Cruisin' the Castro Review

Distributor: Bijou Video Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, All Sex, Gay Run Time: 62 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1981 Director: Michael R. Newman Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: Phill Falcons Cast: Richard Locke, Will Seagers (as Will Seager), Dick Fisk, Don Talon, Marc Majors (as Mark Majors), Johnny Harden (as Johnny Hardin), Rick Zane, Tony Natali, Holtz, Puppy Dog, Chad Scott Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD-R Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Cruisin' the Castro is, to the best of this reviewer's knowledge, the only gay hardcore film that was produced and distributed by Jim and Artie Mitchell's Mitchell Brother Film Group, using the name Cinart. This reviewer has no knowledge of whether the Mitchell Brothers or any of their usual cohorts had any involvement past just producing and distributing the film.

Cruisin' the Castro is an all sex gay hardcore film. There is a slight attempt to bookend the film to make it appear as if it is a cohesive work. The beginning of the film presents a narrative that in the 1850s clipper ships brought rugged men to San Francisco for the California Gold Rush and that now in the 1980s another breed is invading San Francisco. A brief non-sexual scene at the end of the film brings the topic of the 1850s back up when the participants of the second sex scene discuss the age of their home.

Outside of this poorly contrived bookend concept, Cruisin' the Castro is a straight-out all sex film. There is a short dialog between the actors or a brief narration before each sex scene, but none of that connects the scenes together or really even sets up a vignette-style story for each scene. As far as the sex scenes themselves go, this reviewer is straight, so it is hard to rate the sex itself. The scenes looked well shot and the actors seemed to be into each scene.

Cruisin' the Castro is a rather standard all sex gay hardcore film that today really exists only as a footnote since it was produced by Mitchell Brothers Film Group. Had the Mitchell Brothers not produced the film, it likely would have been completely forgotten by now. There really isn't anything overly memorable within the film.

Bijou Video has done a poor job with their DVD release of Cruisin' the Castro. Cruisin' the Castro was shot on 16mm film and it looks like Bijou has used a VHS tape for their master for this release. Cruisin' the Castro is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480i, which is likely 250i due to the likely VHS master source. The image is low definition with artifacts and print damage present during the presentation. The colors in the film are oversaturated at times making for a very unnatural looking image. Cruisin' the Castro is watchable but not much more.

Cruisin' the Castro is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The dialog, what little exists within the film, is understandable throughout the presentation. The audio doesn't sound wonderful, however, it is far better than the video on the release.

Bijou Video hasn't included any extras on this release.

Cruisin' the Castro is an all sex gay hardcore film that doesn't connect the sex scenes well together at all. Cruisin' the Castro is only notable because it was produced and distributed by Mitchell Brothers Film Group. If one is a fan of one of the stars of the film, the film may be worth watching. If not, Cruisin' the Castro is an easy film to pass on. Bijou Video has done a poor job with their DVD release of Cruisin' the Castro with low-quality video but decent audio.

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