Let My Puppets Come (Blu-ray/DVD) (Vinegar Syndrome) Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Comedy, Musical, Puppets Run Time: 76 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1976 Director: Gerard Damiano Written by: Gerard Damiano, Pady Blackwood (as The Creative Concepts), Lee Theodore (as The Creative Concepts), Sean O'Malley (as The Creative Concepts), Nicholas Coppola (as The Creative Concepts) Director of Photography: Beyen C. Mitchell Cast: Gerard Damiano, Jonathan Freeman (as Jonathan E. Freeman), Penny Nicholls, Lynette Sheldon, Viju Krem, Luis De Jesus (as Little Louie), Al Goldstein, Turk Turpin, Adam Kilgore (as Adam McAdams), Gerard Damiano Jr., Christar Damiano Voices: Uta Hofmann, Karen Magid, David W. Beames, Micheal Greaves, Sean O'Malley, Michael Young (as Micheal Young), Bradford Craig, Susan McAneny Release Specs: Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono (Blu-ray), English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono (DVD) Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.85:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: NTSC Format: Blu-ray/DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray, 1 DVD

In a way, Let My Puppets Come feels like an elaborate joke by Andy Kaufman. This reviewer can only imagine the expression on the faces of the raincoaters that filled the porno theaters where Let My Puppets Come was playing to find out that they were watching a film with puppets singing and fucking where the only cumshot in the film comes from a puppet.

Puppet porn appears to be the most underserved niche in the adult entertainment industry. The only adult movies that would fit into this category that this reviewer can think of are this one, Robert J. Kaplan's 1976 film Gums, which has a segment with puppets, and Vuko, Missy Martinez, and Lee Roy Myers' 2018 short film The Puppet Inside Me.

Let My Puppets Come was definitely an ambitious project for Gerard Damiano to take on. The film includes musical numbers and puppets that were made just for the production. From reported accounts, the production took longer to make than most adult films of the time — even the ones by prominent directors like Gerard Damiano.

In a way, Let My Puppets Come was born on Fire Island in the form of an adult puppet show called Up to Smut by Nicholas Coppola. Up to Smut became the adult puppet show Kumquats that played at the Village Gate Theater in Greenwich Village in 1971, billed as “The First Erotic Puppet Show,” even though as the director of Kumquats notes the show wasn't the first nor was it erotic. It appears that it was at the Village Gate Theater that Kumquats caught the eye of Gerard Damiano.

Let My Puppets Come isn't a direct port of the adult puppet show from the stage to the screen; however, Let My Puppets Come was undoubtedly influenced by the stage show, to the point where some of the songs and skits appear to have been ported over, with changes from the stage show. Gerard Damiano hired several of the puppeteers and puppet crafters from the show as well, and some of the puppets from the stage show itself appear to have also been used in the movie.

Let My Puppets Come is a parody of the adult film industry. The plot to the film is that the Creative Concepts Systems and Procedures Brothers Unlimited Inc — consisting of Ned, Fred, Red, and Gramps — finds out that they are broke and deeply in debt to mobster Mr. Big (Louis De Jesus). To fix their financial predicament, the four — along with telegram courier Jimmy — decide to make a porno even though none of them know how to make a porno.

Let My Puppets Come is a genuine oddity, it is the first (and only) puppet porno musical. Let My Puppets Come feels like The Muppet Show influenced it due to the format, which is a focus primarily on puppets that exist in the human world with human guest stars in bit roles. The issue with this is that at the time Let My Puppets Come was made, only two Muppet specials had been aired — The Muppet Show itself hadn't aired yet.

The film's construction itself is an oddity as well. As a satire of the adult film industry, Let My Puppets Come is very sophisticated. The musical numbers are elaborate. But the jokes themselves are all low brow — aiming for whichever gutter is closest at the time. Some of the jokes in the film end up falling flat, and some portions could have been tightened up. Despite these flaws, Let My Puppets Come is still a fun film to watch if you are in the right mood.

Gerard Damiano was definitely ahead of his time when he made Let My Puppets Come. Had he made the film two decades later, it could have ended up being a box office hit. This reviewer has no idea how well — or poorly — Let My Puppets Come did theatrically in 1976. This reviewer suspects most of the theatergoers left feeling unfulfilled since they expected hardcore sex on the big screen. This reviewer also suspects that some of the audience back then got the film. If you are a fan of films like Meet the Feebles, you should see Let My Puppets Come. You will be one of those who gets the film. If you have read to this point and are just uttering the words what the fuck, you'll want to pass on this film, you aren't one of the ones who will get the film.

Vinegar Syndrome has done an excellent job with their Blu-ray and DVD combo pack release of Let My Puppets Come. There are one Blu-ray and one DVD in the combo pack, each containing the same material.

Let My Puppets Come was shot on 35mm film, and Vinegar Syndrome has used a 2K scan of 35mm archival elements for this release. Let My Puppets Come is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 letterboxed to 1.78:1 in 1080p on the Blu-ray and 480p on the DVD. The picture contains print damage, artifacts, and grain. The source is a print, so the quality isn't as good as one would get from a negative; however, Let My Puppets Come still looks beautiful on this release, and far better than this reviewer thinks anyone thought we would ever get for this film. The colors in the film look beautiful.

Let My Puppets Come 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. The sound quality is good, with some occasional minor instances of dirt. The dialog in the film is clear and easy to understand at all times, and the songs sound good.

Vinegar Syndrome has included a wealth of extras on this release. There is a feature-length audio commentary track with adult film historians Heather Drain and Samm Deighan, where they discuss Damiano's work in general and their insights into Let My Puppets Come.

There is a 74-minute audio conversation with Casey Scott and puppeteer and puppet designer James Racioppi. There is a 42-minute audio conversation with Casey Scott and Nicholas Coppola, who wasn't directly involved with the film but knew many of the participants and directed Kumquats.

There is a ten-minute audio feature with segments from one of the Kumquats performances from the Village Gate Theater in Greenwich Village. The theatrical trailer is also included on the release.

Let My Puppets Come is a real oddity in the world of adult film being the first, and only, adult puppet musical movie. The film is an adult puppet show that lampoons the adult film industry, with well-made puppets, extensive musical numbers, and a good heaping of low-brow humor. Let My Puppets Come isn't going to be for everyone; in fact, the viewers that will genuinely enjoy the film will be in the minority. For the right viewer, though, Let My Puppets Come is a fun film. Vinegar Syndrome has done an excellent job with their Blu-ray and DVD combo pack with excellent picture and sound quality.

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