This special limited edition spot gloss slipcover (designed by Stephan Zee) is limited to 3,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.
Pulse Video is a France based, genre film focused boutique label which specializes in creating ultimate home video releases of cult and X rated films. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is excited to help bring their extra features loaded editions across the Atlantic!
A unique figure in the history of French cult film, José Bénazéraf came from the nouvelle vague but focused his interests in eroticism rather than politics, while still creating work which was as socially relevant as it was sexually provocative.
A pioneer in fighting censorship of nudity and sexuality in French cinema, Bénazéraf was also amongst the first directors to make movies with hard-X scenes, both helping to invent and subvert the expectations of the genre. Now, for the first time, you can experience six rare and even lost films from Bénazéraf’s most controversial period, all newly scanned from the original negatives:
In BLACK LOVE (1973), the first film by Bénazéraf to include hard scenes, a young black American escapes to Paris to help assist in a Black Liberation uprising, but quality realizes that there is a traitor in his organization. In LA VEUVE (1974), infidelity in a country chateau leads to deadly consequences. In LES DEUX GOUINES (1975) a scheming bride-to-be experiences abuse and revenge against her wealthy and famous fiancé. In LA PLANQUE (1975) and LA PLANQUE 2 (1976) Bénazéraf explores hard eroticism in two different crime stories, one a violent thriller and the other a light comedy. Finally, in his award winning experiment, J.B. 1 (1976), Bénazéraf dispenses with all pretense of story, creating a part fiction/part documentary study about the making of a porn film, as the viewer witnesses the work of the production crew while seeing the orgies they are photographing through the eye of the camera.
directed by: José Bénazéraf
starring: Claudine Beccarie, Alphonse Beni, Béatrice Harnois, Joëlle Coeur
1973-1976 / 465 min (combined) / 1.66:1 / French Mono with English subtitles
Additional info:
Overall rating: 4.617021 / 5 from 94 reviews.
This limited edition Blu-ray collection of José Bénazéraf's controversial films offers excellent transfer quality, great value, and a must-own collection of classic French erotica. The release has been highly praised for its quality and worth.
Review topics: ["quality","looks","style","presentation","value","buy","set","price","work","film","release","collection","slipcover","movie","transfer","scenes","women","restoration","pulse","erotica","title","viewing","acting","music","fan","stuff","levels","melusine","girls","feature"].
"A fascinating and very well-presented collection that gives important context to José Bénazéraf’s work. The set has a strong archival value, with a thoughtful mix of films and documentary material. The transfers are impressive considering the source elements, and the overall presentation feels carefully handled. A great release for collectors interested in cult and European cinema history."
"I nearly passed on this release because I was not sure if this had much hardcore content or if it was mostly softcore. Well, it has plenty of hardcore scenes. I think only the first film had only one short hardcore scene but the other films in the set did not disappoint. For me, J. B. 1 (1976) was the best film in this collection. This is a super value presentation, especially if picked up while on sale. Highly Recommended."
"So much content in this 3 disc release. I've only heard about Jose Benazeraf in passing so it was great making it a 6 film combo. His films are filmed with horror, suspense, film noir and so many other interesting subjects. You could always tell he was trying. Great release!"
"Not necessarily what you might expect from a set of “forbidden” xxx films, but if you’ve read up on Benazeraf the style is more French New Wave than French taboo-breaking hardcore chic. An important release to link the filmmaker’s work with the era’s other boundary breaking mainstream artists, giving a fuller view of what the 60/70s were like in France for film."
"Not good at all. There is a reason why it contains 6 movies for such a low price. I hope for better French movies with Marilyn Jess from Pulse in the future."
"As a budget collection of movies, it's good to have. The transfers look pretty good. The sound issues with "Les Deux Goines" is a drawback, but not VS's fault. It's strange how much of the sex is fake in these. The best thing (imo) is Claudine Beccarie, and there are some other very beautiful women. But these can be a chore to sit through, and there are no real special features to speak of telling you anything about the participants. Beautiful shot of Béatrice Harnois on the slipcover, she is lovely."
"I enjoyed almost all the movies in the set. With the exception of the two La planque movies, which I found forgettable. But the other ones were particular and interesting. The best ones for me were Black Love and Les deux gouines. La veuve had a very sardonic ending. Overall I appreciated very much the use of music by the director. Very good restorations. Recommended."
"Fairly good value for money here, with many films spread over three discs. A theme which runs through the films is simulated rape, which makes for uncomfortable viewing although thankfully it's clearly not real (difficult to do much with your trousers still on, for example). There's also a LOT of lesbian strap-on action, which is great in my opinion although some of the stuff in the earlier films is clearly simulated (you can see it's not even going in - BOOOOO!). The movies seem to get better over time, although the storylines aren't exactly riveting. The actors and actresses vary from stunning to 'what the hell am I looking at?'. All in all, it's quite an impressive package (uh huh huh huh huh huh) and great value for money. Recommended to fans of European porn!"
"The lot of these films run the gamut from interesting-but-weird experiments to legitimately entertaining to out-and-out terrible, but in terms of seeking exciting new hardcore I've never seen before, I have to give this set a "home run" rating. It has 6 incredibly obscure French XXX films that have never been available in English before, and it highlights a prolific and important European XXX director who nevertheless probably most English speakers are not terribly familiar with (I know I wasn't). The films are all presented in beautiful HD scans (even if it's from a battered print, like LA VEUVE). None of the stuff here is perfect (in fact, much of it is deeply flawed), but this release is exceptional. Well worth picking up if you view hardcore as new terrain for exploration."
"Wow I’d been hoping Pulse would release some Benazeraf but did not expect this massive 6 film collection from one of the legends of French Erotica. Great set and value for money, beautiful restoration, lovely slip cover and the films (that I’ve seen so far - halfway through) are very nice. You have to support Pulse releases and this is no exception."
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