Marquis de Sade: Justine

Marquis de Sade: Justine
Italian theatrical release poster for Marquis de Sade: Justine
Directed by	Jesús Franco
Screenplay by	Harry Alan Towers[1] (as Peter Wellbeck)
Based on	Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu by Marquis de Sade[1]
Produced by	Harry Alan Towers[1] Alexander Grüter
Starring	Romina Power Maria Rohm Klaus Kinski Akim Tamiroff Jack Palance
Cinematography	Manuel Merino[1]
Edited by	Nicholas Wentworth[1] Francesco Bertuccioli
Music by	Bruno Nicolai[1]
Production companies	Corona Filmproduktion GmbH Aica Cinematografica S.r.l.[1] Etablissement Sargon
Distributed by	Constantin Film (West Germany) CIDIF (Italy)
Release dates	3 April 1969 (1969-04-03) (Italy) 13 June 1969 (1969-06-13) (West Germany)
Running time	124 minutes
Countries	West Germany Italy[1]
Language	English

Marquis de Sade: Justine (Italian: Justine ovvero le disavventure della virtù, lit. 'Justine or the misadventures of virtue', also released as Deadly Sanctuary)^[1] is a 1969 erotic period drama film directed by Jesús Franco, written and produced by Harry Alan Towers, and based on the 1791 novel Justine by the Marquis de Sade. It stars Romina Power as the title character, with Maria Rohm, Klaus Kinski, Akim Tamiroff, Harald Leipnitz, Rosemary Dexter, Horst Frank, Sylva Koscina and Mercedes McCambridge.

The film is set in 1700s France where Justine (Power) and her sister Juliette (Rohm) are orphans in Paris. Juliette becomes a prostitute and marries a rich noble. Justine is falsely arrested and sentenced to death, then escapes from prison to become a fugitive.

The film was an international co-production between West Germany and Italy. Justine had Franco's largest budget to date, of just under a million dollars. Franco originally wanted to cast Rosemary Dexter as Justine, but was forced to cast Romina Power^[2] in the role, which led to Franco changing the story to suit her.