Private Pleasures (Fatale Media) Review

Distributor: Fatale Media Edition Details: Standard Streaming Movie Specs: Genres: Queer, Short Film, Classic (1980s Shot on Video) Run Time: 26 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1985 Director: O. Wow Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: Claire Delair Cast: Mariko, Caerage, Teri Release Specs: Audio: Monaural Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

When the adult film industry started, shot on film productions were the way to go. Young Hollywood hopefuls cut their teeth in the adult industry, some behind the camera and some in front of the camera, hiding behind a barrage of pseudonyms to conceal their true identities. Shot on film productions required the ability to properly operate a film camera and the ability to edit the film, along with the money for the film stock and developing.

In the late 1970s, slowly shot on video productions started showing up, and in the 1980s, the adult film industry went almost entirely to shot on video productions. Generally, this fast transition is regarded as a downfall of the industry. With shot on video productions, anyone could shoot and edit a movie, and videocassettes were cheap, so budgets fell through the floor. Many of the shot on film stalwarts left the industry, and many of those who did stay changed their pseudonyms, so their shot on film productions weren't mixed in with their shot on video productions with which they often weren't proud to be associated.

However, this transition from film to video wasn't entirely bad. The drastically reduced cost of production allowed auteurs, who never would have been able to bring their art to the public during the shot on film days, the ability to create shot on video productions. Enter Nan Kinney, the president and founder of Fatale Media (and also the executive producer of all of their movies). Nan Kinney saw that the adult film industry wasn't catering to lesbians. Now, before you the reader go, but there have been all-girl productions going back to the 1920s, yes there have, but they are all geared for male viewers, not for lesbian viewers.

Nan Kinney founded Fatale Media in 1984 with the intention of providing erotic hardcore adult movies for a lesbian audience. Thirty-five years later, Fatale Media is still going with Nan Kinney still at the helm. Private Pleasures is one of the first short films released by Fatale Media. Private Pleasures is directed by the clearly pseudonymous O. Wow and written by an anonymous writer.

Private Pleasures is a dialog free short film that presents the seduction of a woman. The plot is that Mariko comes home and puts on the short adult movie “The Penthouse.” “The Penthouse” features Teri seducing her dinner guest, Caerage. While “The Penthouse” plays, Mariko pleasures herself watching the short movie.

Once the viewer gets past the artifacts of the past, like Caerage's big hair, they will find that Private Pleasures is an excellent and timeless queer short film. Private Pleasures doesn't contain a single line of dialog, so the entire story is conveyed to the viewer through the images on the screen and the body language of the actresses. All three of the actresses are excellent in their roles. All three also give outstanding sexual performances. The sex scenes go slower than many sex scenes these days with more seduction and play present before getting to the graphic sex, which seduces the viewer as the short film goes on.

The only aspect of Private Pleasures that this reviewer wasn't very fond of was the soundtrack by Mary Kelley. The soundtrack is composed of unsettling synth music, which feels more appropriate at times for a horror movie than an erotic movie.

Unless you are a viewer that thinks queer movies should only contain lipstick lesbians — at which point you should be looking only for all-female movies made for males — you should find a lot to like in Private Pleasures. The two interlaced sex scenes play out slowly, giving the sex scenes a beautiful erotic quality that isn't often seen these days in adult movies. Private Pleasures is highly recommended for viewers of all sexual persuasions.

The edition of Private Pleasures screened is the streaming-only edition available on PinkLabel.TV.

Fatale Media has done the best possible job they could do with their streaming-only edition of Private Pleasures. Private Pleasures was shot on video, and this release was mastered by making a high definition file of the original 1/2” Betacam tape master. As a result, what you see is the best that you can ever get (at least by modern technology) from the original master. Private Pleasures is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 pillarboxed to 1.78:1 in approximately 300i. As can be expected from a video source, the image contains glitches, although not as many as would be expected. The colors sometimes are washed out, and there are periods of color bleed. There is also a light feathering at times due to the interlaced image.

Private Pleasures is presented with a monaural audio track. There isn't any dialog present for the short film, only music. The audio has an omnipresent hiss and hum throughout, which the viewer gets used to rather quickly.

Fatale Media hasn't included any extras for their streaming-only edition of Private Pleasures.

Private Pleasures is a short film from the first all-female adult studio designed for lesbian viewers, Fatale Media. Private Pleasures, which is dialog free, presents the seduction of a woman over a dinner. Private Pleasures has aged well and is fully accessible by all viewers, not just lesbians — offering the viewer some beautiful erotica. Fatale Media has done the best they can with a shot on video movie with their streaming version of Private Pleasures providing better than expected video quality and the expected audio quality.

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