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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: November 18th, 2014.
Director: Alex de Renzy
Cast: Desiree Cousteau, John Leslie, Joey Silvera, Juliet Anderson
Year: 1978
Purchase From Vinegar Syndrome
The Movie:
Directed by Alex de Renzy, 1978's Pretty Peaches begins when a gorgeous dark haired young woman drives her Jeep up to a gas station for a fill-up. While the attendant takes care of that, she heads into the ladies room for a quick change of clothes and then heads off to her daddy's wedding somewhere in a small town in Nevada. She arrives just in time to see her dad, Hugh (John Leslie) pledge nuptials to his new bride, Lilly (Flower). To celebrate the three gamble for a bit and then Peaches does some shots. From here she gets behind the wheel of her Jeep and drives off the road and into the brush. She falls from her vehicle and is found by two guys, Kid (Joey Silvera) and Terry (Ken Scudder), who saw her earlier at the gas station.
Unsure what to do, they poke at her and decide it might be best if they loosen her clothes. Before you know it Kid's getting it on with her and after she wakes up they realize she's suffering from amnesia - she doesn't remember a thing, she can't even recall her name. They decide to help her out by taking her to a crazy doctor who, in the film's most frequently censored scene, gives her an enema in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Hugh and Lilly consummate their marriage first in a corny hotel and then later at home where the randy maid (Juliet Anderson) gets in on the action. Before it's all over Peaches will get raped in a lesbian orgy while looking for a job, fall in with a shifty psychiatrist (Paul Thomas) and then get it on in a crazy oiled up orgy - but will she recover her memory?
Very obviously inspired by Voltaire's Candide, Pretty Peaches is quite well made and yes, even well-acted. Shot in various mostly rural locations the film is bright and colorful and it hits the right tone for the comedic elements that make up a big part of it to work quite well. The camera work is strong, doing a fine job of establishing everything you'd want it to from the various set ups and also at capturing all of the carnal action that winds up on display. Throw in some enjoyable music in the background and good, professional quality lighting and this is a slick little picture with enough gloss and polish to impress.
Even the more extreme content here is played with a wink and a nod, the aforementioned (and frequently edited) enema scene being performed by a quirky, frizzy haired pervert on the constantly clueless Peaches taking it like a champ until, well, she just plain old can't do it anymore. The lesbian rape is actually the harshest scene in the movie and the only one that really borders on the unpleasant, if you're able to suspend your disbelief enough to convince yourself that the poor old girl really is as upset as she looks here. In typical de Renzy fashion, however, this scene adds some of the kink and rough stuff that were trademarks in the films he made in the second half of the 1970's.
More impressive than the production values, however, is the not inconsiderable presence of the adorable (and genuinely beautiful) Desiree Cousteau. Here she plays a bubbly, well-meaning airhead, a bimbo with a heart of gold who of course winds up being consistently taken advantage of by everyone she comes across in her quest to figure out who she is. She plays the part perfectly and she looks amazing doing it, her short bob-style hair cut accentuating her charming smile and beautiful eyes. Truly one of the best looking women to come out of the industry of the day, she's a blast to watch here. Surrounding her with the likes of Aunt Peg herself and male talent like Silvera, Scudder and a scene stealing (and freakishly bearded) John Leslie certainly helps but really this is Desiree's show and de Renzy is smart enough here to make sure that we don't stray away from her for too long at any given point in the film.
Note that this Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack release is limited to 1500 pieces and is currently available only through Vinegar Syndrome directly. A mass market DVD only release of the movie will follow in 2015.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Pretty Peaches arrives on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer 'restored in 2k from 35mm archival elements' and framed at 1.78.1 widescreen. Detail is remarkably strong here, you can make out every hair in Leslie's raggedy looking beard and every strand in his goofy cowboy hat while skin tones look perfectly natural - nice and warm, never too pink. Color reproduction is spot on and is consistently impressive while black levels stay deep and pretty pure throughout. There aren't any major print damage issues to not, just a completely expected bit of natural looking film grain, while the transfer is free of any edge enhancement, compression or noise reduction issues. The transfer here, not surprisingly, puts previous DVD releases of this movie to shame - it's a very, very strong transfer, one of Vinegar Syndrome's best.
Audio chores are handled just fine by the movie's DTS-HD Mono mix, in the film's native English. Dialogue is easy to follow and properly balanced alongside the film's score, which demonstrates good depth and more range than you might expect it to.
This is a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack release, so both formats are included here. The only extras on the Blu-ray disc are trailers for three other de Renzy films - Pretty Peaches II, Femmes De Sade and Baby Face II. The most interesting extra feature in the set is on the DVD and it is a twenty minute clip from an archival video interview with the late Alex de Renzy, the only one known to exist. Recorded shortly before he passed away, the material included here focuses on the early years of his filmmaking career and with a fairly mischievous tone he talks about how he got into adult filmmaking before going on to offer up some fascinating stories about making not only Pretty Peaches but his notorious Femmes De Sade as well (he talks about making fake poop out of oatmeal and the kind of trouble that can get you into!). It's a pretty illuminating talk and one that fans of the director's films will definitely enjoy.
Also included on the DVD is an eleven minute long Interview with film historian Ted Mcilvenna who offers some critical analysis of de Renzy's work and shares some interesting stories about him as he knew him quite well and was pretty friendly with him. The trailers that were on the Blu-ray are included on the DVD as well. Static menus and chapter selection as included on both discs that fit inside a standard sized Blu-ray case.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome has finally done justice to Pretty Peaches, one of the late, great Alex de Renzy's finest and funniest films. The picture is presented completely uncut as originally intended and in absolutely fantastic condition and on top of that, it includes some quality supplements as well. All in all an excellent release of an excellent film!
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
