Taboo (Standard Digital) Review

Distributor: Standard Digital Edition Details: Special Collector's Edition DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Drama Run Time: 86 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1980 Director: Kirdy Stevens Written by: Helene Terrie Cast: Kay Parker, Mike Ranger, Dorothy LeMay (as Dorothy Le May), Miko Yani (as Miko Yama), Juliet Anderson, Tawny Pearl, Jesse Adams (as Jessie Adams), Don Fernando, Lee LeMay (as Lee Le May), Turk Lyon, Brooke West, Sarah Harris, Michael Morrison, T.J. Carson, Holly McCall, Valerie Paulson, Starr Wood (as Star Woods), Ken Scudder (as Grant Lombard), Jeff Scott, Gary Eberhardt, Jeremiah Jones, Lisa K. Loring Voices: Kirdy Stevens Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Kirdy Stevens' 1980 blue screen hit Taboo wasn't the first adult film to tackle the theme of incest and it wasn't the last one either. However, Taboo is the best of the films that took on this theme. Barbara Scott's (Kay Parker) husband Chris (Turk Lyon) leaves her for his secretary. Barbara's son Paul (Mike Ranger), who is dating Sherry McBride (Dorothy LeMay), starts becoming sexually interested in Barbara, who finds herself fighting off reciprocal feelings.

What makes Taboo the hit that it was is that Kirdy Stevens made a real movie. Taboo doesn't feel like it was made just to be a series of sex scenes nor does Stevens utilize every moment that he can to cram one in. Instead, Taboo presents a solid story, written by Helene Terrie, that focuses on character development and the story as well as the sex scenes. Each sex scene feels organic to the story itself and not shoved in just to have a copulation scene.

The cast does a great job with their roles, all the way around. All of the cast manage to bring their characters to life on the screen, which enhances all aspects of Taboo. And when it comes to the sex scenes, the cast sizzles on the screen. Everyone remains in character during the sex scenes and brings incredible energy to the scenes.

Technically, Taboo looks good as well; the film is nicely shot and edited and presents itself nicely to the audience. For fans of feature films, the sordid tale told in Taboo is one not to be missed. This is one of the films to define the golden age of adult filmmaking.

Standard Digital has done a good job with their Special Collector's Edition release of Taboo. Taboo was shot on film and appears to have been mastered from a film print or negative. Taboo is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480i. The image is in good shape on the release sporting grain, artifacts, and print damage. Colors are good but dark scenes are a little on the overly dark side making the image hard to make out at times.

Taboo is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio track. The audio sounds good with no discernible issues at all with the audio. The dialog spoken in the film is clear and easy to understand at all times.

Standard Digital has included a few extras on their release for Taboo. There is a well-done feature length commentary track with the director Kirdy Stevens and the writer and producer Helene Terrie. There is a second feature length commentary track with star Kay Parker. Parker's track, unfortunately, contains a lot of dead air time. “An Interview With Kay Parker,” a nine-minute interview piece covers Parker getting into the adult film industry, Taboo, and her book Taboo: Sacred Don't Touch. The theatrical trailer for the film is included on the release along with a photo gallery.

Taboo is one of the true adult classics from the golden age of adult films. Taboo combines a tawdry tale of family love with a great cast, good story, and an overall nice looking production to create a film that has stood the test of time in the annals of adult films. If you haven't seen it, Taboo is a must see and if you are a fan of the classics, Taboo is one that you will want to add to your collection. Standard Digital has done a nice job with their Special Collector's Edition release which is a definite upgrade from the prior Limited Edition VCX release with better image quality and some extras.

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