China Girl (Blu-ray + DVD) (Vinegar Syndrome) Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Action Run Time: 89 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1974 Director: John D. Goodell (as Paolo Uccello) Written by: Edwin Brown (as Edwin Scott Brown) Cast: Pamela Young (as Pamela Yen), Annette Haven, James Hong (as James Young), Tom Douglass, Louis Ganapoler (as Lou Ganapoler), Bob Carr, Bruce Sung, Steve LaBounty, Barry Vane (as Barry Fry), Frank Pauchert, Edwin Gilman, Michael Forster, Ken Moshesh, Nathan McGee, Susie Song Li, Summer Brown, Bonnie Holiday (as Bonnie Chin), Susan Bates (as Roahne Alexander), Sharon Thorpe, Donna Chrisaphina, Janet Ross, Tammy Van Upp, Todd Jones, Tyler Baylis, Lee Williams Release Specs: Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono (Blu-ray), English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono (DVD) Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: NTSC Format: Blu-ray/DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

China Girl is a fun espionage-themed adult film to have come from the mid-70s. The plot has the United States developing engromaticrybonucleic acid, a formula that will lead to permanent memory. The evil crime syndicate DRAGON, lead by Y.C. Chan (James Hong) sets out to steal the formula and sell it to Mr. Smythe (Lou Ganapoler). DRAGON kidnaps Dr. Olinsky (Barry Vane) and Dr. Teresa Hardgrave (Annette Haven), who worked on the project. DRAGON operative Madame Wu (Pamela Yen) sexually tortures them to get the formula, leaving it up to CIA operative David Chase (Tom Douglass) to save them.

Viewers who like their adult films to have a decent plot and more substance than just sex scene after sex scene should love China Girl. The film combines nicely done lengthy non-sexual portions with five sex scenes, that fit in with the plot. While made on the cheap side, with some rather hokey looking stunt work, director John D. Goodell (with possibly his son Gregory Goodell) manages to shoot in some good locations and use some very effective sets. His use of actors and actresses who can actually act, including James Hong who would later star in such films as Blade Runner and Tango & Cash, helps the film out immensely.

The sex scenes look nice and despite not being long in length are slow and seducing to the audience creating visually pleasing sex scenes. The sexual cast looks nice and performs well for the sex scenes. The scenes do cut away to plotted portions, helping keep the feel of a film with a plot but this may bother some viewers who prefer straight sex without the interruption of a plot. There is more non-sexual footage than sexual footage in the film which may turn away viewers looking for sex scenes with minimal plot interrupting them.

All in all, China Girl is a great film from the 1970s that is definitely worth checking out if you get the opportunity.

Vinegar Syndrome has done an excellent job with their release of China Girl. China Girl was originally shot on film and Vinegar Syndrome has used a 2K scan of the original 16mm camera negative. China Girl is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p on the Blu-ray and 480p on the DVD. The video quality of this release is absolutely astounding. The image looks beautiful with minimal print damage and artifacts. There is grain present. There are moments of red splotches on the right side of the screen. The colors in the film look beautiful!

China Girl is presented with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 monaural audio track on the Blu-ray and an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track on the DVD. As with the video, the sound reproduction on this release is beautiful. The dialog is crisp and clear and easy to understand and the music sounds beautiful.

Vinegar Syndrome has included a few extras on the release. There is an audio interview with Annette Haven by Kevin Heffernan (No, not that Kevin Heffernan.) on a multitude of topics. There is also the theatrical trailer for China Girl.

China Girl is a great feature film to have come from the 1970s featuring a fun plot, nice sex scenes, and good acting. Fans of plotted feature films should find a lot to like here. Vinegar Syndrome has done an excellent job with their release of China Girl with an absolutely stellar image and audio. The release is light on extras, however, the quality of the film on the release is worth the purchase alone.

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