No surprise that in Master and Commander and Pirates of the Caribbeanwould trigger the re-release of older pirate movies. And oh look: those two hits are the firstthings mentioned on the blurb!
Synopsis
The title is self-explanatory. What you have here is a series of 15 short film from France. Thelonger vignettes is the expected bag of tricks: straight, lesbian, bondage, threesome, etc.Interspersed amidst the hardcore are short burlesque dances. The case boasts… and I quote: “Thesefilms stand out not only for being ahead of their time, but because they transcend the standards ofmuch of what is being produced today.” Well, that might be pushing things a bit far. There isn’t alot of cinematic pizzazz on display here. The primary value of these shorts is historic, and hencethe star rating. As movies, they’re not much. As history, they’re rather interesting.
Audio
The quandary regarding the star rating that applied to the film quality holds true here as well.These are, for the most part, completely silent films, so sound quality is irrelevant when there isno sound at all. What Cult Epics has provided is the option of hearing the sound of film movingthrough a projector. Some of the dance numbers have their original music, and this (mono, ofcourse) sound varies from the acceptable to horrible gurgle and static.
Video
As with the sound, so with the picture. There is nothing wrong with the transfer itself. Theprint quality is pretty appalling, but hey, these are old porn loops, some on 8 and 9.5 mm. Whatdid you expect? Massive restoration? So there is plenty of grain, scratches and dirt, but thecontrary would have been surprising. In other words, as with the sound, a star ranking iscompletely irrelevant, hence the middle-of-the-road rating.
Special Features
The only extra is a still gallery. Frankly, a bit more history and context for these shorts wouldhave been heartily appreciated here. The menu has that running projector sound.
Closing Thoughts
Valuable as a historical record (all aspects of film, however dubious, should be preserved),and intriguing in an odd sort of way, but more informative extras would really make a bigdifference here.
Special Features List
- Still Gallery
