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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: May 12th, 2015.
Director: Alex de Renzy
Cast: Long Jeanne Silver, Joey Silvera, Paul Thomas, Amber Hunt
Year: 1979
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The Movie:
“My name is Long Jeanne Silver, and I'm handicapped and horny! Due to a quirk of mother-nature, I was born with a bigger dick than John Holmes, and baby, you'd better believe I know how to use it!â€
'Long' Jeanne Silver had appeared on stage and in mens' magazines before making the leap to porn, where in 1976 (her earliest appearance) she appeared on the receiving end of Jamie Gillis' muddy wrath in the enema bandit classic, Water Power, directed by the infamous 'Gerard Damiano' (it was really Shaun Costello). Her claim to fame? Well, besides having a nice set of perky boobies and an attractive face, Jeanne was 'gifted' by a childhood incident that left her with a stump where her left leg used to be. This stump, really nothing more than flesh covered bone, could be put to all manner of interesting uses by the adventurous types that Jeanne ran into, and that's more or less the premise behind this pseudo-documentary. Directed by the taboo busting Alex de Renzy, the film follows Ms. Silver around and captures the sexual exploits that she finds herself involved in.
The bulk of the film is comprised of five scenes. The first one is a three way with Joey Silvera and Amber Hunt. Jeanne shows Amber what her stump is good for, while Joey looks on and does his own thing. The second scene finds Jeanne picking up a guy who doesn't usually 'like girls' and taking him back to her house so that they can fool around before her mother gets home. If you think you know where this one is going, you're probably right. He takes her stump in his rump and she diddles her own bad self while she grinds him down. Insane stuff, and pretty damn weird when you think about it, but again, de Renzy was known for his boundary pushing adult films and this one fits in with some of his other more extreme films quite well. Actually, this whole movie is pretty damn weird when you think about it. But back to the subject at hand... scene three finds Ms. Silver in another three-way, this time with Paul Thomas and a blonde lady who willingly receives Jeanne's leg into her fun box. The final scene is with Jeanne and Kristine Heller, who actually gives Jeanne's stump some serious oral in another truly odd moment of semi-lesbian-but-sort-of-phallic lust.
There isn't a whole helluva lot in the story department here to describe and the film seems to exist pretty much as a showcase for Silver's unique talent rather than a standard adult film. With that being said, it certainly gets points in the originality department and it leaves very little of Jeanne's so called 'private life' to the imagination.
Directed by the aforementioned Alex de Renzy, the man behind a lot of the late 60s/early 70s 'Denmark' films and vintage smut like Pretty Peaches not to mention the notorious Animal Lover, the movie kicks along at a brisk pace. It isn't elegantly shot, there aren't a lot of interesting camera movements or unique set ups or angles. There are no lighting tricks or colored gels used to enhance the mood - it's all very basic. But the subject matter, or more specifically the female lead in the form of Jeanne Silver herself, is such an unusual subject for a hardcore porn film that it really and truly doesn't matter much in the long run. You're not watching this for the story or watching it for the cinematography, you're watching it to see a good looking woman do strange things to other women (and a rather uncomfortable looking man - it looked like it hurt even with the lube on there... ouch!) with her stump leg. The film isn't a complete fuck fest though. In amongst the bumping and grinding are some interesting little interview segments with Silver who talks about her life and her career. She even gets all choked up at one point in the film while she's discussing her work with a couple of friends. It's also interesting to see some photos from the spread she did for Cheri used in the film as well.
The film was released in various trimmed versions over the years and back in 2005 for an 'uncut' release from Alpha Blue Archives. At the time, that DVD did appear to be completely uncut judging by the fact that the scene likely to cause the most issues with the censors - and the scene that was supposedly cut from other versions - the stump into man's rump scene, looked to be completely intact with no noticeable or jarring edits of any kind. That disc had a blue title card, the print used on this disc has a black one. The running time of the ABA disc is 1:02:11 and the running time on the VS disc is 1:04:52 (with roughly ten seconds of that being the VS logo at the end), making the VS releases the longest one available.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Vinegar Syndrome presents Long Jeanne Silver in its proper 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio in a 'restored 2k scan from a 16mm archival print.' There is some damage here that was obviously not easily repairable but for the most part this is a pretty clean, clear and nicely detailed presentation. Colors are nicely reproduced, black levels are good and the image is quite nicely rendered here in standard definition. It certainly trumps the older Alpha Blue Archives DVD release, which was kind of muddy and soft looking. This one looks like a film print - the print damage is just part of it, the grain too. It's a nicely authored disc, free of compression issues, edge enhancement and noise reduction problems. All in all, a nice presentation in the video department.
The Dolby Digital Mono track on the disc is decent enough. There's some hiss in a few spots that is hard to ignore but it doesn't really take you out of the movie at all. The levels are properly balanced so there aren't any drastic shifts there to note, things are pretty stable. So yeah, if you don't mind some minor background hiss and the occasional pop, the audio here is just fine.
The Alpha Blue Archives disc included a still gallery of Jeanne's layouts, a bonus scene where Jeanne took on Carol Connors, and a few trailers. Those aren't included on the Vinegar Syndrome disc, but what we get in its place is worth its weight in gold: a commentary from Jeanne Silver herself, moderated by VS's Joe Rubin. It was recorded, presumably, over Skype, so the audio quality drops a bit here and there but the track itself is great. It starts off with Silver talking about why, until the recording of this track, she had never actually watched this movie before. From there she goes on to talk about the use of her stump, how it was never something she did outside of her work in front of the camera, how she got into working in the adult film business after doing her first layout for Cheri Magazine. She talks about getting involved with Kim Pope and Peter Wolf, how she got the offer from de Renzy to make this particular film, but not before talking about what it was like to work on Water Power. She talks about where the idea of the male penetration scene came from, who the actor was who shows up in that scene, how that scene wound up getting trimmed from a lot of prints and the painfully obvious lack of boners in that scene. Jeanne's reactions to seeing this scene for the first time are understandably surprised! From there they chat about how her stump can be used sexually (each option is exploited in the movie), what it was like for her working in the adult industry of the time, how the film is essentially a loop carrier with some bits tying it all together, why there are black marks on a dildo used in the movie, her life in both San Francisco and New York City, how much work was involve in putting together this feature and what it was like having to be with women on camera despite living a heterosexual life. She discusses her social life at the time, amputee porn that has followed in the wake of this movie, de Renzy's habit of omitting credits from his films, and quite a bit more. It's a bold, frank and honest track and getting Silver's input into what this was all like and all about in her own words is fascinating (not to mention historically important).
A static menu and chapter selection are also included.
The Final Word:
More of a curiosity item than a seriously erotic or sexy vintage porno, Long Jeanne Silver has definitely earned its place in the annals of oddball porno movie history. The movie itself is fascinating in its own way, but the commentary included with the disc is what really helps to round out this release.
