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Released by: Alpha Blue Archives
Released on: January 1, 2008
Director: Eddy DeWitt
Cast: Jennifer West, Mike Ranger, Debbie Sandy, Turk Lyons, Candy Kane, Matt Savage
Year: 1976
The Movie:
The only credit for one 'Eddy DeWitt,' 1976's The Velvet Edge is a hardcore roughie that mixes up the slap and tickle XXX sex scenes you'd expect from a seventies porno with a thirties era gangster movie storyline that's not too far removed from Bonnie And Clyde.
A golden haired California man about town named Sergei (Mike Ranger) is all set to host an orgy at his ultra-hip bachelor pad but before he and his friends get down to bumpin' uglies, he decides to tell everyone in attendance about his late grandfather who, in the thirties, conspired to rob a bank and live a flashy life of crime. He and his pal set out to make the big score and meet up with a pair of hotties who have beaten them to the punch - the ladies have already made their first move on the bank. The four of them pair up and wind up on a cross country bank robbing spree that eventually finds them on the receiving end of some nastiness from a Mexican bandit and his equally sinister big busted lady friend who murder the men and rape the women. Of course, while Sergei is telling this bizarre story to his guests, they're indulging in all manner of kinky sex and deviously debaucherous dirty doings!
The Velvet Edge is odd in that it appears to be two separate films edited together into one barely cohesive whole. The thirties footage, while fairly well made and reasonably interesting, doesn't even come close to matching the tone or style of the modern day 'orgy' bits and it certainly seems like the illustrious Mr. DeWitt simply found an unfinished film of some sort, liked what he saw of it, and shot some randy porno footage around it to make a bankable porno with a plot. Hardcore inserts spliced into the period footage ensures that the film appealed to the raincoat crowd who probably wouldn't have responded to well to waiting awhile between gynecological close ups.
The hardcore scenes themselves contain their fare share of quirk and kink - during the orgy scene a woman is given a pretty serious backdoor breakdown that she may or may not have been all too keen on while another woman gets off courtesy of what looks like some sort of penis pump! The performers all do a decent enough job in the sack and they go at it with a fair bit of sincere enthusiasm. Ranger does most of the heavy lifting but Turk Lyon puts in a fine effort as well. Jennifer Wells and Candy Kane are easy on the eyes, both natural beauties, and they appear pretty into it when they're boffing for the camera which always makes the scenes more enjoyable. Throw in some funky background music, plenty of unintentionally humorous bad acting and some surprisingly good production values and you've got a movie that, while not the best adult feature ever made, is at least worth watching.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.33.1 fullframe transfer on this DVD is not in the best of shape. Taken from what you'd have to guess is a tape source, the image is soft and there are tracking lines visible at the bottom of the frame. The aspect ratio looks alright but the picture lacks a lot of fine detail and suffers from some color fading. That said, like an old tape, it's watchable enough, just don't expect reference quality here cause you're not going to get it.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is on par with the video. There's some mild hiss in some spots and the levels bounce around a little bit but for the most part it's listenable enough and you won't have any problems following the dialogue.
Aside from a menu and chapter selection options, Alpha Blue has supplied a selection of trailers for other films in their library.
The Final Word:
The presentation leaves some definite room for improvement, The Velvet Edge is interesting enough that fans of seventies skinflicks will want to give it a look. Not a classic, the film does benefit from a unique cast and the period film inserts give it a truly strange vibe.