Appassionata Review

Running Time: 90 min.

Production Date: 7 / 1997 (cover) 9 / 24 / 1997 (DVD)

Director: Bud Lee and Asia Carrera

Cast: Asia Carrera (who also wrote, produced, and did the music), Marc Davis, Alex Sanders, Roxanne Hall, Laura Palmer, Raylene, Liza Harper, Brittany Andrews, Leeanna Heart, Charlie, Sindee Coxx, Avalon, Johnni Black, Holly Body, Jonathan Morgan, Mike Horner, Alec Metro, John Decker and Steve Hatcher in sex roles and Veronica Hart, Michael Hart, and Bud Lee in non- sex roles

Initial Expectations: I know that Asia Carrera is extremely proud of this movie and holds it very close to her heart. Since she’s one of my all time favorite adult film actresses, I have some fairly high hopes for the movie and very high hopes for the overall DVD.

Initial Reaction: The film is nicely done but nothing that’s going to start the adult film world on fire. The extras really make this DVD worthwhile.

Who Should Watch It : Couples and fans of Asia Carrera and Adam & Eve’s other features.

Who Should Avoid It: Fans of extremely hardcore sex or people who don’t like much grain in their features.

Audio /Video Quality: The audio is very good and well balanced. The video, however, isn’t nearly as good. It was shot on film and shows all the limitations of film as well as quite a bit of grain. If you were turned off by Dream Quest’s grain, you might want to rent this one first.

Music: Asia Carrera did the music in Appassionata and gave it a very classical feel. It matches the feature very nicely and helps things out. It ranges from a nice balance to being the only audio there.

Menus: The menus are very nicely animated and fitting for the feature.

The Feature: Appassionata is Asia Carrera’s semi - autobiographical adult film which blends modern day and Mozart’s 18th Century together. In the 18th Century, it’s a tale of Mozart (Marc Davis) who is in love with one of his students (Asia Carrera), the Emperor’s daughter (with Veronica Hart and her real life husband playing the Emperor and his wife). The only problem is that Asia is supposed to marry King Friedrich from Norway rather than a court musician like Mozart. In modern times, it also revolves around Asia, but this time she’s a runaway. She came to California to become famous as a classical musician but doesn’t have the money to get home. She’s picked up by Alex Sanders, who went through the same thing and is willing to help her out with a ride and a place to stay in the back of his van.

Johnni Black and Holly Body seduce Alex Sanders in a campground for the first scene. Johnni and Holly start to work each other over and Alec joins them on the picnic table soon after. I’m not positive, but I think this scene looks a lot better here now than it did when I first saw it in Adam & Eve Signature Series 2: Johnni Black . It’s a pretty good scene and there’s some nice chemistry between the three of them. Johnni takes it in the ass and Holly only does vaginal. They finish it off very nicely with Alex blowing his load across Holly’s stomach and Johnni licking it up.

Jonathan Morgan is given an orgy before he gets married in the second scene. Also included are Steve Hatcher, Alec Metro, John Decker, Roxanne Hall, Raylene, Laura Palmer, and Liza Harper. Unbeknownst to them, Asia and Marc watch them a little before taking off. It’s a nicely artistic scene with the entire cast looking very much the part. The costumes look great here and I suspect the cast had a hard time doing this scene because of them. They may also cause a problem for any fans who are watching Appassionata to see a specific person. The sex is very nicely balanced, especially for an orgy, but I think it had way to many scenes show from above (there were very few close-ups). It’s a warm scene although it fits in with the movie very well.

Proving that history does indeed repeat itself, the next scene is an orgy in modern times around Mike Horner’s pool. Mike spends his time with Leeanna Heart, while Brittany Andrews, Roxanne Hall, Sindee Coxx, Raylene, Charlie, Avalon, Laura Palmer, and Liza Harper take care of each other. Most of the sex here is between several couples, but a few of them do get together a little bit. As with most orgy scenes, it has some trouble building heat. It’s kind of split into two scenes with a short intermission to add a little plot between Mike, Alex, and Asia.

Asia and Alex hook up for the fourth scene outside and inside of Alex’s van. It’s a tender yet hot scene and feels very right. The camera really catches the action right and does so from several different and nicely balanced angles. They finish it off with Alex popping on Asia’s ass with a big smile on her face. Sadly, the music is the only audio for the scene, but it’s still a pretty hot scene thanks to the great chemistry between Alex and Asia.

Finally, Marc Davis returns as Mozart to take Asia away from all her problems and into the 18th century in a scene that was also included in Adam & Eve Signature Series 1: Asia Carrera . Yes, it’s a fairy tale ending, but it’s a nice artistic touch that once again, fits the feature nicely. Marc sweeps Asia away from outside Alex’s van to his 18th century bedroom, where she’s dressed for the time. Asia shows some of her amazing oral skills before Marc starts pounding away on her pussy. He finally blows his load onto her stomach. It’s a romantic scene with a little heat that finishes the feature nicely.

Although not extremely hot or deep, Appassionata is still a very nice adult film, especially if you’re a fan of Asia Carrera, as I am. The story flows nicely and the sex is well done. It has both an artistic touch as well as a touch of realism that helps it to stand out from a lot of other adult films. For another opinion on Appassionata , please check out reviewer’s review .

Extras: Adam & Eve have went all out on extras here and filled a second DVD with them. There are a lot of nice touches to the extras, although some of the standard extras are missing, such as a photo gallery and Adam & Eve’s Hot Shots, or changed from what you’re used to, such as the bios. The bios include Asia Carrera, Alex Sanders, Marc Davis, Mike Horner, Charlie, and Sindee Coxx. Rather than the standard write up on each star, here they each give a short interview. Most of them last around five and a half minutes, but Alex Sanders’ lasts a little over nine minutes and Charlie’s doesn’t even last two minutes. Almost all of them talk about their first scene, how they got into the business, what they plan on after they retire, and who they like working with best, their hobbies and mainstream work, and their significant other. Each of them also talks about something else which gives it a nice personal touch. Alex Sanders’s comment about Jenna really stuck with me about how she was great to work with when she was still interested in the business. Of course, many of the standard extras are here, such as the link to Adam & Eve’s website. Trailers are included for The Collector , Devoured , A Midsummer Night’s Cream , Search for the Snow Leopard , Taboo of Tarot , and Watchers . There are also trailers for the Simon Wolf Trilogy, A Witch’s Tail , The Wolf’s Tail , and The Devil’s Tail .

There are also many new extras. First, there are almost four minutes of bloopers. The bloopers are for both the plot scenes and the sex scenes. They show Asia on the piano as well as some general screwing around on the set. It gives a nice feel for some of the behind the scenes happenings.

If you like the behind the scenes stuff, you’ll really like the Anecdotes, which lasts almost twenty three minutes. It includes a series of interviews with Bud Lee, Asia Carrera, Mike Horner, Marc Davis, Sindee Coxx, and Charlie. Bud and Asia talk about the piano and some of the problems with film. Asia talks about writing the script, the 18th century costumes, shooting in public locations, and her scene with Alex. Mike talks about playing characters, such as the bad guy, and sex scenes. Marc Davis talks about his costumes, and Sindee Coxx , Charlie, and Mike Horner talk about shooting the orgy scene. It also includes a few behind the scenes shots. It’s a nice behind the scenes look that has a little of the feel of John Stagliano’s comments in his Buttman films.

There’s also more sex. The sex reel is a collection of snippets from Adam & Eve’s sex scenes and lasts almost eleven minutes. Scenes are taken from The Collector , Devoured , A Midsummer Night’s Cream , Appassionata , Taboo of Tarot , and a few others. It’s a nice mix of scenes as well as types of sex scenes. Bonus scenes are also included from My 2nd Love with Asia Carrera and Michael J. Cox and Sex Patrol with Johnni Black, Valentino, and Brick Majors. If you picked up Adam & Eve Signature Series 1: Asia Carrera you’ve already seen the first scene and the second scene was included in Adam & Eve Signature Series 2: Johnni Black . They’re both pretty good scenes and I hope that the rest of Sex Patrol makes it onto DVD soon.

Finally, Bud Lee recut two scenes. The first scene is the orgy outside Davenport’s (Mike Horner) pool. It lasts about fifteen minutes and the music is the only audio. It’s a nice recut that gives everybody a decent amount of screen time. The second scene is the 18th century orgy which lasts about twelve and a quarter minutes. Orgies always seem like they’d be extremely difficult to edit, so I think it’s a great idea that Mr. Lee decided to recut them for the DVD.

Themes: Straight, group, lesbian, anal, rimming (male > female),

Raincoat Factor: Medium

Overall: Currently, Appassionata can be found online for between $18 and $25 with only one store offering it for under about $21. If you’re a fan of Asia Carrera, it’s a small price to pay. The story is decent, as is the sex. It’s artistic and flows nicely, as opposed to a lot of other adult films. The transfer is okay, showing some of the obvious faults of film, but the extras are great.

Note to Adam & Eve: I realize that there isn’t much you can do about the grain here, but you sure made up for it with the extras. I hope to see more of the extras you included here, such as the interview bios, make it onto some of your other releases.

If you have any questions or comments, please e- mail me .