FELICITY
(1979)/CENTRESPREAD (1981) Region ALL Blu-ray
Director(s): John D. Lamond/Tony Paterson
Umbrella Entertainment
Umbrella Entertainment brings us some Aussie sexploitation from
both ends of the entertainment spectrum with their Blu-ray double bill of FELICITY
and CENTRESPREAD.
Private schoolgirl Felicity Robinson (Glory Annen, Norman J. Warren's PREY)
goes from knee-highs to silk stockings when her absent father arranges for her
to spend her holidays in Hong Kong with libidinous family friends Christine
(Marilyn Rodgers, PATRICK) and Stephen (Gordon Charles). Having already experimented
with schoolmate Jenny (Jody Hanson) and spied on a lovemaking couple on the
plane over, she feels no guilt about spying on her hosts in the sack but finds
herself increasingly hot to lose her virginity. After her inauspicious and painful
first time with an older sophisticate (David Bradshaw, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER)
who turns out to be a lech, Felicity agrees to some sensual sightseeing with
mysterious Me Ling (Joni Flynn, OCTOPUSSY) who shows her the flesh dens of Hong
Kong in between helping refugees from Mainland China. When she is rescued from
purse snatchers by Aussie photographer Miles (Chris Milne, THIRST), his inability
to perform due to drunkenness allows the two to become friends before they becoming
lovers. After a three-day whirlwind romance with much semi-public lovemaking
(including a blowjob in a cinema showing Lamond's THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX),
Miles departs for a photographic assignment and Felicity discovers through subsequent
encounters that the physical just isn't the same without the emotional and sets
off with Me Ling's help to track down Miles.
While the story of a virgin inducted into an exotic world of decadence is certainly
not a new one, FELICITY models itself strongly after the success of Just Jaeckin's
EMMANUELLE (the FELICITY title card even echoes that of the font for the title
cards of the official EMMANUELLE series), the novel of which she is seen reading
(along with THE STORY OF O and FEAR OF FLYING) and is also mentioned in the
film's dialogue. Hong Kong stands in for Thailand, but the film largely eschews
the model's pretentious of sexual philosophy in favor of a fleshy, fun, and
guilt-free romp through scenic backdrops by an uninhibited and frequently undraped
cast (particularly the engaging Annen). Director John D. Lamond was one of Ozploitation's
sex film pioneers with the "documentaries" AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK and
THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX along with the comedy PACIFIC BANANA and the nudity-heavy
slasher NIGHTMARES.
A futuristic Australia's hope to rein in the sexual and violent impulses of
its populace is dependent upon finding a fresh face and body for the CENTRESPREAD!
Gerard (Paul Trahair, SQUIZZY TAYLOR) is a photographer for a nude magazine
that specializes in combining sex and violence to pacify its readers. When the
all-knowing Central computer tells the magazine's editor Talbot (Ivor Louis)
that the audience is tiring of models who all seem interchangeable, it also
tells him that Gerard is fit for the task of finding a new model and provides
him with the unlimited resources to do so. Having distanced himself emotionally
and physically from his work, Gerard barely interacts with his models less real
people and is reluctant to venture out into the country's various stratified
sectors; however, he discovers an antique shop run by young Niki (Kylie Foster,
QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER) who surprises him by first believing that his proposal to
photograph her is a come-on, and then revealing that she has no interest in
becoming a famous model. Gerard's interactions with Niki reawaken his senses
to the beauty of the natural world and his photographic work soon takes a new
turn to which Talbot objects when the computer suggests that the emphasis on
the past in the photographs is a potentially contentious commentary on life
as it is now. Threatened with being replaced and reassigned if he does not bring
in a new model, Gerard convinces Niki to pose for him out of her love for him
and concern for his future; however, he soon comes to fear that he will lose
her he turns her into a star.
Something of a softcore sex take on A STAR IS BORN, CENTRESPREAD was not well-received
upon domestic Australian release. It certainly delivers plenty of naked flesh
and some visuals that are more oddball than surreal; however, it actually is
pretty dreadful as a sex film, a work of science fiction, and as a drama. The
cut-rate visualization of the future is realized with empty warehouse settings
and an otherwise contemporary but depopulated Adelaide in which the only futuristic-seeming
additions are blank colored credit cards that permit access to different sectors
and their resources. Trahair comes across as more glum than disaffected while
Foster is rather flat (acting-wise), while Louis manages to chew the scenery
while still coming across as wooden. Comic relief is offered up in the form
of Gerard's assistant (Mark Watson) who "auditions" models behind
his boss' back and is pushed into taking over shoots as Gerard spends more and
more time with Niki. While the photographic sessions offer plenty for the audience
to ogle at length, the heat of the sex scenes are undercut by being presented
as photographic montage of admittedly striking stills. The strong points lie
in the photography of Geoffrey Simpson (THE NAVIGATOR: A MEDIEVAL ODYSSEY, coming
soon from Umbrella Entertainment) and the rollicking theme song and closing
melody sung by Lisa Edwards. For a film set in the future, it plays more like
a time capsule of artistic trends and sexual attitudes of the period.
Released stateside to cable and Private Screenings VHS, FELICITY was previously
released on DVD in the United States by Severin Films in 2006 while Umbrella
did not put out a domestic edition until 2016, the same year that Severin upgraded
the film to Blu-ray. Apparently using the same master, the 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC
1.78:1 widescreen transfer retains the sometimes heavy grain and softness of
the diffused cinematography while primary colors and bare flesh really pop along
with the neons of the Hong Kong setting. Released stateside directly to cable,
CENTRESPREAD has largely been unavailable. Even in Australia, it is making its
solo DVD debut along with this double-feature Blu-ray. The 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC
1.85:1 widescreen transfer is bright, crisp, and colorful with nice detail in
the bare flesh, eighties frizzy hair, and the considered color palette. The
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack boasts clear dialogue, some aggressive
effects and scoring. There are no subtitle or captioning options for either
film.
The Severin DVD of FELICITY had a commentary by Lamond and Annen while their
Blu-ray carried over the track and added "Not Quite Hollywood" interview
outtakes with Annen, Lamond, and cinematographer Garry Wapshott (SKY PIRATES)
as well as and AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK/ABC OF LOVE AND SEX co-writer Alan Finney,
along with SD presentations of Lamond's AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK and THE ABC OF
LOVE AND SEX (both with commentaries). The FELICITY/CENTRESPREAD Blu-ray carries
over the Annen/Lamond commentary but only the Annen, Wapshoot, and Finney interviews.
On the commentary track, the director admits that it is a male fantasy but that
it was meant to appeal to women too while Annen calls the film pro-female. The
Canadian actress discusses her lack of inhibitions regarding nudity in general
but her initial trepidation about doing a sexy film (citing the filmmaking slump
in the UK that made an independent production more attractive), adapting to
be both Australian and Asian culture after attending drama school in the UK.
They both fondly recall shooting on location in Hong Kong, grabbing shots, renting
a tram to shoot a sex scene with real "extras" wandering up to their
level, and arguing for the differences between pretty erotica and ugly pornography
(Lamond admits that he like making sex look pretty and idealized). Lamond discusses
the film's successful reception internationally while it was hated by critics
domestically but loved by Australian audiences. He also mentions that it was
the first of his films that Australian and British censors passed uncut (with
the BBFC examiner telling him it was a "pretty" film compared to the
American erotic counterparts).
On the NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD interview outtakes, Annen recalls being just out
of drama school, having done only one film role with nudity, and touring on
stage with PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM. She liked the idea of traveling to the Far East
and her agent convinced her to learn as much as she could about acting for the
camera for future roles. She recalls the backlash she received for doing the
role from people who had not seen the film and seeing it on the screen with
her mother and grandmother in attendance. She expresses some rather conservative
views on pornography and violence, but it seems more understandable in the context
of her hoping that nothing she had done on screen has resulted in anyone being
hurt by any weak-minded individuals who might have been influenced by what they
see in the movies. The soft-spoken Lamond, speaking while a stripper pole-dances
in the background, gives a rather circuitous talk about his dislike of political
correctness, courting controversy, and his preference for shooting sex scenes
as nice and idealized compared to American counterparts before offering some
discussion on the three films while Wapshott reflects on the "fun and scary"
experiences shooting AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK and THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX and honing
what he had learned shooting commercials to give FELICITY more polish (he also
reveals that Lamond had him screen EMANUELLE and THE STORY OF O to study their
visual style). The Umbrella edition adds over the Severin the "Confessions
of an R-Rated Movie Maker" (8:30) interview with Lamond featured on some
of the other Umbrella DVDs of Lamond's films, as well as an image gallery, and
theatrical trailers (3:45).
Both editions have extras that make them worth keeping. Even if you own the
Intervision or Umbrella DVDs of AUSTRLIA AFTER DARK and THE ABC OF LOVE AND
SEX, the SD presentation of AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK on the Severin Blu-ray comes
from the original uncut version (~87 minutes as a PAL to NTSC conversion) rather
than the R-classification cut on the DVDs (~82 minutes PAL) while the Umbrella
edition of course has CENTRESPREAD and its extras. First up is the film's alternate
UK cut of the film (73:14 versus the 82:30 original) which itself was subjected
to further BBFC cuts. This is not so much a softened version of the film but
an almost entirely alternate assemblage that makes the original look coherent
in comparison. In the original, we see Gerard subtly starting to question the
restrictions on his artistic expression by being more spontaneous and giving
more direction to his models – rather than just through his assistant
– only after meeting Niki, but that is not the case here. Footage is shuffled
around almost randomly to the detriment of the dramatic aspects. The reordering
also makes Gerard look more like a crass playboy by moving his sexual encounter
with a model later in the film (before opening up to Niki) to much earlier,
and recuts the ending to make it more cynical with Gerard seeming to prize his
career over a relationship with Niki. The alternate UK cut is sourced from a
fullscreen tape master that retains the filmed opening credits but has video-generated
end credits (this version may indeed have been recut on video).
Also included is "Behind the CENTRESPREAD" (47:29), a vintage television
documentary that helped drum up publicity as producer Wayne Groom made the casting
process into a search for a new centerspread model with Foster (daughter of
Hollywood publicist Alan Foster) and other models in the film cast from over
five hundred submissions. In addition to Groom reflecting on the willingness
of these would be starlets to bare all as evidence of more open attitudes towards
sexuality, there are cutaways to sound-bytes from various models (all seen undressing
for the camera either in clips from the film or audition video) with the whole
thing having the air of a PENTHOUSE documentary. The featurette also looks at
the hiring of award winning editor turned director Tony Paterson (PHAR LAP)
whose experience made the shooting more efficient for the budget and schedule,
and visualizing the future on a budget through sets, props, and make-up. The
NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD archives provide a brief interview with producer Greg Lynch
(6:11) who picked up CENTRESPREAD for distribution, recalling that the original
cut was more "mainstream" and funded tacking on fourteen minutes of
additional footage including the desert rape photographic session. The disc
also includes two trailers for the film (2:46 and 2:47 respectively), as well
as an image gallery. The reversible cover features the same cover without a
rating sticker on the inside.
(Eric
Cotenas)
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