Marquis de Sade: Justine is a 1969 drama film directed by Jesús Franco. The film is based on the 1791 novel Justine by the Marquis de Sade. The film is set in 1700s France where Justine and her sister Juliette 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.
Italian theatrical release poster for Marquis de Sade: Justine
Director Jesús Franco was forced to cast Romina Power (pictured) in the film, stating that "most of the time she didn't even know we were shooting."
Jesús Franco Manera was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1954 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, acted in, and scored approximately 173 feature films, working both in his native Spain and in France, West Germany, Switzerland and Portugal. Additionally, during the 1960s, he made several films in Rio de Janeiro and Istanbul.
Franco at the 2008 Fantastic'Arts festival, Gérardmer, France