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Released by: Blue Underground
Released on: 6/30/2006
Director: Various
Cast: Various
Year: Various
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The Movie:
While not as recognizable as Larry Flynt or Hugh Hefner, Al Goldstein is never the less an important figure in the adult entertainment industry, having started the notorious SCREW magazine with his partner and only a few dollars to their collective names. Goldstein built the magazine into an empire but as the internet starting eating away at his readership the magazine started getting more and more political and becoming more and more of a mouth piece for the eccentric publisher rather than the smut rag that it started out as.
Eventually, Goldstein would go too far. He left a message for a former secretary of his who quit without giving notice and on the tape he called her various names and threatened to 'take you down' which she in turn reported as a death threat. Goldstein was hauled into court and his already dwindling empire was subsequently yanked out from under him. He was pretty much bankrupt and his life was pretty much in shambles but during his days at the top of the porno industry trash heap he had his own X-rated public access show on New York City cable TV. He's since made a bit of a comeback and, in a way, so has Blue Underground as many fans assumed that their Midnight Blue series was going to end with the fifth release which chronicled Goldstein's rise and fall - not so. Al and crew are back, this time with the Porn Stars of the Eighties along for the ride.
If you enjoyed the format of the first entries in the series, you're probably already sold on this one, which features some pretty interesting and equally crass interviews with the likes of Annette Haven (who Goldstein literally drools over the entire time), by many considered to be the 'prettiest woman in porn' as well as more regular Midnight Blue types such as the always amazing Annie Sprinkle and of course, Goldstein's former favorite sparring partner, Ron Jeremy. The compilation starts off with some rather disturbing footage of a certain regular SCREW writer mauling Vanessa Del Rio's ample bosom and it just goes from there. John Leslie pops up to talk shop, as do the likes of Samantha Fox (not to be confused with the eighties British pop tart of the same name), the always interesting Veronica Hart and the often times unusually frightening Nina Hartley who goes into some interesting detail about how she got her start in the business and who actually reveals some interesting facts about her personal life. Paul Thomas, Krista Lane, Tiffany Clark, and Richard Paccheco also pop up here and there, as does Desiree Cousteau who shows up to talk about why she's leaving the porno business while her suitcase pimp of a husband leers over her cleavage.
Of course, as has been the norm with the Midnight Blue DVDs, half of the fun of these releases comes from the vintage ads that appeared during the show's original run on Manhattan Public Access. You'll see ads for she-male escorts, bizarre sex toys, and much more. Goldstein hosts most of the interviews with his own sort of crass charm, sleazing his way through some reasonably intelligent discussion while simultaneously failing to hide his lust for a lot of the women he talks to - it all makes for a pretty damn unique series, one that had some significant historical value in this day and age as well thanks to a plethora of clips from vintage adult films and some interesting footage from the New York City that once was.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Taken from the original ¾ inch master tapes, Blue Underground has done a decent job of trying to clean up this material but precedes the episodes with the warning that 'you can't shine shit.' All things considered, this material looks okay. It was shot on video and so it's very soft looking and a lot of the fine detail is lost forever in the murkiness of the tape but the colors come through alright and the image is at least stable enough that you won't have any problems watching the material. There's a bit of flicker here and there and some images are a little more washed out than others but the episodes are at least watchable and the fact that this material has made it to DVD at all in the first place is a miracle in and of itself.
The audio is on par with the video quality. Again, this material is taken from old ¾ inch tapes and as such, the limitations that existed are made all the more obvious by the DVD format, but if you turn the volume up a bit and ignore some of the background hiss you won't have any difficulty understanding the interviews of the strange commercials peppered throughout the content. There are no subtitle options or closed captions provided and everything is in the original English language as it was presented in the first place.
The main extra feature on this release is a Trivia Track which, when enabled, will pop up on the screen with 'extra facts and info' about whatever happens to be being discussed at the time. It works sort of like the Pop Up Video show that used to air on VH1 a few years back. This one, like the ones that have come before it, offers plenty of amusing trivia bits and anecdotes about the various participants in the assorted segments that play out on the disc. Wanna learn about John Leslie's blues band or Annie Sprinkle's houseboat tragedy? Maybe you want to know more about Veronica Hart's television work or about how Nina Hartley got her start? This is the track for you. Turn it on as you watch the video. Sure, sometimes it points out the obvious, but there is some interesting information in here and it's all done very tongue in cheek.
Also included is a sixteen minute clip of Al Goldstein appearing on The Hot Seat With Wally George. This isn't as interesting as it sounds, it's really just a pair of strange men trading really lame insults with one another and pretending to 'almost' get into fisticuffs with one another every couple of minutes. There's no real debate as such, though it is interesting from a people watching perspective. Who knew Death Angel fans were a regular part of George's audience?
Animated menus and chapter selection are also included and hooray for Blue Underground using more great Danny Hellman art on the packaging.
The Final Word:
If you liked the previous volumes in the series, you'll like this one too and if you haven't yet checked out Midnight Blue, this is actually one of the best in the series so far and a great place to start.