Tweet
Released by: TLA Video/Alpha France
Released on: August 18th, 2015
Director: Claude Bernard-Aubert
Cast: Karine Gambier, Guy Royer, Brigitte Lahaie
Year: 1979
Purchase From TLA Video
The Movie
TLA Video's made-on-demand discs from Alpha France's continue to roll on, this time with a late seventies picture from director Claude Bernard-Aubert, who initially got his start directing exploitation and crime flicks before concentrating on adult film right on through the end of his career right through to the eighties.
Hitchhikergirls in Heat [sic] is a relatively straight forward sex film which follows Francois (Guy Foyer) as he makes his way on a long drive back home to his wife. Predictably, he meets a gaggle of willing women all along the road with whom he passes the time in one way or another, as Francois engages in sexcapades all along the road back home.
Bernard-Aubert's film is short on both plot and style, although-as is the case with most of Alpha France's adult cinema-it does possess a certain artfulness which is indicative of French erotica. There's certainly a level of technical prowess associated with the film, as well as some nice shots of rural France, but Hitchhikergirls in Heat is here primarily to titillate, and in this sense it's semi-successful.
There's a workmanlike sense of boredom associated with most of the performers, including Brigitte Lahaie, who receives top billing here despite appearing in only one scene. Her sequence has a humorous twist at the end, however, and it's certainly nice to see the French actress make a welcomed appearance, no matter how brief. Elsewhere, there's a duo of hitchhikers who Francois takes home to meet his wife, and it's this foursome which makes up a lion's share of the film's running time, although there's an unrelated scene with Jess Franco regular Karine Gambier which occurs about halfway through the film's brief, eighty minute running time.
Hitchhikergirls in Heat is a simple, "point A to point B" picture which gets its rocks off well enough, yet lacks the bonkers, off the wall vibe present in some of the most memorable Alpha France titles. Lahaie fans will most certainly appreciate her presence here, but there are admittedly far better films than this one to be seen by Alpha France fanatics.
Video/Audio/Extras
TLA's MOD disc of Hitchhikergirls in Heat is presented in 1.33 full frame aspect ratio, likely from a French VHS copy of the film. The color palette is somewhat muted, but perfectly serviceable for this sort of thing, with some scenes shot over on the beach near Francois' chateau looking quite nice in spots. Sadly, the film is presented with an English dub, as opposed to the original French language track, but-given that the dialog is anything about which to write home anyway-those familiar with these films aren't likely to notice or care.
The disc starts up right away without a menu, and there are no extras.
The Final Word
Hitchhikergirls in Heat sort of feels like an Americanized French adult film, one which perhaps saw the writing on the wall with the forthcoming video age and decided to drop plot and visual style in favor of a quick bang and buck. It's fun enough, but there are better Alpha France flicks out there, for sure.
