Felicity (Glory Annen) is reaching sexual maturity, but the outlets for her desires at her convent school are limited and not entirely satisfying. She leaves the school for the big bad world, and winds up travelling to Hong Kong where she has one adventure after another.If the concept of an Asian-set sexual coming-of-age sounds familiar, it should, and the movie is honest enough to wear its influences on its sleeve (Felicity is seen reading Emmanuelle and The Story of O). It is what it is. It may not be exactly an unearthed classic, but it is a solidly crafted bit of erotica, very much of its period (1979), and rather interesting precisely for that reason.
Audio
The 2.0 mono score is crisp and clean, with no real distortion. The music sounds fine. This is the kind of movie that, given its status and age, could easily sound dreadful, so it’s a pleasure to find that this is not the case. No stereo remixes, but that isn’t a problem. Let’s hear it for the purity of the original form.
Video
All things considered, the movie looks pretty good. Sure, the colours are a bit faded, making the pic look like it’s from the early, rather than the late, 1970’s. But the fading isn’t severe, and the general effect is quite naturalistic. Grain is present, but the print is generally in astonishingly good shape. It is unlikely that the movie’s original audiences saw it looking any better than this.
Special Features
Commentary tracks are pretty much standard these days, but not always on this kind of film, so the fact that Annen and director John Lamond have reunited to provide the thoughtful track here present deserves special plaudits. The other extras consist of a still gallery and the theatrical trailer.
Closing Thoughts
There’s nothing really brilliant here, but Severin’s release is also the sort of exploitation preservation that deserves a big round of applause. More, please.
