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Released by: Argent Films
Released on: 5/9/2011
Director: Tinto Brass
Cast: Helmut Berger, Ingrid Thulin, Theresa Ann Savoy, John Steiner
Year: 1976
The Movie:
Salon Kitty is set in Berlin, in 1939. The Second World War is just starting to get into full swing and a megalomaniac SS Officer named Wallenberg (played remarkably well by Helmut Berger of The Damned) receives orders from the top brass to gather up the most beautiful women in all of Germany and train them to work in the brothel of on Madam Kitty (Ingrid Thulin of Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers).
Within the confines of the brothel, the women are forced to submit themselves to all manner of unusual sexual acts at the whim of the Third Reich's high officers. Wallenberg, while all this is going on, is, unbeknownst to the patrons of this fine establishment, secretly recording everything that they do so that he can blackmail them.
When one of the prostitutes, played by Teresa Ann Savoy who had previously worked with Brass on Caligula, finds out about Wallenberg's plans she sets into motion a horrific series of events that culminates in countless acts of perversion and pain.
Based on a series of real life events that took place in Nazi Germany, Salon Kitty is an elegantly trashy look at a fascinatingly perverse part of history. Featuring an all-star cast of Euro-cult stars including John Steiner of Mannaja - A Man Called Blade, the stunning Tina Aumont of The Naked Princess and John Ireland, Salon Kitty is a pseudo-pornographic epic with amazing cinematography, gorgeous sets, and solid performances. The attention to detail that Brass showed on Caligula is here as well, ensuring that all of the decadence and bizarre behavior that made this time of history what it was comes shining through. The camera work here is as good as anything in Brass' filmography, and while he's made sexier and marginally kinkier bits here and there throughout his career, in Salon Kitty it all comes together quite cohesively.
It's also very sleazy. All manner of bizarre sex acts are carried out on screen. There's even a bit of violence too. Brass makes sure that his camera pays just enough attention to the more risqué elements of the film to keep viewers entertained and interested despite the films slow pace and over two hour running length.
Blue Underground presents Salon Kitty completely uncut on Blu-ray. The film was previously released as Madam Kitty and trimmed of many of the more blatant scenes of degradation. Having the film in its full strength version ensures that it has more impact and punch behind it, and it also ups the sex factor considerably, meaning that the mix of exploitation and art film making hits an even strong crescendo.
Video/Audio/Extras:
NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON A TEST DISC THAT MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT FINISHED RETAIL PRODUCT.
The film is presented here in its original aspect ratio of 1.85.1 on a BD25 disc in a good AVC encoded 1080p high definition widescreen transfer. Seeing as it's the totally uncut version, just like Blue Underground's release, this version was taken from Brass's personal print of the film. Video quality is pretty solid, though the higher bit rate on the Blue Underground disc results in that earlier release winning out. The source material used for this transfer from Argent is in very nice shape but some minor compression artifacts are noticeable and sometimes the film's grain structure gets a bit blocky and some minor noise reduction looks to have been applied here and there (only really noticeable in a few close up shots). Overall though, this is a good looking disc offering pretty good detail and texture and very nice color reproduction.
DTS-HD Mono tracks are provided in English, Italian, French and German with optional subs provided in English. Again, this Blu-ray provides a nice upgrade over the standard definition release providing a cleaner and more concise sound. The levels are well balanced and there are no problems with hiss or distortion to note. The dialogue is always easy to understand and all in all, things sound just fine.
The only substantial extra on this release is a good one, it's a twenty-three minute interview with Brass who speaks rather frankly about making this picture, cigar firmly in mouth the entire time. Aside from that, look for a theatrical trailer for Salon Kitty, trailers for a few other Argent releases, menus and chapter stops.
The Final Word:
If you've already got the Blue Underground disc, you'll need to be a completist to want to double dip but if you haven't got that release, which is now getting tougher to find, this is an affordable and good quality alternative. As to the movie itself, it's one of Brass' more interesting films with a great cast, an interesting storyline, and all the freaky sex you could want. Good stuff.
Click on the images below for full size Blu-ray screen caps!
