Behind Convent Walls

Renaissance

To the sound of trumpets, a collection of pulverised antique bric-a-brac begins to reassemble itself, revealing a stuffed owl, a cornet, a hamper, books, a doll, a plate – and a bomb...

Rosalie

Based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant, Borowczyk relates the plight of a servant girl who killed and buried her child in the garden.

Goto, Island of Love

A petty thief works his way up the absurd hierarchy of Goto, an archipelago cut off from civilisation by a tumultuous earthquake. His dream is to possess Glossia, a stifled beauty trapped in a loveless marriage to a melancholic dictator.

Diptych

A short film by Walerian Borowczyk in two parts. The first 'panel' follows the morning routine of Leon Boyer who, despite being almost 100 years old, still farms the land, drives a vintage car, and plays with his two dogs. The second panel shows shots of beautiful flowers and a cat, to a recording of Tino Rossi singing 'La romance de Nadir / Je crois encore entendre' from Bizet's opera 'Les pêcheurs de perles'.

Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal

"Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal" is Walerian Borowczyk’s first feature-length film and his last animated film. It consists of a sequence of loosely connected scenes, much like a vaudeville program, in which Mr. and Mrs. Kabal perform absurd, surreal, and sometimes cruel acts.

Private Collections

Three stories. A solitary sailor falls from his boat and washes ashore on a tropical island. While seeking rescue, he's found by a nearly naked woman who is playful and compliant. He decides to erase his signs of distress and remain on the island. What awaits? In the second, an adolescent searches for the words of a nursery rime he remembers bits of. His journey takes him into dreams, sexual awakening, and Oedipal fantasy. Third, a man of wealth in late-nineteenth century Paris hires a prostitute for the night. She's also cabaret performer and takes him to her room. He fears he's about to be robbed. What's her secret?

Street Art

A short news reel documentary about poster art.

The Margin

A businessman leaves his country home, and wife and young son for a business trip to Paris. While there he develops a sexual and spiritual bond with a call girl.

Immoral Tales

Four erotic tales from various historical eras. The first, 'The Tide', is set in the present day, and concerns a student and his young female cousin stranded on the beach by the tide, secluded from prying eyes. 'Therese Philosophe' is set in the nineteenth century, and concerns a girl being locked in her bedroom, where she contemplates the erotic potential of the objects contained within it. 'Erzsebet Bathory' is a portrait of the sixteenth-century countess who allegedly bathed in the blood of virgins, while 'Lucrezia Borgia' concerns an incestuous fifteenth-century orgy involving Lucrezia, her brother, and her father the Pope.

The School

Animated photographs (made with Jan Lenica) with elements of animated cartoon. A display of military drill.

The Story of Sin

A beautiful Polish girl whose lover has gone to Rome to seek a divorce from his previous wife travels around Europe in search of him and suffers a variety of tragic adventures as the men around her try to fit her into their own selfish schemes.

Softly from Paris

An anthology of erotic stories by famous writers like Guy de Maupassant, Nicolas Edme Restif de La Bretonne, Marquis de Sade, Giovanni Boccaccio, Marquis de Foudras, Daniel Defoe, Anton Tchekov, Jin Ping Mei, and Aristophanes.

Infernal Symphony

The chance encounter between a rebel devil and a nubile angel.

The Beast

The head of a failing French family thinks that fate has smiled down on him when the daughter of a wealthy man agrees to be married to his son. The daughter and her aunt then travel out to the French countryside to meet with the family, unaware that a mysterious 'beast' is stalking the vicinity.

The Games of Angels

Animated short. Abstract forms in a setting evocative of a concentration camp created by the universe. Based on a series of paintings by the Polish artists and filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk, Les Jeux des Anges takes the viewer into a nightmarish and sinister labyrinth world. With images reminiscent of Bosch and Ernst and an abstract soundtrack the film evoke unspeakable horrors lurking at the heart Borowczyk's masterpiece. Borowczyk described the film himself as "A report on the city of angels."

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne

In 19th century London, a sex maniac sneaks into the engagement party of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Miss Fanny Osbourne, turning the event into a nightmarish whirlpool of murder and debauchery.

The Sound of Music

In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

The Magdalene Sisters

Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.

Dark Habits

After her drug pusher boyfriend overdoses on heroin, a cabaret singer finds refuge from the authorities in a convent for fallen women.

The Ring Two

After the ordeal with Samara, Rachel and Aiden move to a rural town. But soon Rachel learns about the death of a girl in a similar fashion. To save Aiden, she must dig into Samara's past even further.

All the King's Men

The story of an idealist's rise to power in the world of Louisiana politics and the corruption that leads to his ultimate downfall. Based on the 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Robert Penn Warren, loosely based on the story of real-life politician Huey Long.

Savage Grace

This examination of a famous scandal from the 1970s explores the relationship between Barbara Baekeland and her only son, Antony. Barbara, a lonely social climber unhappily married to the wealthy but remote plastics heir Brooks Baekeland, dotes on Antony, who is homosexual. As Barbara tries to "cure" Antony of his sexuality -- sometimes by seducing him herself -- the groundwork is laid for a murderous tragedy.

Lord Jim

After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2000.

Frost/Nixon

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

Dead Man Walking

A death row inmate turns for spiritual guidance to a local nun in the days leading up to his scheduled execution for the murders of a young couple.

Bad Lieutenant

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Turk 182!

After New York City firefighter Terry Lynch is unable to receive any compensation for an injury incurred during the off-duty rescue of a young girl, he grows suicidal. Furious, his brother Jimmy attempts to have Mayor Tyler intervene, but the corrupt politician instead denounces Terry as a drunk. Determined to get justice, Jimmy begins a graffiti campaign of embarrassing slogans mocking the mayor, which soon captivates the city.