Sold Out / OOP
Following the unprecedented success of his 1970 film Mona, director Howard Ziehm quickly established himself as a one-man filmmaking machine, directing dozens of boundary pushing sex films. Presented here are two of his most unique and important early works.
HARLOT:
Mary and Melody are best friends, though Melody is uncomfortable around Mary's sexual openness. After finally being coaxed into sexual experimentation, Melody begins to discover her erotic self and indulges in a series of sexual adventures, each wilder than the last. One of the most transgressive early X rated films, HARLOT is an avant-garde influenced, anti-establishment oddity, presented fully uncut for the first time on DVD.
1970 / 64 min / Color / 1.33:1
TIJUANA BLUE:
After discovering that his girlfriend is pregnant, a man named Jamie agrees to assist on a drug run from Tijuana back to LA so that he can raise the money necessary for an abortion. However upon his arrival in Mexico, he soon discovers that there may be more to the operation than drugs...
1971 / 92 min / Color / 1.33:1
Director: Howard Ziehm
Actors (combined): Howard Alexander, Eve Orlon, Fran Spector, Marsha Bishop
Overall rating: 4.3333335 / 5 from 21 reviews.
Review topics: ["quality","looks","price","film","commentary","feature","transfer","scenes","porn","bill","shot","life"].
"What did you call me? A harlot? How dare you?! Wait. No. That is EXACTLY what I want you to call me, but DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME, YOU DIRTY PERVBOMB! catch this one if you can Snag it if you sag it. Rift it if you drift it And cover it with some snizz, if you know what I mean"
"Decent quality transfers of likely less than ideal source material for two obscure early 1970s films. I'm glad I was able to pick this one up before it went out of print."
"Relatively disturbing porn with highly interesting commentary. Not very sexy but an interesting slice of 70's sleaze."
"Early 1970’s Rated X documents! Commentary by Howard Ziehm on his film: Harlot. Both films restored in 2k from vault elements and probably the best they will ever look ."
"Harlot is a great little feature from the early era of adult films. As good as the main actresses were, Judy Angel absolutely kills it in her threesome scene. Call me a sucker for a blonde wearing glasses, but she looks incredible, and is worth being featured more in future releases. I wouldn't mind if VS could track her down for a commentary, assuming that beautiful vixen is still around."
"Tijuana Blue remains a worthwhile curio, but Harlot is imo top 30 adult films of all time! While I'd argue it's incredible all the way through. . . you'll know precisely when it realllly takes off if it's your first viewing. Incredibly bold choices that literally broke the mold and changed the entire landscape/possibility of what adult cinema could be throughout. Howard Ziehm should be taught in film schools (genuinely) and his commentary track for Harlot on this is crucial for anyone who cares about arthouse, experimental, or adult filmmaking in the least."
"Harlot is not particularly well made and has none of the stars you'd see later in the decade, but what it does have going for it is that it's a little different. As discussed on the enlightening commentary, these women certainly seem 'real'. A girl convinces her friend to be naughty and that's essentially the story - not a lot to it. There's a kinky lesbian dominatrix scene and also notable that they filmed on top of The First National Building without permission. The aforementioned commentary is worth a listen and amusingly the director didn't expect the abrupt ending, so who knows why it ends that way. Tijuana Blue is barely watchable and horribly amateur. Interesting to watch as a comparison with movies which were to arrive later that decade, but I can't think of much nice to say about it. The nightclub scene is particularly terrible, because you can barely see what's going on! Not the fault of VS though, the transfer is great but evidently the director didn't fancy lighting it."
"The Harlot of the title is a 15 year old called Mary who is still in high school and has far too much carnal knowledge for someone of her age. Her best friend Melody is curious as to what Mary gets up to so Mary takes her along on one of her sexual adventures. After picking up a client by hitching a lift, they proceed to an apartment building and on the ground floor they take the elevator. Director Howard Ziehm uses low angle shots with the girls in their mini-skirts. Mary begins to have sex with the client. As the elevator ascends it reaches a higher floor where an elderly couple are patiently waiting, the door opens and the shocking scene sends the man into hysterics while the woman flees in total shock. Once they reach the top of the building, they resume their lovemaking on the roof where it is time for Melody to take part in proceedings and Ziehm now has the camera on a high angle shot looking down on the couple. This concludes with an impressive helicopter shot with the camera looking down on the city below and passing the tall building where you can see the performers in a long shot. After this scene Mary starts seducing her teachers of both sexes while Melody meets a biker that leads to a tragic ending. This film is probably more shocking today than when it was made back in 1970. The film is a bit rough looking but after the credits it is perfectly watchable. It could definitely do with a decent restoration for release on Blu-ray. The other film, Tijuana Blue is not as well made as Harlot and has a plot about a man called Jamie who has agreed to take part in a drugs run to pay for his girlfriend’s abortion. The film’s narrative plays like a treasure hunt where each person he meets sends him on another errand to find the person he is looking for. The film is very repetitive and is at least 20 minutes too long in its 90 minute runtime. The DVD has a commentary track by the director for Harlot and he does a good job in remembering what happened during the film’s production."
"Love these double features"
"Great price"
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