Triple F's Rating:

Starring: Eric Edwards plays a confused man who goes to a psychiatrist to work out his sexual problems, but ultimately gets help from the psychiatrist's secretary, Leah Marlon. This is really gutsy performance by Eric, one of the better actors in porn. He has to confess bizarre things in his sessions and he makes them sound very convincing.

Shot on film with a large cast in New York, using several exterior locations including Central Park. This was adapted from the famous French novella La Vierge Et L'amoreux and shows how ambitious some of the classic porn really was. It actually succeeds at conveying the sober message of the book, that men are prisoners of their fantasies, and how women must understand, participate, and submit to these fantasies for relationships to function. (I read the Cliff Notes)

Though not supermodels, all the women are uniformly natural and beautiful, and wonderfully lensed. However, this was shot in 1973 and shows its age by the way it handles the sex scenes. There are 3 hardcore scenes intermixed with 4 softcore scenes. The hardcore scenes could be easily excised from the film to meet "community standards" without damaging the plot. Similar to Vivid flicks there were two versions for two different audiences. The scene that holds up best is the scorching sequence with Darby Lloyd Raines.

Porn with a message, you gotta love it. This could have been a Fellini or Bergman film from the late 60's (if you remove the nudity and add subtitles) with the way it tries to dissect modern relationships. It was also a hoot to see the actors who would become names in the 70's like Eric, Olinka, Darby, and Jennifer Welles. The clothes, furniture, and even the bedsheets provide incredible nostalgia.

Leah Marlon, Olinka and Jennifer Welles don't do any hardcore stuff. Also, the ending could have been a lot better.

More of an auteurist vision, than a raincoat flick, courtesy of writer/producer/editor/cinematographer Kemal Horulu. Not a great porno, but an unbelievable time capsule. Really worth a look for anyone remotely curious about the history of porn past or to see what the early 70's were really like. I give it a 9, for it's priceless curio value and it's truly ambitious nature. I wouldn't mind a raunchy remake of this one.

Posted By Triple F, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/12/06 1:58 PM