PSYCHO IV: THE BEGINNING (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

PSYCHO IV: THE BEGINNING (1990) 

Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: 
Rating: R
Duration: 96 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Mick Garris 
Cast: Anthony Perkins, CCH Pounder, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, Warren Frost

Synopsis: A seemingly rehabilitated Norman Bates (Perkins) is drawn to a late night radio show where the host (CCH Pounder, Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demon Knight) encourages him to share his views on the topic of matricide. Reliving his childhood, Norman recounts his trials of a young boy (Thomas, Ouija 2) living with his widowed schizophrenic mother (Hussey, the original Black Christmas). These haunting memories are more than just disturbing visions of the past; they threaten to rekindle his killing urge in this spine-tingling thriller directed by Mick Garris (The Stand, Masters of Horror).

Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) catches up with our old friend Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) a few years after his incarceration at the end of the third movie, he been rehabilitated ...sure he has. We catch up with him at his home listening to a call-in radio program hosted by Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder, Demon Knight) who is discussing matricide, a topic close to Norman's heart, and coincidentally her guest on the show is  Dr. Richmond, Norman's, none other than former psychologist from the asylum. Norman of course cannot resist the urge and calls into the show under the alias "Ed" and speaks about his past and also says that he plans to kill his pregnant wife this very same night. 

What follows is a series of flashbacks to Norman's formative childhood and teenage years as he tell his story beginning with the death of his father, Norman is left alone to care for and in care of his increasingly unstable mother. Norma has some serious issues with her Norman's burgeoning sexuality curiosity, admonishing him for his sexual curiosity and dressing the poor kid in women's clothes as punishment when he pops an erection next to her in bed... hmm, it's all starting to make sense now. Young Norman is played by Henry Thomas (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) and he does a decent turn as the troubled Norman, he looks the part but for me he just never plugged into the character. Norma is played by Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas) who plays nutty Mama Bates nicely with a mix wide-eyed insanity and lunatic parenting, treating Norman poorly while carrying on a torrid relationship with her new lover Chet (Thomas Schuster). Chet is a brute of a guy and bullies the young Norman. His contempt for the man and his tormentor mother finally boils over when Norman serves them both poisoned iced teas, the lovers die a vomitous and wonderfully painful death, which was my favorite scene in the movie natch. 

In the aftermath Norman is racked with guilt over the murder of his mother which develops into the dissociative identity disorder we know him so well for, becoming the murderous young man we met in Alfred Hitchcock's 1965 classic. Norman murders a pair of women who are unlucky enough to turn him on, triggering his alternate personality of "mother", these are some quality scenes, but the good stuff is too few and far between. Thomas does not exactly fill the shoes of Perkins so much as make a decent enough place holder in the story, managing to hold his own against Hussey's version of Mother. Perkins does just fine taking up the role of Perkins again, he has a charm and menace that comes easy, after playing the character over a span of thirty-five years the guy can probably turn it on and off like blinking an eye, the guy still had it, even if the script didn't. 

As the movie moves forward radio host Fran Ambrose and Dr. Richmond start to piece together who "Ed" is and argue over what course of action should be taken. In the end we discover the reasons why Norman is planning to kill his wife, who is a psychiatrist, which smacks a bit of Harley Quinn and Joker, I also thought that Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers might have borrowed that scene where Loomis is listening to the radio program about Michael Myers. While I rather enjoyed the flashback scenes the wrap-around radio program nonsense did nothing for me, it felt tacked-on, not developed, not needed and padded for running time. This prequel feels very much like the made for TV movie it was, it lacks scope and some grandiosity, but it is not awful. Mick Garris is a serviceable director and he does what he can with the mixed bag of a screenplay, which was penned by Psycho (1965) scribe Joseph Stefano, though this is a shadow of his former screenplay.  

Audio/Video: Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory looking solid, the anamorphic 1.78 widescreen looking fairly sharp with some nice depth and clarity, the grain can be a bit course in the darker scenes, but overall this is a very pleasing presentation. The lone audio option is an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 track with optional English subtitles. The track is nicely balanced and fairy robust. the score used which Bernard Hermann's iconic original score in addition to some new stuff from Graeme Revell sounds great. 

The disc includes an Audio Commentary from Director Mick Garris and Actors Olivia Hussey and Henry Thomas, Garris is always a great commentator and an astute moderator, this is a great track in which the director is very candid about his experience working with Anthony Hopkins who was not impressed my the young director at the time of filming. 

There's also a half hour making of doc with new interviews from Mick Garris, Actors Henry Thomas And Olivia Hussey, rare behind-the-scenes video of the making of the movie, a gallery of on-set photos and video of the movie being scored by Graeme Revell. All things considered this is a pretty packed edition, great to have all of the Psycho movies on Blu-ray here in the U.S.. 

Bonus Features
- NEW Audio Commentary With Director Mick Garris, Actors Henry Thomas And Olivia Hussey
- NEW The Making Of Mother: An Interview With Make-up Effects Artist Tony Gardner (28 Mins) HD 
- Rare Behind-The-Scenes Footage From Director Mick Garris (13 Mins) HD 
- Photo Gallery Of Rare Photos From Mick Garris (6 Mins) HD 
- A Look at the Scoring (of) Psycho IV (6 Mins) HD 

I only vaguely remembered watching this on cable back at the start of the grunge decade and had only small hope of it succeeding as a prequel to the iconic suspense classic, but at least it wasn't awful, just not very good, and as such it probably wont ave huge appeal aside from the die-hard collectors, but for those who need it this new edition from Scream Factory looks and sounds great in HD and has some worthy extras. 

Blu-ray Review: OBSESSION (1976)

OBSESSION (1976)

Label: Arrow Video
Region: ABC (Region FREE)
Rating: 15 Certificate
Duration: 98 mins
Video: 2.35:1 16x9 1080p
Audio: English LPCM Mono and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Genevieve Bujold, Cliff Roberston, John Lithgow
Tagline: The Love Story That Will Scare The Life Out Of You

Brian De Palma gets unnecessarily hammered for his Hitchcock fetish but it's never irked me the way it does some, I actually relish it, much like I did JJ Abram's Spielberg nostalgia porn SUPER 8 - I ate it up with a spoon and asked for seconds, but it was not always so for me, no sir. Like many my introduction to the films of Brian De Palma came with viewings of the Stephen King adaptation CARRIE, but this came along prior to my interest in film as a bodies of work by specific directors, it was just another awesome scary movie at the time. Unfortunately my deeper awareness of De Palma's filmography came with THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, SNAKE EYES and RAISING CAIN, a series of films that really put me off De Palma's work. I was in my late teens at the time, and walked outta the cinema scoffing RAISING CAIN, I thought it was simply horrendous stuff, though I will say that a recent viewing of it has much improved my opinion of that film, I was in my teens, what the shit did I know anyway? It was just this past year that a rewatch of CARRIE  spurred me to seek out a few of his earlier works, so I snatched up BODY DOUBLE and DRESSED TO KILL and what can I say? I was floored by how utterly captivating these films were, both wonderfully twisted Hitchockian thrillers with no small amount of deliciously pulpy subject matter. And after slapping myself for not doing so earlier so began a Brian De Palma journey of sorts. Apparently my rediscovering of De Palma's early works is well-timed for at this very moment I'm waiting for my Criterion Blu-ray of BLOW OUT to arrive and both DRESSED TO KILL and SCARFACE are coming to Blu-ray in September. I also continue my quest for both SISTERS and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, hopefully at a price that won't break the bank, such is the life of a poor blogger.

OBSESSION opens in 1959 New Orleans. Michael Courtland (Cliff Roberston, SPIDER-MAN) is a wealthy real estate broker celebrating his 10th anniversary with his lovely wife Elizabeth (Genevieve Bujold, DEAD RINGERS). It's a grand occasion with a large celebration at his Southern home attended by friends, associates and his business partner Robert La Salle (John Lithgow, BLOW OUT). After the festivities have ended and every one's departed for the evening the family are settling in for the night when the unthinkable happens, his wife and daughter are kidnapped. Michael discovers a ransom note demanding $500,000. He contacts the authorities who arrange a sting operation which spins wildly outta of control and the ensuing car chase results in the fiery deaths of both mother and child.

Now fifteen years later Michael is still deeply distraught over the deaths of his beloved family, he blames himself in part for going to the authorities. He regularly visits the enormous monument he's erected in their memory on a vast parcel of land which remains undeveloped, to the chagrin of his business partner. Robert convinces Michael to accompany him on a business trip to Florence, Italy where their firm is brokering a real estate deal with a group of wealthy Italian businessmen. While in Florence Robert attempts to distract Michael from his mourning with women and wine but it has little affect on him. As it turns out Michael met his late wife here at a church years earlier. He makes a day trip to the church and is quite startled to meet a young woman named Sandy (Bujold) who is the spitting image of his late wife, it's uncanny. Michael immediately begins courting the young woman, he's completely obsessed with her, at one point training her to walk like his late wife. If you've seen VERTIGO this will be very familiar territory, De Palma makes no efforts to disguise the film as anything other than a love letter to Hitchcock's film. It's a whirlwind romance and they fall deeply in love with each other. Michael whisks Sandy away to New Orleans with the intention of marrying her.

Once she settles into the house Sandy becomes more aware of the circumstances behinds his wife and daughter's death, and just how truly similar in appearance she is to his wife after viewing a portrait of the woman. At the same time his obsession is becoming worrisome to friends and business partner,and  they call in his psychiatrist whom it seems Michael have not seen in some time. The encounter it's deeply unsettling to him. It's pretty obvious that he is lost in a fantasy, angered by his partner's meddling he sells his share of the real estate business and severs ties with pretty much everyone. At the same time he is haunted by dreams of Elizabeth and Sandy merging into the same person, the dreams are blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, and his sanity is crumbling fast. At the height of this confusion Sandy is kidnapped and Michael discovers a ransom note demanding $500,000, history is repeating itself. At his sanity's end he is determined to not to make the same mistakes again, which lead to a truly twisted finale featuring Michael reliving the events from 15 years earlier culminating in a series of reveals that are disturbing on several different levels.

As the deeply troubled but sympathetic widow Cliff Robertson sells the film, sadly my only recollections of the actor outside of Uncle Ben from SPIDER-MAN is as the president from John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM L.A.. The stunning Genevieve Bujold was only slightly more familiar to me having recognized her from the medical thriller COMA and David Cronenberg's DEAD RINGERS. These two fantastic performances anchor the films tragic love story with nuanced, subtle performances. In only his second film John Lithgow, who recently knocked it out of the park in season 4 of DEXTER, is pretty great as the deceitful business partner, though he's clearly too young to play the part convincingly in my opinion.

For a thriller with such a deeply fucked-up finale the film is steeped in pure romantic melodrama, at it's heart it's a tragic tale of romance gone wrong, which is immeasurably enhanced by Bernard Hermann's (PSYCHO, VERTIGO) sweeping score which accentuates the film's deeply romantic leanings. The film is lyrical in it's soft focus cinematography and the gorgeous gliding camera movements enhance the otherworldly qualities of the film, for this much credit must be given to cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND). I found myself entranced with the film though I would say it does have a particularly deliberate pace which may threaten to throw off viewers looking for something more psycho-sexual or feverishly pulply from De Palma like DRESSED TO KILL and BODY DOUBLE but stay with it, it's a well-crafted thriller that's evocative of a bygone era with a dizzying twist that won't disappoint.

Blu-ray: Arrow has given OBSESSION a brand new 1080p HD transfer and the film's grain structure is left nicely intact. I saw no clear evidence of heavy DNR scrubbing in effect here, if it was used it was done so appropriately and respectfully. The film's preference for soft focus cinematography has a slightly gauzy effect that adds a dreamy quality to the proceedings but doesn't really allow for the razor sharp fine detail that some viewers may expect from Blu-ray but when compared to the alternately sourced clips from the featurette on the disc it's pretty obvious this is an improvement in every way. The color scheme feels  natural if a bit muted, though some of the reds do occasionally pop. The image does not appear to have been color boosted or artificially heightened, it's a very natural looking transfer that's sure to please.

Audio options include English LPCM mono and a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track with optional English subtitles. It's nice to have Bernard Herman's lush score in lossless surround sound, it's a powerfully dramatic score, almost overpowering at times. The 5.1 gives the film some breathing room but I had no issues with the original mono audio either. There were no snap, crackle or pops noted during playback, it's a very clean and dynamic audio presentation.

By Arrow standards the supplements are pretty slim but quite interesting. They begins with Laurent Bouzereau's 2001 documentary OBSESSION REVISITED which is ported over from the now out of print R1 Sony DVD. It's a great watch and features interviews with De Palma, writer Paul Schrader, actors Cliff Robertson and Genevieve Bujold, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, editor Paul Hirsch and producer George Litto. De Palma right off the top tells of the fim's origins beginning with screenwriter Schrader and himself seeing Hitchcock's VERTIGO and immediately wanting to do something similar, he also speaks about the difference in opinion between the two about the film's ending which led to Schrader disowning the film. It's a great watch and the numerous film clips prove to be a great measuring stick by which to judge the Arrow transfer, it's quite impressive. Also included are two of Brian De Palma short films; WOTON'S WAKE (1962) and THE RESPONSIVE EYE (1966)  which are presented in their original fullframe aspect ratio in 1080p. The film's are in pretty rough shape and have pretentious film school leanings but should prove of value to De Palma fans. There's also the original theatrical trailer in 16x9 1080p. Like most of Arrow's releases the extras aren't merely limited to the AV presentation, there's a slipcase, 4 reversible art options, a collector's booklet containing an essay from author Brad Steven's plus Paul Schrader's screenplay, originally titled DEJA VU which includes unfilmed sequences. One thing I found slightly conspicuously absent was the non-inclusion of any supplements from High Rising Productions who are usually all over the Arrow titles. A quick tweet to Nick Frame from High Rising Production's garnered this response "all extras were brought in with the master - no need for anything from us this time - very nice extras though!". Well, there you have it, and I would agree, very nice extras indeed.

Special Features:

- Exclusive collector’s booklet featuring an essay on the film by critic and author Brad Stevens

- Paul Schrader’s original screenplay of the film in a perfect bound booklet. With the original title Déjà vu, Schrader’s original script includes unfilmed sequences and sees the tripartite structure deal with the past, present and future of Michael Courtland.

- Obsession Revisited: Interviews with director Brian De Palma, stars Cliff Robertson and Genevieve Bujold and more!

- Early Brian De Palma short films: WOTON'S WAKE (1962) and THE RESPONSIVE EYE (1966) 1080p

- Original Trailer (1:35) 1080p

- Original art by Tom 'The Dude Designs' Hodge

Verdict: OBSESSION is not as lurid or deliciously pulpy as either DRESSED TO KILL or BODY DOUBLE but it's still a dark melodramatic thriller that's up to it's elbows in Hitchcock devotion with a satisfyingly disturbed shock ending. It's early still in his career and he isn't quite the Brian De Palma of legend we know but the pieces are being set in place and coming to fruition, that's for sure. The film is definitely overshadowed by CARRIE, which was released that same year, but it deserves more attention and now that we have a great Blu-ray from Arrow Video I say have at it and enjoy.   

DVD REVIEW: Patrick (1978)

PATRICK (1978)

Pt. 1 of 6 reviews from the OZPLOITATION VOLUME 3 (6-Disc Set)

LABEL: Umbrella Entertainment
REGION: Region 0 PAL

DURATION: 108 Min.
RATING: M (R equivalent)

DIRECTOR: Richard Franklin
CAST: Susan Penhaligan, Robert Helpmann
TAGLINE: He's In a Coma... Yet He Can Kill

PLOT: In room 15 of the mysterious Roget clinic lies a young comatose murderer  named PATRICK. His doctor thinks he's nothing more than 170 pounds of limp meat hanging off a comatose brain, but a young nurse, Kathy (Susan Penhaligon from THE UNCANNY), knows very differently. Patrick has burgeoning psychic powers and a crush on Kathy - and his affection is about to turn into a deadly and bloody obsession!

FILM: PATRICK (1978) comes to us by way of Aussie director Richard Franklin whom is noted for several films; the slasher ROAD GAMES (1981) starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacey Keach, one of the more Hitchcockian Psycho sequels PSYCHO II (1983) and a film near and dear to my heart - CLOAK AND DAGGER (1984) starring Dabney Coleman which I caught a screening of at the Willard Psychiatric Center in Willard NY when I was 13 years of age. Before your imagination runs wild dear reader you should know that I wasn't committed to the institution but my father worked there and was privy to the fact that the institution screened 35mm prints of films for the patients once a month in a great old auditorium and somehow a few of us neighborhood kids were allowed inside to watch while seated quite literally next to the clinically insane. I saw a ton of great stuff there and a lot of it I wouldn't consider appropriate for the venue but whatever. On yet another aside the book 'The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic' is a great read and tells the haunting stories of several patients whom lived and died at the Willard Psychiatric Center in Willard, New York. It's a poignant and slightly disturbing read about the perceptions and treatment of those who may or may not have been afflicted with mental illness. On a lighter note, the show Ghost Hunters also recorded an episode at the institution. Here's are a smattering of films I recall watching at the venue: GREYSTOKE THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (1984), FOUL PLAY (1978), SPIES LIKE US (1985), GANDHI (1982), 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), GOONIES (1985), KING KONG LIVES (1986) and many others I seem to have forgotten. It's a matter of some debate but I swear I saw ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST (1975) there but that can't be, can it? I would love to find out who programmed that theatre. What a weird venue for film but I can trace my love for cinema to that nutty place during a special time in my life. 

Well, the long and short of it is that it's appropriate that I discovered the films of Richard Franklin through a viewing of CLOAK AND DAGGER (1984) at a psychiatric center when the film PATRICK (1978)  takes place at the Roget Clinic which a bit of convalescent nut house. At the start of the film Patrick (Robert Thompson) is forced to endure the sounds of his mother and her lover as they have a bit of nasty fun in the tub. This is just too much for the disturbed young man to bare and he interrupts their frolicking by tossing a space heater into the tub which lands squarely on his mother's back searing her flesh like a steak on the grill, sizzle sizzle. While gruesome this was not the intended outcome. When her lover tosses the heater out of the tub Patrick throws it in again electrocuting both with nary any sign of emotion on his face. Now it's three years later Patrick is at the Roget Clinic in a vegetative state. It's not quite clear why but perhaps psychological trauma from the event. The clinic is staffed by the cantankerous physician Dr. Roget (Robert Helpmann) and the creepy Matron Cassiday (Julia Blake) who have just hired a new nurse named  Kathy  Jacqaurd (Susan Penhaligon) who's new in town and recently separated from her husband Ed (Rod Mullinar). She's been assigned to room 15 where the coma stricken Patrick  is  sustained by life support. Right away she is struck by the fact that Patrick's eyes are wide open, they stare intensely off into the distance and it's pretty unnerving stuff. He also reflexively spits on occasion (which I think Tarantino homages in KILL BILL VOL. 1). As she goes about her routine bathing and caring for him she comes to realize that he is somehow aware and quickly things get weird from there beginning with him being able to pass her alarming notes through the typewriter. Not only has Patrick developed a crush on the attentive nurse but when the hunky Dr. Wright (Bruce Berry) hits on her at a party he is nearly drowned by an invisible force, Patrick is using newly developed psychokinetic powers to ward off any would be suitors. Angered by her interactions with other men Patrick trashes her small apartment which she blames on her estranged husband. Eventually Kathy comes to realize that Patrick is somehow manipulating her and influencing those she cares for building to a final shocking psychokinesis fueled crescendo.

One of PATRICK's best qualities is the tense and atmospheric pace but I fear it may be too slow for younger or impatient audiences. The dialogue is well-written, the acting is great and there's no denying that director Richard  Franklin is a true Hitchcock devotee with some great homages throughout. Even the late composer Brain May's score recalls Bernard Herman's iconic themes. The film's special effects are pretty minimal to be sure,  there are only 3 moments of minimal grue throughout the film. It is a credit to the direction of Richard Franklin that PATRICK is an effective a shocker given the limiting nature of the film's comatose protagonist.

DVD: The film is presented in a 16x9 enhanced 1.85:1 aspect ratio transfer with English 2.0 Mono audio. No subtitle options are provided. There's a good amount of grain present stemming from inferior film stock from what I've read but not distractingly so. The image is soft and  lacks detail but looks quite good nonetheless. There's an interesting anecdotal commentary with Frankin filled with references to Hitchcock, an assortment of OZploitation trailers, a 1978 on-set interview with the late Franklin and a 2008 interview with producer Antony L. Ginnane who relates several colorful recollections of the film and Franklin. A PDF of the an unproduced sequel treatment is also included. A very fine disc indeed, and this is just one of 6 films on the OZploitation Vol. 3 set. Things I would have liked to seen on this disc are the making of featurette from the Patrick: Ultimate OZploitation Edition and I think the filmscore used in the Italian market by frequent Dario Argento collaborators Goblin would have made a fantastic alternate audio option. Legend tells of the original cut of the film being a whopping 140 minutes. Perhaps someday someone will find the missing 32 minutes of film and a truly special edition will emerge. That would truly be the METROPOLIS of OZploitation films.

SPECIAL FEATURES
- Brand new 16x9 transfer
- A Coffee Break with Antony I. Ginnane (15:55)
- Archival on-set interview with Richard Franklin (7:27)
- Audio commentary with Director Richard Franklin
- Excerpt from dubbed US version (3:29)
- The Man Who Wasn't There: Story outline for the unproduced PATRICK sequel (PDF)
- Original Australian Trailer (2:57)
- US trailer (1:38)
- Stills and poster gallery
- Antony I. Ginnane Trailer Reel: Snapshot (2:11) 16:9, Thirst (1:37), Harlequin (2:43) 16:9, The Survivor (2:50) , Turkey Shoot (2:40) 16:9, The Time Guardian (1:29)
- More Umbrella Ozploitation Trailers: Road Games (2:12) 16x9, Long Weekend (2:02) 16:9, Razorback (2:21) 16:9, The Chain Reaction 3:23) 16:9

VERDICT: Richard Franklin's PATRICK (1978) is a high recommend from me. This Aussie exploitation gem is deliberately paced, well-acted and truly wonderful. The concept sounds limiting but trust me on this it's a great watch. While this 6-disc set is an Australian exclusive it should be noted that the discs are region free and playable worldwide, so dig in! ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)

This is but one of six reviews forthcoming from UMBRELLA ENTERTAINMENT's  OZPLOITATION VOL. 3. It's chock full of Aussie Ozploitation goodness featuring some of the most madcap and erotic exploitation films from The Outback! Prepare yourself for reviews of the following films to come your way in short order. Listed below are the other five films on the set. Up next -for review: Dennis Hopper in MAD DOG MORGAN (1976).

You call that exploitation? Now this is exploitation!

AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK (1975) At Last! The Australia you've always wanted to see - but until now have never DARED! A kinky collection of 37 unusual and titillating stories

THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX (1977) A witty look between the sheets at modern sex and love – 1978 style! Not only the ultimate guide to getting it up down under – it’s the holy grail of true-blue retro skinema!
 
BARRY McKENZIE HOLDS HIS OWN (1974) Excitement brews and Fosters flows as Bazza sets out to rescue the Dame-to-be in distress from the clutches of Erich Count Plasma (Donald Pleasence), the sinister head of the Transylvanian Tourist Commission. Can Bazza pull it off?

MAD DOG MORGAN (1976) Set in gold rush-era Victoria, and based on a true story, this violent, rollickingg portrayal of infamous Irish outlaw Dan Morgan (a bravura performance from an intense Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now) is a classic of Australias 70s cinema renaissance.

LES PATTERSON SAVES THE WORLD (1987) The one-time Australian Minster for the 'Yarts', Sir Leslie Colin Patterson KBE (Barry Humphries), is a lecherous, drunken, chain-smoking slob and vaunted cultural attache. Now, Sir Les has received a promotion, as Australia's ambassador to the United Nations, and is sent to an oil-rich Gulf state to try to make peace after a UN blunder.

FELICITY (1978) Felicity (the gorgeous Glory Annen) is a sheltered teen who surrenders her blossoming body to a world of bold sexual adventure in this homegrown erotic sin-sation from sexy Ozploitation auteur John D. Lamond.