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Review
by
Troy Howarth
Film:3
DVD:2
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| While
studying native folklore on her trip to China, American Joan Parker
(Georgia Emerald) becomes fascinated by the Kamasutra.
Her obsession leads her on a road to self-discovery, as her true
sexual identity is revealed... |
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Aristide
Massaccessi wore a lot of hats during his 30-plus years in the
Italian film industry. He achieved his biggest success early on
as a cinematographer, shooting many spaghetti westerns and the
occasional genre title, such as What
Have You Done to Solange? (1971). He eventually adopted
the nom de plum "Joe D'Amato" and started directing.
His early work as a director showed some promise, but he eventually
descended into erotica and hardcore porn. While Death
Smiles at a Murderer (1973) and Buio
Omega (AKA Beyond the Darkness, 1979) are well
regarded among horror buffs, he was far more active in the erotica
scene, directing many of the Laura Gemser "Emanuelle"
films and so forth. His work as a director of erotica is compromised
by a certain bluntness — there's no room for romance, and genuinely
erotic moments are few and far between; if anything, his work
is closer to the more 'down and dirty' approach of contemporary
porn filmmakers, most of whom can't be bothered with plot or buildup,
preferring instead to just 'get on with it'. |
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Chinese
Kamasutra
isn't one of D'Amato's hardcore sex films, but it pushes the envelope
pretty far for softcore. There are still plenty of inserts of
female masturbation and the like, but there's nary an erection
or penetration to be seen. There's sex aplenty, but it tends to
feel a bit mechanical, as if the actors are simply going through
the motions without being encouraged to really abandon themselves
in the action. Worse still, when the film isn't focusing on sex,
it's deadly dull. The story itself is absurdly thin, and there's
no real attempt at characterization. The locations are frequently
eye catching, but the attempts at capturing an 'exotic' flavor
fall flat. |
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Matters
aren't helped any by some of the worst English dubbing this side
of Japanese giant monster movies. If the film is worth watching
at all, it's simply to ogle over leading lady Georgia Emerald.
The name is almost certainly a pseudonym (the remainder of the
credits are chock full of absurd pseudonyms, with D'Amato being
billed as "Chang Lee Sun"), and if the IMDb is to be
believed, this was her only stint in front of the camera. Emerald
isn't really much of an actress, but she brings class and grace
to her ill-defined character — and physically, she's simply stunning
to behold. She spends much of the film in varying degrees of undress,
and this in itself is almost enough to get one to overlook the
excessive padding and rambling, barely coherent narrative. Almost. |
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| Chinese
Kamasutra
is another entry in the One-7 Movies line. The 1.66 image is not
enhanced for anamorphic sets, and it appears to have been mastered
from a VHS source. Detail is fuzzy at best, colors seem a little
muted, and edge enhancement is evident throughout. It's watchable,
but not much more. Audio options include the Italian and English
tracks, though no subtitles are provided for the former. The English
track is acceptable, with inevitable limitations. Dialogue has
a canned, tinny sound to it, and the sleazy synth soundtrack is
sometimes a bit muffled. Extras are limited to a deleted scene.
1/31/11 |
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