4. Maitresse (1976)
Small time crook Olivier (Gerard Depardieu) and his mate have a plumbing job to do for Ariane (Bulle Ogier). They go to rob the landlord downstairs and instead discover that Ariane has a torture chamber - she is a dominatrix. Olivier becomes her assistant and in the process becomes obsessed with her. They start a relationship but fight to see who is naturally dominant and who is naturally submissive. Maitresse is an excellent, bold and daring film that had the balls to tackle the SM underworld and lift the lid on its practices. Submitted to the BBFC in 1976, the censors agreed it was a well made film of artistic merit but that the SM sequences were in excess of anything of that nature that they had passed before. Hence the film was not granted a certificate. In 1981, the film was put before the Board again and this time it was granted an X certificate after nearly five minutes of cuts. The film was also granted an X certificate in the USA. It was passed with no cuts for an 18 certificate in 2003. The SM practices in Maitresse are shockingly realistic and are probably the average sort of fare that a working dominatrix comes across (although I hope there are not too many gents out there who want their schlong nailed to a 2 x 4). It is wonderful to watch the beautiful Ogier get dressed up in her fetish gear and to admire the sheer amount of equipment she has. It was also nice for me to ogle my sex god - Gerard Depardieu. If you have any curiosities about SM, Maitresse is a good place to start.