''Libido'' is a 1973 Australian

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 ...

comprising 4 segments

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

and

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

as independent stories, but screened together as one piece, exploring a common theme of instinctive desire and contemporary sexuality.The Screen Australia Listing for ''Libido''
John B. Murray directed the segment called "The Husband", written by

Craig McGregor Craig Rob Roy McGregor (12 October 1933 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian journalist, essayist, academic, cultural observer and critic. Life and career McGregor grew up in Jamberoo and then Gundagai in New South Wales, before his family m ...

Tim Burstall Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie '' Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel '' Alvin Rides Again'' (1974). Burstall's films f ...

directed "The Child", from a screenplay by

Hal Porter Harold Edward "Hal" Porter (16 February 1911 – 29 September 1984) was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and short story writer. He is known for his 1963 memoir, ''The Watcher on the Cast Iron Balcony''. The Hal Porter Short Story Comp ...

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ;Pauline Kael, Kael, Pauline (1984). ''Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include ''The Cha ...

directed

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his historical fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler' ...

's "The Priest" and David Baker directed playwright

David Williamson David Keith Williamson (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama '' Don's Party'', and other well-known plays include '' The Clu ...

's screenplay for "The Family Man".

Plot

The four segments of the film average about 30 minutes in length and are presented in the following order.The Miles Ago database of Australian films
/ref> * Part 1: "The Husband" - Focuses on a suburban husband and wife, their relationship and their sexual fantasies. * Part 2: "The Child" - A lonely boy seeks revenge on a man he finds engaging in intercourse with his beloved governess. * Part 3: "The Priest" - A priest contemplates leaving the church as a result of his indefatigable attraction to a nun. * Part 4: "The Family Man" - The husband of a woman in labor arranges with a friend to take two women to a secluded beach house.

Cast

"The Husband" *

Elke Neidhardt Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a West German born actress and opera and theatre director. She spent most of her career after 1967 in Australia and became an Australian citizen in 2007. She appeared in theatre, tele ...

as Penelope *Bryon Williams as Jonathon * Mark Albiston as Harold "The Child" *John Williams as Martin *

Jill Forster Jill Forster (born 30 November 1936),Giles Nigel "Number 96: Australia Most Infamous Address, published by Melbourne Book" is an English-born Australian retired actress who came to Australia as a model in 1964. She subsequently became well known ...

as Mother *

Judy Morris Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child ...

as Sybil *

Bruce Barry Bruce Barry may refer to: * Bruce S. Barry, American television soap opera director and writer * Bruce Barry (actor) (1934–2017), Australian actor and singer {{hndis, Barry, Bruce ...

as David *Louise Homfrey *George Fairfax "The Priest" *

Robyn Nevin Robyn Anne Nevin (25 September 1942) is an Australian actress recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Australian theatre performance art. F ...

as Sister Caroline *

Arthur Dignam Arthur Dignam (9 September 1939 – 9 May 2020) was an Australian actor. Early life Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder in 1955 and 1956 and then the University of Sydney. Career He was be ...

as Father Burn *

Vivean Gray Jean Vivra Gray (20 July 1924 – 29 July 2016), known professionally as Vivean Gray, also credited as ''Vivian Gray'' and ''Viven Gray'', was an English-born actress who starred in film and television roles in Australia. Gray starred in ...

as Elderly Nun *

Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones (5 August 194917 May 2013) was an American-born Australian actress and biographer. Early life Penelope Beatrix Hackforth-Jones was born in August 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Paul and Susan Felicity (née Gullett) ...

as Nun *Vivean Frau *Vicki Bray *Valma Pratt "The Family Man" * Jack Thompson as Ken *

Max Gillies Maxwell Irvine Gillies AM (born 16 November 1941) is an Australian actor and a founding member of the 1970s experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group. Early life and education Gillies studied art teaching at Frankston Te ...

as Gerald *Debbie Nankervis *Suzanne Brady

Production

The film arose from a series of workshops held in 1971 by the Victorian Branch of the Producers and Directors Guild to help writers work in narrative cinema. Professional writers were invited to prepare short stories on the theme of love which were adapted and produced by members of the Guild. Four of them were linked in the film.John B. Murray, "The Genesis of Libido", ''Senses of Cinema'', 5 March 2006
Retrieved 27 September 2012

wanted to direct the David Williamson segment but because he had worked with Williamson before was given the Hal Porter one, originally called ''The Jetty''. Burstall made some key changes to the story to make it more autobiographical and work better for film.Scott Murray, 'Tim Burstall', ''Cinema Papers'' Sept-Oct 1979 p494 It was shot at Werribee Park Estate in June 1972.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p27 All the stories were shot and filmed in and around Melbourne on 16mm for a budget of $100,000, including $26,000 from the

Australian Council for the Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announc ...

. According to Burstall, the episodes directed by Murray, Baker and Schepisi cost about $7,000 each and his cost $13,000 - although he says the true cost, accounting for deferrals, was closer to $23,000. He says the total cost of shooting the film was $75,000 being $120,000 after deferrals. British Empire Films later added some funds to enable the film to be blown up to 35mm (some sources say $20,000 others $36,000).

Release

The film was a popular success in Australia and screened overseas. Within two years of the film's release all deferred fees had been paid back. However, when the film screened in Spain, the segment "The Priest" had to be cut. The movie led to Williamson and Thompson later collaborating on ''Petersen''. By 1979 Burstall estimated the film had returned between $60,000 and $75,000 to the producers.

Awards

In 1973, the film won the Golden Reel Award for best fiction film from the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

for the segment ''The Child'', and

won the best actress award for her performance in the same segment.AFI Awards - Past Winners
/ref>Awards summary at the Internet Movie Database
/ref>

Proposed sequel

Burstall said there was meant to be a follow-up film called ''The Bed'', consisting of four stories revolving around the bed, written by Alan Marshall,

Morris Lurie Moses "Morris" Lurie (30 October 19388 October 2014) was an Australian writer of comic novels, short stories, essays, plays, and children's books. His work focused on the comic mishaps of Jewish-Australian men (often writers) of Lurie's generati ...

, John Powers and Max Richards, to be directed by Mal Bryning,

Ross Dimsey Ross Dimsey (born 16 October 1943) is an Australian writer, producer, director and film executive. He was born in Melbourne and worked in Britain and America from 1969 to 1969. He worked in a variety of capacities on a number of films. From 196 ...

Simon Wincer Simon Wincer (born 1943) is an Australian film and television director best known for the miniseries ''Lonesome Dove (miniseries), Lonesome Dove'' and the film ''Free Willy''. He attended Cranbrook School, Sydney, Cranbrook School, Sydney, from ...

and Rod Kinnear. However, they could not raise the money to make it.

References

External links

*
''Libido''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Libido (1973 Film) 1973 films Australian drama films Films directed by Fred Schepisi Films scored by Bruce Smeaton 1970s English-language films