Tweet
Released by: After Hours Cinema
Released on: 6/2/2009
Director: Shaun Costello
Cast: Jamie Gillis, Mark Stevens, Shaun Costello, Tina Russell, Georgina Spelvin, Levi Richards, Valerie Marron, Ashely Moore
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
The Movies:
A self proclaimed child of the balcony, Shaun Costello grew up devouring films in the various Times Square theaters during the area's heyday before jumping in with both feet and making his on for various producers (the majority for Star Distributors) until retiring from adult filmmaking in the 1980s. Following up on their director approved DVD release of Costello's grueling Forced Entry, After Hours Cinema now presents some of the director's lighter fare with this collection of three 'one day wonders' (basically an hour long feature with six sex scenes shot in one day) all lensed in 1973.
HONEYMOON SUITE
The plot for our first feature isn't any great shakes but it sets up the requisite bumping and grinding nicely enough and leaves the doors open for some effective humor in and amongst the parade of skin. Basically three swinging couples are playing a game of poker and decide to get married to each other. They hook up with an officiator and have the ceremony (the guys have their dicks hanging out), thus legitimizing their relationships without having to give up any partners. They all split off into separate rooms and consummate their vows in various ways. Sounds like a pretty good idea, right? Sure! And if you've seen 1969's Bob And Carol And Ted And Alice by Paul Mazursky and starring Natalie Wood you're going to have a pretty good idea of how it's all going to play out.
With a cast including Georgina Spelvin, Marc Stevens, Levi Richards, Tina Russell, and Costello himself all showing a genuine knack for comedic timing and delivery, this is a film played completely for laughs and not to be taken at all seriously. Even the sex scenes are performed with a knowing wink to the audience as the performers are consistently spouting off one liners as they get down to business. The sex is plentiful, highlighted by a scene in which the legendary Georgina Spelvin introduces the more innocent Tina Russell into the ways of lesbian lovemaking in a scene guaranteed to get your attention.
Re-titled as Maryanne's Honeymoon Suite and released previously as Georgina's Honeymoon Suite the whole film seems to have been shot inside a single hotel location (the liner notes mention that Costello almost always used The Commodore Hotel at Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan - since redeveloped by Donald Trump as the New York Grand Hyatt). There's only one out door shot at the beginning that establishes the location so don't expect the great seventies era New York City footage you'll find in other films of the era.
Despite this rather limited scope, the picture is good fun. You definitely get the feeling that all involved were having a good time here and it wouldn't really be a stretch if you left thinking everyone up on the camera acted the same way around one another when the film stopped rolling. It's a very laid back, easy going and funny picture and a historically important one in Costello's filmography as the first of his 'one day wonders.'
JOE ROCK SUPERSTAR
Marc Stevens plays Joe Cock, a Jim Morrison by way of David Bowie circa Ziggy Stardust vocalist whose claim to fame is his uncanny ability to get it up on stage. When the film starts, his girlfriend (Tina Russell) is upset that her oral skills aren't arousing him so she blows guitar player Sean Costello in the hallway telling him she's 'always had a passion for balls.' Indeed.
The band goes on stage - Stevens lip synching to a Door's cover (the original Doors' song that Costello used has been removed and replaced for this release - you can't blame After Hours for not wanting to get their asses sued off) with Costello hammering away at his guitar where this is none as Jamie Gillis keeps time on the drums. The same performers also appear in the audience in front of the stage, making you realize just how small the cast is for this Costello directed picture. At any rate, Cock can't get it up and the band is booed off the stage. They retreat to think things over and Cock's mother, 'Mrs. Cock,' helps him out (think Taboo here) before Gillis decides to give her a poke. The film ends with the news that the band has just been booked for Madison Square Gardens now that the news is out that Cock's got his erection back.
Filled with stale sex, incessant bickering and talking over one another, and the most jaw droppingly funny stage performance ever, Joe Rock Superstar is pretty terrible stuff. Most of it feels like it was made up on the spot and the cast members all look completely out of it. Stevens seems to be having fun playing rock star while Costello (wearing a hippyish leather vest) and Gillis (sporting a Coke-Cola inspired Cocaine shirt) sort of wander from scene to scene as needed. As bad as the movie is, the stage scene is so completely bizarre that it completely redeems the rest of the picture and it's worth watching the movie just for that short sequence.
Costello mentions in his essay that the concert scene was shot in an off Broadway theater on East 12th Street and Third Avenue but doesn't name the venue. This is another film played for laughs and not intended to be taken too seriously at all. The actors are once again obviously having fun with the material here, however, and the comedic elements are definitely plentiful. The film has previously been released by Alpha Blue Archives and Something Weird Video with the 'borrowed' soundtrack intact.
COME AND BE PURIFIED
As fun and quirky as the first two films in the set are, it's Come And Be Purified, which appears here on DVD for the first time ever, that really stands out. Costello's go to guy, Jamie Gillis, plays a faux Catholic man of the cloth named Father Sexus. As he does the Lord's work he always seems to manage to con his flock into orgying and screwing around.
If you want to see Gillis hamming it up in full on priest garb complete with the collar and the robe while Shaun Costello (who plays 'Brother Francis') stands naked beside him holding a Bible over his balls, then this is the movie for you. Incredibly sacrilegious and designed with the intent to provoke and offend the religious institutions that have consistently tried to destroy the adult film industry, this is pretty provocative stuff and Costello's Irish-Catholic heritage probably played a big part in his decision to make this movie. Interestingly enough, Costello notes that the film was busted all over the mid-west when it played in 'Bible Belt' areas - a sign that religion and pornography really don't ever mix so well in the eyes of certain parties.
Another film shot almost entirely inside the Commodore Hotel, we get a few interesting establishing shots of New York City early on (including some aerial shots that we can probably safely assume were stock footage inserts unless Costello had access to some aerial photography gear?) before the action heads indoors where it stays for good.
While the whole sex and religion co-mingling might overshadow any of the film's other qualities, Gillis really should get some credit for his performance here. He's obviously very into the role and he delivers his performance with no small amount of enthusiasm. He's a blast to watch as he spouts of various bits of rhetoric while doing things priests are not allowed to do and he's the perfect casting choice for the part.
Video/Audio/Extras:
While After Hours is to be commended for giving these films transfers from film sources, this is unfortunately an over-matted 1.78.1 transfer of a trio of pictures that were intended to be seen in 1.33.1 fullframe (thankfully a practice that they've recently stopped, though the interlaced transfers continue, this release being no exception). That said, these are better looking than the grey market releases that have been available previously (Come And Be Purified not withstanding as, to the best of my knowledge, it hasn't shown up on home video before) even if they do show their age through a myriad of print damage, wear and tear. Don't go into this release expecting miracles, rather, keep your expectations in check. This is some pretty obscure material and to see it taken from film prints at all is, in itself, a minor miracle. Look past the print damage and the color fading or take it all in as part of the experience. Yeah, this stuff looks rough, but that's half the charm right there. Each film features a 'Remastered Edition Copyright 2009 9th Ave. Exploitation' bug that appears under the title card but thankfully no further video bugging is evident.
It's Dolby Digital Mono across the board, just as it should be. A bit of background hiss might creep in here and there but for the most part there aren't any problems here. Expect a pop or two from time to time but dialogue is clean and clear and there aren't any problems with heavy distortion. The scores are mixed in nicely and the levels are properly balanced throughout. For older, low budget adult films, both movies sound fine on this disc.
The disc itself contains the standard menu and chapter stop selections you'd expect as well as a collection of seven trailers for numerous other releases available from After Hours Cinema. It should be mentioned that the disc includes a 'Grind It' option allowing you to watch the three features back to back with trailers in between movies to replicate the Times Square triple feature vibe in the comfort and safety of your own home. Inside the keepcase is a booklet of liner notes containing two essays. The first, by 'The After Hours Collector,' gives us a very basic background on Costello while the second, by Costello himself, explains how he didn't invent the 'one day wonder' but how he basically learned to mass produce it and what it was like working in that kind of environment. Both essays are pretty interesting and well worth a read.
The Final Word:
Matting issues not withstanding, it's nice to see After Hours diving into this material and giving it respectful DVD presentations. While it's be great to hear some commentary tracks from Costello on future releases, the liner notes he's been contributing to the line so far are quite interesting while the features themselves never less than fantastically entertaining.