Written by: Cliff Wood on August 13th, 2006
Theatrical Release Dates: France, 1920-1930
Directors: Various
Cast: Various
DVD released: July 25th, 2006
Approximate running time: 100 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Frame
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono (silent films with scores)
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Cult Epics
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.95
The landscape of adult cinema has change a lot since the short that are included in this collection where first conceived. Filming techniques have become slicker and more refined. Sex scenes have become more explicit and drawn out. Male and Female performers look fake now when they used to look like everyone else. Tracking down adult cinema used to be a laborious task and now it is readily available via the home video market or for those who need instant gratification they internet gives them their quick fix. One thing that I noticed that has been around since these early days of adult cinema is the money shot. As to the origin of the money shot as of this writing there is no definite answer to when it was first implemented into the world of hardcore films.
There are nineteen shorts included in this collection. Eighteen of them are live action and one of them is an animated short which includes some of the most whacked out sex you will ever see in an anime from this era. Virtually all of the shorts have sexual encounters with multiple participants’ usually two women and one man. The shorts included for this collection while interesting to watch are not exactly you normal jack off material. The main reason for this is their briefness since many of them are just a few minutes in duration. Overall Vintage Erotica Anno 1920 is a fascinating time capsule into the past of adult cinema.
The DVD:
Cult Epics presents all nineteen shorts contained in this collection in their original aspect ratios. The shorts where originally filmed on 8mm, 9.5mm and 16mm film stock. The quality of each short varies with nicks, scratches, fading and various other print damage cropping up through out. The quality of these shorts is about on par with most silent films from this era that have been released on DVD. What I find most amazing of all is that these shorts have even survived through the years as these films range from seventy five to eighty five years old so print damage is expected.
These shorts are without any spoken dialog. Each one is accompanied by music which sounds clean and free of any major sound defects. The French titles cards for these silent shorts have not been translated so no subtitles have been included for this release.
Extras for this release consist of a photo gallery with fifty stills and a Bonus short titled “Le Verrou” which is part of the Cult Epics DVD Vintage Erotica Anno 1930. Overall Cult Epic’s Vintage Erotica Anno 1920 is a must purchase for collectors of relics from hardcore cinema’s early days.