Sunday, January 17, 2010

Beach Blanket Bango (1975)


I must begin by saying that the version of this movie I own is not the long version (1:18 compared with 1:37 for the original), but this film by James Bryan seems more or less disappeared like High School Fantasies he directed in 1974. It is therefore evident that it lacks some materials commonly associated with the adult productions. This absence gives the impression of watching a softcore production since there is no money shot and no real close-up. But I certainly not say that this film is uninteresting since Rene Bond is in the distribution and just by her presence she can makes an average film  more interesting to watch (try some Dragon Art Theater productions and you'll understand). If you add the inevitable Rick Lutze to this distribution you are almost certain to have a good time, sure he is an actor pathetic in the same league that John Holmes is in, but that's what makes his charm. The rest of the cast do a good job if you consider they did not really had an acting curriculum really big, except for Titus Moede, which has a small cameo. This film is also a  musical and I must admit that the music is rather good (but I have no idea if it is original or not), if in fact the soundtrack was available, I'd be the first one in line to purchase it. The story is somewhat confusing but it can easily be explained by the missing 19 minutes (some scenes certainly appears in the wrong order). Anyway  complete  or not this movie is rather entertaining and at times is reminiscent of the Beach party pictures of the sixties (of course since this movie is a spoof of them) or even films like Hard Days Night. The inclusion of obvious stock footages of surfing and the Vietnam War makes the experience even better.

I got my copy more than four years ago through the website of Shocking video, but it is certain that an official DVD with the inclusion of High School Fantasies would be greatly appreciated.

2 comments:

  1. I don't know where you got the idea that a 97 minute cut exists. The 75 or so min. version is the only one I know if, released by Eros video in 1980.

    Anyway, the film is absolutely great. I love Rene Bond lip synching on the boat; so many wonderful touches.

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  2. The internet adult film database list a time of 90 minutes (of course I know they aren't always reliable for the older titles) and imdb list it at 97 minutes (not always reliable also). Maybe they are wrong but they say more or less the same thing. I really got the impression that something was lost in the movie to tape conversion.

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