Climax Of Blue Power, A (Alpha Blue Archives) Review

Distributor: Alpha Blue Archives Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Action, Roughie Also known as: The Impersonator, Deviate in Blue, A Taste of Blue Power, The Passion of Blue Power Run Time: 82 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1974 Director: Lee Frost (as F.C. Perl) Written by: uncredited Cast: I. William Quinn (as Jason Carns), Starlyn Simone (as Linda Harris), Betty Childs, Cindy Taylor (as Mary Tomkins), Uschi Digard (as Sally Martin), Angela Carnon (as Gloria Jane Medford), Wes Bishop, George E. Carey, Bob Cresse, Phil Hoover, Marland Proctor, Gina Jones Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 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

A Climax of Blue Power is a decent hardcore action roughie that has had an extensive history. The film was initially made by director Lee Frost as the softcore roughie The Impersonator. Reportedly The Impersonator was completed in 1974. It is unclear to this reviewer if the softcore version ever played theatrically.

Then The Impersonator had some footage removed (Including most of Uschi Digard's material and possibly Tricia Opal has been deleted entirely from the film.), hardcore inserts were added, and the name was changed to A Climax of Blue Power. It is not known to this reviewer if Lee Frost made the inserts as well or if another director did. As a result, most, if not all, of the hardcore scenes utilize body doubles for the actual hardcore sex footage.

The sex scenes honestly aren't the greatest. The use of body doubles limits what can be shot — well what should be shot is what needs to be said here due to a significant technical issue the film has — and the brutal nature of some of the sex scenes are a turn-off.

A Climax of Blue Power is a twisted and brutal film with a unique story that manages to entertain and keep the attention of the viewer throughout. The plot has Eddie (I. William Quinn), a security guard by day, who at night gets his kicks by dressing up his car to look like a police car and picking up hookers under the guise of being a policeman busting them. One day he witnesses a woman (Angela Carnan) kill her husband. After she gets away with the murder, he decides it is up to him to punish her for her crime.

A Climax of Blue Power was quickly made. The acting isn't horrible nor is it great but the film suffers from some sloppy editing — likely a result of being converted from softcore to hardcore — making the film look like it was rushed. There is also an unidentified 8mm loop edited into the film. The end result though honestly isn't that bad. The twist ending is one that the viewer doesn't see coming. In its cheap way, A Climax of Blue Power is an entertaining film.

There are some major technical issues with the film, though. The body double for Carnon looks nothing like her, and, for some reason, her face keeps being shown. This is sloppy considering how well the use of some of the other body doubles are hidden. There is also a scene, where the first sex scene occurs, where night changes to the day in the middle of the scene for an inexplicable reason.

The loop used in the film has been identified as Fanny Films loop 8 “Ass is the Price” from 1972. Neither of the cast members of the loop have been identified.

If you are a fan of cheap exploitation films and hardcore material isn't bothersome to you, A Climax of Blue Power may be worth watching. However, most audiences will find this a hard film to enjoy.

Sadly, Alpha Blue Archives has done a poor job with this release. A Climax of Blue Power is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is, sadly, sourced from a video tape. The transfer contains glitches in the video, print damage, and jumps. There is a noticeable lack of fine detail. Two video sources may have been utilized because at one point the screen goes blank and then another video appears to start as if it wasn't properly queued up. The colors vary throughout the film sometimes by the minute. There are portions that are overly dark and look smudged. There are places were the colors are almost completely washed out. And there are places where the colors are over saturated. The video quality is bound to disappoint.

A Climax of Blue Power is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural track. The track is better than the video with the dialog usually able to be heard throughout. There are a couple of moments where it sounds like a word might be missing. Overall the audio isn't horrible.

Alpha Blue Archives has only included two extras. A still gallery of production photos for A Climax of Blue Power. Also included is the Penthouse loop PP 15 “Entrapped,” with Sandy Fox and Mel White which is silent (with music added), in color, and runs for 11 minutes. The original version of The Impersonator has, unfortunately, not been included on this release.

A Climax of Blue Power is a quickly made roughie that offers a decent story that manages to entertain the viewer. There are some issues with the film and body doubles are used for most, if not all, of the hardcore action. Alpha Blue Archives release of the film is disappointing. It is sourced from a video tape and has a lot of issues.

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