The Duke of Burgundy
IFC Films | Release Date: January 23, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
87
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireKim NewmanFeb 17, 2015
Of course, this is a film you have to meet half-way. If you’re willing to enter its world, it’s an immensely rewarding, amusing, wise, melancholy and involving experience. Read full review
100
IndieWireEric KohnJan 26, 2015
Strickland generates a discomfiting quality that keeps the mystery of his world in play. Above all else, he taps into the intangible elements of sexual attraction by bathing them in ambiguities. Read full review
100
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJan 21, 2015
At its core, this is one of the most incisive, penetrating, and empathetic films ever made about what it truly means to love another person, audaciously disguised as salacious midnight-movie fare. No better picture is likely to surface all year. Read full review
100
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJan 20, 2015
Strickland builds the film, artfully, into a complex and ultimately moving essay on the privileges of victimhood and the nuances of what it means to suffer for love. Read full review
100
VarietyScott FoundasOct 20, 2014
An act of cinephilic homage that transcends pastiche to become its own uniquely sensuous cinematic object, Strickland’s densely layered, slyly funny portrayal of the sadomasochistic affair between two lesbian entomologists tips its hats to such masters of costumed erotica as Jess Franco, Tinto Brass and Jean Rollin, without ever cheapening its strange but affecting love story. Read full review
100
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicSep 13, 2014
A work of immense and intense emotional vigor, sprinkled with fun-loving traits and intellectually stimulating prowess, The Duke of Burgundy is the stuff dreams are made of. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinSep 13, 2014
Strickland has made something uniquely sexy and strange, built on two tremendous central performances and a bone-deep understanding of cinema’s magic and mechanisms. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenJan 22, 2015
For all its S&M specificity — down to earth and sometimes comical — the movie holds its beveled mirrors up to the role-play, ritual and compromise in all love relationships. Read full review
90
The DissolveScott TobiasJan 20, 2015
What makes The Duke Of Burgundy so affecting is how deftly Strickland and his remarkable actresses bring something as exotic as lesbian S&M into the realm of the ordinary and relatable. Viewers can see themselves in Cynthia and Evelyn, whether they’re hand-washing each other’s undergarments or not. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinSep 13, 2014
Visually ravishing, emotionally wise, and kinky as a coiled rope, writer-director Peter Strickland’s third feature The Duke of Burgundy is a delight. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Geoff PevereFeb 26, 2015
There’s voyeurism, fetishism, bondage, lingerie and high-flown naughtiness galore, but that’s hardly the movie’s most conspicuous achievement. Also at work in this transfixing account of a sado-masochistic relationship on the ropes (so to speak) are a probing intelligence, a catalogue of inspirational cinematic references and – perhaps most impressive – a big, sad, beating heart. Read full review
88
Boston GlobePeter KeoughJan 29, 2015
I have not seen the film “Fifty Shades of Grey” but I doubt that it evokes the mystery, wit, and eroticism that Peter Strickland’s sumptuously claustrophobic fable of women in love does. All without nudity, bad dialogue, or the requisite wooden acting. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJan 18, 2015
Peter Strickland charges full-tilt into the objectifying whims of his fantasies in order to somehow reach the other end of perception, which acknowledges the ultimate empathetic limitations of said fantasies. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianJeff BakerJul 14, 2015
Strickland has the courage of his convictions and maintains a tight focus on the proceedings while allowing the occasional feather of humor to float down on the pillow. Read full review
80
Total FilmRob JamesFeb 17, 2015
It won’t be for everyone, but Burgundy is rich, dark and could well lead to intoxication. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 22, 2015
In the end there is nothing especially campy about “The Duke of Burgundy,” which neither mocks its heroines nor the breathless, naughty screen tradition to which they belong. It’s a love story, and also a perversely sincere (and sincerely perverse) labor of love. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfSep 13, 2014
The film has a traditional appeal that's wholly separate from its surface. Read full review
80
CineVueBen NicholsonSep 13, 2014
The Duke of Burgundy lingers long in the mind and cements its director's much-deserved place as one of the most exhilarating currently at work. Read full review
80
The GuardianJordan HoffmanSep 13, 2014
The Duke of Burgundy will have its detractors. But this is not just a filthy movie. It's a considerable work of art, and one that touches on a rarely discussed side of human sexuality completely free of judgement. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovFeb 4, 2015
The Duke of Burgundy doubles down on the genre conventions and ends up being all the better for it. That’s thanks in large part to the score by the UK group Cat’s Eye, the two flawless lead performances, and cinematographer Nicholas D. Knowland’s keen eye for creating a more-than-acceptable simulacrum of Franco and Rolin’s hallucinatory, dreamlike vibes. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaFeb 18, 2015
What's up in The Duke of Burgundy is a straight-faced homage to 1970s European erotica, full of soft-focus nudity and soft-core kink. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayFeb 5, 2015
As a meticulously composed piece of contemporary gothic, The Duke of Burgundy is exquisite to look at, but it succeeds best as a human drama, and a searching investigation of how to ask for what you want — and maybe even getting it in the end. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJan 23, 2015
Strickland’s film is a daring, atmosphere-soaked piece of kink hypnotherapy that pays explicit homage to the films of Franco, down to the casting of former Franco regular, formidable femme Monica Swinn, in a sinister role. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoJan 22, 2015
This is highly skilled filmmaking, but the movie is not for everybody — the relationship involves dominance and submission, sexual games played at a high pitch. This material falls short of pornographic, but still packs plenty of erotic punch. Read full review
More From This Movie

87 Critic Reviews

6.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL