Private Gold 11: Pyramid 1 Review

Distributor: Private Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Epic, Foreign Run Time: 117 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1996 Director: Pierre Woodman Written by: Pierre Woodman Cast: Tania Russof, David Perry, Philippe Dean, Angelica Miraï, Alain Deloin, Sandra Dark, Richard Lengin (as Richard Langin), Youssef, Jolth Walton (as Jolt Walton), Christina Klesitz (as Kristina), Mafalda, Philippe Soine, Marmaud, Franck Versace, Rick Reeves, Regina Sipos (as Regina), Pierre Woodman, Gabriella Bond (as Gabriella), Eva Falk (as Eva), Gyongy, Linda (as Cindy), Timea (as Jeanette), Adele Vanga (as Adele), Adrienne, Andrea Czepke (as Andrea), Anna-Maria (as Anna-Marie), Ildiko Varcon (as Ildico), Katalyn, Katalyn Hoffner (as Tunde), Sveta (as Lelde), Tunde, Yanna, Nicolette Alex (as Nikolette), Anike, Julia Dobler (as Julia Tchernei), Elmeri, Alain Kraut, Jean-Yves LeCastel, Shonna Lynn, Aniko Harnal (Ana), Demia Moore (as Demia Moor), Tikki (as Tikky), Kristina Black (as Christina) Release Specs: Audio: French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed), Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed), Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed), German Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed) Subtitles: Dutch Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 10 (DS, SL) Special Features: Postcards from Egypt, Pyramid Billboard, Interview with Pierre Woodman, Original Preview, The “Private Girls” DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
William Reuter (David Perry) and Elysabeth (Angelica Miraï) are searching through a forbidden ruin in Egypt when they find an ancient tablet bearing hieroglyphics. They flee from the police with the tablet and go off to search out the treasure it describes.

Audio/Video:
The Pyramid is presented with a dubbed English 2.0 Stereo track. This is one of the old style Private dubbed tracks which I don't care for that much. The way these tracks are composed, the original language track is still intact and a narrator comes on at certain points to let you know what is going on. Unfortunately, all of the original dialog is lost and you just get a brief summation of what is going on. The dubbing is clear at all times and easy to understand. Also presented on the disc is the original French 2.0 Stereo track. Private has also included dubbed 2.0 Stereo tracks for Spanish, Italian, and German and has included Dutch subtitles for the disc.

The Pyramid is presented in the widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, which appears to be the original aspect ratio for the film. Unfortunately, the disc is non-anamorphic, but that is not surprising given the year it was authored. As for the picture itself, it is a far cry from the picture quality of Private's discs today. The picture is soft and looks much older than the film really is. There is fine grain exhibited throughout the presentation as well. The color levels are good and the picture is far from being horrible.

Special Features:
Private has included a few extras on the disc for your viewing enjoyment. The first one is “Postcards from Egypt,” which is a photo gallery that contains 23 stills from both the film and the production end of the film, that you flip through. There is an Interview with Pierre Woodman, which contains only part one of the interview. The interview covers Pierre's film making both on the Pyramid films and his film making in general. The original trailer for the Pyramid trilogy is included on the disc. There is a short piece called “The Pyramid Billboard,” which contains 14 stills that you flip through that show the construction of the billboard on Sweetzer Ave, in Los Angeles, California, advertising The Pyramid. The final extra on the disc is The “Private Girls,” which contains an interview, two photo galleries and a sex scene for Tania Russof, Krisztina, Nikky Andersson, Gabriella Bond, and Silvie. Although this is a decent set of extras for when the disc was released, since this is Private's first super production, I would have liked to have seen more on the making of the film.

Navigation:
There are a total of six chapters available for The Pyramid. The movie itself spans both sides of a DVD-10 and there are three chapters available from each side. The chapters are identified by a video clip from the scene that they go to. Given the style of the film, the chapters are acceptable, but could be much better. There is a time code for the feature film encoded on the disc.

General Review:
The Pyramid is the first part of The Pyramid Trilogy, the first super production to come from Private Pictures. As this is a three part film, the story isn't concluded at the end of the film, instead you are brought to a point and left hanging on what happens. For those that follow a plot, this is important to note since nothing is actually wrapped up by the film. Not that there is such an amazing plot that you will be on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen but the plot is good enough to make you interested in what comes up next besides some more hot sex scenes.

The biggest complaint that I have about the film is the dubbing technique that Private used for the film. This film utilizes Private's original dubbing technique where the original language track is left in the film and a narrator speaks at important points in the film to fill the viewer in on what is going on. So, you will hear a good five minutes of dialog in the film but only get a quick line from the narrator that obviously doesn't cover everything that is being said. This technique does detract from the movie slightly, but not enough to ruin the viewing experience and to irritate unsuspecting viewers.

The sex scenes in the film are hot. Almost all of the women are winners and the males don't look too bad. Although the sex is harder than what fans of tame sex is looking for, fans of nastier sex should enjoy the action here. Even though the sex scenes themselves end up being slightly formulaic, the intensity in the scenes makes you forget that. The sexual themes in the film are oral, vaginal and anal sex with DP, male masturbation, female masturbation, and lesbianism. For viewers that care about condom use, there are no condoms used in the film.

Part of what raises this film above the rest is the locations used. The fact that instead of using generic outdoor shoots and crummy indoor sets, Private went all the way and shot the film in Egypt. The end result is an excellent mood is created by the film and a porn film that doesn't look like any others on the market. Even the indoor sets look good, I don't know if they were created for the film or if existing locations were used, but either way, this film looks good when you are watching it.

The Scenes:
The first scene brings us Kristina and John Walton for a scene that starts out with some pussy eating before going into the blow job. Then there is vaginal and anal sex to finish off the scene. The second scene brings us Julia Spain with Philippe Soine, Richard Langin, and Franck Versace. The scene starts out with a blow job before a vaginal sex and blow job combo. Then there is an anal sex and blow job combo before a DP and blow job combo to finish off the scene.

The third scene brings us Angelica Miraï, Sandra Dark, David Perry, and John Walton for a scene that starts out with a blow job before some vaginal sex. The scene then goes into a vaginal sex, female pussy eating and blow job combo before going into the anal sex. The scene concludes with a DP. The fourth scene gives us Tania Russof and Richard Langin for a scene that starts out with a blow job. The blow job is followed by vaginal and anal sex.

The fifth and final scene brings us Regina with Philippe Dean and David Perry for a scene that starts out with a blow job. The scene then goes into a blow job and pussy eating combo before switching to a vaginal sex and blow job combo. The scene concludes with some anal sex and a DP.

Parting Thoughts:
The Pyramid is the first part of the trilogy of Pyramid films along with being the first Private super production. For viewers who like the European Private style sex along with a decent story and high production values, The Pyramid is definitely a film for you to check out. If you follow a story, you'll probably want to buy the films as the Trilogy DVD Pack all at once. If not, this is the strongest of the Pyramid entries so you are fine buying it solo.

Screenshots:

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