THIS WEEK's RELEASES: Not a lot but some biggies - Bela Tarr Gold in 4K UHD by Criterion, the ultimate Cooper western in 4K UHD, plus Yasujirō Ozu, Paul Schrader, Sergio Martino, Jesús Franco...
NEW CALENDAR UPDATES (LINKED HERE!) Aki Kaurismäki, Sergio Martino, Roger Vadim, Alex Proyas, León Klimovsky, Sidney Lumet, Philo Vance, Republic Pictures Horror Collection, Clint Eastwood, Peter Bogdanovich, Sidney J. Furie, David O. Russell, Abel Ferrara, Woody Allen, Guillermo del Toro, John McTiernan, Christopher Nolan, John Frankenheimer, Sci-Fi Chillers Collection, Arthur Dong, John Waters, John Waters, Lucio Fulci, Terry Gilliam, Peter Collinson, the Taviani Brothers, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, The Wachowskis, Ethan Coen, Edward Dmytryk, George King, John Guillermin, David Lynch, Francois Ozon, Kinji Fukasaku, King Vidor, Tetsuya Nakashima...
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS: FULL WEEK - brilliant 60's Nakamura echoes Naruse and Wong Kar Wai, strong Italian 60's drama, silent masterwork that initiated the trend of the "old dark house" genre, huge 60's Taiwanese historical epic, classic Fonda western, important and lauded French 90's film in 4K UHD, naughty Tinto and sexy Amy Yip, Jack directs Jack in 4K UHD, looting a mountain plane crash...
Enjoy,
Gary

RELEASES the WEEK of April 15th, 2024 (Recommended titles have "**")

**Affliction** [Blu-ray] (Paul Schrader, 1997) Shout! Factory
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COMMENTS: Winner of the 1997 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Coburn), and Oscar-nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nick Nolte), this emotionally captivating film co-stars Oscar winner Sissy Spacek and Willem Dafoe. When events shatter the quiet of his small town, Wade Whitehouse (Nolte), with the aid of his new girlfriend (Spacek), is forced to confront his past and reexamine his life. Determined to fill the emptiness, he must either stand tall against his childhood demons or fall victim to his father's abusive ways. A wrenching but rewarding film depiction that you'll never forget, Affliction is "already an American classic" (The Village Voice).
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Countdown to Esmeralda Bay [Blu-ray] (Jesús Franco, 1990) Full Moon UK
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COMMENTS: From the fevered mind of cult director Jess Franco comes COUNTDOWN TO ESMERALDA BAY, a rarely seen, action-packed thriller produced by Europe's notorious genre film studio, Eurocine (FEMALE VAMPIRE, DEMONIAC)! In the sweaty, politically volatile South American country of Puerto Santo, there's a battle brewing. When an arms-dealing American (George Kennedy, COOL HAND LUKE) begins selling weapons to the local rebels, he stirs the ire of a hot-headed General (Robert Forster, JACKIE BROWN, ALLIGATOR) and raises the blood-pressure of the country's hapless president (Fernando Rey, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE). As tensions rise, a Priest who has had enough (Franco regular Antonio Mayans, WHITE CANNIBAL QUEEN, ZOMBIE LAKE) takes command of the rebels and leads his people to the battle of their lives in Esmeralda Bay! One of a handful of now-obscure action films Franco made for Eurocine in the late 1980s (including the Christopher Lee espionage dramas NIGHT OF THE EAGLES and FLOWERS OF EVIL), TO ESMERALDA BAY is a colorful, pulse-pounding tale of revolution, a military gone mad, a government out of control and the grafters who profit from the chaos.
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**High Noon [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) Kino
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BEAVER Blu-ray REVIEW
COMMENTS: Screen legend Gary Cooper (Vera Cruz) won the 1952 Oscar for Best Actor in this classic tale of an aging lawman who stands alone to defend a town of righteous cowards in one of the greatest showdowns in the history of cinema. The movie also marks the first starring role for a beautiful young actress who went on to become one of Hollywood’s most beloved icons—Grace Kelly (The Country Girl). Produced by Stanley Kramer (Inherit the Wind), directed by Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity) and written for the screen by Carl Foreman (The Bridge on the River Kwai), High Noon garnered a total of 4 Academy Awards, including Best Score for Dimitri Tiomkin (Rio Bravo), and now stands high as one of the most cherished and influential films of all time. Western favorites Thomas Mitchell (Stagecoach), Lloyd Bridges (Canyon Passage), Katy Jurado (Arrowhead), Otto Kruger (Duel in the Sun), Lon Chaney Jr. (The Indian Fighter), Henry Morgan (The Ox-Bow Incident), Jack Elam (Support Your Local Sheriff) and Lee Van Cleef (For a Few Dollars More) round out the rousing cast.
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The Killer Nun [Blu-ray] (Giulio Berruti, 1979) RB UK Shameless Films
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COMMENTS: Dubbed ‘The Sex Symbol of the silver screen’, Anita Ekberg, renowned for her iconic frolicking in the Trevi Fountain in Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita,’ delivers an amazingly unique barn-storming performance in ‘THEKILLER NUN.’ In an interview exclusive to this edition, Ekberg reveals her frustration with the ‘bombshell’ typecasting that followed, expressing a preference for working on films like ‘Killer Nun’ and she boldly declares, ‘This is the kind of film I like!‘ Originally banned as a Video Nasty, ‘Killer Nun’ is a true ‘Nunsploitation’ great, which uniquely crosses into the Giallo genre. Presented here uncut and pristinely restored from a 2K scan of the camera negative, this release finally does justice to the uninhibited and frenzied vision of its creator. With impressive high-style photography and vivid, deliciously surreal murders, it is superbly enhanced by the dreamy yet dystopian score of Alessandro Alessandroni (immortalised by his twangy guitar and his legendary whistling in Sergio Leone’s westerns). The music itself is a manic masterpiece.
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The Slave of the Cannibal God [Blu-ray] (Sergio Martino, 1972) RB UK Shameless Films
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BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: Ursula Andress (voted the Top Bond Girl of all time in Dr No - The Nurse) here stars as ‘THE SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD’. The film follows her as she travels to the New Guinea jungle in search of her scientist husband who’s vanished in the untamed Green Inferno. Soon, giant spiders, killer crocodiles and deadly giant snakes bare their teeth as her expedition, led by cult-favourite Stacy Keach, journeys towards the sacred mountain of the Cannibal God! There a flesh-eating tribe will enslave her in an eruption of frenzied orgiastic climax… Banned as a ‘Video Nasty’, Shameless now reinstates the original dramatic gore and the extended - and here complete - explicit scenes to serve up this 2K-sharp restoration of this ferocious unflinching exploitation treat, to be savoured in all its blood-soaked glory!
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Taxi [Blu-ray] (Gérard Pirès, 1998) Samuel Goldwyn Films
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COMMENTS: To work off his tarnished driving record, a hip taxi driver must chauffeur a loser police inspector on the trail of German bank robbers.
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**Two Films by Yasujirō Ozu** [Blu-ray] - I Was Born, But… (1932) / There Was a Father (1942) RB UK BFI
UK PURCHASE LINK
COMMENTS: From his early silent films to his final features in the 1960s, Ozu perfected a style that stripped away unnecessary plot mechanics and camera movement. In doing so, he produced a cinema whose surface simplicity belies character studies of depth, warmth and on occasion, humour. This release features two newly restored films, presented on Blu-ray including a longer and previously unreleased version of There Was a Father. I Was Born, But… (1932, 91 mins): as brothers Ryoichi and Keiji struggle to outwit the local bully and scale the pecking order in their new neighbourhood they find out that injustice does not end with school. Ozu's silent masterpiece prefigures themes from his later, colour classic Good Morning, but with a darker edge. There Was a Father (1942, 93 mins): Shuhei Horikawa sacrifices his teaching career after an unfortunate accident but refuses to sacrifice the education of his only son.
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**Werckmeister Harmonies [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Bela Tarr, 2000) Criterion
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COMMENTS: This mesmeric parable of societal collapse is an enigma of transcendent visual, philosophical, and mystical resonance. Adapted from a novel by László Krasznahorkai, Werckmeister Harmonies unfolds in an unknown time in an unnamed village, where, one day, a mysterious circus—complete with an enormous stuffed whale and a shadowy, demagogue-like figure known as the Prince—arrives and appears to awaken a kind of madness in the citizens that builds inexorably toward violence. In thirty-nine hypnotic long takes engraved in ghostly black and white, auteur Béla Tarr and codirector-editor Ágnes Hranitzky conjure an apocalyptic vision of dreamlike dread and fathomless beauty.
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**You'll Never Get Rich** [Blu-ray] (Sidney Lanfield, 1941) Allied Vaughn
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COMMENTS: This delightful musical comedy about a Broadway dance director who finds himself drafted into the Army stars Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire and features songs by Cole Porter. The dance sequences between Astaire and Hayworth are marvelous and the score earned an Oscar nomination.
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NEW CALENDAR UPDATES AVAILABLE HERE

https://www.patreon.com/posts/dvdbeaver-update-101422576

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REVIEWS / COMPARISONS:

**Luigi Comencini's "Misunderstood"** Blu-ray - Anthony Quayle / Stefano Colagrande @FilmsRadiance
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Luigi Comencini made films from the 1940's through to 1991 and his Bread, Love and Dreams featured Vittorio De Sica and Gina Lollobrigida which was regarded as a quintessential example of neorealismo rosa ('pink neorealism' or a "sweet comedy / romance") a sub-genre of already popular Commedia all'italiana. I think I have only seen one of the director's films; The Sunday Woman with Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Louis Trintignant - which I found unique and I enjoyed. Misunderstood is a heart-breaking portrait of maternal loss and absentee parenting by a career-dominated father. The film focuses almost entirely on the two sons who don't carry any awareness of the trappings of an adult existence, although the eldest Andrea (Stefano Colagrande) comes across as quite mature with inscrutable eyes. He always shows patience for his younger brother. Andrea is seeking his father's approval - a connection. Without it - he is becoming rebellious. Yes... melodrama - but impacting-ly effective with childhood innocence involved. There was a lackluster 1984 remake of Misunderstood with Gene Hackman. I was surprised by my strong reaction to Luigi Comencini's Misunderstood - an extremely touching and artfully made film. We strongly recommend the Radiance Blu-ray and hope they can bring more of this director's work to the format. Absolutely recommended.
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**Paul Leni's "The Cat and the Canary"** Blu-ray - Laura La Plante / Creighton Hale @mastersofcinema @Eurekavideo
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COMMENTS: It's hard to talk about Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary without mentioning the hilarious 1939 version with Bob Hope and Paulette Godard (reviewed on Blu-ray by Kino HERE and by Eureka HERE), also based on the classic John Willard (The Mask of Fu Manchu) play. It was also remade as Rupert Julian's The Cat Creeps from 1930 (although not the 1950 same-titled film.) Leni made The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning for Universal. The latter also starring Laura La Plante, who, during the 1920s, appeared in more than 60 films. Leni's The Cat and the Canary initiated the trend of the "old dark house" genre and was cited as being an early example of 20th-century German Expressionism using similar camera effects found in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The 1927  The Cat and the Canary is both fun and sets an effectively creepy atmosphere. I am very happy the, stacked, Masters of Cinema Blu-ray with two commentaries, video essay, interviews booklet and more. A wonderful silent era film that is strongly recommended!
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**Han Hsiang Li's "The Beauty of Beauties"** Blu-ray - Ching Chiang / Lei Zhao @88_Films
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Han Hsiang Li's The Beauty of Beauties is a huge historical epic with enormous outdoor sets and massive groups of costumed extras. It's an entertaining and elegant spectacle originally released as a two-part production (2 hours each.) This is 'digest' version of the film - the only one surviving - leading to the narrative being slightly uneven. It's quite majestic, reminding me of Cleopatra or Kurosawa's RAN. As well as a large-scale battle within the film there is a focus on a stunning and irreverent concubine, Hsi Shih, (played by a 19-year actress named Ching Chiang - iconic Brigitte Lin talks about her HERE) who seduces the oppressive King. She has a hidden agenda - complicit with her eleven fellow courtesans. Hsi Shih is the titular "beauty of beauties". I was swept up in the immense-ness of the production; 1000's of extras, beautiful costuming, extravagant palace set and its effective melodrama. As Rayns stated, this is the important director's first ever Western home video release! I would recommend to fans of historical epics or cinephiles interested in Asian (Taiwanese) films. 88 Films should be commended for bringing this to Blu-ray regardless of the uneven-ness of the a/v. There is still value and well worth a spin or more. In a word; "fascinating". Recommended!
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**Ngai Choi Lam's "Erotic Ghost Story"** Blu-ray - Amy Yip / So Man @88_Films
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Ngai Choi Lam's Erotic Ghost Story is right in the mold of Sex and Zen, Robotrix (both with Miss Yip) or restrictive Category III rated efforts. It has prodigious use of the 'Yip Tease', with discrete camera angles, and careful editing so that Amy Yip's nipples were never (contractually) visible - although side shots of her breasts and brief buttocks are present. I was, admittedly, surprised at the full frontal nudity of Erotic Ghost Story showing the other two spirit foxes and the Japanese actress Kiyoko Kamimura (playing the woman washing clothes and seduced by the demon.) The film has themes of classical Chinese 'Liaozhai'; scary stories with romance and there are supernatural fantasy elements in Erotic Ghost Story. While, yeah, it has a lot of boobs and more - but the film shifts to a horror in the final 1/4. I enjoyed the earnest performances. Amy Yip fans don't require my endorsement. She was nicknamed 'boba' ("champion of breasts") which was also adopted as the term for tapioca pearls in Taiwanese bubble tea circa 1980s - as well as a large-sized steamed bun named "Amy Yip Big Pau". There is a book about Amy Yip's life by Chaz Gower, HERE. The 88 Films Blu-ray gives this niche-appealing film a solid HD presentation with double commentaries and more.
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**Anthony Mann's "The Tin Star"** Blu-ray - Henry Fonda / Anthony Perkins @ArrowFilmsVideo
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OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Anthony Mann's The Tin Star was shot in VistaVision by Loyal Griggs (Shane, White Christmas, The Ten Commandments) and has some impressive deep-focus and delightful western trope compositions. With Mann's simple, direct, style he helmed many of the iconic western-genre films of the 50's including Man of the West (1958), The Man from Laramie (1955), The Far Country (1954), The Naked Spur (1953), Bend of the River (1952), The Furies (1950), and Winchester '73 (1950.) The Tin Star would be the only time Mann and Fonda would work together. The film became one of the only modestly-budgeted westerns to receive an Academy award nomination for 'Best Writing, Story or Screenplay' (by Joel Kane, Dudley Nichols - who both did mostly TV work and, Barney Slater who wrote Stagecoach and Bringing Up Baby). Some of the stunts in The Tin Star were credited to Richard Farnsworth (David Lynch's The Straight Story). It's a classic, pure, western with elements of The Gunfighter / Shane while a gentle message denouncing racism. The Tin Star isn't a perfect film - it's just darn close to being a perfect western. The Arrow Blu-ray is a great package of a film that sorely deserved 1080P status. Commentary, new featurettes, accoutrements including poster and booklet. Highly anticipated by the genre's fans this is strongly recommended - and an essential for western fans. Buy with confidence, 'pardner'.
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**Jack Nicholson's "Goin' South" 4K UHD** - Jack Nicholson / Mary Steenburgen @cine_matographe @VinegarSyndrome
Vinegar Syndrome
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Goin' South was the second of three films directed by Nicholson after 1971's Drive, He Said and before the Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes (1990.) It was also the film debut of Mary Steenburgen, who had been a waitress in New York. Nicholson's performance in Goin' South has been described as 'prankish' and it seems one of the odd elements of the film. Plus he wavers in scenes from having an obvious nasal problem almost sounding DUB'ed. The film though is entertaining although never really does a deep-enough examination of one of its main themes "marriage". It didn't do well at the box office, reportedly because of the negative reaction of the sexual assault scene and that Steenburgen, who was excellent, was not a big enough name at the time to draw larger audiences. It was pretty fun film but no masterpiece. The supporting cast includes Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi, Richard Bradford, one of my favorites Veronica Cartwright (the young girl, Cathy, in The Birds and in 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers,) Danny DeVito and Ed Begley Jr. The Cinématographe 4K UHD is a really nice package in a classy media-book (photos and essays) plus there is a revealing commentary and two top-shelf visual essays. Fans of Jack may wish to consider indulging.
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**Noboru Nakamura's "The Shape of Night"** Blu-ray - Miyuki Kuwano / Keisuke Sonoi @FilmsRadiance
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: I had never seen a film by Noboru Nakamura before watching The Shape of Night - even though two; Twin Sisters of Kyoto and Portrait of Chieko, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Shape of Night is magnificent. I would compare my very positive reaction to another 60's Japanese film on Radiance Blu-ray released this year; Yoshishige Yoshida's A Story Written With Water, which also blew me away. Miyuki Kuwano (non-starring roles in Hideo Gosha's 1964 Three Outlaw Samurai, Yasujirô Ozu's 1960 Late Autumn and Kurosawa's 1965 Red Beard) was so impressive in the role of Yoshie Nomoto trapped in a life of Tokyo prostitution. There are strong echoes of Mikio Naruse's When a Woman Ascends the Stairs and, yes, I occasionally thought of Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love with the color, editing etc. It's very satisfying to see the director and this film getting more cinephile exposure with The Shape of Night screened at the Venice Film Festival a few years ago. Giant kudos to Radiance for bringing this exceptional work to Blu-ray. I openly admit to enjoying this way out of proportion. I hope you do as well. Strongly recommended!
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**Abner Biberman's "The Looters"** Blu-ray - Rory Calhoun / Julie Adams @KinoLorber
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Actor-turned-director Abner Biberman's The Looters has an intriguing premise with survivors of a mountain plane crash and the robbery of a quarter million in stolen cash. The story was written by Paul Schneider - who had mostly TV credits including two well-remembered episodes of the original, 1966, Star Trek series: "Balance of Terror" (the introduction of Romulans) and "The Squire of Gothos" with Venita Wolf. The Looters does seem to have awkward dialogue and characterizations. I couldn't help but sense some homo-eroticism between the characters Jesse (Rory Calhoun) and Pete (Ray Danton) in the beginning of the film. This evaporates once plane crash survivor Sheryl Gregory (Julie Adams) enters - btw, at the age of 19, Adams she was crowned "Miss Little Rock". So, The Looters was a good story - not so well realized on film although I appreciated the greed motivation theme - and superficialities exposed; men liking Sheryl for her looks and the money being an assumption of relationship enticement. There certainly are positives including that this is the film's first appearance on home video. The Kino Blu-ray includes the valuable Roan commentary - fans of the cast and 50's adventures (stranded in the Rocky Mountains milieu) may enjoy.
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**Mathieu Kassovitz's "La Haine" 4K UHD** - Vincent Cassel @Criterion
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Mathieu Kassovitz was awarded the Best Director prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival for "La Haine". The film is set in the "banlieue" - the economically-deprived suburbs of Paris that feature low-income housing projects (HLMs) and that are home to large immigrant populations. These are often labeled unsafe or "poverty traps." The film takes place on one fateful evening with an extensive wave of violence occurring. It is somewhat remarkable that director / writer Kassovitz and his three lead actors were all in their twenties when the film was made. Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Koundé), and Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui) are a representation of the economic division and the frustrations that arise between those feeling trapped by inequity and a two-tiered, racist, justice system. Their own culture of the deprived forms; music, clothing, slang etc. and we are exposed to its positive social development and universality. Criterion's 4K UHD release of "La Haine" has the important and lauded film looking amazing in the top tier 2160P format - endorsed by the filmmakers. Plus it has the commentary and other valued extras of the previous US edition. This is a brilliant film with a stellar presentation. Strongly recommended.
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**Tinto Brass' "All Ladies Do It" 4K UHD** - Claudia Koll / Ornella Marcucci @CultEpics @mvdentgroup
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US BLU-RAY PURCHASE LINK
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW / COMPARISON
COMMENTS: Tinto Brass' "All Ladies Do It" is loosely based on Mozart / da Ponte opera Così fan tutte ("So do they all".) It has Diana (Claudia Koll after her cinema debut,) the wife of a young couple seeking adventure outside the monotony of their sex life stretching the boundaries of morality with risqué behavior - seemingly unable to say 'no' to some dalliances. The director shows a unique artifice outside, or skirting the edges, of hardcore pornography. He has strong film influence working with some big stars and is notable for having 'discovered' erotic icon, 80s-90's sex symbol, pin-up girl Serena Grandi (The Great Beauty, Antropophagus, Delirium) with her first starring role in Brass' 1985 Miranda initiating her path of stardom. Koll has become very religious and has dismissed her unabashed central role in "All Ladies Do It". Tinto Brass always hints at sophistication - with social and political subtleties throughout. His cinematic style, framing, use of color and plush sets imbue fantasy while visually exploring feminine beauty - that push 'male eroticism' buttons. The Cult Epics' 4K UHD release of Tinto Brass' "All Ladies Do It" has the highly remarkable and impressive video upgrade, a revealing commentary, booklet and accoutrements. Brass fans who have suffered through marginal digital editions will be immensely pleased with this newer format edition.
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DVDBeaver Newsletter for the Week of April 15th, 2024