MovieChat Forums > Histoire d'O (1975) Discussion > The Cigarette Holder (SPOILERS!)

The Cigarette Holder (SPOILERS!)


The Cigarette Holder (SPOILERS!)

I'm not kidding with that spoilers tag, so if you don't know the movie and don't want it ruined for you, go away now! Come back after you've seen the movie.

OK?

Here we go...


In the movie, O's cigarette holder is an important prop. It shows up in the following contexts.

It shows up first as Sir Stephan's prop in Chapter 9: Sir Stephan. He smokes while taking, and among the first things he mentions are the abandonment of his mother and his brotherly relationship with Rene.

It next shows up in the same chapter, in O's hand, as Sir Stephan tucks O into bed after having taken his pleasure of her. He makes her a gift of it, and says that it's iron and suits her, or rather that irons suit her. She responds with a line I can't make out in the dubbing, and by grabbing his left hand as he makes to leave and swearing to obey him. (Can anyone help with that unclear line?)

It next shows up, still in the same chapter, as O's prop, which she uses in a pause at work. She is promptly told she is a femme fatale, and wonders for who. The narration tells us that she wants it to be for Sir Stephan, and tells us of O's fears. While O gazes in fascination at her cigarette holder, Rene arrives, and puts his hands over her eyes. O calls his attention to her cigarette holder, and assures him repeatedly that Sir Stephan gave it to her. Rene is very surprised, and overjoyed. He lifts O up and hugs her and tells her that he is proud of her and she is marvellous. Jacqueline walk in and says "that makes two of us" - everyone loves O. Rene and then O catch Jacqueline's hand, and from then on she's, well, prey, though the end is not soon.

(I love the cute little toy car in the foreground of O and Jacqueline in Chapter 11, 58 minutes and 24 seconds (Australian version). So, these little items are indeed prefiguring things, I think.)

The cigarette holder next shows up in Chapter 12, after O has showed her irons to Jacqueline and intrigued her. At an hour, fifteen minutes and nine seconds, each of the women has her special prop: Jacqueline has her mirror in which to gaze at her own beauty, and O has her cigarette holder, held between ringed finger and thumb. A significant conversation ensues that I won't try to sum up.

O's cigarette holder next shows up in Sir Stephan's right hand, in the movie's famous and original final scene in Chapter 15 one hour and thirty minutes. Sir Stephan is smoking with O's cigarette holder, and he tells her at last that he loves her. O takes her toy, heats it, as asks him in effect if he's prepared to back that up. Not hearing a clear "no" she takes his left hand again - not his right which would be the obvious one as it was in the shot all along, and burns on O onto his hand. Sir Stephan's last line is: "One of the things of life that a man in love learns is ... hss!!" and we see O's O ring and Sir Stephan's burnt O together, his hand in hers. Credits, gentle music, The End.

-

If I've made any mistakes or omissions in reciting the history of the cigarette holder in the movie, please call them to my attention. I want this right - interpretation may be far flung but it should always proceed from correct facts.

-

Now: what does the cigarette holder mean to you in the movie?

Do you like it or dislike it, or like it at some times and not others, and if so why?

And gosh darn it, what is one of the things in life that a man in love learns? And what has it to do with this prop?

I'm happy to lay my own cards on the table if asked, but I'm starting this thread not to push a theory but because I'm interested in what other people think.

reply

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://members.aol.com/nskrutable/asfs/harrold.jpg&imgrefurl=http://members.aol.com/nskrutable/asfs/&h=220&w=520&sz=21&hl=en&sig2=ICg3BzWW3pV0w38unOfkjA&start=23&tbnid=z7O188ox1h1lbM:&tbnh=54&tbnw=128&ei=zfavRIyuHcuIJJGM5J8O&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dclery%2Bstory%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://members.aol.com/nskrutable/asfs/harrold.jpg&imgrefurl=http://members.aol.com/nskrutable/asfs/&h=220&w=520&sz=21&hl=en&sig2=ICg3BzWW3pV0w38unOfkjA&start=23&tbnid=z7O188ox1h1lbM:&tbnh=54&tbnw=128&ei=zfavRIyuHcuIJJGM5J8O&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dclery%2Bstory%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

pics of clery smoking the vigarette holder didn't mean anything to me other than a small present that renee goes ape over cause he is more in love with stephan than he is with O.

reply

Thanks for the links, nolatecharages. Now that you've pointed me in the right direction, I'll make a link to these images clickable:

http://members.aol.com/nskrutable/asfs/clery.jpg


nolatecharges: "pics of clery smoking the vigarette holder didn't mean anything to me other than a small present that renee goes ape over cause he is more in love with stephan than he is with O"

Yes, this is by far the biggest emotional reaction O ever gets out of Rene.

reply

I find it hard to like/dislike an inanimate object in a film. It serves a purpose, and therefore is important. O brands Stephen as she herself was branded for Stephen. Circular, like an "o". Works on many levels.

reply

The cigarette holder motif reminds me of Naked Killer (a Chinese film which is also a remake of Black Widow, Basic Instinct, Nikita and John Woo's The Killer).

reply