Lasse Braun 3 Film Collection (French Blue / Sensations / Body Love) Review
Alpha France
Studio: Alpha France
Category: Box Sets , Classic , Feature film , Foreign
Directed by: Lasse Braun
Starring: John Wilson, Lindsay, Dawn Cumming, Brigitte Maier, Carmelo Petix, Catherine Ringer, Jean-Louis Vattier, Tony Morena, Nicole Velna, Jacques Gato, Robert Leray, Sylvia Bourdon, Louison Boutin, Cristel Lauris, Micky Love, Robert le Ray, Trixie Heinen, Jean Gerard Sorlin, Gilda Arancio, Michele D'Agro, Gemma Gimenez, Mike Lennart, Carlo Manuguerra, Frederique Souchier, Chantal Virapin, Raymond Xirnay, Nathalie Morin, Eva Quang, Frederique Barral, Tania Busselier, Pierre Latour, Bent Rohweder, Nico Wolferstetter, Patrick Anderson, Claudio Rosso, Gwenda Farnel, Henry de Mott, Louis Mayer, Tuppy Owens, Véronique Monet, J. C. Baboulin, Aria Arsikainen, Claudine Beccarie, Elisabeth Welt, Monique van Dam, Solvej Kristensen, Wendy Larson, Lavelle Roby, Lykke Frandsen, Lasse Braun, Willy Bracque, Nico Tierlier, Bent Rohwedder
Released on: 6/29/2008
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Reviewed by classix comment on 12/21/2008
Initial Thoughts
Lasse Braun was one of Europe's top hardcore filmmakers between 1966 and 1980. Although best known for his internationally acclaimed loops, Braun directed a handful of loosely plotted, though sumptuously photographed and relentlessly sex-positive features in the mid 70s. Here Alpha France has assembled his three most famous features as well as 30 or so of his loops into one amazing 3 disc set. Let's see how the films have held up in the 30 plus years since they were released.
The Films
Sensations (1975)
When Sensations was released in 1975, it, like so many films of the era, promised to be THE MOVIE which would transport hardcore cinema from the smut palace to the art house where such films truly did belong. Although it was unable to fully realize its most noble intentions, it came closer to doing so than any other X rared film ever made, even Damiano's great Devil in Miss Jones. Premiering at Cannes and receiving rave reviews from critics all over the globe, Lasse Braun's (here using his birth name, Alberto Ferro) Sensations remains one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore films ever made.
It's story is a mere shoestring to move the film from one lavish sex scene to the next. Telling the story of an American girl (Brigette Maier) traveling abroad in Amsterdam and meeting numerous wealthy and sexually liberated people along the way, Sensations epitomizes a brief period of optimism that existed in the 1970s which really did believe that free love was more than a pipe dream.
While Braun presents only a most basic narrative structure, he manages to gives his characters a surprising amount of depth and personality. In spite of her minimal dialogue, Maier portrays a young naive girl lost in a carnal fantasy world with utmost skill. Her supporting cast, among them future sexologist Tuppy Owens, are equally natural in their roles and one almost gets the idea that Braun tailored the script to fit the personal quirks of each individual playing a role.
Braun, who also acted as the director of photography, films the screen with a series of lush and dream like images, setting his sex scenes in rural villas, upscale clothing stores, and a high class fine art gallery. Although the sex is a bit repetitive at times, Braun's exquisite photography and musical selections keeps the film moving at a decent enough pace that it never becomes boring.
Sadly, the fantasy world of free love and happiness through sex depicted in this film remained just that: a fantasy. But Sensations stands, nearly 35 years later, as a truly wonderful look at an optimistic past while simultaneously reminding us of our desolate future.
Star rating: ****1/2 out of *****
French Blue (1974)
Originally released as Penetration, that title was deemed "plus fort" for audiences so the more innocuous moniker listed above was created to replace it.
French Blue was Lasse Braun's first foray into the realm of feature filmmaking and was created more as a full length commercial for himself and his loops than as a standalone film. Presented as a documentary about himself and his loop making, the film was both directed by and stars Braun, as himself, and chronicles him directing a number of loops as well as discussing sexuality and sexual mores of the time.
We also see a number of his more lavish and expensive loops, presented here with post-synched sound as he shot his loops silently. Several actresses are also interviewed, including Brigette Maier.
French Blue is a rather hard film to take seriously and thus seriously criticize as a piece of cinema, considering its intentions were mostly to be a promotional tool. However, Braun is wise enough to throw in enough social and political commentary that the film is very watchable. It's also rather interesting to see some of his loops with post-synched soundtracks and music. Those aspects are handled very well and one wishes that he had created soundtracks for more of his silent films.
Star Rating ***1/2 out of *****
Body Love (1977)
Body Love, constructed and released by Braun in 1977, was a loop package plain and simple. Braun compiled a series of loops he'd shot in the UK between 1975 and 1977 and created soundtracks for them and released them as this film. Although they all have the look of Lasse Braun loop masterpieces, they hardly work as feature film material and the dubbing is not done very well.
Star Rating ** out of *****
A/V Quality
Sensations looks the beat of the three features. Mastered off of a beautiful 35mm fine grain print and presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, the colors are robust and the picture is perfect. There are no lines and only minimal specs on the print. The sound is great, offering both the original English track as well as a French dubbed track.
French Blue fares the worst of the three features, sadly mastered off of a video tape, though a very decent looking one (all elements are thought to be lost). Colors are muted and the picture is soft. Since the film has portions of dialogue in French and portions in English, there are both optional French and English subtitles, depending on your native tongue.
Body Love is taken from a very nice 35mm with only mild ware and is presented full screen, as it would have been seen in theatres. English and French audio options are present, both of which sound fine.
Extras
Alpha France has once again outdone itself, offering up 30 additional loops shot by Braun. I'm not going to describe each loop, but I'll suffice it to say that they range from brilliant to silly. They are mainly mastered off film but a few come from tape sources and have notably lower picture quality. They are presented silent, as they were shot.
Cuts Warning
As far as I could tell, everything was uncut.
Who should see it?
First and foremost, this set is a must for fans of Braun. I can't imagine anyone being able to give these films better treatment. Those with a penchant for Eurosleaze of all sorts would probably get a kick out of this.
Who should skip it?
Those looking for zero style or aesthetic technique should steer clear.
Final Thoughts
Another top release from Alpha France, giving one pretty good film and two not so great films first rate treatment. Worth buying simply because Sensations will never look better and you can't get a better deal for the price.
Lasse Braun was one of Europe's top hardcore filmmakers between 1966 and 1980. Although best known for his internationally acclaimed loops, Braun directed a handful of loosely plotted, though sumptuously photographed and relentlessly sex-positive features in the mid 70s. Here Alpha France has assembled his three most famous features as well as 30 or so of his loops into one amazing 3 disc set. Let's see how the films have held up in the 30 plus years since they were released.
The Films
Sensations (1975)
When Sensations was released in 1975, it, like so many films of the era, promised to be THE MOVIE which would transport hardcore cinema from the smut palace to the art house where such films truly did belong. Although it was unable to fully realize its most noble intentions, it came closer to doing so than any other X rared film ever made, even Damiano's great Devil in Miss Jones. Premiering at Cannes and receiving rave reviews from critics all over the globe, Lasse Braun's (here using his birth name, Alberto Ferro) Sensations remains one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore films ever made.
It's story is a mere shoestring to move the film from one lavish sex scene to the next. Telling the story of an American girl (Brigette Maier) traveling abroad in Amsterdam and meeting numerous wealthy and sexually liberated people along the way, Sensations epitomizes a brief period of optimism that existed in the 1970s which really did believe that free love was more than a pipe dream.
While Braun presents only a most basic narrative structure, he manages to gives his characters a surprising amount of depth and personality. In spite of her minimal dialogue, Maier portrays a young naive girl lost in a carnal fantasy world with utmost skill. Her supporting cast, among them future sexologist Tuppy Owens, are equally natural in their roles and one almost gets the idea that Braun tailored the script to fit the personal quirks of each individual playing a role.
Braun, who also acted as the director of photography, films the screen with a series of lush and dream like images, setting his sex scenes in rural villas, upscale clothing stores, and a high class fine art gallery. Although the sex is a bit repetitive at times, Braun's exquisite photography and musical selections keeps the film moving at a decent enough pace that it never becomes boring.
Sadly, the fantasy world of free love and happiness through sex depicted in this film remained just that: a fantasy. But Sensations stands, nearly 35 years later, as a truly wonderful look at an optimistic past while simultaneously reminding us of our desolate future.
Star rating: ****1/2 out of *****
French Blue (1974)
Originally released as Penetration, that title was deemed "plus fort" for audiences so the more innocuous moniker listed above was created to replace it.
French Blue was Lasse Braun's first foray into the realm of feature filmmaking and was created more as a full length commercial for himself and his loops than as a standalone film. Presented as a documentary about himself and his loop making, the film was both directed by and stars Braun, as himself, and chronicles him directing a number of loops as well as discussing sexuality and sexual mores of the time.
We also see a number of his more lavish and expensive loops, presented here with post-synched sound as he shot his loops silently. Several actresses are also interviewed, including Brigette Maier.
French Blue is a rather hard film to take seriously and thus seriously criticize as a piece of cinema, considering its intentions were mostly to be a promotional tool. However, Braun is wise enough to throw in enough social and political commentary that the film is very watchable. It's also rather interesting to see some of his loops with post-synched soundtracks and music. Those aspects are handled very well and one wishes that he had created soundtracks for more of his silent films.
Star Rating ***1/2 out of *****
Body Love (1977)
Body Love, constructed and released by Braun in 1977, was a loop package plain and simple. Braun compiled a series of loops he'd shot in the UK between 1975 and 1977 and created soundtracks for them and released them as this film. Although they all have the look of Lasse Braun loop masterpieces, they hardly work as feature film material and the dubbing is not done very well.
Star Rating ** out of *****
A/V Quality
Sensations looks the beat of the three features. Mastered off of a beautiful 35mm fine grain print and presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, the colors are robust and the picture is perfect. There are no lines and only minimal specs on the print. The sound is great, offering both the original English track as well as a French dubbed track.
French Blue fares the worst of the three features, sadly mastered off of a video tape, though a very decent looking one (all elements are thought to be lost). Colors are muted and the picture is soft. Since the film has portions of dialogue in French and portions in English, there are both optional French and English subtitles, depending on your native tongue.
Body Love is taken from a very nice 35mm with only mild ware and is presented full screen, as it would have been seen in theatres. English and French audio options are present, both of which sound fine.
Extras
Alpha France has once again outdone itself, offering up 30 additional loops shot by Braun. I'm not going to describe each loop, but I'll suffice it to say that they range from brilliant to silly. They are mainly mastered off film but a few come from tape sources and have notably lower picture quality. They are presented silent, as they were shot.
Cuts Warning
As far as I could tell, everything was uncut.
Who should see it?
First and foremost, this set is a must for fans of Braun. I can't imagine anyone being able to give these films better treatment. Those with a penchant for Eurosleaze of all sorts would probably get a kick out of this.
Who should skip it?
Those looking for zero style or aesthetic technique should steer clear.
Final Thoughts
Another top release from Alpha France, giving one pretty good film and two not so great films first rate treatment. Worth buying simply because Sensations will never look better and you can't get a better deal for the price.
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The opinions expressed in this review of Lasse Braun 3 Film Collection (French Blue / Sensations / Body Love) from Alpha France are not necessarily the opinions of Adult DVD Talk. Adult DVD Talk provides a public forum for consumers to post their DVD reviews. Adult DVD Talk does not edit these reviews.