Nina Hartley's Guide to Swinging Review

Running Time: 72 min.

Production Date: 11 / 20 / 1995

Director: Nina Hartley

Cast: Nina Hartley, Anna Malle, Hank Armstrong, Cristy Lake, Sahara Sands, Dic Tracy, Ariana, Luc Wilder, Shannon Rush, Magnum, Dallas, and Duane

Initial Expectations: Nina has a lot of sexual knowledge, so I’ve got some hopes for this volume even though it’s not something I’m really interested in.

Initial Reaction: It’s a decent introduction to how to tackle some of the aspects to starting swinging.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody who’s considering swinging.

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody who thinks monogamy is the only lifestyle.

Audio /Video Quality: The audio and video appear to be about the same quality they would have originally been on VHS. The audio is pretty good but has some wind noise and unevenness. It has a slightly muddy sound in parts and the dialogue can be kind of hard to understand at the party. The video has a slight graininess but it doesn’t interfere with the feature.

Music: There isn’t any music during much of the music but when there is music it’s very quiet, soft in feel, and non-threatening.

Review: As long as I remember watching porn, and yes, there were quite a few years of raiding my parent’s stash, I remember watching Nina Hartley. While this would normally be a cause for alarm, Nina still looks good and obviously enjoys her work. Although many don’t consider this an actual ‘educational’ feature, I feel Nina’s experience with the subjects she covers more than qualifies her to teach about the subjects.

In Nina Hartley’s Guide To Swinging Nina goes over many aspects of swinging, or taking on multiple partners. Rather than lecturing about the subject for most of the feature, it’s presented by Anna Malle and Hank Armstrong as a couple considering swinging. Nina goes over reactions, both good and bad, to bringing up the subject and other aspects of swinging. When Anna and Hank decide to start swinging Cristy Lake joins them and leads them through many of the normal ground rules to swinging. Later, Anna and Hank join the rest of the cast for a swing party at Nina’s house. Every now and then during the feature Nina breaks in with a tip, suggestion, or warning. It’s a very good presentation.

The sex in Nina Hartley’s Guide To Swinging is handled very well. It’s warm sex and shouldn’t make anybody feel uncomfortable. Some people might even find it a little boring. The sex at the party also has a little different feel from your normal orgy. It’s very laid back and everybody cums at their own rate. Surprisingly I didn’t see any condoms used in the scene. With how safety conscious Nina is I would have thought that condoms would have been mandatory and pointed out. Everybody in the orgy works together very well and there’s great chemistry between the entire cast, which is very rare. I wish the educational features we had to watch in high school were this good.

My main complaint about Nina Hartley’s Guide To Swinging is the chapter stops. There’s a grand total of three chapters in the entire 72 minute feature. If you’re watching the feature the first time and planning on watching it straight through it doesn’t matter. If you want to go check something out later or watch it in more than one sitting it’s a slight problem. There are a few subjects covered and it would seem to be easy to break down into several chapters.

On the plus side, it’s very watchable and includes credits! It’s mostly done in the form of a porno but handles the subject seriously. It’s like the afterschool special you would have wanted to watch. The cast handles the subject very well and keeps it interesting. If you’re considering this lifestyle, and Nina reminds you at the end that there are swingers everywhere, make sure you pick up this DVD.

Extras: The only extra, outside of a little web information, is a short biography of Nina. It’s a nice little background piece.

Themes: Swinging, straight, group, lesbian, and orgy

Raincoat Factor: Medium

Overall: Currently, Nina Hartley’s Guide to Swinging can be found online for between $13 and $23 with a couple stores offering it for $23. If you’re considering this lifestyle change, it’s a small price to pay and very watchable. There aren’t any real extras but it doesn’t really need them. The audio and video are also pretty average with nothing really noticeable interfering with the feature.

Note to Adam & Eve: Although I wasn’t that impressed with the one other Nina Hartley Guide feature before this appeared well done and has given me hope for the rest of the series. It would be nice to have at least the covers listed for the other titles in the series. If somebody buys one in the series there’s probably a good chance they’d be interested in other volumes.

If you have any questions or comments, please e- mail me .