Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved this film--as an 80s time-capsule of poor video quality and bad fashions, it immediately sucks you in. I expected it to be a kind of comical, after-school-special type film, but it is so unflinchingly honest about private human impulses and desires and longing to connect with others that I found myself quite moved. The director commentary is really great--he goes through the interesting boom-and-bust history of sex surrogacy, what happened to Maureen after the film, and what it was like to film such intimate scenes. At first I thought his conversational partner was annoying and borderline rude, but then I realized that he does represent a common reaction to the film--that of, "Well isn't she just a prostitute?"--and Kirby Dick respectfully treats it as a valid reaction but goes on to articulate what makes Maureen's work so special, and why she's so good at it. See this film!!

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In this cult doc from 1985, director Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) weaves a fascinating study of the curious role of a sex surrogate in the then-new discipline of sexual therapy. Maureen Sullivan and two of her clients agreed to have the entire progression of their therapy taped, and what emerges is a disarming and compassionate look at the struggles people face in connecting with one another. Twenty-five-year-old Kipper is a virginal grad student who gets nervous just talking to a girl, let alone touching her, and John, at 45, is newly divorced and suffering from fears of sexual inadequacy. As Maureen attempts to build up their confidence, she also exposes her own doubts in this touching film that dismisses a clinical approach to sex.SPECIAL FEATURES- New audio commentary by director Kirby Dick- English subtitles for the deaf and impaired

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Caravaggio (Special Edition) (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)I remember seeing this film in theaters when it first came out. I was so struck by the shadowy drama and sparkling wit of the imagery that I dragged EVERYONE I KNEW to see it. They still have my fingermarks on their arms.
Jarman's film is not a biography in the strict sense. Rather, he uses Caravaggio's paintings and a loose chronology of events as a point of departure to present his own musings on art, love, sexuality and its politics. The photography is painterly in the best sense of the word and evokes the period acutely. The cast, a director's dream by any standard, is splendid. Tilda Swindon absolutely glows on screen, Sean Bean is as feral as a tomcat, and Nigel Terry is believably world-weary and laconic, a prisoner of his vision, his debauchery, and the unfolding destiny the intersection of the two character traits dictates.
Jarman makes excellent use of anachronistic elements in the film to point out the relevance of those issues to the present day. My favorite scene shows a Vatican functionary, wearing nothing but his nightcap, sitting in a porcelain bathtub and typing on a manual typerwriter...in the 15th century! The witticisms are unmistakeable and very ably presented. Ironically, they make the whole film seem even more convincingly Baroque.
Video was the last time this film was available, and I'm very glad that someone had the nerve to reissue it on DVD. It is a very long time coming.

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Stewing in Rome's underbelly during the late Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo da Caravaggio was plucked from the streets by the Catholic Church to paint austere Biblical exaltations. Derek Jarman masterfully captures not only his rampant flirtations with Roman counterculture, but also beautifully saturates this film with the same delicate attention to the chiaroscuro techniques the painter so expertly crafted. Starring 2007 Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, The Chronicles of Narnia) in her debut film role, Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings), and Nigel Terry (Excalibur) in the title role, Caravaggio is a lush re-imagining of the volatile life of the 17th-century painter and his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings.SPECIAL FEATURES- Restored anamorphic transfer, created from Hi-Def elements- Video interviews with actress Tilda Swinton, actor Nigel Terry and production designer Christopher Hobbs- Audio commentary by cinematographer Gabriel Beristain- Rare audio and video interviews with Derek Jarman- Storyboard, notebook, production photo and design sketch galleries- Original theatrical trailer- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired- Liner notes by film critic/producer Colin MacCabe

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