That Boy Review

Distributor: Gorilla Factory Productions Edition Details: Special Edition DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Gay Run Time: 78 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1974 Director: Peter Berlin Written by: Peter Berlin Director of Photography: Richard Abel, Peter Berlin Cast: Peter Berlin, Arron Black, Walter Wright, Rickey Davis, Steven James, Phillip Martin, Rock Action, Mars Mukluk, Wally, Kapp, Gail Joy, David Venice, Justin Sullivan, Bobby Star, Surreal Star, Timmy Mukluk, Pristine Condition, Liisa Mukluk, K, Chastity White, Bill Bowers 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

That Boy is a unique gay adult film to have come out of the 70s and to be honest, I don't there that there is any other period in which this film could have possibly been conceived. The film opens with Peter Berlin wandering through a park by a river while cherry trees are blossoming while Pachelbel's Canon plays in the background. Berlin jerks off for a man as the credits run. Then the scene changes to Berlin walking in The Castro.

At this point, Helmut (Peter Berlin) ends up saving a blind boy (Arron Black) and ends up taking the boy under his wing. The boy fantasizes about various ways he could have Helmut. The early part of the film was never ever referenced after the jump to The Castro, nor explained, and sets the tone for the film, since nothing in this film makes any sense. That Boy comes across as a vanity showcase for Peter Berlin.

That Boy is told through narration from the side of the boy and from the side of Helmut. The narration from the part of the boy is where the film again makes no sense. The boy describes Helmut, yet is blind and could not have seen him. The boy describes people adoring Helmut but again could not have witnessed this. The fantasy sequences that the boy describes involves men that are around adoring Helmut. Instead of the boy being in the sex scene, it is those who are adoring Helmut, even though they are the fantasies of the boy.

While the plot in the film makes no real sense, what was obviously important was the art of the shot. The aesthetics of the shot and the scenes themselves take the lead in guiding the film. Being a straight male, it is hard for me to judge exactly how hot the sex scenes are, however, a great aspect of them is that the build throughout the film. The beginning scenes start off as jerking off and build to full blown sex by the end of the film. The sex scenes were clearly crafted to up the eroticism as the film goes on they crescendo up to the coda of the film.

That Boy is definitely an odd film. Fans of Peter Berlin should eat this film up since the purpose of the film appears to be to be an artful vanity project for the writer, director, and star. The film worships Berlin and thus fans of Berlin can worship him too through this film.

Gorilla Factory Productions has done a great job with their special edition release of That Boy. That Boy is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480i. The transfer looks very good being sourced from a 16mm print. As can be expected from the age, there is print damage, artifacts, and grain present during the presentation. The colors are vibrant and look very nice. There are some periodic jumps in the picture. I doubt that this film has looked this good since it played theatrically.

That Boy is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The audio for the film isn't bad but is not in as good a shape as the image presentation. There is a low hiss present during portions of the film. The worst aspect is a high pitched ringing noise that appears during the second half of the film. The final scene seems to have a lower volume than the rest of the film as well. The dialog is clear and can be heard and understood for most of the film. The final scene the dialog can be harder to hear.

Gorilla Factory Productions has included a wealth of extras on this release. There is a feature length commentary track with Peter Berlin and reviewer John F. Karr. Two of Peter Berlin's early 16mm silent films are included. “Blueboys — Part 1” and “Blueboys — Part 2,” running 11 minutes and ten minutes respectively. The short film stars Peter Berlin and Marc Majors and the first part is a jerk off film and the second part features jerk offs and a blowjob. “Search,” a ten-minute film, is a jerk off film starring Peter Berlin. Berlin directed both short films.

“Peter's Vault” is a collection of film and video unedited silent raw footage that features “Mystery Man&rd1uo; (Runs for three minutes and was shot on film.), “Train Jerk Off” (Runs for two minutes and was shot on film.), “Video Jerk Off 1” (Runs for two minutes and was shot on video.), and “Video Jerk Off 2” (Runs for two minutes and was shot on video.). There is a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer for Nights in Black Leather also on the release.

That Boy is essentially a vanity project to worship Peter Berlin. Fans of Berlin should love this venture as the film idolizes the star from start to finish. The plot itself is rather nonsensical and doesn't amount to much however the film is nicely shot, with an eye for the arty-style shot over the conventional, and the sex scenes build as the film goes on. Gorilla Factory Productions has done a great job with this release featuring a wealth of extras and a nice looking transfer.

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