Mata Hari (1985 film)

For other uses, see Mata Hari (disambiguation).
Mata Hari
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCurtis Harrington
Written byJoel Ziskin
Produced byRoni Ya'ackov
StarringSylvia Kristel
Oliver Tobias
Christopher Cazenove
CinematographyDavid Gurfinkel
Edited byHenry Richardson
Music byWilfred Josephs
Production
company
Distributed byCannon Film Distributors
Release date
  • September 1, 1985 (1985-09-01)
Running time
108 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetless than $5 million[1]
Box office92,737 admissions (France)[2]

Mata Hari is a 1985 erotic biographical film directed by Curtis Harrington (which is the final film he directed before he died in May 2007), produced by Golan-Globus and featuring Sylvia Kristel in the title role of exotic dancer Mata Hari, executed for espionage during World War I.[3]

The film portrays Mata Hari as an innocent woman manipulated by the secret services of Germany and France into providing intelligence, at first unwittingly and unwillingly, and later driven by the nonpartisan desire to save lives. Eventually she is cynically sacrificed by the French who are aware of her innocence but believe her execution will boost morale.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sylvia Kristel French box office information at Box Office Story
  3. ^ Eleanor Mannikka (2007). "Mati Hari". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01.