France, the 70s. The beautiful O, a young woman and fashion photographer, is taken by her lover René to a bizarre retreat, where she is chained, whipped and taught the rules of sexual perversion. René discharges a personal debt by transferring possession of O to his step-brother, Sir Stephen…

What secrets lurk in the human mind, and how far is cinema separated from desire? The years following the collapse of censorship saw a burst of chic, lavish, and distinctly auteur-driven forays into erotic fantasies (and nightmares). The Story of O is a landmark of the wave—and very NSFW.