SEXOMANIA (1974) & LADY DESIRE (1968) Double-Feature
SEXOMANIA (1974)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 167 Minutes
Audio: Greek DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Directors: Dimitri Papakonstantis, Mario Retsilas
Cast: Maria Ioannidou, Vasilis Mitsakis, Nikolaos Antoniou, Stavros Farmakis
Mondo Macabro Synopsis: Concerned for the mental health of his beautiful wife Lena, successful entrepreneur and neglectful husband Dimitris Sotos consults a psychiatrist. Determined to get to the root of the problem, the expert physician attempts to shed light on Lena’s troubled childhood and her turbulent, secret love life. As a result, a vivid kaleidoscope unfolds as the social prejudices, emotional trauma, broken dreams, and unspoken passions that shaped Lena’s character come to light. But the question remains. Can the unconventional psychotherapist help Lena rid herself of the ungovernable urge to seek pleasure in all the wrong places?
Tawdy arthouse exploitation from Greece is what we have here, vivid and wild, this was a trip. The film opens with a suicidal woman with a gun to her head, seemingly about to the pull the trigger, that is until her sext neighbor knocks on the door looking for a tool... sounds like a porno intro for sure, but this is mostly just titillating eroticism. Anyway, her cuckold husband seeks treatment for her from a psychiatrist to address her deep-seated issues stemming from a wild childhood with a maniacal mother. that have lead her down the path of depression and unbridled sexual experimentation. The therapy sessions lead to a non-stop barrage of flashback to her childhood and younger years enduring traumatic abuses and steamy sexual explorations, with a dark finale that caught me off guard. not sure I liked where it went, but it was certainly impactful.
LADY DESIRE (1968)
aka I BLAME MY BODY
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 167 Minutes
Audio: Greek DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Directors: Errikos Andreou
Cast: Kostas Prekas, Christine Allen, Stefanos Stratigos, Vera Krouska
Mondo Macabro Synopsis: Living in self-imposed exile, hiding from the rest of the world in her eerily vacant Athens mansion, Christina, an affluent, sad-eyed heiress, is shocked to discover that an audacious burglar has stolen her precious collection of jewelry and family heirlooms. To get to the bottom of this challenging case, the inquisitive local police commander decides to dig deep into the opaque past of the cryptic young woman, following half-baked leads and half-truths. As the experienced officer tries to connect the dots, unexpected discoveries about Christina’s personal life come to light. However, Christina is a hard nut to crack, and the commander has no other choice but to resort to unconventional methods to shed light on the mysterious robbery. Now, it is up to Lieutenant Dimitris to help find the truth. Can he crack the case?
This monochrome noir-ish thriller has a lot going for it, plenty of stylish lensing, a horned-up jazzy score, police procedural elements involving a burglary that ends up exposing secrets from her past. It seems like it's heading into soft-core territory with multiple sex partner for our gorgeous lead, including some sapphic hotness, but regretfully never fully commits to the sleaze, what we end up with is a sultry pot-boiler that goes down pretty easy with gorgeous women and attractive lensing.
Audio/Video: Both film arrive on region-free Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro, presented in 1080p HD in the original 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio, both sourced from new 2K scan of the original camera negatives. The sources look impeccable, grain levels are lush, both have terrific contrast and clarity. Lady Desire's monochromatic image is nicely layered, grayscale and shadows are rich and nuanced. The color Sexomania shines with pleasing vivid colors, well-saturated, rich textures. Audio on both come by way of Greek DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Like the video the audio is in mint condition, clean and well-balanced, dialogue and score sound just fine.
Special Features:
- Brand new 2k restoration from original negative.
- Costas Prekas Tribute (3:21)
- Maria Ioannidou Tribute (4:22)
- Sexomania Stills and Posters (2:20)
- Sexomania Trailer (3:15)
A solid Mondo Macabro Greek double-feature, number five in their ongoing The Greek Collection series of releases, and while neither of these set my world on fire these were fun arthouse/exploitation pairings, with a fantastic A/V presentation. The extras a bit slim by the usual Mondo Macabro standard, but the films themselves look really terrific and it's a great value too, and that's what counts.
Buy it!
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