''Delta of Venus'' is a 1994 American

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Zalman King Zalman King (born Zalman King Lefkowitz; May 23, 1941 – February 3, 2012) was an American film director, writer, actor and producer. His films are known for incorporating sexuality, and are often categorized as erotica. Early life Zalman Kin ...

and starring

Audie England Adrienne Marie "Audie" England (born July 12, 1967) is an American actress and professional photographer. Life and career England was born in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from UCLA with a concentration in cinematography. When she wa ...

Costas Mandylor Costas Mandylor (born Costas Theodosopoulos; 3 September 1965) is an Australian actor. He made his film debut with a supporting role in '' Triumph of the Spirit'' (1989) before a lead role as Frank Costello in the crime drama film '' Mobsters'' ...

, and

Marek Vašut Marek Vašut (born 5 May 1960 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech film, stage, and television actor, best known for his appearances in ''Solomon Kane'' and ''Blade II''. He voiced the character Tommy Angelo for the Czech version of the video ga ...

. It is inspired by the posthumously published 1977 short story collection ''

Delta of Venus ''Delta of Venus'' is a book of fifteen short stories that Anaïs Nin largely wrote in the 1940s as erotica for a private collector. It was published posthumously in 1977. In 1994 a film inspired by the book was directed by Zalman King. Bac ...

'' by

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell ( ; ; February 21, 1903 – January 14, 1977) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

NC-17 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...

and R-rated versions of the film exist; the NC-17 rating is due to explicit sex. The

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release contains both versions of the film. The film was released in June 1995 in the United States.

Plot

Set in Paris, France, in 1940 in the early days of World War II before the German

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

and conquest of France, Elena Martin is a young American writer struggling to get by in Paris while searching for inspiration for her first novel. Elena meets and has a sordid affair with a fellow American expatriate named Lawrence Walters. With some encouragement from her friends, her lover, and her publisher, Elena gets involved in nude modeling and progresses onward through many other forms of voyeuristic and participatory sexual adventures as she further researches for inspiration to write her book and become an author of erotic fiction.

Cast

as Elena Martin *

as Lawrence Walters * Eric Da Silva as Marcel * Raven Snow as Leila * Rory Campbell as Miguel * Emma Louise Moore as Ariel * Bernard Zette as Donald (as Zette) * Marek Vasut as Luc * Markéta Hrubesová as Bijou * Daniel Leza as Pierre * Stephen Halbert as Harry * Dale Wyatt as Millicent * Jirí Ded as Priest * Valérie Zawadská as Landlady * James Donahower as Bandleader *

Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, singer, and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing Jake Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (19 ...

as The Collector *

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...

as The Clairvoyant (as Wale) *

Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill (18 April 1930 – 11 March 2025) was a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he also starred in numerous films and television ...

as Radio Announcer (voice) * Roberta Hanley as Opium Den Proprietor

Background

The short story collection by

on which the film is based is not autobiographical, nor does it have a frame narrative. The film imposes a frame-narrative about a "Nin-like" American who begins an affair with another

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

American in pre–

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and who writes erotic stories that represent her fantasies. Some of these stories/fantasies, based on those of Nin, are explored on-screen.

References

External links

* 1990s erotic drama films 1994 films 1990s English-language films Films set in Paris New Line Cinema films American erotic drama films Films directed by Zalman King Films scored by George S. Clinton Films based on short fiction 1994 drama films 1990s American films English-language erotic drama films {{erotic-film-stub