Venus in Furs (1967) is a sexploitation film directed by Joe Marzano and starring Barbara Ellen. Marzano and Ellen wrote the script. It was suggested by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s novel of the same name, the classic of male masochism, fur fetish, and female dominance. The film is not a respectable adaptation of that book.
On the long chain of screen borrowings from the novel, this one takes a short, easy-to-miss place. It is a brief variant from the exploitation wave, not a prestige version. The infamous title moved from grindhouse screens onto later specialty DVD shelves.
What many viewers curious about BDSM or fetish culture meet now is the United States DVD from Something Weird Video. That label saves and recirculates mid-century sexploitation and oddball erotica for collectors. For a present-day audience this Venus in Furs is a catalogued curiosity, not an art-house festival film.
