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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: August 12th, 2014.
Director: Chris Warfield
Cast: Juliet Anderson, Jade Wong, Tign, Joey Silvera, Nicole Noir
Year: 1982/1984
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The Movies:
This latest Peekarama double feature DVD release from Vinegar Syndrome pairs up two of director Chris Warfield's (under his Billy Thornburg alias) early eighties adult features.
Purely Physical:
The first film introduces us to Kathy Harrington (Laura Lazare), a college girl trying to make her way through school and, like a lot of college students, in need of funds. She takes a job working the night shift at a hotel for two reasons - money, and the fact that she figures it'll allow her to work on her writing at the same time. As Kathy settles into her new position, various guests come to the hotel for kicks and she imagines the different sexual scenarios that they might become involved in. First up are two horny high schoolers, (Albert Johnson and Jade Wong) posing as a pair of newlyweds and looking for somewhere out of sight for an incognito bump and grind session. After that, a lonely trucker named Curt (Danny Weirdman) tries his luck at coercing Kathy into giving him a wakeup call of a different kind, but no dice, she's not having any of that. At least not yet.
Later a travelling salesman named Charlie (Michael Morrison) shows up with his gal pal Iris (Tigr) wanting to share with her his thoughts on a movie he's just watched, but Iris is more interested in what he's got between his legs than his thoughts on film. A tired guy who just can't get any rest named Jonathan's (Joey Silvera) has a run in with a pair of prostitutes (Nicole Black and Phaery Burd) that ends just like you'd expect it to. Later that same evening a business woman named Claudia (Juliet Anderson) gets a hankering for some girl on girl action with our intrepid front desk clerk, but again, Kathy's not interested so Claudia goes to her room for some solo fun. Kathy later peeps on Mrs. Northrup (Dana Moore) as she goes at it with her tennis instructor (Eric Stein) and another tennis player named Terry (Adam Adams). Now that she's more into the swing of things, well, you can probably figure out where this one goes…
Pretty Laura Lazare is the main reason to watch this one as there isn't much going on in the way of actual storytelling. It moves briskly, the many sex scenes that make up the bulk of the film's running time moving at a good pace and not overstaying their welcome. Additionally the cinematography and lighting are nice, ensuring that the film is nicely framed and at times and fairly artistic in its visual style. The performances are okay, the more seasoned players here like Anderson and Silvera delivering good work. Tigr is one to watch here as well and the early scene with the lovely Jade Wong also stands out. Not a must see, but definitely a well-made and enjoyable slice of eighties dirty moviemaking.
Cathouse Fever:
“California coeds turn kinky for cash?†Sounds good! Although the poster uses this eye catching tagline, there aren't really any coeds here, though it does take place in California. This one revolves around Becky (Becky Savage), a secretary working in a Los Angeles office who sure does seem to get it on with her man (Herschel Savage) a lot. Unfortunately for her, this happens only in her mind because she's way too shy to approach a man for sex in real life. Eventually, however, Becky decides it's time for a lifestyle change and after seeing an ad for a Las Vegas cathouse, she decides to apply and see if she's got what they're looking for.
Upon her arrival she meets the woman in charge, Rhonda (Rhonda Jo Petty) who decides to give Becky a shot by having her hook up with a guy named Mickey Macho (John Colt). As they do the deed, nearby a prostitute named Sherry (Marla Lee Gardner) finds herself in the employ of a guy named Tex (Jerry Davis). It looks like Becky is a good fit, but trouble arrives in the form of a tax collector (Art Parker), but Rhonda's no fool, she knows how to talk him into looking the other way. Later, during some downtime, Becky hits it off with working girl Debby (Debbie Truelove) and the two try out some martial aids before hoping into the bathtub with co-worker Brandy (Gaylene Marie). Now that Becky has been sufficiently laid a few times though… does she want more than just sex? What about, gasp, true romantic love? Will she ever find it?
This one is a bit odd. The sex scenes are as well shot as they are in the first feature and like those in the earlier film they are performed enthusiastically by an attractive cast in pleasant enough looking locations and in nice lighting. The production values are slick enough that you'll notice and the movie has some cool music in it. Where it gets strange is with Becky's tendency to wander around and play guitar, wondering to herself about the meaning of life and the validity of her decisions courtesy of some wonky internal narration that the IMDB credits as coming from none other than Sharon Kelly (and it does sound like her - the film's credit omit the narrator for some reason). This leads to a few too many shots of Becky coming off less like a woman suffering from cathouse fever and more like a singer-songwriter trying to find her inner voice, but hey, it gets points for trying something different!
Rhonda Jo Petty is fun to look at here if a bit underused and the rest of the girls are equally capable and appealing. The guys don't really stand out as much but they do fine with the material at hand. Some of the humor feels out of place but that helps to add to the picture's list of oddities. This is a fun one so long as you don't mind the bizarre tonal shifts and oddly placed moments of humor.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both features look great in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transferred in 2k from their respective 35mm negatives. The elements used were in excellent condition and while there is a scratch or two here and there, for the most part the transfers are as clean and as colorful as you could hope for. Expect some grain, but you'd be silly not to and it's never particularly distracting. These are solid transfers through and through, no serious print damage to complain about, sharp detail, very film like but still crisp and clean. Expect some grain, but you'd be silly not to. At this point in time anyone who has been following these releases knows to expect excellent quality - this release continues that trend.
Both movies get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment, in English with no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Both films sound fine. Dialogue remains clear and crisp and the scores sound good. Levels are properly balanced for both features though some might note some minor hiss in a few spots.
The only extras on the disc are static menus, chapter selection and trailers for each feature.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome's double feature release of Purely Physical and Cathouse Fever isn't the best in the line so far but it's still got plenty of reasons to recommend it to fans of early eighties California hardcore films. The casts in both films are great and do fine work and the couplings are nicely shot and plenty steamy. The disc, like the others in the series, is light on extras but the movies really do look excellent in these transfers.
