the succubus and returns to his love of kink play, including voyeurism and bondage. The movie doesn’t make a full stop with these sequences, working to plunge the main character into deeper levels of threat, left powerless by lustful encounters

Le bijou d'amour Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.60:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Le Bijou D'Amour" is sourced from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negatives. There's an information card presented at the start of the film informing viewers of "image stability issues" that couldn't be avoided during the restoration process. While damage is detectable, nothing is distracting. Detail is excellent, capturing a full sense of body particulars and remote locations, which retain appealing dimension. Costuming is also fibrous. Colors are alert, with defined greenery and bright primaries on outfits and interior decoration. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like.

Le bijou d'amour Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA mix handles dialogue exchanges with clarity, offering pronounced dubbed performances. Scoring favors a jazzier mood, supported with clear instrumentation and some extra volume for horror stings involving the ring reveal.

Le bijou d'amour Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus Scene (2:02, HD) offers a more hardcore fantasy encounter from "Le Bijou D'Amour."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:02, HD) is included.

Le bijou d'amour Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Le Bijou D'Amour" is entertaining, with some mild attempts at weirdness to intensify the confusion in play. Sexual antics are varied and somewhat threatening, with Rhomm making an effort to keep the feature surprising to the best of his ability, and performances are committed to the cause, even to the end, which strives to complete the genre tone of the endeavor, keeping things downbeat to stay true to the story.