Both Ways (Vinegar Syndrome) Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Drama, Bisexual Run Time: 84 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1975 Director: Jerry Douglas Written by: Jerry Douglas Director of Photography: Ken Savitt Cast: Gerald Grant, Andrea True, Dean Tait, Katherine Miles, Jake Everett, Bill Morgan, Darby Lloyd Rains, Neil Scott, Jan Meryl, Vicki Brandon Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Both Ways is a bisexual adult hardcore dramatic film that contains both male and female sex scenes and male and male sex scenes from director and writer Jerry Douglas. Depending on what you, the viewer, are looking for, Both Ways is either going to be an excellent film or a disappointing film. In this reviewer's opinion, Both Ways is an excellent character-driven drama. However, if you are looking for hardcore sex scenes to get off to, Both Ways is likely to be a huge disappointment.

Both Ways tells the story of Connecticut suburbanite Donald Wyman (Gerald Grant), who is married to Janet (Andrea True) and has a son David (Neil Scott). On the side, Donald starts romantically seeing Gary Littleton (Dean Tait). Donald starts having trouble keeping his double life a secret as everything starts unraveling.

Jerry Douglas is a playwright, likely best known for his off-Broadway stage play Score, that starred a young Sylvester Stallone, that was later turned into the film of the same name by Radley Metzger (which Douglas also wrote the screenplay for). Strangely, Douglas only made two golden age classic period adult films; Both Ways and the 1973 gay film The Back Row; which is too bad because Douglas creates great and compelling characters.

Both Ways has short sex scenes and, honestly, isn't that erotic. The joy of Both Ways comes from enjoying the story and the characters that interact within the film. Both Ways is a beautifully written film that is well acted by the cast. For people who want to show others that X-rated films aren't “just porn,” Both Ways is an excellent example. However, as a result, viewers who are looking for “just porn” will be sorely disappointed by this film. The cinematography, by whoever Ken Savitt is a pseudonym for, is beautiful.

Basically, whether or not you find Both Ways to be an enjoyable film depends on what you as the viewer are looking to get out of it. If you are looking for a drama that you can sit down and actually enjoy watching, Both Ways is definitely a film to watch. If you are looking for a porn film to get off while watching Both Ways is not going to fulfill your desires.

Vinegar Syndrome has done an absolutely beautiful job with their DVD release of Both Ways. Both Ways was shot on film and Vinegar Syndrome has utilized the 35mm negative for their release. Both Ways is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480p. Both Ways has an absolutely beautiful transfer. There are grain, artifacts, and minimal print damage present. The colors displayed look absolutely beautiful.

Both Ways is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The audio sounds great. There are some jumps in the audio toward the end of the film, however, the dialog is easy to understand, and the jumps are minimal.

Vinegar Syndrome has included a few extras on their release. There is a commentary track with Jerry Douglas and Adam Baran, a filmmaker and writer for The Sword. The theatrical trailer for Both Ways is also included in the release.

Both Ways is an excellent film from Jerry Douglas that uses the adult film medium to tell its story. Both Ways uses both heterosexual and homosexual sex scenes in telling its story and is a must-see for any fan of the feature film genre who value a good story in their adult film. Vinegar Syndrome has done an absolutely beautiful job with their DVD release of Both Ways with a beautiful image and great audio.

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