Anatomy of Hell: Difference between revisions

Anatomy of Hell
Anatomy of Hell
	Theatrical release poster
French	Anatomie de l'enfer
Directed by	Catherine Breillat
Screenplay by	Catherine Breillat
Based on	Pornocratie; by Catherine Breillat
Produced by	Jean-François Lepetit
Starring	Amira Casar; Rocco Siffredi;
Cinematography	Yorgos Arvanitis; Guillaume Schiffman;
Edited by	Pascale Chavance
Production; companies	Flach Film; CB Films;
Distributed by	Rézo Films
Release dates	23 January 2004 (Rotterdam); 28 January 2004 (France);
Running time	77 minutes
Countries	France; Portugal;
Language	French
Box office	$345,365

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Anatomy of Hell (French: Anatomie de l'enfer) is a 2004 erotic drama film written and directed by Catherine Breillat, based on her 2001 novel Pornocratie. According to Breillat, Anatomy of Hell is a "sequel" to Romance.^[4]

Plot

Teetering on the edge of overwhelming ennui, a lonely and dejected woman pays a gay man to join her for a daring, four-day exploration of sexuality, in which both of them reject all convention and smash all boundaries while locked away from society in an isolated estate. Only when the man and woman confront the most unspeakable aspects of their sexuality will they have a pure understanding of how the sexes view one another.

Cast

Amira Casar as the woman
Rocco Siffredi as the man
Catherine Breillat as the narrator
Alexandre Belin as blow-job lover 1
Manuel Taglang as blow-job lover 2
Jacques Monge as man in bar
Claudio Carvalho as boy with the bird
Carolina Lopes as little girl
Diego Rodrigues (billed as 'Diogo Rodriques') as little boy playing doctor
João Marques as boy playing doctor
Bruno Fernandes as little boy playing doctor
Maria Edite Moreira as pharmacist 1
Maria João Santos as pharmacist 2

Production

The film was adapted by writer/director Breillat from her novel Pornocracy. The sexually explicit film stars Amira Casar as "the woman" and porn star Rocco Siffredi as "the man". Leonard Maltin summarizes: "After attempting suicide in the bathroom of a gay disco, a woman hires the man who rescues her to spend four nights in her company, challenging him to 'watch me where I'm unwatchable'."^[5]

Breillat allowed Casar to use a body double in the explicit sex scenes. Siffredi's performance, however, is all his own work.^[6]

Siffredi recalled that when Breillat described one scene to him, she took his penis in her hand and explained to Casar how she should play the scene.^[6]

Reception

The film polarized critics. Leonard Maltin gave the film zero stars and said the film was "homophobic" and "unintentionally funny".^[5] Roger Ebert stated: "I remember when hard-core first became commonplace, and there were discussions about what it would be like if a serious director ever made a porn movie. The answer, judging by Anatomy of Hell, is that the audience would decide they did not require such a serious director after all."^[7]

BBC film critic Jamie Russell gave the film four stars out of five:

"The plot is hardcore thin: a woman (Amira Casar) cruises a gay club and pays broody stud (porn star Rocco Siffredi) to spend four nights with her. A challengingly explicit delve into the female body (often quite literally), it's a unique cinematic example of feminist existential porn.... Yet perversely, it's also one of the most groundbreaking films in recent memory in terms of both the explicitness of its sexuality and its commitment to such an austere intellectual discourse. No wonder Rocco looks so shell-shocked: this is sex not as comedy, but as the deepest, darkest male nightmare."^[8]

The film went on to win Best Feature Film at the Philadelphia Film Festival.^[9]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 26% of 35 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ponderous, pretentious, and—considering the subject matter—dull."^[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[11]

References

^ "Anatomie de l'enfer – Anatomy of Hell (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 4 November 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ "Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie de l'enfer)". Cineuropa. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
^ "Anatomy of Hell (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
^ Spencer, Megan (1 January 2009). "A largely allegorical scenario positing that all men are inherently fearful of female sexuality". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide, p. 41
^ ^a ^b "Culture: Is it art or porn?". femalefirst.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
^ Ebert, Roger (11 November 2004). "Review of Anatomy of Hell". Retrieved 21 December 2017.
^ Russell, Jamie. BBC Movies review of Anatomy of Hell, BBC, 22 November 2004
^ Philadelphia Film Festival, Date: April 8 - April 21 2004
^ "Anatomy of Hell (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
^ "Anatomy of Hell". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

External links

Anatomy of Hell at IMDb
‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Anatomy of Hell at AllMovie
Anatomy of Hell at Box Office Mojo
Anatomy of Hell at Metacritic
Anatomy of Hell at Rotten Tomatoes

[1] "Anatomie de l'enfer – Anatomy of Hell (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 4 November 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[2] "Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie de l'enfer)". Cineuropa. Retrieved 17 April 2022.

[3] "Anatomy of Hell (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 April 2022.

[4] Spencer, Megan (1 January 2009). "A largely allegorical scenario positing that all men are inherently fearful of female sexuality". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 31 August 2015.

[Maltin-5] Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide, p. 41

[Culture:_Is_it_art_or_porn-6] "Culture: Is it art or porn?". femalefirst.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

[Ebert-7] Ebert, Roger (11 November 2004). "Review of Anatomy of Hell". Retrieved 21 December 2017.

[Russell-8] Russell, Jamie. BBC Movies review of Anatomy of Hell, BBC, 22 November 2004

[PFF-9] Philadelphia Film Festival, Date: April 8 - April 21 2004

[10] "Anatomy of Hell (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 September 2019.

[11] "Anatomy of Hell". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|2004 film by Catherine Breillat}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
 {{Infobox film
@@ Line 4: / Line 5: @@
 | image          = Anatomy of Hell.jpg
 | alt            = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
-| caption        =
+| caption        = Theatrical release poster
+| native_name    = {{Infobox name module|fr|Anatomie de l'enfer}}
 | director       = [[Catherine Breillat]]
-| producer       = Jean-François Lepetit
 | screenplay     = Catherine Breillat
 | based_on       = {{Based on|''Pornocratie''|Catherine Breillat}}
+| producer       = Jean-François Lepetit
 | starring       = {{Plainlist|
 * [[Amira Casar]]
 * [[Rocco Siffredi]]
 }}
-| narrator       = Catherine Breillat
 | cinematography = {{Plainlist|
-* [[Giorgos Arvanitis]]
+* [[Giorgos Arvanitis|Yorgos Arvanitis]]
 * [[Guillaume Schiffman]]
 }}
 | editing        = Pascale Chavance
 | production_companies = {{Plainlist|
-* [[Canal+]]
-* CB Films
-* [[Centre national de la cinématographie|CNC]]
 * Flach Film
+* CB Films
 }}
-| distributor    = {{Plainlist|
+| distributor    = Rézo Films
+| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|2004|1|23|[[International Film Festival Rotterdam|Rotterdam]]|2004|1|28|France}}
-* Rézo Films
+| runtime        = 77 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 77:21--><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/anatomie-de-lenfer-anatomy-hell-1970-1 | title=''Anatomie de l'enfer'' – ''Anatomy of Hell'' (18) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=4 November 2004 | access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>
-* Sharada Distribuzione
+| country        = {{Plainlist|
+* France
+* Portugal<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/film/30043/ |title=Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie de l'enfer) |website=Cineuropa |access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>
 }}
-| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|2004|01|23|[[International Film Festival Rotterdam|Rotterdam]]|2004|01|28|France}}
-| runtime        = 77 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 77:21--><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/anatomie-de-lenfer-anatomy-hell-1970-1 | title=''ANATOMIE DE L'ENFER - ANATOMY OF HELL'' (18) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=4 November 2004 | accessdate=13 July 2015}}</ref>
-| country        = France
 | language       = French
 | budget         =
-| gross          = $345,365<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=anatomyofhell.htm | title=Anatomy of Hell (2004) - International Box Office Results | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher=[[IMDb]]| date=27 May 2005 | accessdate=13 July 2015}}</ref>
+| gross          = $345,365<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0348529/ | title=Anatomy of Hell (2004) | website=[[Box Office Mojo]] | access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>
 }}
-'''''Anatomy of Hell''''' ({{lang-fr|'''Anatomie de l'enfer'''}}) is a 2004 French [[Sex in film|erotic]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed by [[Catherine Breillat]] and written by Breillat based on her 2001 novel ''Pornocratie''. According to Breillat, ''Anatomy of Hell'' is a "sequel" to ''[[Romance (1999 film)|Romance]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/largely-allegorical-scenario-positing-all-men-are-inherently-fearful-female-sexuality|title=A largely allegorical scenario positing that all men are inherently fearful of female sexuality|last1=Spencer|first1=Megan|date=1 January 2009|website=[[Special Broadcasting Service]]|access-date=31 August 2015}}</ref>
+'''''Anatomy of Hell''''' ({{langx|fr|'''Anatomie de l'enfer'''}}) is a 2004 [[Erotic film|erotic]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] film written and directed by [[Catherine Breillat]], based on her 2001 novel ''Pornocratie''. According to Breillat, ''Anatomy of Hell'' is a "sequel" to ''[[Romance (1999 film)|Romance]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/largely-allegorical-scenario-positing-all-men-are-inherently-fearful-female-sexuality|title=A largely allegorical scenario positing that all men are inherently fearful of female sexuality|last=Spencer|first=Megan|date=1 January 2009|website=[[Special Broadcasting Service]]|access-date=31 August 2015}}</ref>
 ==Plot==
-Teetering on the edge of overwhelming ennui, a lonely and dejected woman pays a gay man to join her for a daring, four-day exploration of sexuality in which both reject all convention and smash all boundaries while locked away from society in an isolated estate. Only when the man and woman confront the most unspeakable aspects of their sexuality will they have a pure understanding of how the sexes view one another.
+Teetering on the edge of overwhelming ennui, a lonely and dejected woman pays a gay man to join her for a daring, four-day exploration of sexuality, in which both of them reject all convention and smash all boundaries while locked away from society in an isolated estate. Only when the man and woman confront the most unspeakable aspects of their sexuality will they have a pure understanding of how the sexes view one another.
 ==Cast==
@@ Line 45: / Line 44: @@
 * [[Rocco Siffredi]] as the man
 * [[Catherine Breillat]] as the narrator
-* [[Alexandre Belin]] as Blow-job lover 1
+* [[Alexandre Belin]] as blow-job lover 1
-* [[Manuel Taglang]] as Blow-job lover 2
+* [[Manuel Taglang]] as blow-job lover 2
-* [[Jacques Monge]] as Man in bar
+* [[Jacques Monge]] as man in bar
-* Claudio Carvalho as Boy with the Bird
+* Claudio Carvalho as boy with the bird
-* [[Carolina Lopes]] as Little Girl
+* [[Carolina Lopes]] as little girl
-* Diego Rodrigues (billed as 'Diogo Rodriques') as Little boy playing doctor
+* Diego Rodrigues (billed as 'Diogo Rodriques') as little boy playing doctor
-* João Marques as Boy Playing Doctor
+* João Marques as boy playing doctor
-* Bruno Fernandes as Little boy playing doctor
+* Bruno Fernandes as little boy playing doctor
-* [[Maria Edite Moreira]] as Pharmacist 1
+* [[Maria Edite Moreira]] as pharmacist 1
-* [[Maria João Santos]] as Pharmacist 2
+* [[Maria João Santos]] as pharmacist 2
 ==Production==
 The film was adapted by writer/director Breillat from her novel ''Pornocracy''. The sexually explicit film stars Amira Casar as "the woman" and [[Pornographic film actor|porn star]] Rocco Siffredi as "the man". [[Leonard Maltin]] summarizes: "After attempting suicide in the bathroom of a gay disco, a woman hires the man who rescues her to spend four nights in her company, challenging him to 'watch me where I'm unwatchable'."<ref name=Maltin/>
+Breillat allowed Casar to use a body double in the explicit sex scenes. Siffredi's performance, however, is all his own work.<ref name="Culture: Is it art or porn">{{cite web |title=Culture: Is it art or porn? |work=femalefirst.co.uk |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article457870.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2 |access-date=January 30, 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604153627/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article457870.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2 |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref>
+Siffredi recalled that when Breillat described one scene to him, she took his penis in her hand and explained to Casar how she should play the scene.<ref name="Culture: Is it art or porn"/>
 ==Reception==
-The film polarized critics. [[Leonard Maltin]] gave the film zero stars and said the film was "homophobic" and "unintentionally funny".<ref name=Maltin>[[Leonard Maltin|Maltin, Leonard]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6EgPDierNGUC Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide], p. 41</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] stated: "I remember when hard-core first became commonplace, and there were discussions about what it would be like if a serious director ever made a porn movie. The answer, judging by ''Anatomy of Hell'', is that the audience would decide they did not require such a serious director after all."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |author-link=Roger Ebert |last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/anatomy-of-hell-2004 |title=Review of ''Anatomy of Hell'' |date= 11 November 2004 |accessdate=21 December 2017}}</ref>
+The film polarized critics. [[Leonard Maltin]] gave the film zero stars and said the film was "homophobic" and "unintentionally funny".<ref name=Maltin>[[Leonard Maltin|Maltin, Leonard]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6EgPDierNGUC Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide], p. 41</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] stated: "I remember when hard-core first became commonplace, and there were discussions about what it would be like if a serious director ever made a porn movie. The answer, judging by ''Anatomy of Hell'', is that the audience would decide they did not require such a serious director after all."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |author-link=Roger Ebert |last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/anatomy-of-hell-2004 |title=Review of ''Anatomy of Hell'' |date= 11 November 2004 |access-date=21 December 2017}}</ref>
 [[BBC]] film critic Jamie Russell gave the film four stars out of five:
@@ Line 66: / Line 69: @@
 : "The plot is hardcore thin: a woman (Amira Casar) cruises a gay club and pays broody stud (porn star Rocco Siffredi) to spend four nights with her. A challengingly explicit delve into the female body (often quite literally), it's a unique cinematic example of feminist existential porn.... Yet perversely, it's also one of the most groundbreaking films in recent memory in terms of both the explicitness of its sexuality and its commitment to such an austere intellectual discourse. No wonder Rocco looks so shell-shocked: this is sex not as comedy, but as the deepest, darkest male nightmare."<ref name=Russell>Russell, Jamie. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/11/22/anatomy_of_hell_2004_review.shtml BBC Movies review of ''Anatomy of Hell''], ''[[BBC]]'', 22 November 2004</ref>
-The film went on to win "Best Feature Film" at the [[Philadelphia Film Festival]].<ref name=PFF>[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000533/2004 Philadelphia Film Festival, Date: April 8 - April 21 2004]</ref>
+The film went on to win Best Feature Film at the [[Philadelphia Film Festival]].<ref name=PFF>[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000533/2004 Philadelphia Film Festival, Date: April 8 - April 21 2004]</ref>
-[[Review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports a 26% rating based on 35 critics with an average rating of 3.56/10. The site's consensus states: "Ponderous, pretentious, and -- considering the subject matter -- dull."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anatomy_of_hell/ | title=Anatomy of Hell (2004) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] | accessdate=29 September 2019}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a 29 out of 100 rating based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/anatomy-of-hell | title=Anatomy of Hell | work=[[Metacritic]] | publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] | accessdate=13 July 2015}}</ref>
+{{RT prose|{{RT data|score}}|{{RT data|average}}|{{RT data|count}}|Ponderous, pretentious, and—considering the subject matter—dull.}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anatomy_of_hell/ | title=Anatomy of Hell (2004) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date=29 September 2019}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|29|19}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/anatomy-of-hell | title=Anatomy of Hell | work=[[Metacritic]] | access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>
 ==References==
+{{Reflist}}
-<references />
 ==External links==
-* {{IMDb title|0348529|Anatomy of Hell}}
+* {{IMDb title|0348529}}
-* {{mojo title|anatomyofhell|Anatomy of Hell}}
+* {{AllMovie title|302602}}
+* {{Mojo title|anatomyofhell}}
-* {{rotten-tomatoes|anatomy_of_hell|Anatomy of Hell}}
-* {{metacritic film|anatomy-of-hell|Anatomy of Hell}}
+* {{Metacritic film}}
+* {{Rotten Tomatoes|anatomy_of_hell}}
 {{Catherine Breillat}}
@@ Line 83: / Line 87: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Anatomy Of Hell}}
 [[Category:2004 films]]
-[[Category:French films]]
+[[Category:2004 drama films]]
-[[Category:2000s French-language films]]
+[[Category:2004 LGBTQ-related films]]
 [[Category:2000s avant-garde and experimental films]]
-[[Category:2004 LGBT-related films]]
-[[Category:French avant-garde and experimental films]]
-[[Category:French erotic drama films]]
-[[Category:French LGBT-related films]]
-[[Category:Gay-related films]]
 [[Category:2000s erotic drama films]]
 [[Category:2000s feminist films]]
+[[Category:2000s French-language films]]
+[[Category:Films based on French novels]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Catherine Breillat]]
 [[Category:Films shot in Portugal]]
-[[Category:LGBT-related drama films]]
+[[Category:French avant-garde and experimental films]]
-[[Category:Films based on French novels]]
+[[Category:French erotic drama films]]
-[[Category:2004 drama films]]
+[[Category:French feminist films]]
+[[Category:French LGBTQ-related films]]
+[[Category:Gay-related films]]
+[[Category:2000s LGBTQ-related drama films]]
+[[Category:Portuguese drama films]]
+[[Category:Portuguese LGBTQ-related films]]
+[[Category:2000s French films]]
+[[Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in film]]
+[[Category:Obscenity controversies in film]]
+[[Category:Films with screenplays by Catherine Breillat]]

v t e Catherine Breillat
Films written and directed	A Real Young Girl (1976) 36 Fillette (1988) Romance (1999) Fat Girl (2001) Brief Crossing (2001) Sex Is Comedy (2002) Anatomy of Hell (2004) The Last Mistress (2007) Bluebeard (2009) La belle endormie (2010) Abuse of Weakness (2013) Last Summer (2023)
Films written	Catherine & Co. (1975) Bilitis (1977) The Skin (1981) The Eyes, the Mouth (1982) Police (1985) Milan noir (1987) To Matthieu (2000)