The Image (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)Radley METZGER's THE IMAGE (also known under the more exploitative title THE PUNISHMENT OF ANNE) is without doubt not everybody's cup of tea. Based on an infamous French bestseller this movie is shocking in its relentless depiction of a weird triangle relationship between a mature woman, her submissive young girl friend and a curious author.
Please note: If you feel uneasy when you see graphic sex, humiliation, degradation, bondage, whipping and urination, then do not watch this film. On the other hand, this is no raincoat brigade movie. Instead it is a masterly crafted piece of art with outstanding cinematography, a beautiful score and fine actors (Yes, everybody here can act better than most mainstream academy award winners.)
Regrettably the rough SM scenes could easily distract from or obscure the motivation of the characters.
THE IMAGE has an unusual book-like structure with chapters (no, I'm not refering to the DVD chapters). According to the liner notes the film is very faithful to its literary source. I liked the social setting of the film - it takes places among educated, eloquent and wealthy jet set people. And the film makes good use of its nice Paris locations. I found THE IMAGE very compelling viewing. I just didn't like the fitting room scene too much, because it seemed like a rather cliche porn situation to me.
Some words about the DVD: SYNAPSE did a real great job with the transfer. One can't praise the picture quality high enough. The uncut film is presented widescreen.
Unfortunately there aren't too many extras: the director's filmography, an isolated score and five trailers of Radley METZGER movies: SCORE, THE LICKERISH QUARTET, CAMILLE 2000, THERESE AND ISABELLE and CARMEN BABY. Kudos to Stephen R. BISSETTE for his insightful liner notes. I recommend to read it before you watch the movie, because it really enhances your understanding of the film despite some spoilers.

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Crash (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)David Cronenberg takes chances and his pushing the edge of cinematic art is what makes his films so interesting. JG Ballard's controversial novel CRASH seemed an unlikely prospect for a film, so dark were its explorations of the outer zones of excitation and their relationship to near-death events. But Cronenberg worked through making Ballard's visions visual and his screenplay based on Ballard's book is more about interior dialogue and visceral sexual encounters as they relate to trauma.
James Ballard (James Spader) is a successful TV director who spends as much time as a lothario as he does making film. He is married to Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger) whose own sexuality leads her into stray paths. The two seem to connect physically but the fire is diminishing: they both concur that encounters with other partners enhance their sexual experiences. James is in a car accident and survives with a broken leg and scars, but the other car's male driver was killed and his surviving female companion Helen Remington (Holly Hunter) is hospitalized with James. While in the hospital both encounter a strange, scarred, limping male photographer Vaughn (Elias Koteas) who takes photos of the scars and trauma results of both James and Helen. Catherine visits James in the hospital and seems to find excitement in the scars and orthopedic paraphernalia binding her husband.
Once James is released from the hospital he is strangely drawn to the car he wrecked and finds Helen in the same mindset. The two move into physical attraction as well as an emotional attraction to Vaughn. Vaughn is obsessed with auto accidents, having been in many, and he stages famous car accidents (James Dean, Jayne Mansfield, etc) for a captive audience - which includes James, Helen, and Catherine. Vaughn insidiously draws the three into his obsession, sharing his 'actors' and fellow travelers - including Gabrielle (Rosanna Arquette - with both legs in orthopedic mechanisms), Colin and Vera Seagrave (Peter MacNeill and Cheryl Swarts) and those who help him stage his 'accidents'. Vaughn explains that he is exploring how to achieve that sensation of terror one feels during a car crash and equate it with orgasm. The odd group of folks all sexually interact with abandon: the crashed car becomes the bedchamber for bizarre sexual acting out. And how this all plays out in the end is the part of the film that simply must be seen to feel the experience.
This is clearly NOT a movie for everyone. The CD contains both the NC and the R rated version: I watched the NC version and while it is graphic and focused on sex it is oddly uninvolving emotionally - we care little about the people we meet. Perhaps part of the story here is that with the progressively dehumanization of man in his symbiotic relationship with machines, relating to fellow humans on anything except the sensual gratification is something we are losing. That is the kind of powerful statement Cronenberg shows us with these passionate yet cold people. The cast is exceptional, especially Koteas whose warped character is wholly three-dimensional as opposed to the oddly uninvolved characters Spader, Unger, and Hunter portray. A dizzying experience! Grady Harp, October 05


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A psycho-sexual journey into oblivion in this controversial film from acclaimed director David Cronenberg. James Spader is a bored film director who explores new realms after a near-fatal car accident introduces him to a world of sexually obsessed car cra
DVD Features:FeaturetteOtherProduction NotesTheatrical Trailer

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The Pet (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This will contain some spoilers, but this information needs to be known before you spend your money on this film. The Pet could have been a nice little film about a power exchange alternative lifestyle, even as unlikely as 24/7 animal/pet play may be. It had enough budget and was shot well enough. Even the actors were good enough(some were distinctly better than others though). Pierre Dulat as Philip was quite good. Andrea Edmondson as Mary/GG was also decent enough.
My BIG problem with the film is that the makers promoted it as a "true" look into a caring, power exchange alternate lifestyle. The maker's website description is misleading as is the film's trailer. They tell you the main characters are intruded upon by international slavers. In fact, the main characters (except for Mary/GG) are all business partners and friends in a kidnapping/murdering syndicate that deals in selling body parts and slave laborers. Philip's wish that Mary/GG not be sold as such is purely his personal wish. So, once again a chance to make a film showing the beauty of a loving dominant/submissive relationship is turned into just another demonization of the BDSM community. By this depiction, you are either crazy, evil or just plain stupid to participate in such a lifestyle. Yet, the makers promote this film as being about a loving consensual relationship. Its really just an exploitation film and
when you break down the ridiculous plot, there really is not much left to
like. One example of this plot is after a couple weeks of training, having your Pet be devoid of nearly all cognitive function(they do say that clearly). So, we have people talking about murdering their Pets and selling the organs right in front of them with no reaction. Oh, come on!
Non consensual Slave Trade is a serious subject and one that deserves much better than this film to bring attention to it.
Having said that, I did give The Pet two stars. It is filmed
well enough and it does have some nice scenes in it. Mary/GG and Nicky/Taps(played by Sommer Nguyan)fetching sticks in the nude outdoors
(in real snow and cold) is a standout. If you do see it, it is clear they did it for real. The other reason is the always lovely Lydia McLane(under a pseudonym Jane Steele), as Red. She has a particularly nice scene at the beginning of the film.
This is not a film to set as an example of any BDSM power exchange lifestyle. It is a terribly flawed, shamelessly misrepresented exploitation film. If you don't care about spending the money and seeing it for the few good scenes it does contain, you might get some enjoyment. If you are looking for a decent film about alternative lifestyles, The Pet is not it.

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