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Stanley Long's Adventures: A Seventies Sex Comedy Threesome [3 X Blu-ray]
 

Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976)      Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978)

 

 

Once dubbed the 'King of Sexploitation' by the tabloid press, Stanley Long was the godfather of the British sex film. Starting out with 8mm striptease reels in the 1950s before moving into nudist documentaries, Long went on to produce and direct a string of extremely popular X-rated movies which told tales of wife swapping, groupies and other saucy goings on. He reached the pinnacle of commercial success with this trio of incredibly successful 'on the job' sex comedies.

Adventures of a Taxi Driver, starring sitcom actor Barry Evans, set the template with the antics of a cabbie who 'gets more than his fare share'. Securing international distribution - as well as becoming the most successful comedy at the British box office in 1976 - it prompted two sequels, each featuring more of the same but with a different lead actor (future hit-record producer Christopher Neil).

Boasting supporting casts which burst with top-tier British acting talent - including Harry H Corbett (Steptoe and Son), Diana Dors (Berserk), Judy Geeson (Inseminoid), Suzy Kendall (To Sir, with Love), future musical theatre sensation Elaine Paige, and former Doctor Who Jon Pertwee - the Adventures series represents British popular filmmaking at its most unashamedly cheeky."

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 23rd, 1976 - May 18th, 1978

 

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Review: Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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or buy directly from Indicator:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime

Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976): 1:29:34.160

Adventures of a Private Eye (1977): 1:36:38.918

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978): 1:28:33.266

Video

Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976):

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 42,631,823,855 bytes

Feature: 24,514,649,664 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.02 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,092,977,491 bytes

Feature: 26,442,452,544 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.02 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978):

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 34,356,074,921 bytes

Feature: 24,215,590,464 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976) Blu-ray:

Bitrate Adventures of a Private Eye (1977) Blu-ray:

Bitrate Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978) Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Commentaries and BEHP interviews:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -30dB

Subtitles English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Indicator

 

Edition Details:

Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976)
• The Best of the Adventures (1981 - 1:26:25): feature-length compilation of extracts from the Adventures series, made for the nascent videotape market and hosted by broadcaster Peter Noble
• The BEHP Interview with Stanley Long (1999): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the producer and director in conversation with Denis Gifford and Emmanuel Yospa
• Peter Sinclair's Camera (2022 - 14:54): the veteran cinematographer discusses his work for exploitation filmmakers Stanley Long and Pete Walker, and his move to Los Angeles in the 1980s to direct music videos

Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)
• Dear Prudence (2022 - 14:02): Prudence Drage, one of Long's favourite performers, tells colourful stories from her extensive career as an actor and singer

• Can You Keep It Up with This, That and the Other for a Week? (2004 - 15:38): Jan Manthey's affectionate short film homage to the British sex comedies of the seventies
• The Adventures of a Plumber in Outer Space (2008- 44:34): Manthey's follow-up to Can You Keep It Up..., featuring a cameo appearance by Long

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978)
• Stanley by Simon (2022 - 18:53): Long's biographer Simon Sheridan recalls his close friendship with Britain's undisputed 'King of Sexploitation'
• Super 8 version of Adventures of a Private Eye: cut-down home cinema presentation (16:00)

• Image galleries: extensive promotional and publicity materials from Stanley Long's archives
• Original theatrical trailers (Plumber - 2:09, Private Eye - 2:52, Taxi - 3:11)

Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Simon Sheridan, archival interviews with Stanley Long and actor-composer Christopher Neil, a letter from the producers complaining about the Adventures films' treatment in the British press, newspaper articles on the controversy surrounding the casting of Elaine Paige in Adventures of a Plumber's Mate while she was starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, a look at the three films' novelisations, an overview of contemporary critical responses, Jan Manthey on his short films, and film credits


Blu-ray Release Date:
April 25h, 2022
Custom Blu-ray Case

Chapters 11 / 11 / 11

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (May 2022): Indicator have transferred 'Stanley Long's Adventures: A Seventies Sex Comedy Threesome's' on Blu-ray with Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976), Adventures of a Private Eye (1977) and Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978) getting individual, dual-layered 1080P transfers. Image quality is a function of the sources - which are not great. Adventures of a Taxi Driver looks the worst of the three; very heavy, lots of grain without any appreciable sharpness. It's consistent and still very watchable - probably accurate to the original production. The other two films are of a superior image quality - but not by a preponderance - tighter, smoother, less of the excessive grainy appearance. I imagine this is the best they will look on digital. The modest appearance doesn't deter from the films enjoyment. 

NOTE: We have added 74 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language for all three films. The film have no aggressive bass response - being light comedies. For Adventures of a Taxi Driver and Adventures of a Private Eye the score is credited to 'DeWolfe' (Dutch-born Walter Warren who did the score for The Mighty Peking Man.) Christopher Neil, the star of the second two films doing the score for Adventures of a Plumber's Mate. He is well-known as a British record producer, songwriter, and singer. He produced songs for Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Gerry Rafferty, Rod Stewart, Sheena Easton, the Moody Blues, and Cliff Richard - among others. The audio quality may be a small step up from the video - flat and unremarkable. Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-rays.

The Indicator Blu-ray offer 2008 audio commentaries on all three films with director Stanley Long where he reminisces - jovially at times - on the productions, stars, censorship and fun they had making the 3 Adventures romps. The big extra, on the Adventures of a Taxi Driver Blu-ray, is 1981's 'The Best of the Adventures'. It's a compilation of extracts from the Adventures series, made for the nascent videotape market and hosted by broadcaster Peter Noble who seems to believe the films are a natural successor to Chaucer. Okay. There are also BEHP interviews with Stanley Long from 1999 that run to the film. They are archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the producer and director in conversation with Denis Gifford and Emmanuel Yospa. There are new supplements on every disc - we get Peter Sinclair's Camera - 1/4 hour of the veteran cinematographer discussing his work for exploitation filmmakers Stanley Long and Pete Walker, and his move to Los Angeles in the 1980s to direct music videos. Dear Prudence runs 14-minutes and has Prudence Drage, one of Long's favorite performers, telling colorful stories from her extensive career as an actor and singer. Stanley by Simon - Long's biographer Simon Sheridan (X-Rated: Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker) recalls his close friendship with Britain's undisputed 'King of Sexploitation'. The Adventures of a Plumber in Outer Space is 3/4 an hour from 2008: Manthey's follow-up to Can You Keep It Up..., featuring a cameo appearance by Long. Included is a Super 8 version of Adventures of a Private Eye - a cut-down home cinema presentation running 16-minutes. Can You Keep It Up with This, That and the Other for a Week? is from 2004 - Jan Manthey's affectionate 1/4 hour film homage to the British sex comedies of the seventies. This is fun. The package has Image galleries of promotional and publicity materials from Stanley Long's archives and original theatrical trailers for each film. Lastly, the boxset has a limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Simon Sheridan, archival interviews with Stanley Long and actor-composer Christopher Neil, a letter from the producers complaining about the Adventures films' treatment in the British press, newspaper articles on the controversy surrounding the casting of Elaine Paige in Adventures of a Plumber's Mate while she was starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, a look at the three films' novelizations, an overview of contemporary critical responses, Jan Manthey on his short films, and film credits.

'Stanley Long's Adventures: A Seventies Sex Comedy Threesome's' is certainly a ribald departure for Indicator. We applaud their diversification. While Long's 'Adventures' tri-fecta never had the success of the Carry On franchise - they are in the same vein - funny with sex at the cornerstone of the situational skits. There are plenty of instances of a surprised husband coming to catch his wife in bed with one of the titular characters. I suspect the nostalgia value will be strong for some viewers. They're goofy at times with a semblance of a plot... and lots of bare breasts - and a few nude male backsides. The Indicator Blu-ray package is at their usual very high standard with abundant extras, commentary, booklet and more. Fans will enjoy pointing out the favorites Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and an aged Diana Dors among others. Recommended!

Gary Tooze

 


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Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976) Blu-ray

 

Adventures of a Private Eye (1977) Blu-ray

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978) Blu-ray


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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

or buy directly from Indicator:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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