 The movie was released in the UK as "The Sinners" to limited box office response.It was released in Italy with twenty minutes cut out, but was a popular success.The "Los Angeles Times" called it a "handsome, stunningly designed film" which was at its best in "the deft way in which it coolly depicts how beautiful, chic people, dedicated to a sophisticate, amoral view of love, can be utterly defenseless against an onslaught of passion – a favorite Gallic theme."