Buda Review

Reviewed by Speelie  on  2/17/2002

Buda
Released 11/14/1997
DVD released late 2001
Directed by John “Buttman” Stagliano
Evil Angel DVD
Cast : Holly Black, Judith Grant, Christy (aka Judit), Reka, Ursula Moore, Sylvia, Angela, Amanda Steel, Suzy, Blondy, Emanuel, Rocco Siffredi, Mike Foster, Zsolt (aka John) Walton, Leslie Taylor, Steve Hard, Zenza Raggi, Andrew Youngman, Cowboy, Cho-Cho, Joe Koo, Sophia, Marlon Xtravaganza

I always wondered what this was. For some reason, I never heard about it when it was new, but then during 2000 I noticed it for sale at an adult bookstore. I was intrigued because it seemed like a giant Rocco movie, but it was listed as a collector’s item, and priced exorbitantly highly. Finally, with the release of the DVD version, it is available widely as a two disk set.

It was helpful for me that I had already seen Buttman in Budapest before watching Buda, since they are very much sister movies, with much of the same female cast. In fact, Stagliano admits that Buttman in Budapest was something of a trial run for Buda, to let him get a feel for the conditions in Hungary. His new-found familiarity with Budapest enabled him to attempt something really ambitious, by the standards of Evil Angel gonzo movies.The result is a plotted feature, but one with the emphasis still on the sex. In that regard, it is roughly comparable to a Pierre Woodman movie, and is a far cry from the “people are in a room, and they fuck” sets of unrelated scenes that are so common these days.

Holly Black is the female star, and while she has a nice tight body and unconventional beauty, I had an initial bad feeling because among her various appearances over the years is a role in the worst Private movie I have ever seen, “Jane Waters’” The Chase. It quickly becomes clear that in Buda, Holly is up to delivering a great performance, sexual and otherwise. She opens the movie talking with her gangster boyfriend, played by fellow Hungarian Mike Foster, after a night on the town. The Magyar dialog is subtitled into English, revealing that he doesn’t give her nearly enough attention. They return to his headquarters, where his thugs, played by stuntmen Cowboy, Cho-Cho, and Joe Koo (in non-sex roles) argue while showing off the latest car they have stolen. Holly takes advantage of the distraction to slip out the door.

After being mistaken for a streetwalker, amongst the other hookers in the neighborhood, Holly tries to hide in an old building. Much of the outdoor footage, here and elsewhere in the movie, is quite grainy, and this gets distracting at times, but Stagliano reveals in his commentary that he deliberately used natural light, even poorly exposed, in place of artificial light that would have lessened the gritty feel he sought. The inside of the building is also dark, but Holly quickly notices curvy blonde Angela raising her dress to finger and lube her asshole. What can this be about? A ways away, boxcover girls Reka and red headed Sylvia are getting felt up by Leslie Taylor and Steve Hard, something Stagliano captures with his usual extensive butt-shot teasing. Aha, this is a porno set! As the action slowly, leisurely unfolds, Zenza Raggi and Zsolt Walton begin to fool around with Angela. Most of these people are mainstays on the Euro porn scene, with Sylvia in particular having appeared in countless movies (she and Reka are both in Buttman in Budapest). There’s mucho sucking and fucking here, with the women being traded back and forth between the men, including plenty of anal.

Holly watches all this from a ways away, until Walton notices her and leads her onto the set. Rocco is the director, with Stagliano putting in a cameo as his cameraman. They assume Holly is the late-arriving actress they were expecting, and since she’s willing to join right in with the action, Rocco focuses the filming on her. He sucks and fucks with the best of them, and is soon on her knees taking Walton deep up her butt. In a really sexy moment, she expresses to Rocco exactly what she is feeling all through the anal.

Meanwhile, Foster is furious, and has his men on the search for Holly. A hooker reveals the building which Holly entered, and Foster and his goons storm in, gunning down Walton. This is clearly serious business, and Holly and Rocco are dragged off with Foster and company when they leave. The goons bring Rocco to a club, where Ursula Moore checks him out as trans (-vestites? -sexuals? either way, they are repulsive) Sophia and Marlon Xtravaganza finish their musical set. Backstage, as sex acts are performed in dark corners, the goons complete a drug deal with Marlon, who greatly desires Rocco’s cock. The consumation of this would belong in a different sort of movie, so it is no surprise when Ursula steps in to rescue Rocco. She’s Foster’s sister, and has some clout, so if she wants to fuck this guy, she has seniority over Marlon. The goons leave, and Rocco and Ursula explore each other in all sorts of naughty ways. She’s tall and dark, more sensuous than beautiful, and has a great time with Rocco. It was so much fun, she invites Rocco to her brother’s birthday party the next day.

Stagliano’s cameraman wants to leave Budapest, and of course considers Rocco crazy to accept Ursula’s invitation. But Rocco is determined to investigate the circumstances that got his friend Walton killed. So Rocco joins Ursula to attend Foster’s birthday, held at one the same houses still in constant use as a set five years later. Hottie Judith Grant is one of the waitresses, and big-chested Amanda Steel and Euro-regular Christy are two of Foster’s presents, but Rocco only has eyes for Holly, whom he spots from a distance. Ursula is nice enough to not order that Rocco be killed; she graciously accepts that Rocco prefers Holly, and bows out. Rocco leaves as a couple of sex scenes begin, and Holly decides to flee, despite Foster’s warning that he will kill her if she runs away again.

Foster is too busy to notice, since he’s brought Amanda and Christy into a bedroom to probe their holes. The following scene looks much as you might expect when in real life a poweful man is able to use two women as his sex toys. Blonde Christy gets analled, as she always does, even to this day (see Buttman’s Anal Show 2 and Anal Addicts 2 for recent performaces, and Rocco’s Initiations 1 for a scene from about this time, shot in the same house), while brunette Amanda is more restrained than in Buttman in Budapest, but looks good.

Across the house, Andrew Younman has stolen into a bathroom with Judith Grant, his real life girlfriend of the time. She’s a pretty, curvy blonde who often acted in the same movies with Nikki Anderson, and always looked to me as if she could be Nikki’s big sister (not as stunningly gorgeous, but with a more genuine sexiness). I especially enjoyed Judith (and Nikki) in Euro Angels 3 and Profession : Porn Actress, and she’s another vet of Buttman in Budapest, but I really liked this scene of hers. You can see in her eyes how fond she is of Youngman, and how glad she is to be working with him, as they wear each other out in every possible position, including extensive anal. I really can’t understand why Stagliano is down on this scene in his commentary, I found it a highlight of the movie.

One goon noticed Holly running away, so he and his fellows track her down, and catch up with her along the Danube in Pest (just north of the site where porn makers shoot constantly; across the Danube from the parliament building in Buda, watch enough of this stuff and you’ll get a guided tour of Budapest!), and forcibly return her to Foster’s headquarters. She calls Rocco to beg for help, and he again goes against Stagliano’s advice, setting out to rescue Holly.

As Rocco searches in the right general area, he stumbles upon three girls shooting pool. Emanuel, Suzy and Blondy won’t let him leave, and with these women trying to fondle him mercilessly, Rocco gives in and lets them. Foster wanders in while Rocco is distracted, and pistol whips him unconscious. Rocco then dreams of getting it on with Emanuel, a slender blonde who isn’t bad looking, but whose enthusiasm exceeds her beauty. She throat fucks Rocco a bit, and takes him deep up her ass in several positions.

Back in the real world, Foster amuses himself with none-too-pretty Blondy and Suzy on the pool table. They do have nice bodies, but to me, this is the weak moment of the entire movie. It is nothing not seen before in countless other pool table scenes.

Eventually, Rocco escapes, Holly of course is rescued, and they return to Rocco’s hotel so that she can express her gratitude. In the light of day, it is easy to tell that this is the same hotel at which Christoph Clark, in particular, continues to constantly shoot scenes. The commentary reveals that Holly and Rocco had first met years earlier on another porn shoot, and were very excited to work together again. This shows all through the scene, which is long and slowly paced, but high on intensity. As Holly gets her holes well stuffed, what I notice, beside her evident pleasure, is that her trimmed pubic hair is still much more extensive than any you’ll see these days. It gives Buda a slightly old fashioned feel, which may be a plus for some viewers.

If the movie is Stagliano’s attempt to display some ambition, to push the boundaries of what he does, the DVD is Evil Angel’s statement of all that DVD can be. Besides the aforementioned, in depth commentary by Stagliano, Tricia Devereaux went all out in providing extras. The DVD includes extra sex for all the scenes (highlights are more anal for Ursula, good body shots of Amanda, and Holly fellating and rimming Rocco), behind the scenes footage, and more than usual animation on the menus. The usual Evil Angel Fetish Menu and cast list for each scene are joined by extended filmographies that list non EA appearances for the actresses. And finally, Buda has not one, but two long, really good photo albums (shot by “Gabriel,” is this Rocco’s cousin and cinematographer Gabriel Zero?). The first shows behind the scenes moments, while the other has stills from the finished movie.

Buda is a long movie, and can be enjoyed by the casual fan simply as a longer than usual Euro romp. However, its real value is for the die-hard collector of movies featuring Hungarian and Czech locales and actresses. I learned a lot about conditions in Eastern Europe, about the talent themselves, and about how the Euro flicks are made and shot. All of this sex and education comes wrapped in a nice package, and when it is priced the same as a single DVD, this two disk glimpse into the history of Euro porn becomes a must-buy for the serious fan, and a worthwhile rental for the casual one.

Send questions or comments to : Speelie@my.adultdvdtalk.com