Bilitis (1977)

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Wish I'd seen this 33 years ago when it came out. At the time I was a college student studying photography and I rather liked the work of David Hamilton and even tried to emulate his soft focus look.Today it all just looks like a poor excuse for some titillation. I'm not so interested in school girls any more. It's just soft porn masquerading as art. It makes me wonder what Hamilton was up to at the time. Was he trying to recapture an idealised youth? In all honesty I must confess to only having the patience to watch about 45 minutes of it. I'd never seen it but it had been tagged in my mind as something to make time for if I ever got the opportunity. It is horribly sweetly sickly soft porn. God what a fool I was at 17!

I remember I watched this movie when it 1st came out - 1977I was only a kid then!!! The story and how it was filmed was like a 'mystery' to me until a few years following that, I was sent to a boarding school in England.But that wasn't the end - I was fasinated that I was going to experience the life of Bilitis - but it happened it was nothing like it - and the memory of watching Bilitis remains as mystery to me until today!The music of the original soundtrack - till today - fresh and inviting to all ages.

This 1977 colored version is the same film made in France in 1959. The original is long out of print & is not listed. I can remember vividly seeing this movie at 16 Y.O. & enjoying it immensely. The music is wonderful, the plot is ok but nothing fabulous. The French actresses are very sexy & I rate this movie as to being very sensual.

I was so let down by this film. The tag line was something like 'The story of a girls sexual awakening'. You can only imagine how disappointed I was. I was seventeen at the time and I took my girlfriend to see it. I thought we were going to see a sexy movie that would leave my girlfriend gagging for it. Sadly that was not the case. I guess we just weren't ready for a deep and meaningful movie that required an element of sophistication that we just didn't possess at the time. I'm not so sure I possess it now, and I have long since parted company with that particular girlfriend (pity really... my first love). We left the cinema half way through the film, my friend, who should have known better, stayed for the whole thing. I still got the required result with my girlfriend, the film just didn't help much. It would be interesting to see it again so that I can make a more informed critique, though I feel the experience has left me scarred for life.