NEW Vanessa (DVD)

This is a German take on the classic Emmanuelle. An Austrian convent schoolgirl inherits her uncle's string of brothels in the Far East. She flies off to Hong Kong to experience the naughty Orient. She is introduced to sex (what else) in all its forms, straight, lesbian, and forced - She finds a particular attraction in the latter - probably all those bare-bottomed spankings at the convent. Sex scenes here are of the very softcore variety (The whipping scenes are limp, lame and some of the least convincing around - good for a laugh though). Olivia Pascal is absolutely lovely as are two of the other ladies but the rest of the cast far less so. The Chinese women in particular were sadly wholly unattractive. Hong Kong is full of pretty Chinese girls so it's a wonder how they ended up with this sorry lot. Director Hubert Frank himself admits that they were "ugly" - his reminiscence about how he found them at the local strip-club is funny - they looked good when he hired them in the dark, but he got the shock of his life when he saw them again in the clear light of day. Acting quality is par for course in a softcore flick - fairly mediocre. As mildly amusing erotica, it's a pleasant enough way to spend the evening. Just sample the corny scene featuring the opening notes of Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (the famous music from 2001) as Jackie the blonde woman slowly opens her thighs to the entranced Prince Bandar. Couldn't stop laughing. Or witness Bandar's skills in psychic sex - and especially his ability to induce telepathic orgasms. Plus it's nice to see pretty women with natural body hair for a change - this film was made before the hairless barbie-doll revolution swept the world.

The transfer from Severin is rather disappointing. It's presented in 1.78:1 widescreen (anamorphic). It's acceptable but a full notch below Severin at its best. The print shows its age. Although it's been cleaned up, there are quite a few instances of print damage which are left uncorrected, some glaringly obvious. The print overall is dark and lacking in definition. It is soft, sometimes, blurry, although that is partly due to the photography. It is grainy. The colours are dull and quite lifeless - flat. Hong Kong never looked duller than here. But the picture in and of itself is quite watchable. What I did not like was the removal of the original German soundtrack. We are instead given a very badly dubbed English audio track with everybody sounding faintly American. I get very irritated by dubbing, especially when it's badly done. I would have loved to hear Olivia speaking in her own voice but alas no. The credits are all in German. The main Extra is a half-hour interview with Director and DP; all in German with obligatory English subtitles (burnt in). There is a 15-minute long wordless "Making of" featurette plus the original theatrical trailer. Worth a rental. Buy only if you're a die-hard fan of the lovely Olivia Pascal.

Those two reasons are Olivia Pascal. A beautiful woman with a remarkable build. The plot itself is rather silly and only provides reasons for scenes of naked intimacy and some S & M (could have done without that, thank you very much), but Ms. Pascal is a true treat for the eyes.....almost as beautiful as my wife (eat your heart out, fellas).