1970s

In 1835, the San Cristobal Island located somewhere in the British West Indies is ruled by sadistic beauty, Lady Susan Walker, who forces the local men to join the black slaves on her sugar cane plantation and either work or die. She’s always dressed in black and never lets go of her whip, the black snake. Her latest husband has gone missing making her a real black widow. Her right hand man, impotent, racist and violent Joxer Tierney, is in command of the slaves and he makes sure that they hate him even more than they do her. Young slave Joshua plans a revolt, but his religious father Isaiah is terrified of what might happen if the revolt fails. Sir Charles Walker, the brother of Susan’s late husband, goes undercover as Ronald Sopwith to investigate what really happened to his brother. She hires him as the plantation accountant, gives him a black sex slave named Cleone and eventually tries to seduce him. Her sadistic gay assistant may no more about Charles’ brother’s fate.Read More »

Nazisploitation porn film (an interesting combo) about a Paris bordello where willing women pleasure high-ranking members of the SS for cash. High productions values make this a classier affair than it has any right to be. Sets and costumes are impressive and definitely add to the enjoyment of the film. There are even a few period vehicles on display. The hardcore scenes are in limited supply and of varying quality. The first FFM sex scene is the highlight of the bunch. Some lesbian scenes try to spice up the second half of the film but the action is strictly softcore and bland. Thankfully, the lovely Brigitte Lahaie is on hand to add significant eye candy throughout (here still a brunette, a few years before her trademark blonde look). Exploitive elements are kept to a minimum but include some sexual bondage and a scene where one of the prostitutes thoroughly washes her vagina after sex with a commander. There’s also a gunshot suicide and a scene where one of the women is accused of spying on the Nazis and is tortured with live wires after being stripped and bound. Definitely not a film for everyone, but those familiar with daring 70’s porn films should know what to expect.Read More »

An Italian adaptation of The Sea Gull by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.
A young writer is trapped between his awful actress mother (Laura Betti) and the knowledge that he has only a mediocre talent as a playwright and almost no force of character. After the young man in this story suffers the loss of his mistress to his self-satisfied novelist stepfather, his self-respect is so shattered that he commits suicide.Read More »

In 1958 Angelo, a rich and spoiled boy, enters a religious school, where students are tired of its vice-rector, and the strict rules and old-fashioned teaching methods of priests. Soon, Angelo exerts strong leadership among his peers and incites turmoil among them, helped by intellectual Franco and shy Camma. They expel the prefect from the school, organize a Grand Guignol show, and disappear the corpse of an old professor.Read More »

Various stories intertwine within the walls of a popular Parisian brothel on the eve of the First World War.Read More »

The Mummy of the legendary wrestler Satan awakes 100 years after his death, as Satan was also a powerful sorcerer who vowed to take revenge over the City of Guanajuato before dying.Read More »

Quote:
Having seen virtually all of Jose Benazeraf’s mainly excellent softcore 1960s movies and a good selection (over a dozen) of his later XXX offerings I was unprepared for this off-the-wall 1974 transitional film. This is one case where the dreaded “auteur’s explanation” that accompanies so many wretched DVDs would be helpful.
I will offer my own pet theory, certainly wrong but convincing enough for me. I contend that Jose found the chance to travel to Italy and film an Italian co-production to be an irresistible opportunity to lampoon the then-current trend of Italian cinema to make sexy left-wing film tracts. Not like the Godard tracts of the ’60s, but many wonderful and hokey movies that I love, like Ugo Tognazzi fighting the class struggle against Romy Schneider in LA CALIFFA or any of the Bellocchio efforts of the time.Read More »

Believe it or not even in Smalltown USA there are still people who are unfulfilled and unrelieved in the midst of plenty. Levonna and Lamar could have the perfect relationship if it were not Lamar’s obsession with rear entry.Read More »

Not satisfied with the pace of natural selection in driving evolution, a deranged botanist decides to create his own genetically engineered Mutations! With the promise of using his experiments to “cure” them, Dr. Nolter (Pleasence) enlists members of the local Freakshow to help him kidnap students from a nearby college to use as human guinea pigs! Using the same techniques that he developed mixing the DNA of plants and animals, he begins crossbreeding plants and humans with unpredictable results. One by one his failed experiments are cast off to the circus until the freaks have had enough and seek their bloody revenge. This updated take on Todd Browning’s FREAKS is directed by award winning director / cinematographer Jack Cardiff (African Queen, Red Shoes) and features a stellar cast including Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris and Michael Dunn.Read More »