Le Sexe Qui Parle / La Femme Objet Review

Initial Thoughts
Claude Mulot (nom de'X Frédéric Lansac) was one of the finest filmmakers working in the short yet outstanding period of quality hardcore filmmaking in France between 1975 and 1981. Adopting his nom from that of the lead character in his 1970 gothic horror opus, La Rose Ecorchée, Mulot directed a string of sublime X rated films, unique for their outstanding cinematography and often subversive liberal politics. Here Alpha France has put together a double feature of probably Mulot's two most notable films: his 1975 masterpiece Le Sexe Qui Parle and one of his final hardcore offerings from 1980, Le Femme-Objet.

The Films
Le Sexe Qui Parle
Mulot's first fully hardcore film (he had dabbled in softcore prior to Sexe), Le Sexe Qui Parle quickly became a smash hit both in Europe and The States, although it was slightly overshadowed by Lasse Braun's Sensations, both of which were released in 1975.
The film focuses on Joelle (Pénélope Lamour), a Parisian housewife whose vagina simply begins to talk one morning. Shouting a constant stream of insults, profanity, and sexual requests, the literal cunt makes life impossible for Joelle and her husband. It also makes them the center of media attention, so much so that the poor couple must flee to a secluded residence to try and get away from a sleazy journalist looking to get an inside interview (sorry, I couldn't resist). But the unfortunate couple soon realize that this is just the beginning of their troubles.
Mulot uses the outrageous premise of this film as an easy means to both attack and support sexual mores. The mere concept of a speaking sex organ is a Freudian dream and Mulot does his witty best to use the device to full advantage. He also, and very interestingly, contrasts the character of Joelle with that of her cunt, portraying Joelle as sweet and almost submissive sexually while her cunt, [i]the virtual essence of her femininity[/i], is profane and sexually rambunctious. Setting up this contrast makes the film all the more intriguing, and by it's conclusion it becomes almost impossible to tell whether Mulot is trying to make a subversively feminist statement or a subversively misogynistic one.
In either case, Le Sexe Qui Parle is essential viewing for anyone even remotely interested in French hardcore cinema and still ranks as one of the finest and important such films ever made.
Star rating: *****/*****

La Femme-ObjetBefore switching back to softcore films in 1981, Claude Mulot directed this entertaining science fiction yarn woman's lib. undertones...
Veteran French sex star Richard Lemieuvre is Nicolas, a sex obsessed novelist who, after being unable to quench his sexual thirst with a bevy of real women, decided to build a couple female robots.
That's about it for real plot in this one. There's a rather predictable "twist" ending which one could probably guess just from reading the above plot description. The film relies on the old who's the "real" master ploy, but does so reasonably well.
The main reason to watch this film is for the stellar photography be cinematographer genius François About. The film otherwise is mostly a series of erotic encounters, typical of later European X cinema.
It's rather a shame that Mulot couldn't elevate this film to the level of greatness of his earlier masterpieces like Le Sexe, Shocking!, or the sublime yet underrated Échanges de Partenaires. While this film [i]looks[/i] just as great as the others I mentioned, it simply doesn't hold one's interest or even come close to having the substance of his earlier work.
Mulot's subsequent films, the silly Les Petites Écolières, the serious and plodding Immoral One, the pretty yet dull Black Venus, and the surprisingly suspenseful Knife Under the Throat are all better than this. His earlier work is better than all though.
Star rating: ***/*****

A/V Quality
Alpha France has mastered both films on this double sided DVD from their vault prints and has done their best to restore their color and remove blemishes. La Femme-Objet fares very well with robust color, very accurate widescreen framing at 1.66:1, minimal print damage, and both French and English dub audio options. The mixing on both tracks is good though sadly no English subtitles are provided which would make the French track all the more enjoyable (this is a French release so English subs probably weren't the first thoughts of the company).
Le Sexe Qui Parle looks great although the grain level is a bit higher than Femme. The color is also a bit less robust, probably due to more severe fading on the original print. French, English, and Spanish audio options are provided for Sexe. Both the French and English tracks sound good, with the English track having a slightly better mixing job than the original French track (both have very audible dialogue but the music is louder and clearer on the English track than on the French one). Again, no English subs for the French. The Spanish track is a joke. The music is almost entirely different, the dubbing sounds like it was done in an echo chamber and best/worst of all, the pussy is dubbed by a gruff voiced MAN! It's a hoot to listen to but can't be taken seriously, plus the alternate music selections just plain suck. Sexe is letterboxed at a very tight 1.85:1 and the framing looks perfect. Sadly, neither film is enhanced for progressive scan of 16:9 televisions.

The Extras
For Le Sexe Qui Parle, we get the LONG original French theatrical trailer, presented in widescreen and looking great with strong colors. We also get a great 4 minute deleted scene which is presented in unmatted 1.66:1. It's in French only with no dub or subtitle options, but it's still pretty easy to figure out what's going on.
For La Femme-Objet, we get a cool 15 minute restoration doc where we see how the tech people at Alpha France made this film look just as pretty as it does on this DVD. Again, the doc is in French only with no sub/dub options but it's pretty easy to follow and just cool to see how color correction and restoration work is done. A nice looking French trailer for the fil is also presented.

Cuts Warning
Although Alpha France has sadly cut some of their subsequent releases, both films are luckily presented complete here.

Who should see it?
Anyone who is even remotely interested in French hardcore cinema must pick up this release for Le Sexe Qui Parle as this is the best presentation of the film that's likely to come out any time soon. Fans of Mulot who haven't yet seen Sexe are also well advised to seek this one out. Also, anyone who doubts the fact that X rated movies were at one time simply good movies are well advised to get this disc so they can see just how good these films can be.

Who should skip it?
Those accustomed to, and those who enjoy the mindless, low production values, plotless shot on video shit of today probably wouldn't dig this.

Final Thoughts
One of the best DVD presentations of X rated films I can think of. Well worth the investment for those who have already seen/like the films and their director. Solid extras and great A/V quality make this a well worth the money superior release!