BWW DVD Review: Severin Film's Amazing THAT'S SEXPLOITATION!

In the grand tradition of MGM's classic That's Entertainment! (parts 1&2) comes the latest release from Severin Films called That's Sexploitation!, which takes us on a journey from silent cinema up to the 1970's when hardcore xx films rendered them passe. It's a mind-bending excursion into over 2 hours of clips culled mostly from co-producer (the late, great) Mike Vraney's collection, which you can find on the internet under the site name of Something Weird Video. These films, some of which may seem misogynistic and exploitative (duh), are actually so cartoonish that they shouldn't be taken seriously except as examples of a forgotten age. Honestly, while there's certainly some shock value to be had here, you'll probably find yourself laughing hysterically at the more inane things that have been captured. At this point, Quentin Tarantino and his many imitators have picked the bones of grindhouse cinema clean, and to the extent that a lot what you see here is actually quite tame in comparison. The stuff that isn't is so over the top that your jaw will drop in astonishment. It's all here: nudie-cuties, filmed burlesque shows, the "roughies", exotic dancers, acid era body painting, etc. This is definitely on the must-see list of all psychotronic film junkies, and should be required viewing for everyone else.

This documentary stops once the 1970's start because once the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, the lure of a glimpse of nudity was replaced by more graphic imagery, although "stag" films, which featured awkward, and almost always silent, couples having sexual relations, had been around for many years. But they were not intended for viewing by the general public. And, that's a key point, because peep show houses had been showing naughty bits for years, but were also seen as a private viewing experience.

When certain degrees of carnality began to creep into the mainstream during the early 1930's it was time for Hollywood to clean up its act, and in came Will Hays and the dreaded code, which pretty much wiped out the horror industry as well, since anything that could be considered prurient or deviant in nature was strictly prohibited . Naturally, it wasn't long after the motion picture code went into effect that the true era of "sexploitation" blossomed, since censorship only makes forbidden fruit all the more desirable.

Written, produced and directed by cult film auteur Frank Henenlotter (probably best known for his Basket Case series), this documentary is a love letter to all the many forgotten celluloid creations of people like David Friedman (interviewed at length before his passing prior to the film's release), Dwain Esper, Doris Wishman,the legendary Russ Meyer, and many, often anonymous, others. These filmmakers and producers gave audiences, composed primarily of men, a peek at genuine female pulchritude, at a time when you would never see anything even remotely indecent in a studio picture. Driving prints from territory to territory, with various ones altered to conform to whatever the local laws allowed, this pack of cigar-chomping, carnival barking, entrepreneurs was collectively known as "the forty thieves. They understood that it wasn't about how much you showed, necessarily, but how you were able to interpret and circumvent what the courts and codes had decreed as taboo. So, films that were somehow educational in nature were allowed to be screened, and so were some nudist films since they were engaging in volleyball and not coitus.

This is a fascinating work filled with clips that are often outlandishly vibrant in color, and just plain surreal in subject matter. That's another thing you have to understand, depending on the sub-genre being explored; some are artistic, and some are just completely whacked out. Either way, it's an enjoyable ride made even more so by the lively commentary track by Henenlotter and Lisa Petrucci, which is an absolutely necessary part of the DVD that enhances the documentary through informative and amusing exchanges. The second disc, and it's also available on Blu-Ray, contains a great many shorts that are featured in bits throughout. Overall, a great package and a fun couple of discs to throw on to get the party started!

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