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Released by: Cult Epics
Released on: 8/29/2006
Director: Tinto Brass
Cast: Sara Cosmi, Massimiliano Caroletti, Silvia Rossi, Federica Tommasi,
Max Parodi, Andrea Nobili, Raffaella Ponzo
Year: 2000
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The Movie:
Possibly the most explicit film that Brass has or will make in his long and storied career, Private (known in Italy as Fallo), is an anthology of sorts that features six stories that don't relate to one another save for the fact that they deal with a specific couple who decide to, shall we say, experiment a little bit.
Alibi, the first story, follows a married couple who vacation in Morroco to celebrate their anniversary. While they're there, the wife tells her husband about the encounters she had the last time she was in the city, which inspires him to invite the bellboy, who has been watching her, to have a go at her while he watches. Double Trouble, if the title didn't give it away, is about two couples who start toying around with the idea of swinging and in turn begin a little game of wife swapping. Two Hearts And A Hut is the tale of a German man and his foxy wife who are into having a third partner around and so when they stay at a hotel for their vacation end up hiring the maid to join them. The maid's boyfriend finds out what she's been up to but once he finds out how much she's been paid, he isn't quite as irate with her as he would be otherwise. Jolly Bangs finds a man relaxing on a beach with his lovely wife who begins to tell him of her past exploits with other men. He finds that he starts to like hearing about her randy past, and one thing leads to another. In Evil To He Who Thinks Evil we learn about a couple who are soon to be wed. The groom pressures his bride to be to 'give up the back door' for him but she's hesitant as she's afraid that his large member might hurt her if she lets him and besides, she'd rather wait until after the wedding. The final story, Call Me A Pig, I Like It, tells the tale of a rather adventurous couple who find out that they're being watched by the man who lives next door to them - when they do, this changes things, but not necessarily how you would expect.
The unrated director's cut as presented on this DVD is quite explicit in that it gives us not only the copious amount of nudity that we expect from Brass' films but also some hardcore-esque scenes or fellatio (some of which use prosthetic wangs, some of which use the real deal). Additionally, while the movie stops short of full on penetration it does come damn close leaving little to the imagination and at times this can be a little jarring even if each and every one of the ladies involved are plenty easy on the eyes (Brass has a knack for picking talent!). That being said, under Brass' skillful direction and watchful eye the voyeuristic qualities of the film do work well. It's almost as if we're peering in on these couples through a peephole with him, and his obvious fixations on the female backside is once again in full swing. The direction and cinematography in the film is as strong as any of his other films and the movie and its cast look great from start to finish.
That being said, Private isn't as strong in the story department as some of his other pictures mainly due in part to the fact that the anthology format it subscribes to doesn't allow for much in the way of character development. While it's true that in each story there is a 'change' or an event that alters the lives of the participants we don't know them well enough to care for them the way that we do in his more linear, single story films such as the superior and extremely erotic Frivolous Lola or the more free spirited and lighthearted Cheeky.
In the end, Private, despite pushing the boundaries of what Brass is willing to show on camera, is almost a step back for him. It's not that the movie is bad, it's actually pretty good and plenty sexy, it's just that it feels like a few ideas for feature length films that weren't fully fleshed out that were thrown into an anthology so that they wouldn't go to waste. Watch this one for the visuals and the kinky set pieces alone and you'll come out with a smile on your face as it's loaded with great looking sets, actors and locations - it's just that it isn't quite as compelling narratively speaking as some of his other films.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Cult Epics presents Private in an anamorphic 1.66.1 widescreen transfer that looks quite good save for some mild ghosting possibly caused from a standards conversion. It's not overpowering but it's there never the less. Save for that issue, the picture is quite good on this disc. There's a bit of mild grain here and there and if you look for it you might pick up on the odd speck here and there but color reproduction is good and the black levels stay pretty strong. Flesh tones look lifelike and accurate and fine detail is decent enough even if things could have been a little bit sharper in one or two scenes.
The Italian language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is well balanced, clean and clear. There aren't any alternate language dubs, though English subtitles are included. There's little to complain about here as for the most part everything sounds quite good. A bit more channel separation in a few scenes might have opened things up a little more but as it stands this stereo track is a pretty active one and the score in particular sounds quite nice.
The main supplement on this disc is a making of featurette that clocks in at roughly eighteen minutes in length. As this plays out we're treated to some behind the scenes footage of Brass directing his cast on set in addition to some interviews with the cast members and with Tinto himself. This is all presented in Italian with English subtitles and it's an interesting and candid look at how the movie was made.
Rounding out the extra features are trailers for Private, Cheeky, Frivolous Lola, All Ladies Do It, Miranda and The Key and two still galleries (a more semi-hardcore one and a more timid one).
The Final Word:
Private arrives on DVD from Cult Epics completely uncut and in good shape with a couple of fun extras. The movie itself is solid, not Brass' best but a worthy entry in his filmography - definitely recommended for fans of his work.