Beast,
The
(1975) + Immoral
Tales
(1974/MVD/Arrow Blu-ray)/Curiosa
(2019/Film Movement DVD)/Devil
In The Flesh
(1986/Icarus DVD)/Perils
Of Gwendoline In The Land Of The Yik Yak
(1984/Severin Blu-ray)/Plugg
(1975/Umbrella Region Free PAL Import DVD)
Picture:
B+/C+/C/B-/C- Sound: B+/C+/C/B-/C Extras: B/C-/C-/C+/D
Films: C & C+/C/B-/C/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Plugg
Import DVD is now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can only play on DVD, 4K and Blu-ray
players that can handle the PAL format and can be ordered from the
link below.
Now
for some of the odder and more distinct erotic narrative films we've
seen of late...
First,
we have two quite unusual erotic films from filmmaker Walerian
Borowczyk, The
Beast
(1975) and Immoral
Tales
(1974), getting nice restorations from Arrow Video. While these film
have been censored and banned upon their initial releases, these
discs (sold separately) bring them forward a new life. In The
Beast,
a horny beast (Creature? Monster?) lusts for a beautiful woman and
her aristocratic family in a sexual fairy tale of sorts while Immoral
Tales,
captures human sexuality in different time periods and settings.
These are both erotic arthouse films rather than pornography, which
is eluded to by the cover art, but some may disagree.
The
Beast
Special Features:
Introduction
by film critic Peter Bradshaw
The
Making of The Beast:
camera operator Noel Very provides a commentary on footage shot
during the film's production
Frenzy
of Ecstasy,
a visual essay on the evolution of Borowczyk's beast and the sequel
that never was, Motherhood
The
Profligate Door,
a documentary about Borowczyk's sound sculptures featuring curator
Maurice Corbet
Boro
Brunch,
a reunion meal recorded in February 2014 reuniting members of
Borowczyk's crew
Commercials
by Borowczyk: Holy
Smoke
(1963), The
Museum
(1964) and Tom
Thumb
(1966)
Gunpoint,
a documentary short by Peter Graham produced and edited by Borowczyk
(11:04)
Behind
Enemy Lines: The Making of Gunpoint
(5:16)
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring Borowczyk's own original poster design
and
an illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Daniel
Bird and an archive piece by David Thompson, illustrated with
original stills
Immoral
Tales
Special Features:
Introduction
by Borowczyk expert Daniel Bird
Love
Reveals Itself,
a new interview program featuring production manager Dominique
Duverge-Segretin and cinematographer Noel Very
Obscure
Pleasures:
A Portrait of Walerian Borowczyk, a newly-edited archival interview
in which the filmmaker discusses painting, cinema and sex
Blow
Ups,
a visual essay by Daniel Bird about Borowczyk's works on paper
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring Borowczyk's own original poster design
and
an illustrated booklet containing new writing on the film by by
Daniel Bird and an archive piece by Philip Strick
For
more on La
Bete
from someone who liked it, a link to our coverage of an import DVD
edition:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6670/La+Bête+(La+Bete/The+Beast
Lou
Jeunet's Curiosa
(2019) takes place during the early days of still photography in
Paris 1895, two people in love with each other still carry on despite
the gal (Noemie Merland) marrying another man who she does not love
to help her life situation. Her lover (Niels Schneider) is a poet
and they start dabbling in early erotic photography, known under the
title the film uses. There are interesting moments in the
French-language film, but it is not always sexy.
Unlike
other films on this list, it is not part of the counterculture of sex
in cinema and the film is either holding back or not as interested as
it could or should be in showing more of what it is talking about.
Of course, it only took so much back then to be provocative, but the
screenplay and film get sidetracked at times, though those being
photographed look sexy enough. Guess this is a curio at best, but it
could have been better.
A
trailer is the only extra.
Mario
Bellocchio's Devil
In The Flesh
(1986) is part of a cycle of sexual films starting in the 1960s where
there is a woman who is a nymphomaniac on some level (Betty
Blue
is another such film) that shows us that the lady is very sexy, wild,
energetic and we should take the film more seriously because it
presumes to tell us details about her mental illness. It is not just
she's sex crazy, but we get deep psychological proof. That does not
make such films any less exploitive and this one can be explicit, but
there are enough moments to make it worth seeing.
Masruschka
Detmers is the woman married to a jailed left-wing radical who lands
up seducing a high school student, psychologist and anyone else she
pleases as the screenplay leaves no opportunity (or cliche for this
cycle) unturned and admittedly, some of this is genuinely erotic, but
it is also predictable at times. Detmers is very sexy here and is
photographed very well (by Director of Photography Giuseppe Lanci) so
it is a step above the likes of an Emmanuel
film, yet not always by much. I liked this better. Now you can see
for yourself.
The
only extra is an Original Theatrical Trailer that gets a bit racy.
Just
Jaeckin's Perils
Of Gwendoline In The Land Of The Yik Yak
(1984 and a title we will never see on any Indiana Jones adventure)
has the director of the original Emmanuel
trying to do some kind of genre film, looking like a low budget
variant of the 1980 Flash
Gordon
(see the 4K review elsewhere on this site) with more of a focus on
some S&M cliches and trying to be some kind of adventure film.
Brent Huff may be the male lead, but the title star is the now late
Tawny Kitaen, best known as a sex symbol of the times and for her
classic music video dane on not one, but TWO Jaguar XJ-6 sedans in a
Whitesnake video that she had just recreated a few years ago for
another video for a song about the 1980s.
Like
most such films in this genre, as repetitive as the cheesy Italian
epics of the 1960s, the visuals can be interesting and/or laughable
throughout with some bad fight scenes, wacky and/or ill-fitting (or
ill-designed) costumes and a fakeness of its time you cannot find in
any other films outside of its time period. To see
Kitaen in 35mm from a 4K scan is basically the best reason to see the
film (hope those videos get 4K treatment) and genre fans will get a
kick out of it (no pun intended) while others will find themselves
having to be patient to see the few good parts. Now a curio, nice
they saved the film so recently.
Extras
are many and include (per the press release) an Alternate U.S.
Release Version THE PERILS OF GWENDOLINE IN THE LAND OF THE YIK YAK
on the same disc, plus...
Audio
Commentary with Director Just Jaeckin.
Audio
Commentary with Stars Tawny Kitaen and Brent Huff.
The
Butterfly Effect:
2019 Interview with Director Just Jaeckin.
Bondage
Paradise:
Interviews with Costume & Concept Designers & Comic Book
Artists Francois Schuiten and Claude Renard.
The
Perils of Production: Interview with Executive Producer Jean-Claude
Fleury.
Gwendoline's
Travels:
Interview with Production Designer Francoise Deleu.
Blu-Ray
Promos with Tawny Kitaen and Brent Huff.
The
Last Temptation of Just:
2006 Interview with Director Just Jaeckin.
Dr.
Kinsey Interview with John Willie, Creator of SWEET GWENDOLINE.
Revealing
Tawny Kitaen Photospread for French LUI Magazine.
and
Trailers.
Finally,
we have an outright comedy in Terry Bourke's Plugg
(1975) from Australia and definitely from the Oz-Ploitation cycle
that began then. We get the title detective (Peter Thompson from Mad
Dog Morgan)
of the title on a case, but of course, he comes across as a little
sleazy and a peeping tom as a result of the narrative situation (for
what there is of it) and the result is a mix of sexy situations that
are funny, not necessarily sexy, some that are sexy and some that are
ridiculous.
A
major, private eye, people who cannot help themselves and others
eventually get into the mix of the mixed plot and the result is just
too all over the place to take it too seriously. I guess they
thought this was very funny and amusing when they met it, but it does
not play that way today. Still, there are some good moments for
those interested and the cast also includes Cheryl Rixon, Alan
Cassell, Edgar Metcalfe, Reg Gorman, Joseph Furst, Phil Cleary and
Norman Yemm. Without their energy, this would be even less
interesting.
There
are no extras.
Now
for playback performance. Both Beast
and Tales
have an MPEG-4 AVC codec, aspect ratios of 1.66:1 and high definition
digital transfer of the uncut 98-minute version that features an
Uncompressed French Mono 2.0 LPCM Audio with newly transcribed
English subtitles for both features in exceptional transfers that
capture the interesting cinematography well.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Perils
looks good and was shot on 35mm film with anamorphic Panavision
lenses, with some good color, but there is more softness and a few
off shots that hold this back a bit despite being a 4K scan. The
sound is here in
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes and this
was originally an analog, Dolby System B-type stereo surround
release. It shows its age with the two track about even and sound as
good as this film likely ever will. The combination is not bad, but
maybe a little more work could correct the minor issues.
The
DVDs vary in quality and not well, anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1
image on Curiosa
can be soft, but some of that is the style on purpose, making me
curious(a?) how much better this would look in HD or 4K, while the
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 on Devil
is sadly softer than I would have liked, along with the 35mm film
materials not being in the best of shape. This film needs serious
restoration and this will hopefully happen soon. That leaves the
1.33 X 1 image on Plugg
in shape so poor, there is a disclaimer on the box and the film is
credited as being in 'Skinemascope' to hype it, but its just plain
old 35mm film with no anamorphic lenses whatsoever. The copy used is
likely an old PAL video master and it is very soft and noisy. The
analog videotape flaws including video noise, video banding, telecine
flicker, tape scratching, PAL cross color, faded color and tape
damage. Like Devil,
hope it is not a lost film, but they both need work and saved. Since
it is visually erotic, the lack of fidelity gets in the way.
As
for sound, each film offers different, lossy Dolby Digital
soundtracks, with Curiosa
delivering a 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo mix, Devil
(originally an analog, Dolby System Stereo B-type surround release)
and Plugg
2.0 Mono, only Curiosa
sounds good, if compressed. The others are a little lower and
rougher in fidelity, so be careful of volume switching and high
volume playback.
You
can order
the Plugg
Umbrella import DVD, as well as many more great and hard-to-get
releases
at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (Beast,
Tales)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
