You’ve probably seen the original poster—the one with the high-collared velvet cape and the intense, melancholic gaze. Story of O remains a titan of transgressive cinema, but things get weird when you start looking for Story of O 2. It’s not just one movie. It’s a messy, tangled web of European sequels, unofficial spin-offs, and late-night cable staples that often confuse the history of the franchise.
Honestly, tracking the lineage of this story is a bit of a headache. The original 1954 novel by Pauline Réage (the pseudonym of Anne Desclos) was a literary scandal that redefined eroticism. When Just Jaeckin brought it to the big screen in 1975, it became a massive international hit. Naturally, producers wanted more. But the "official" path to a sequel wasn't a straight line. Depending on who you ask, the real Story of O 2 is either the 1984 film Story of O - Chapter 2 or a spiritual successor that drifted far from the source material.
The 1984 Sequel: What Actually Happened in Story of O 2?
Almost a decade after the first film, director Shūji Terayama was originally linked to a sequel project, but it eventually landed in the hands of Éric Rochat. This film, titled Histoire d'O: Chapitre 2 (or Story of O - Chapter 2), is the most direct successor you’ll find. It stars Sandra Wey as O, taking over the mantle from Corinne Cléry.
The plot shifts gears.
While the first film was an insular, almost dreamlike exploration of Roissy, the sequel tries to weave in a corporate conspiracy. O is used as a pawn to compromise a wealthy industrialist. It’s less about the philosophy of surrender and more about the mechanics of a heist movie, just with significantly less clothing. Critics at the time were pretty brutal. They felt it lacked the "prestige" sheen of the Jaeckin original.
But here is the thing: it still carries that specific 80s European aesthetic—lots of soft lighting, synth-heavy scoring, and a sense of detached cool that you just don't see in modern film. It attempted to modernize the concept of "O" by placing her in a world of high-stakes business, but for many fans of the book, it felt like a betrayal of the character's internal journey.
Why the Franchise Branched Out So Aggressively
If you search for Story of O 2 on a streaming platform today, you might actually stumble across the 2002 television miniseries or even The Fruits of Passion (1981).
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The latter is a strange beast. Directed by Terayama and starring Klaus Kinski, it’s technically an adaptation of Return to Roissy, the second O book. Because it features Kinski (who was famously difficult) and has a vastly different experimental tone, many don't realize it’s part of the same literary universe. It’s jarring. It’s colorful. It’s often deeply uncomfortable.
Then there’s the 1990s.
During the era of "erotic thrillers," a lot of distributors just slapped the "Story of O" name on random projects to boost rentals. This created a massive amount of confusion. You have "Part 2" titles that have absolutely zero connection to Pauline Réage’s characters.
- The World of O (various iterations)
- The 2002 series starring Wendy Rice
- Bootleg sequels from the Italian market
This dilution is why the 1984 Rochat film remains the "canonical" Story of O 2 for most collectors, even if it never achieved the same cultural status as the 1975 version.
The Disconnect Between the Book and the Screen
We have to talk about Anne Desclos. For decades, the world didn't know she was the author. When she finally admitted to writing Story of O (and its sequel Return to Roissy), she explained it was a series of love letters to her employer and lover, Jean Paulhan.
The movies often miss this.
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In the books, O’s journey is psychological. In Story of O 2 (the 1984 film), the focus is almost entirely on the external—the plot, the blackmail, the scenery. This is why the sequel feels "thinner" than the original. The first movie at least captured the haunting atmosphere of the Roissy chateau. The second feels like a lavish soap opera.
Examining the Cultural Impact of the 1984 Sequel
Does it hold up? Sorta.
If you view it as a piece of 80s "Euro-cult" cinema, it’s fascinating. The fashion is incredible. The cinematography reflects a very specific moment in French film history where the line between art-house and exploitation was incredibly thin. However, if you're looking for the emotional depth of the novel, you’ll probably be disappointed.
Interestingly, Story of O 2 did better in the home video market than it did in theaters. It became a "sleeper" hit on VHS in the mid-to-late 80s. This was the era where people were discovering "adult" art-house films in the privacy of their living rooms, away from the stigma of the theater.
Realities of Finding the "Correct" Version
If you are looking to watch this today, you need to be careful with the edits. There are dozens of versions floating around.
- The French Cut: Usually the longest and most coherent.
- The US R-Rated Edit: Heavily chopped up, often losing the actual plot points.
- The Unrated Boutique Blu-rays: These are the way to go. Labels like Arrow Video or Cult Epics sometimes do deep dives into these titles, restoring the grain and the original color palettes.
The 1984 film is often bundled with the 1975 original in "Legacy" collections. If you find a DVD that says "Story of O Part 2" and it looks like it was filmed on a camcorder in a basement, that’s not it. The real sequel has high production values and a distinctively "expensive" look.
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Moving Beyond the "Sequel" Label
The legacy of Story of O 2 is really about the struggle to adapt impossible prose. Desclos wrote about an internal state of being. Cinema is a medium of looking. When you try to make a sequel to a story that was essentially a closed loop of self-discovery, you almost always end up with a "mission of the week" vibe.
That’s exactly what happened here.
O stopped being a woman exploring the limits of her own identity and became a "secret agent" of sorts, using her sexuality as a tool for someone else's gain. It’s a common trope in sequels—taking a character's defining trait and turning it into a superpower or a gimmick.
Navigating the Story of O Legacy
If you’re diving into this world for the first time, don't just stop at the movies. To actually understand what Story of O 2 was trying (and failing) to do, you have to look at the source material and the spin-offs.
- Read the original text: Pick up Return to Roissy. It’s much darker and more complex than any of the film sequels.
- Check the Director: Make sure you’re watching the Éric Rochat 1984 version if you want the "official" sequel experience.
- Compare the Aesthetics: Watch the 1975 film and the 1984 film back-to-back. The jump from the moody, 70s grain to the slick, neon-tinted 80s is a masterclass in how film style shifted in a decade.
- Seek out "The Fruits of Passion": If you want to see a truly "out there" version of the O mythos, the Kinski film is essential, even if it’s technically a separate entity.
The story of O didn't end with the first movie, but it certainly became more complicated. Whether you view the sequels as cash-grabs or genuine attempts to expand a mythos, they remain a vital part of the history of "forbidden" cinema. Just remember that in the world of O, nothing is ever quite as simple as "Part 1" and "Part 2."