Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: February 23rd, 2016.
Director: Richard Kanter
Cast: Leslie Bovee, Georgina Spelvin, John Leslie, Serena, Turk Lyon, Richard Pacheco
Year: 1978
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The Movie:
Richard Kanter's Sensual Encounters Of Every Kind, made in 1978, doesn't have anything to do with a certain sci-fi movie as you might imagine it would be based on the title. Rather, the opening scene, in which we see a naked woman running a gem stone over her body, tells us of a talisman that is thousands of years old. This is no regular stone, however, as it has the ability to bring to its bearer all that his or her sexual heart could desire! The flipside? If it's not used quickly and then passed on to someone else, it can bring about bad luck.
The first person to wind up with the talisman is a 'rich bitch' named Dee Dee (Leslie Bovee) who we first see on the phone with her aunt. Dee Dee has the talisman but more interesting than that to the trio of construction workers below her deck is what's between Dee Dee's legs. Before you know it, they're chasing her across the lawn and dragging her inside for a rough group session, which of course turns out to be her fantasy.
From there the talisman winds up in the hands of her aunt Abigail (Georgina Spelvin), a tightly wound spinsterish woman trying to teach French to Lisa (Monique Cardin) and her brother Kelly (Jon Martin). Of course, the randy siblings have something else in mind and once Kelly starts getting fresh with Abigail, they have a three way that actually turns out to be the stand out scene in the film thanks to Spelvin's natural heat and the chemistry that exists between the three performers.
In the third scene, Senator O'Brien (Turk Lyon) winds up with the talisman and wouldn't you know it, the stone gives him the ability to get it on with his secretary (Serena) while his wife is out. They're almost busted but she manages to bluff her way out of it which leads to a session utilizing a few different toys. Good stuff, Serena is in fine form here.
After that, Coach Davis (John Leslie) is alone in the school exercise room with two students - Dorothy LeMay and Lori Blue - who are clearly determined to get him all worked up. And that's exactly what happens as they start out in the work out room and wind up getting all hot and bothered in the sauna.
Last but not least, a woman named Shelly (Cris Cassidy) is losing interest in her goofball boyfriend Casey (Richard Pacheco) and his shenanigans until, of course, the powers of the talisman come into play.
Well-paced and very nicely shot, Sensual Encounters Of Every Kind is pretty solid stuff. The A-list cast is all at the top of their game here. The opening scene with Bovee starts off pretty rough but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where it's headed and it ends on fairly amusing note, political correctness aside. As mentioned, the scene with Spelvin is the best in the feature, it's really nicely shot and plenty steamy with a lot of back and forth between the elder stateswoman of smut and her two younger charges. The scene with Turk Lyon and Serena is effective in how it mixes humor and eroticism and the toy play sequence here lets Serena strut her stuff while at the same time set this scene apart from the others. Seeing John Leslie ham it up as the couch is pretty amusing and he's got good chemistry with LeMay and Blue and while the final scene with Cassiday and Pacheco may be the weakest of the film, it's still well done with enough heat to matter.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Sensual Encounters Of Every Kind arrives on DVD from Vinegar Syndrome in a new 2k scan from the original 35mm negatives framed at 1.78.1 widescreen and it looks great. For a standard definition presentation, detail is impressive and the elements used here were clearly in nice shape. Colors look good, the black and white sequence has decent contrast and although minimal print damage does appear from time to time it's never distracting or irritating. There are some visible scratches, but it's not a big deal and the disc is well authored so there are no problems with compression artifacts.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono sound mix, the only one available on the disc, sounds fine. You might notice the occasional pop in the mix if you're listening for it but aside from that the levels are properly balanced, dialogue is easy to understand and the score and sound effects are mixed in effectively enough. There are no subtitles provided on this DVD.
There's only one extra on the disc, outside of menu and chapter selection, but it's a good one in the form of an interview with seventies and eighties adult film performer Jon Martin. Here he speaks about his time in the adult film industry, talking about how he got his start, some of the male and female co-stars he shared screen time with and some of the directors he worked for. It's an interesting piece and worth checking out even if the audio quality is a little rough in spots.
The Final Word:
Sensual Encounters Of Every Kind is a very well-directed and well performed mix of humor, drama and sex. Yeah, the stories are a bit goofy, but that's where the humor comes in. This makes for a fun watch, recommended for anyone with an interest in vintage smut, and Vinegar Syndrome's presentation is top notch.