STAR VIRGIN (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1979
Directed By: Howard Ziehm
Written By: Humphry Knipe
Starring: Kari Klark, Hillary Summers, Mike Ranger
Color and Black & White/78 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: December 15, 2015

The Film
After Earth and humanity are left destroyed the only human left is Star Virgin, a beautiful young woman living out life on a space ship with her robot keeper Mentor. She begs Mentor to teach her about sex and eventually the robot gives in leading to a series of vignettes showing various sexual encounters that get young Star Virgin all hot and bothered as they progress and lead to her own self discovery of a super nova going "pop".

Director Howard Ziehm was no stranger to intergalactic smut, having directed Flesh Gordon five years prior to STAR VIRGIN and he'd go on to direct the Flesh Gordon sequel as well. STAR VIRGIN spends only a fraction of its actual runtime in space with Star wearing skimpy space outfits made of sparkly sequin and little else until she eventually disrobes entirely while listening to the stories that Mentor is telling her. Mentor looks like a soda cooler with a fire blanket duct taped to him. Rosie The Robot he is not, but he still manages to be a faithful companion to Star and is comical.

The real body of the film is made up by a handful of vignettes depicting everything from a 1950s high school version of The Garden Of Eden with forbidden fruits being rubbed, smashed, inserted and eaten from just about everywhere. Fruit salad, anyone? You'll never look at canned peaches the same way again! Then we move on to other segments including an injured quarterback getting fucked back into the game by cheerleaders. Nothing says concussion protocol like a little three way action with sexy cheerleaders! Roger Goodell and the NFL could learn something from this. There's a pay for sex group session with more vibrators than your local XXX video shop has in stock, and my personal favorite, an encounter set in Transylvania in which Dracula and his Richard Nixon mask wearing sidekick drug a man and proceed to rape his wife all in the style of the silent film era. Of course when hubby wakes up and breaks up the party to save his wife she's all sorts of upset that she didn't get to cum! This one gives old Dick Nixon an entirely new meaning.

STAR VIRGIN is as campy and funny as it is sexy. The production is low rent and better off for it. I love the energy that the film has and how genuinely funny it all manages to be without ever letting the audience laugh AT the picture instead of with the picture. STAR VIRGIN is great fucking fun for the whole family! Well, maybe not the whole family.

The Audio & Video
STAR VIRGIN is brought to DVD by Vinegar Syndrome with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that looks pretty good. The picture quality is on the soft side more often than not but that is a product of how Howard Ziehm produced the film. There's some speckling and scratches left on the print that weren't restored and honestly there's no need for them to be. The damage left on the print is negligible and doesn't distract the viewer but does seem to add a bit to the overall vibe of the film just a bit. The English mono audio track has a bit of crackling at the very opening of the picture but that quickly disappears and there's little to no other distortions to mention. The track does just fine handling the dialogue and music without getting overwhelmed. It may not be a dynamic mix but it does the job nicely and it's nice to retain the film's original audio mix.

The Extras
An audio commentary track with director Howard Ziehm is the lone extra.

The Bottom Line
Adult film fans should take note of STAR VIRGIN because if you haven't seen STAR VIRGIN you haven't one of the most genuinely entertaining X rated films I've ever laid eyes on.

STAR VIRGIN is available HERE

THE YOUNG LIKE IT HOT/SWEET YOUNG FOXES (Blu-ray Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1983
Directed By: Bob Chinn
Written By: Gail Palmer, Deborah Sullivan
Starring: Hyapatia Lee, Kay Parker, Eric Edwards
Color/176 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Limited Edition: 2,000 copies

The Films
The employees of a small town phone help line are at risk of losing their job to a new computer system if they can't persuade the bigwigs that they can provide services that no computer can. This instantly leads to phone sex with obscene callers who jack off over the line, getting fucked right in the office even while on the phone, and house call services that their callers have never experienced before!

THE YOUNG LIKE IT HOT is a rather funny comedy filled to the brim with sex. There's no shortage of incredibly attractive women including Hyapatia Lee and there's also some genuinely funny moments including a lewd caller yelling about "fucking your armpits!" This is an easily enjoyable good time from start to finish.

In SWEET YOUNG FOXES Laura (Hyapatia Lee) is home from college and bored out of her mind as her boyfriend is out of town. With little to do besides bicker with her stepmother Laura takes on the quest of finding herself and opens up a world of sexual experiences.

Far more a drama than the first film on this double bill, I found SWEET YOUNG FOXES a bit less fun. The stepmother drama bored me a bit but the scenes with Laura and her friends were energetic, youthful and exciting. Had this film taken a slightly less serious tone I think it could have been a home run like THE YOUNG LIKE IT HOT was.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome please never stop what you're doing because these films are yet another example on a growing list of absolutely beautiful transfers. Sure, there's a bit of white and black speckling scattered throughout the film but that never becomes an issue or distracting and the transfers are otherwise spectacular. The rich grain structure keeps the original film look and feel while skin tones are healthy and natural. Colors are vibrant and look no further than Hyapatia Lee's red dress in SYF to see what the definition of "colors that pop" means. Good lord! The original aspect ratios are maintained in the 16x9 anamorphic widescreen presentations that have been restored with 2K scans from their original negatives and have likely never looked this good, maybe not even during their theatrical exhibitions.

As for the audio, it sounds crystal clear with a nice crispness and excellent mix job. There's no background noise or damage to speak of.

The Extras
-Interview with Bob Chinn
-Interview with William Margold
-Theatrical trailer for both films
-DVD combo pack release

The Bottom Line
In the world of adult films you likely have a winner with a pair of Bob Chinn films starring Hyapatia Lee. This release takes that winning combination and gives it the high quality release it has deserved for 30 years.

THE YOUNG LIKE IT HOT/SWEET YOUNG FOXES Peekarama Double Feature is available HERE

The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury / Tasty (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1985
Directed By: Bud Lee
Starring: Hyapatia Lee
Color/89 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: January 13, 2015

The Films
A group of knights, maidens and a priest travel across the countryside in the 15th century and to pass the time they share their raunchy sex stories with a prize of gold coins on the line! Knights falling for a princess, a mother and daughter teaming up on a grain buyer and more await in THE RIBALD TALES OF CANTERBURY.

CANTERBURY is a period piece of sexual deviancy that reaches all the way to the morals of the church. Filled with beautiful women and some kinky situations, RIBALD TALES keeps things light and breezy and even features a really well done theme song that loops on the disc's menu.

Then in TASTY, a radio station's employees are on the verge of losing their job if they can't turn their station around in one week, so they all say fuck it... literally! Instead of trying for another format of music or talk radio they turn the entire station in to a giant orgy. Sex themed music, sexual talk, live on air sex and everything else you can think of as head DJ Tasty Tastums leads the way and drives the boss nuts!

TASTY is a lot of fun and you can tell the whole cast had a great time making it. Hyapatia Lee stars as Tasty Tastum and gives a great performance, along with everyone else really, but her dream sequence music video of "Hit Me With Your Wet Shot" is legendary. If you've ever wondered what a DJ and a big fan of the station look like when they fuck like animals all over a soundboard then TASTY is there for you.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome gives this pair of Hyapatia Lee vehicles large amounts of respect in terms of DVD quality. Both films are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers maintaining their original aspect ratios. The prints used are in great condition with just the odd scratch or piece of dust. Colors are lush and vibrant while overall sharpness is very good. Detail level is good for standard definition DVD and skin tones are fleshy and natural. The mono English tracks sound good as well. Both films have great songs in them and they come through with excellent clarity while dialogue never gets lost in the mix and there's no background noise or damage to speak of.

The Extras
-Interview with director Bud Lee
-Audio commentary with Bud Lee on RIBALD TALES OF CANTERBURY
-Original theatrical trailers for each film

The Bottom Line
This is one of the more original pair of sexploitation films from Vinegar Syndrome given their settings and plot. Even so, they didn't reinvent the wheel so you know what you're getting yourself into and you'll get immense amounts of enjoyment out of them.

THE RIBALD TALES OF CANTERBURY is available HERE

The Real Decameron (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

Italy/1973
Directed By: Mario Caiano
Written By: Mario Caiano
Starring: Rosalba Neri, Christa Linder, Peter Landers
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Film
Sex comedies were a big deal in Italy in the 70s and they were often loosely based on other films as a more sexed up version. THE REAL DECAMERON is an example of that, as it is similarly themed to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Decameron. In this film a group of mischievous and sexually unsatisfied girls, many of them married. They are all looking for some fun even at the objection of the local clergymen or their own husbands. Each girl comes up with a ridiculous plan to get laid by the man she really wants.

THE REAL DECAMERON is an anthology film, as we get each girl's story in sequence, from an almost Rapunzel like girl who's father wants to killer her lover, to another girl faking a haunted house and trying to get the local exorcist to believe it this film has some ridiculous plots and they're all pretty funny. I didn't even mention the girl who was swimming in a lack and loses her virginity to a prawn and has them lay eggs inside of her... Yes, it happens in this film. Most of the girls are attractive and make the film that much more fun to watch if the sex comedy thing wasn't enough for you. THE REAL DECAMERON is worth checking out if you're seeking to find lighter sexploitation fare or are a fan of the sex comedy genre. 

The Audio & Video
 One 7 Movies debuts THE REAL DECAMERON on DVD with a decent looking and sounding effort. The anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfer looks good throughout with only a couple instances of the picture becoming overly soft or compressed. It manages to handle darker scenes pretty well and though it is a rather drab film when it comes to art direction, colors look decent and skin tones look natural. The Italian mono track sounds good, with minimal background noise. The English subtitles suffer a bit from a few moments of awkward translation and the constant use of a lower case "l" in place of "i" which annoyed me. It isn't much of a big deal however and I'm pleased with the disc overall.

The Extras
Bare bones. 

The Bottom Line
Sexploitation and Italian sex comedy film fans will find a lot to enjoy here. It has a genuine sense of humor and a serious sexy side. 

THE REAL DECAMERON is available HERE