Mata Hari

Mata Hari (1985)

Infamous in her time, a legend in ours.

In August 1914, war between France and Germany seems imminent. Mata Hari, a beautiful Dutch-born dancer working in Paris, accepts an invitation to travel to Berlin as part of a show. On the train, she meets a young German army officer but any thoughts of romance are cut short when a French agent is murdered while in her company. She is arrested in Germany but freed when the officer intervenes. While in Germany, WWI breaks out and Hari is recruited by German Intelligence to spy on France.

Date of release
1985-09-05
TMDB
4.1 / 10 (48)
Runtime
1h 48m
Genres
Drama, Action, Thriller, Romance
Director
Curtis Harrington

Casting

Interesting facts

Mata Hari is a 1985 erotic biographical film directed by Curtis Harrington, produced by Golan-Globus and featuring Sylvia Kristel in the title role of exotic dancer Mata Hari, executed for espionage during World War I.

Production

The film was the idea of Menahem Golan and was conceived as a vehicle for Sylvia Kristel. It was announced in January 1984.

"I wish I had half her energy in the boudoir," said Kristel of Mata Hari.

Curtis Harrington called the film an "erotic melodrama. The film never was pornographic. The love scenes are explicit. There is nudity."

The director said the movie should have been subtitled The Erotic Adventures With a Spy. "We fictionized events to make the story line work, but essentially it's a very true story. Mata Hari used her erotic power and allure as a woman. She seduced half the men of Europe in her heyday."

The film was entirely shot in Budapest, Hungary. Harrington called Kristel "a very bright and pleasant lady to work with. She's this great sex symbol yet that's not really where her head is at. Being on the set with her is like going to a Sunday school picnic -- she's so circumspect. During the love scenes, there were black velvet curtains and only three people allowed on the set.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended