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Brand new and sealed!! Please note this is the region free USA edition!! Get it quick!! Get it now !!
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first heard of Radley Metzger when I recently watched 'Camille 2000', a poignant modernisation of Alexandre Dumas' "The Lady of the Camellias" (which was also the basis for Verdi's "La Traviata"). It was with some trepidation that I bought 'The Lickerish Quartet', in a lurid "sexadelic!" box that more than outdid the suggestive title.
And it turned out to be a surprisingly good movie - perhaps because it was not at all what I had judged by the cover. It's a rather surreal story of a dysfunctional family, who decide to have a bit of fun with a young girl they think they recognise from a blue movie, only to have the tables turned on them in bizarre fashion.
While there are touches of eroticism, they are by no means overdone, and this is no simple sexploitation movie. There are touches of which David Lynch might have been proud, with odd 'flash-back' cuts (or are they flash-forwards?), characters who switch identities, and a very blurred line between reality and the movie-within-the-movie. Although the acting is a little pedestrian, the cinematography is excellent. I can't help feeling the film better deserved its original title, "Hide and Seek".
All in all a pleasant surprise that leaves me curious to see more of Radley Metzger's work.
And it turned out to be a surprisingly good movie - perhaps because it was not at all what I had judged by the cover. It's a rather surreal story of a dysfunctional family, who decide to have a bit of fun with a young girl they think they recognise from a blue movie, only to have the tables turned on them in bizarre fashion.
While there are touches of eroticism, they are by no means overdone, and this is no simple sexploitation movie. There are touches of which David Lynch might have been proud, with odd 'flash-back' cuts (or are they flash-forwards?), characters who switch identities, and a very blurred line between reality and the movie-within-the-movie. Although the acting is a little pedestrian, the cinematography is excellent. I can't help feeling the film better deserved its original title, "Hide and Seek".
All in all a pleasant surprise that leaves me curious to see more of Radley Metzger's work.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.2 out of 5 stars
12 reviews
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly Erotic, Pleasing, Interesting
23 Aug 1999
By Alethio Grapher
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
"The Lickerish Quartet" is what I always thought pornography should be, but never is. There is enough sex in the movie, but it's all very real-seeming, without being vulgar (no close-up entry shots, etc.) The settings are evocative and stylish, the story line is OK, and the individual scenes (even besides the sex) are extremely interesting and intriguing. Expect some subtle eroticism, and a lot of not-so-subtle.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray
11 May 2011
By Ralph Jenkins
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Blu-ray
This new Blu-ray of Radley Metzger's THE LICKERISH QUARTET isn't bad, but there are some source-related issues. Specks and lines are not uncommon. It looks like you're watching a film print of an old movie that's been around the block a few times. That said, it's certainly watchable, and you can tell it's high def. Maybe it would even take away from the "grindhouse" feel of the film if it looked too clean. Just be sure to temper your expectations.
The interesting thing about THE LICKERISH QUARTET is that while it is a softcore film, it's more ambitious than a lot of regular films. The sex scenes may be longer than necessary, but they always serve the story. Many scenes are surreal, and we're never completely sure what is real and what is a fantasy. The idea behind the film is that while a film is permanent, the viewing experience can change depending on the viewer.
A man, his wife, and her adult son view a porn film in their castle featuring a stunning blonde. The bratty son gets tired of it, and they go to a carnival for his entertainment. There, they notice a performer who looks just like the blonde woman in the film they just watched, and the man invites her back to the castle to watch the film. However, when they get her back to their place, the film is not the same as it was before. The next day, each one is seduced by the alluring blonde (Silvana Venturelli) and learns a bit about who they really are.
THE LICKERISH QUARTET is quite dated. What turned audiences on in the early '70s seems pretty tame, even funny, today. That said, it's still an entertaining artifact from a different time and there's really not much else like it.
The Blu-ray comes with a decent amount of extras, including an informative audio commentary by Metzger, a making-of, trailers, and more.
The interesting thing about THE LICKERISH QUARTET is that while it is a softcore film, it's more ambitious than a lot of regular films. The sex scenes may be longer than necessary, but they always serve the story. Many scenes are surreal, and we're never completely sure what is real and what is a fantasy. The idea behind the film is that while a film is permanent, the viewing experience can change depending on the viewer.
A man, his wife, and her adult son view a porn film in their castle featuring a stunning blonde. The bratty son gets tired of it, and they go to a carnival for his entertainment. There, they notice a performer who looks just like the blonde woman in the film they just watched, and the man invites her back to the castle to watch the film. However, when they get her back to their place, the film is not the same as it was before. The next day, each one is seduced by the alluring blonde (Silvana Venturelli) and learns a bit about who they really are.
THE LICKERISH QUARTET is quite dated. What turned audiences on in the early '70s seems pretty tame, even funny, today. That said, it's still an entertaining artifact from a different time and there's really not much else like it.
The Blu-ray comes with a decent amount of extras, including an informative audio commentary by Metzger, a making-of, trailers, and more.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Tarot (commercially viable)
12 Aug 2012
By J. Preston
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
There are many reasons to respect this film.
This film was a made in 1969 - a time in which nudity and sexuality in film were relegated to the category of "pretentious smut" in grindhouse "art" theaters.
This film is an early exploration of human sexuality at a time when exploring our sexuality was still "taboo." Many people didn't experience this period in our history. This was one of the first films released in the U. S. to (tastefully) depict full frontal nudity, lesbian encounters and the healing powers of intimacy.
The film is about the mystical powers of intimacy that heal and empower individuals. There are only four characters in the film. Each of them represent one of four archetypes in the symbolism of the Tarot. Mysticism (beyond organized religion) was also a taboo subject up until the early seventies. For example, the principal character is a young ("smokin' hot) woman who is sexually independent, confident in her sexuality, and, engages the other three characters in intimacy. She is represented by the "priestess" in the Tarot. The Tarot is fairly described as a map of human consciousness expressed in universal (and timeless) anthropological symbols. The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols.
The young boy in the film (just coming of age) is a metaphor for the "magus" (magician or transformer) in the Tarot. He is young, innocent and mercurial. His archetype represents the power of innocence and youth to transform. There was an entire film from the period, with Anthony Quinn, that was devoted specifically to this archetype. The Magus (with a young Michael Caine and Candice Bergen).
Typical of films directed and written by Radley Metzger, this film focuses on human sexuality.
Metzger was not permitted to make films like the Likerish Quartet in the U.S. However, in the more receptive venues in Europe, he had the freedom to add to his list of pioneering art films in the area of human sexuality. At the time, in the U.S., Metzger was considered a director who exploited nudity and explicit sex scenes as perversions. His list of films (many of which are now highly regarded and respected) include: (Therese & Isabelle) (exploring tenderness in lesbian intimacy) Therese and Isabelle; The Image (exploring sado-eroticism and BDSM) The Image; and Camille 2000 (exploring the emptiness of meaningless sexual relationships (sex without intimacy) Camille 2000 (Extended Version).
These were forbidden subjects in U. S. film in 1970.
Although many viewers considered the nudity and sexual encounters in the Lickerish Quartet as "shocking" back in 1970, the film is tasteful and tame by today's standards. It's not a film for prurient interests. It is a view of how tenderness and sexuality can combine, in our relationships, to heal and allow us to grow.
Why did Metzger include "shocking" nudity and sex scenes in his films? There are two reasons. First, he was a genuine avant-garde of artists who believed that human sexuality was something positive for humanity, instead of something salacious to be hidden in dark rooms. The word "lickerish" means "lecherous, lustful or lewd" - the film shows that sexuality is a healing power that can transform, instead of being a burden to our consciousness. Second, Metzger wanted his films to be widely viewed to bring our sexuality out into the open - the nudity and explicit sex made the films commercially viable by attracting more (sexually active) viewers.
Metzger's films are now regarded as innovative masterpieces instead of grindhouse smut. The prurient sex scenes in the film distract many. However, underlying all of his films, there is a tender view of male and female sexuality and its mysteries.
In one of the scenes, Sylvana Ventrurelli (the "priestess") is seeking out the young man. She finds him on the roof of an old castle, waiting for her. She says that it was difficult to find him given the many staircases and passageways of the old castle. She didn't think she would find him. The innocent young man (the magus or transformer) responds that on his way to the roof, he had "left a thread of hope to guide her through the labyrinth."
"A thread of hope to guide us through the labyrinth" of human intimacy is Metzger's legacy to us.
This film was a made in 1969 - a time in which nudity and sexuality in film were relegated to the category of "pretentious smut" in grindhouse "art" theaters.
This film is an early exploration of human sexuality at a time when exploring our sexuality was still "taboo." Many people didn't experience this period in our history. This was one of the first films released in the U. S. to (tastefully) depict full frontal nudity, lesbian encounters and the healing powers of intimacy.
The film is about the mystical powers of intimacy that heal and empower individuals. There are only four characters in the film. Each of them represent one of four archetypes in the symbolism of the Tarot. Mysticism (beyond organized religion) was also a taboo subject up until the early seventies. For example, the principal character is a young ("smokin' hot) woman who is sexually independent, confident in her sexuality, and, engages the other three characters in intimacy. She is represented by the "priestess" in the Tarot. The Tarot is fairly described as a map of human consciousness expressed in universal (and timeless) anthropological symbols. The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols.
The young boy in the film (just coming of age) is a metaphor for the "magus" (magician or transformer) in the Tarot. He is young, innocent and mercurial. His archetype represents the power of innocence and youth to transform. There was an entire film from the period, with Anthony Quinn, that was devoted specifically to this archetype. The Magus (with a young Michael Caine and Candice Bergen).
Typical of films directed and written by Radley Metzger, this film focuses on human sexuality.
Metzger was not permitted to make films like the Likerish Quartet in the U.S. However, in the more receptive venues in Europe, he had the freedom to add to his list of pioneering art films in the area of human sexuality. At the time, in the U.S., Metzger was considered a director who exploited nudity and explicit sex scenes as perversions. His list of films (many of which are now highly regarded and respected) include: (Therese & Isabelle) (exploring tenderness in lesbian intimacy) Therese and Isabelle; The Image (exploring sado-eroticism and BDSM) The Image; and Camille 2000 (exploring the emptiness of meaningless sexual relationships (sex without intimacy) Camille 2000 (Extended Version).
These were forbidden subjects in U. S. film in 1970.
Although many viewers considered the nudity and sexual encounters in the Lickerish Quartet as "shocking" back in 1970, the film is tasteful and tame by today's standards. It's not a film for prurient interests. It is a view of how tenderness and sexuality can combine, in our relationships, to heal and allow us to grow.
Why did Metzger include "shocking" nudity and sex scenes in his films? There are two reasons. First, he was a genuine avant-garde of artists who believed that human sexuality was something positive for humanity, instead of something salacious to be hidden in dark rooms. The word "lickerish" means "lecherous, lustful or lewd" - the film shows that sexuality is a healing power that can transform, instead of being a burden to our consciousness. Second, Metzger wanted his films to be widely viewed to bring our sexuality out into the open - the nudity and explicit sex made the films commercially viable by attracting more (sexually active) viewers.
Metzger's films are now regarded as innovative masterpieces instead of grindhouse smut. The prurient sex scenes in the film distract many. However, underlying all of his films, there is a tender view of male and female sexuality and its mysteries.
In one of the scenes, Sylvana Ventrurelli (the "priestess") is seeking out the young man. She finds him on the roof of an old castle, waiting for her. She says that it was difficult to find him given the many staircases and passageways of the old castle. She didn't think she would find him. The innocent young man (the magus or transformer) responds that on his way to the roof, he had "left a thread of hope to guide her through the labyrinth."
"A thread of hope to guide us through the labyrinth" of human intimacy is Metzger's legacy to us.
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3.2 out of 5 stars
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