The first film on the Blu-ray (all chronological) is the
1969 sex comedy The Ecstasies of Women. Nearly half of “Ecstasies” takes place
in a titty bar with numerous topless gals bouncing their massive areola in the background.
A group of gentlemen sit at a table chatting with the various strippers. Their
pal Harry (Walter Camp) is enjoying a bachelor party the boys are throwing for
him. Stories are told by Walter that usually lead to him nailing a beautiful
woman.
The film is pretty soft-core aside from some graphic scrotum
shots. The women are actually fairly attractive and quite well-endowed in the
chest are with their very natural attributes. The look of the film oozes Lewis
right from the very first shot in the strip-club. In between the generous nudity you will have
to deal with some draggy dialogue but surprisingly there are some bits of comic
relief. Camp comes off quite the opposite of someone as wonderfully stiff as Lewis
regular Bill Kerwin. Camp is here taking a more over-the-top approach, as his
delivery is campy as can be. His performance is a hoot.
The second film on the disc (also 1969) is Linda and
Abilene. The story takes place in the Old West where a couple of siblings (Sharon
Matt and Kip Marsh) start to get way too close after the loss of their parents.
The subject matter here is pretty shocking, but that’s really it. I will say
although Linda and Abilene kind of looked like a sexed up episode of Big Valley,
the sets were cool for such a low-budget nudie. The liners that come along with
the release point out that Linda and Abilene was actually shot at the notorious
Spahn Ranch. This is post Sharon Tate murders, too so it's quite an interesting fact if you know going into the film. Not my favorite of the trio
but worth a watch.
Talk about saving the best for last, Black Love is H.G Lewis’
stab at what was becoming hugely popular in 1971, hardcore sex. This is something he denys but with these
eyeballs I saw some things that I certainly cannot unsee that was most
certainly XXX. Black Love is a documentary that explores the sexual behaviors
of those of the African-American persuasion. If you think the subject matter of
Linda and Abilene is wild – Black Love takes it a step further with hilarious
consequences.
Designed as an informative documentary on lovemaking by
black folks in the 70’s, Black Love shows scenes of regular adults and not porn
stars bumping genitalia. One scene that had me cracking up involved a young man
who must be about 17 years-old, rolling down slides, playing on a swing set
like he’s eight year-old. The kid discovers a couple fucking in a car and proceeds to
watch the couple. It’s graphic, as Herschell doesn’t pull back on the penetration
shots. All of this accompanied by an unintentionally funny voice –over. This
flick is gold, black gold.
Vinegar Syndrome has done a fantastic job at restoring all three
of the movies. The colors are vibrant and there really isn’t too much print damage that I could see.
The folks at Vinegar Syndrome have worked on some of the fine recent releases
by Distribpix, so if you've seen those don’t expect a lazy restoration. Extras
include a few nifty lab cards - which to me were a cool touch, trailers for
each movie and some extensive liners for all three films by Casey Scott.
The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis is no doubt a great
debut release by Vinegar Syndrome and a very good omen for future releases by
the company. Admirers of the “Godfather of Gore” and exploitation needn't be
without this trifecta of super trashy sex films!
(Screencaps for the Blu-ray provided by Rock! Shock Pop!)
(Screencaps for the Blu-ray provided by Rock! Shock Pop!)
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