Zupko's Opera Review

Distributor: Elegant Angel Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Opera Also known as: Zupko's Opera Run Time: 136 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 2003 Director: Thomas Zupko Written by: Thomas Zupko Cast: Papillon, Avy Scott, Katja Kassin (as Katja), Satine Diamond, Ashley Blue, Vivica Vengeance, Amber Roxx (as Allura Bond), Valentino, Denis Marti (as Dennis Marti), Trent Tesoro (as Trent Tosoro), Mickey G., Brian Surewood, Tony Tedeschi, Pistol Pete, Norton Beers, Axel Braun, Allen Rene, Ricardo Release Specs: Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 9 (SS, DL) Special Features: Bonus Scene, Behind the Scenes, Trailers DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
Failed opera singer Puccini (Allen Rene) is at the end of his miserable existence. From the gutter that he is lying in, with the help of illicit narcotics that are helping bring his life to an end, he fantasizes about what could have been his life and where everything went wrong.

Audio/Video:
Opera is presented with an Italian 2.0 Stereo track which works well for the material being presented in the film. I think that Opera could have benefitted from a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix though, especially for the music used in the scenes. That aside, there is nothing wrong with the audio track, the dialog is clear and can be heard at all times. There are burned in English subtitles for the dialog, but there are no subtitles for the song portions. Elegant Angel hasn't included any other language tracks or any other subtitle options for the feature film.

Opera is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which is the original aspect ratio for the film. The picture presentation provided here is in excellent shape. The color levels are perfect and there are no glitches, artifacts or blemishes present anywhere on the disc.

Special Features:
Elegant Angel has included a few extras on the disc. There is a fourteen-and-a-half minute behind the scenes piece on the making of the film. There is a bonus scene, which should really be called a deleted scene as it appears to be cut from Opera, that runs for ten-and-a-half minutes and features Avy Scott masturbating. There are also trailers for Compulsion, Barely Used 2, Hardcore Innocence 4, and Sodomania Orgies: Tailgate Parties.

Given the scope and magnitude of this film, it would have been great if Elegant Angel had included some more extras that relate to the film. I could have loved a piece on Allen Rene, talking about why he got interested in the project, what he went into the shoot thinking and what were his thoughts afterwards. A piece on Thomas Zupko talking about bringing his vision to the screen. Some more deleted scenes would have been great. And I'm rather sure that there is more footage available, at least of the nymphs.

Disc Design/Navigation:
The disc is designed with simple animated menus with background music that fits the theme of the film. There are twelve chapters available from the chapter menu, as well as being the only twelve offered within the feature film itself. They are identified by a video clip from the area of the film that they go to. There is a time code for the feature film encoded on the disc.

General Review:
Opera is a one of a kind adult film that could only have come from the mind of Thomas Zupko. He has crafted a very interesting adult film, the likes of which I never would have thought I would end up seeing. Ultimately, whether or not you enjoy the film, you can't deny that Zupko has done an excellent job of creating his vision and proving that he is an adult filmmaker, not just a pornographer.

Opera is a tragic story of love, betrayal and self destruction. Managing to actually blend the genres of adult film and opera, Zupko has created a truly unique film. There is a full, coherent story for the film, which the sex scenes fit into, instead of working against. He has used an excellent combination of ways to tell his story. The present is shown straight forward with Puccini. Puccini's fantasies are a combination of opera songs and the sex scenes. There are also narrative scenes with either Puccini's father, brother or wife that share the back story of what has been going on. Zupko also utilizes newspaper clips to further the story. Combined together, all these methods work excellently to tell the story.

The dialog in the movie is all in Italian along with the songs. There are subtitles provided for the dialog portions so the viewer can follow the story if they are not fluent in Italian. The songs provide no subtitles for what is being said, but the viewer can use the raw emotion in them to figure out what is gong on. All of the actors that speak Italian appear to be fluent in it as it sounds natural and not forced. The music used in the film is done by Allen Rene and Doug Scott, who's work on past Elegant Angel films has impressed me. None of the music used in the film comes close to sounding anything like what would be considered standard porno music. There is classical music that runs through the sex scenes which keeps the mood of the film going throughout the presentation.

After each of the operatic songs sung by Allen Rene, the film goes into a sex scene. The sex scenes are presented on sets that look like they were designed for a life stage presentation, which keeps the feel of Puccini's fantasies going through the sex scenes. The cast looks good and appears to be having fun during the sex scenes. The cast also does an excellent job with the non-sex portions of the film as well, making for an excellent overall presentation. The sex is a little nasty and rough for my taste though. Viewers that only like tame sex will definitely want to pass on this title. There is a huge emphasis on anal sex and anal play in the film, some scenes containing no vaginal sex at all. I wish that there had been a little more variety to the sex scenes, and more vaginal play, as the heavy anal got tiring after a little while. The sexual themes in the film are vaginal and anal sex with face fucking, gagging, blow jobs, pussy fingering, A2M, anal fingering, titty fucking, anal toy use, anilingus, female masturbation, male masturbation, anal masturbation, slapping, and choking. For viewers that care about condom use, there are no condoms used in the film.

The sets and locations used are excellent. The present takes place in a nasty looking exterior alley. The scenes with Puccini's father take place in what looks like a screening theater. Puccini's brother and wife's scenes are in a decent set. When Puccini's singing that takes place on a small stage and the most impressive sets in the film are those that the sex scenes take place in. They are designed to look like live stage sets. They look great and are simple yet detailed. They also prove that there are some talented set designers working in the adult film industry.

The movie is nicely shot and edited. Some viewers may not like the editing style used in the film as it is more mainstream than adult. The edits aren't always linear in the scene, so the action doesn't always match and there are places where two sets of images are used on the screen at the same time. I think that this style works in the favor of the film, making it more of a movie than an adult video, but viewers that are looking for their sex to be presented straight forward without arty elements included will most likely be disappointed with the presentation.

The only really disappointing aspect of the film was the devil costume that is used. It looks cheap and out of place in this production considering the levels of work that went into the rest of the film. I wish that they had paid a little more money on it and had a make-up designer come in to actually make up the actor to resemble to the devil. Instead a rubber one piece devil mask is used, which does detract from those scenes. Other than the devil mask, the rest of the costumes used in the film are excellent and fit the scenes they are used in perfectly. The participants in the sex scenes start out dressed as if they were part of the presentation being shown on the various stages.

Scene Synopsis:
The first and second scenes are interlaced and the second scene is only going on during the beginning of the first scene before it disappears. The first scene brings us Katja Kassin and Tony Tedeschi and starts out with Katja giving Tony a blow job before they go into some anal sex. Then Katja goes back to giving Tony a blow job before they return to the anal sex. They repeat the A2M pattern several times utilizing various positions before they switch to anal sex with some pauses for some anal fingering. To end the scene, Tony cums on Katja's face and chest. The second scene features Vivica Vengeance and Pistol Pete and consists solely of some pussy fingering.

The third and fourth scenes are also interlaced, done in the same style as the first two scenes, except the fourth scene lasts longer than the second one did. It still disappears before the third scene is too far into the action though. The third scene gives us Avy Scott and Denis Marti and starts out with Avy giving Denis a blow job. They get in a titty fuck before Avy goes back to blowing him. Then they switch so Denis anally penetrates Avy with various food items with shots of her blowing him mixed in. Then they go into some anal toy use followed by vaginal sex. To end the scene, Denis cums on Avy's mouth and face. The fourth scene features Allura Bond and Pistol Pete and starts out with the two caressing each other. Then Allura gives Pete a blow job and Pete cums in her mouth.

The fifth and sixth scenes are the same as the pairs of scenes above, with the sixth scene being short and only present during the beginning of the fifth scene. The fifth scene brings us Sabine Diamond and Valentino and starts out with Sabine giving Valentino a blow job and a little anilingus. Then the two go into some vaginal sex which is followed by some anal sex. Sabine gives Valentino a short blow job before they return to the anal sex. They repeat the A2M pattern a few more times before returning to the anal sex. To end the scene, Valentino cums on Sabine's face. The sixth scene features Vivica Vengeance and Pistol Pete and consists only of some pussy fingering.

At the beginning of the seventh scene, there are some interlaced shots of Vivica Vengeance and Norton Beers caressing each other. Since they don't to anything beyond this, I'm not listing it as an actual scene. The seventh scene gives us Ashley Blue and Trent Tesoro and starts out with Ashley giving Trent a blow job. Then the two go into a anal masturbation and anal fingering combination before they go into the anal sex. They take a short break for a blow job before going back to the anal sex. They repeat the A2M pattern several times before they go back to the anal sex. To end the scene, Trent cums on Ashley's face.

The eighth scene features Vivica Vengeance and Pistol Pete and starts out with Vivica giving Pete a blow job. They go into some anilingus before they return to the blow job. Pete gets in a titty fuck with Vivica before he cums on her face to end the scene.

The ninth scene is the last scene in the film. There are some shots of Vivica Vengeance and Pistol Pete in the begining, but since they don't interact at all, I'm not going to list it as a scene. The ninth scene brings us Papillon, Mickey G and Brian Surewood. The scene starts out with just Papillon and Mickey and Papillon starts the scene out by giving Mickey a blow job. Then Mickey performs some anilingus on Papillon before they go into some anal sex. They take a break so Mickey and anally finger Papillon before they go back to the anal sex. The two go into some vaginal sex before returning to the anal sex. Mickey cums on Papillon's mouth and leaves the scene as Brian enters. Papillon gives Brian a blow job before they head straight into the anal sex. To end the scene, Brian cums in Papillon's mouth as well.

Parting Thoughts:
Opera, according to Thomas Zupko, is inspired by Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books, which in turn is based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest. The movie contains many of the themes that are present in Shakespeare's plays, especially tragedy and betrayal, but it is in no way just a porno version of either production, nor does it really resemble either production. It is its own film, which contains a full story and has been excellently put together and is a shining example that nastier, rough sex can work within a feature film. The Shakespearian influence is obvious when watching the film, but if Zupko hadn't said that is was inspired on Prospero's Books, I never would have noticed. Viewers that don't like porn with a plot or nasty rough sex will probably want to pass on this title. Everyone else should give it a try, as even if the sex scenes don't quite work for you, the rest of the film is worth watching.

Screenshots:

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