DVD released: March 28th, 2006
Approximate running time: 75 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Frame
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
DVD Release: Cult Epics
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $29.95

Bettie Page was the number one pin up model in the 1950’s. Bettie Page: Dark Angel tells the story of the last three years of her brief career as a pin up model before she disappeared from the spotlight.

The bulk of the movie is told through a series of reenactments of some of Bettie Pages most famous bondage scenes. The dialog and story is not that fleshed out. Despite this minor flaw the films succeeds overall because of director Nico B.’s eye for detail in when recreating Page’s Bondage segments. These segments are stylishly photographed in black and white. Nico B.’s direction is solid through out and it is obvious in every frame that this project was a labor of love.

The acting in this film is average at best with the exception of Paige Richards who plays the lead role Bettie Page. Paige Richards is a dead ringer for Bettie Page and she does an admirable job capturing the essence of Bettie Page. It is amazing just how much Nico B. is able to recreate with the limited budget he had at his disposal. Bettie Page: Dark Angel is a wonderful tribute to one of America’s most icon pin up models whose popularity has not waned through the years.

The DVD:

Cult Epics presents Bettie Page: Dark Angel in its original full frame aspect ratio. This film was on video and 16mm for the black and white footage. Outside of some mild edge enhancement the image looks razor sharp and colors look nicely saturated through out.

This release comes with one audio option an English language track which is presented in a Dolby Digital stereo. The dialog is clear and easy to understand. The music and effects blend perfectly with the rest of the mix. There are a few instances in which the audio looks out of sync with the actors voices and outside of this the audio mix is more then adequate. Removable English, French, Spanish and Dutch subtitles have been included for this release. Note: the audio problem mentioned in this review has since been corrected for the retail release of this DVD.

The extras for this release are spread of two DVD’s.

The first DVD includes the following extras an extensive photo gallery with nearly 100 photos, the films original trailer and a trailer for Tinto Brass’s Frivolous Lola. Other extras include three brief segments about the films score. There are five behind the scenes featurette’s that document the various Bondage scenes that were recreated in the movie. Finally there is a behind the scenes look at a nude photo shoot reenacted in the movie.

The second DVD includes the following extras two short featurette’s “The Maid” a photo shoot that is just shy of minute in length and an interview with Paige Richards that is about nine minutes in length. The main extra is a documentary titled “How to Pose Nude for Bunny Yeager” which runs about sixty two minutes in length. This documentary starts off with another interview with Paige Richards which is followed by five photo shoot segments. Paige Richards is enchanting as she takes about how she got the role and what type of guy she likes. Rounding out the extras for this release are liner notes from the films director Nico B. who gives a detailed overall about the making of this film.

Cult Epics Bettie Page: Dark Angel 2 DVD limited edition adds more extras not include in their original single DVD release for Bettie Page: Dark Angel making this new edition an essential purchase for all Bettie Page fans.

For more information about Bettie Page: Dark Angel and other titles released by Cult Epics visit their website.