THE CLAIRE SINCLAIR SHOW (2014)
Label: Cult Epics
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 75 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD (1.85:1) Widescreen
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
Director: Nico B
Cast: Claire Sinclaire, Bunny Yeager
This release is basically a pair of episodes of the Clair Sinclair Show that aired on the Erotica Channel, hosted by you guessed it - Claire Sinclair, Playboy’s Playmate of the Year, Bettie Page clothing spokes model, and the star of the Las Vegas show Pin Up. There's also about 35-minutes worth of behind-the-scenes stuff and extras.
It starts off with the 23-minute "Claire on Claire" featuring the the pin-up star interviewing herself, which is a pretty novel idea on it's face but it's actually quite charming. Sinclair goes into her early years growing up in the "ratchet areas" of California and how she ended up doing pin-up modelling, becoming a Playboy Playmate and landing her own show on the Vegas strip before becoming the spokes-model for the official Bettie Page clothing line. She sort of ruins any fantasies of the Playboy Mansion with a dose of reality, describing it as a country club for old guys, so thanks a bunch for ruining the illusion Claire! The episode closes with some fun outtakes and flubs from the filming of the episode.
Up next is the 25-minute "Bunny Yeager's Last Sitting" featuring Claire Sinclair sitting down with legendary pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager who did a lot of fantastic work with pin-up queen Bettie Page, creating some of her most iconic pin-ups. Unfortunately the episode is marred somewhat by some poor quality source audio with the sound bouncing of the walls of the art gallery. The episode is an extended version and features more of the HD nude shoot that were not seen during the original digital release.
The episode is spliced with footage from what turns out to be Bunny Yeager's last nude photo shoot with Claire Sinclair prior to her death in 2014. The behind-the-scene video is presented in both HD and a grainy super 8mm footage shot by Nico B.. These are my favorite shots of Sinclair. There's a very cool rockabilly guitar score from Danny B. Harvey who in recent years has played with Wanda Jackson and Nancy Sinatra, it's pretty damn good, I suggest check him out at www.dannybharvey.com
During the interviews Bunny speaks about creating Bettie Page's wardrobe for the classic shots, and the resurgence and influence of her style of photography. Sinclair is certainly not the best interviewer you will ever see but she's easy on the eyes, enthusiastic and truly a genuine fan, and it shows through.
Audio/Video: The Claire Sinclair Show debuts on Blu-ray from Cult Epics in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. It was originally shot for the pay-per-view Erotic Channel, and it has that low-budget cable feel to it, but the image is solid enough. Audio comes by way of English Dolby Digital, as stated in the review the audio recording quality of the on quite bad on the "Bunny Yeager's Last Sitting" segment is awful, but it gets much better on the "Claire on Claire" episode.
Extras on the disc feature the Original Super 8mm films with Bunny and Claire Sinclair shot by Nico B. during the shoot, the grainy super 8mm footage gives the entire thing a vintage patina and it looks great - though I must say that the HD shot footage captures Claire Sinclair's porcelain skin quite nicely, which is something lost on the 8mm footage, but I dig the retro vibe. We also get a pair of Claire Sinclair introductions for the Erotic Channel airings of both Bettie Page Bondage Queen (2 Minutes) and Viva (3 Minutes). These extras were previously release on Cult Epics DVD release a few years back.
New to this Blu-ray re-release are a 16-min behind-the-scenes of the "Bunny Yeager's Last Sitting" episode, and a gallery of the image shot by Bunny Yeager of Claire Sinclair. The single-disc release is housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a single-sided wrap, the same key art is featured on the disc.
Special Features:
- Original Super 8 films with Bunny & Claire by Nico B (7 min)
- NEW! Bunny & Claire Behind-the-scenes (16 min)
- NEW! Claire Sinclair by Bunny Yeager Photo gallery (3 min)
- Exclusive Bunny Yeager 5×7 inch b&w photo print w/ first 100 Pre-orders
- Introduction for Bettie Page Bondage Queen (2 Minutes)and Viva (3 Minutes) by Claire Sinclair
I didn't find this to be essential viewing, but it's a pretty entertaining watch if you're in the right frame of mind. I do wish the Bunny Yeager interview had a bit more substance to it and wasn't marred by poor audio, but the Nico B. shot super 8mm footage of the shoot is quite a treat. Pin-up Claire Sinclair is very easy on the eyes and not difficult to endure at all, if you're a fan of contemporary pin-ups or need to own all thing Bettie Page related, this might be worth seeking out.
