The Tinto Brass Collection Reviewed by: Axel Howerton Eyecravedvd.com

C.A.V. Distribution/Cult Epics

Starring: Stefania Sandrelli Claudia Koll Serena Grandi

Directed by: Tinto Brass

Running Time: 294 minutes

Crave Factor

Movie: 8 Menu: 4 Extras: 6 Video: 9 Audio: 7

Overall Crave Factor

SPECIAL EDITIONS – “Masterpieces of Erotic Cinema” includes uncut versions of THE KEY, MIRANDA and ALL LADIES DO IT. Interviews with Tinto Brass, Photo Galleries, Trailers and Filmographies

Movie Review

Erotic cinema is not usually my bag, but when you’re talking about the creator of the legendary CALIGULA, I have to take a peek.

Tinto Brass is well known for CALIGULA, but most of his other works were ignored here in North America. In Europe, he was one of the giants of the 70’s soft-core erotica scene, along with the more controversial Jess Franco, and some swarthy dudes I’ve never heard of.

It is something of a tragedy that Brass will forever be branded a ‘soft-core porn’ director, because he manifests a magnificent artistry in his films that came to be a cliché of the soft-core world. The gauzy soft-lit interiors and hazy daylight scenes contrasted with cool blue night shots were stolen and bastardized by a whole generation of erotica stylists, but Brass was the original master. This is a director who managed to turn film love scenes into brilliant masterpieces of visual imagery, they were less porn than painting. He lit his female stars like angelic messiahs, and filmed his vistas with such love and acceptance that the streets and fields of Italy seem just beyond your fingertips. Sex scenes aside, Tinto Brass had talents that matched the beauty of Bertolucci in his heyday.

The acting in these films is fairly solid, with the three leading ladies acquitting themselves nicely as actresses, and not merely eye-candy, especially the enchanting Stefania Sandrelli in THE KEY. The smoldering stares she throws across the room at her lover, and the sweet affection in the glances she shares with her aging husband are equally powerful.

The sex scenes in THE KEY and MIRANDA are very tame by today’s standards, and I have seen much more explicit material in recent Studio fare. ALL LADIES DO IT is a much raunchier affair, and is, artistically, the lesser of the three films. Fans of European cinema would do well to pick up this set from Cult Epics. Despite the stigma of “Erotica”, these are no more explicit or sex-filled than any number of recent “Art-house” hits like SEX AND LUCIA or Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN.

Crave Factor – 8 Forget the “Erotica” label and these fit right in with recent art-house faves

Menu

The menus on all three films feature a main menu with only 2 selections – PLAY MOVIE, and SPECIAL FEATURES. The main page is a photo montage with the cover art, title and selections, no movement.

Crave Factor – 4 An odd way to arrange things, and very simplistic designs

Extras

Here’s where you will find the SCENE SELECTION option, as well as a film-specific interview with Tinto Brass, a film-specific photo gallery, a filmography for the films leading lady, a Brass filmography and trailers for all three films.

Crave Factor – 6 Very basic stuff, and the interviews with Brass are very obscure

Video

All 3 are 16X9 Widescreen One thing that Tinto Brass should be remembered for is crafting beautiful looking films about beautiful women. The lighting, camera work, editing and color palette are all striking and flawless. The transfers keep the colors as rich and vibrant as they should be, and there are few, if any artifacts or visible pixelation.

Crave Factor – 9 Beautifully crafted films with entrancing visuals.

Audio

2.0 Stereo Each film has it’s own audio scheme, and they all sound good, but it is the score on THE KEY that draws the most admiration. Lush and sexy, while still keeping with the 30’s milieu of the film, it is just as good as any of the masters other works. The score on MIRANDA is equally compelling, while the 80’s tinged score for ALL LADIES DO IT is a little less impressive. The rest of the sound mix is decent, although there are instances where the dialogue seems muted, and where the volume of the score overtakes the ambient sound and drown out the action.

Crave Factor – 7 Great music on two of the three, some flaws in the dialogue and fair sound mixes overall.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts

ALL LADIES DO IT may be a little much for most people, but THE KEY and MIRANDA are well- deserving of another look, without the soft-core stigmata. These are just as beautiful and just as emotionally involving as any number of recent “art-house” hits.

+ Beautifully filmed and expertly crafted films

- Not for everyone, these are sex-filled romance films