Peekarama: All Night Long / Tapestry Of Passion Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard DVD Release Specs: Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

All Night Long and Tapestry of Passion, two films by Alan Colberg, are included on this Peekarama Double Feature release from Vinegar Syndrome. For the review, each film will be reviewed seperately, along with the extras that pertain to that film. Of the two films collected here, Tapestry of Passion is by far the best and worth buying the release for alone. If you choose not to read both, you can jump to the review of All Night Long or you can jump to the review of Tapestry of Passion.

All Night Long is an interesting film that came from Alan Colberg. The plot behind it is that John (John Holmes) and Ric (Ric Lutze) are both up for the Golden Rod mascot award at the fourth annual Home and Hearth Golden Rod awards for the Home and Hearth Society. Through the course of a night, they each have to go on a series of sexual conquests, dictated by envelopes, that they receive through the night. The first one to complete all the conquests and return to the award ceremony wins the award.

Despite being made as a feature film, the film has more the feeling of a vignette style film, although viewers looking for that will ultimately be disappointed due to the opening which doesn't feature any hardcore scenes for an extended period. The beginning of the film takes place at the awards. Film clips of various other award winners are shown as they are announced. These clips appear to be culled from old hardcore loops and not made for this film specifically. Especially since the actresses playing the characters who win appear to all be softcore only actresses. These clips don't last long and the films true hardcore scenes don't start until John and Ric being their individual sexual conquest odysseys.

Using this film construct, it allows for a wide variety of scene types to be included into the film and fit with the story as each conquest has a different sexual theme to it. The sex scenes are well done and enjoyable and definitely the highlight of the film. The film also is a comedy, with some jokes that work and others that fall flat or get overdone. Overall, the film isn't amazing but is worth seeing.

Vinegar Syndrome has done a good job with this release. All Night Long is presented in anamorphic widescreen and offers beautiful vibrant colors. There are artifacts present and there is consistent grain. Darker scenes don't fare as well as the lighter ones with a lack of definition and some noticeable print problems. All this said, the picture is great for a film of this age and it is unlikely one will ever see this film in better shape. The film is presented with a Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural track, which has some pops and hiss present. Overall the audio is very good and is doubtful to raise concerns. The only extra Vinegar Syndrome has included is the theatrical trailer. The master for this wasn't in great shape, but the trailer, even in rough shape, makes for a nice inclusion.

Tapestry of Passion is the eighth film in the Johnny Wadd series, following Tell Them Johnny Wadd is Here, and the second in the series not to be helmed by series creator Bob Chinn. Alan Colberg's Johnny Wadd is decidedly different than that of Bob Chinn's. Not just in how the film feels, but also the character itself. Tapestry of Passion has a darker tone than the previous entries have had. The villains are far more complex and the sets are far more elaborate. Johnny Wadd is different too, not just because he is sporting an afro and sans mustache in this release. Generally portrayed as a hard-boiled detective, in this entry, Johnny Wadd seems meeker and slightly more out of his element while going through the film.

While Tapestry of Passion doesn't fit well into the Johnny Wadd canon, the film itself is great. It is too bad this is the only entry that Alan Colberg did, as more entries by him would have been fun to see. The film itself is nicely done and feels like a real movie. Scenes are included to follow the plot, not just to introduce the sex scenes. A large amount of exterior shots help give the film a more mainstream film scene. The acting is good overall, however, Sharon Thorpe's acting is way over the top. The music used fits the scenes and the situations where it is used. The sex scenes fit the plot and the actors and actresses stay in character throughout them.

In this entry, Jean Osborne (Lesllie Bovee) goes to private dick Johnny Wadd (John Holmes) after her brother Tom Osborne (John Leslie), a sex freak, was potentially murdered and hires Wadd to find out what happened. Wadd ends up on the trail of a sex ritual murderer. Tapestry of Passion is followed by The Jade Pussycat.

Vinegar Syndrome has done an amazing job with this presentation of Tapestry of Passion, and it is by far the best release of any of the Johnny Wadd films that I have seen thus far. The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen and the presentation is beautiful. The colors are rich and vibrant. There is very minor print damage. Grain is evident throughout, most noticeably in night and dark scenes. There is some haloing and there were obvious issues with the master on one scene. For a film of this age, I don't think one can expect much better. The film is presented with a Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural track. There is some background hiss present, but again for a film of this age, I doubt one could expect much better. The only extra that Vinegar Syndrome has included is the theatrical trailer. The trailer is in rough shape, with dirt, scratches and hiss but is a nice inclusion.

This release from Vinegar Syndrome collects two films from director Alan Colberg and star John Holmes. Tapestry of Passion, the eighth Johnny Wadd film, doesn't fit in well with the series, but is an amazing adult film from the 1970s and should not be missed. All Night Long is a comedy, which is okay but nowhere on the level of Tapestry of Passion. The presentation of both films by Vinegar Syndrome is amazing.

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