Even tamer than his XXX biopic MARQUIS DE SADE, Joe D'Amato's riff on the Sade book that Pasolini made into his classic SALO is a wimp-out. Credit Jesus Franco with a far better slew of movies inspired by the Marquis's literature.
Titled ANAL PALACE for U.S. fans, story is set on the eve of the French Revolution, with Mark Davis unconvincingly impersonating Sade. (When I type that I can't get the songs "Smooth Operator" and "Sweetest Taboo" out of my head for some reason, either of which would have sounded great if pirated on the movie's soundtrack, but no such luck.) He's in a cell telling a beautiful young blonde named Martine all about sex & pleasure, while two louts heckle him. Film unfolds in flashbacks as Sade regales her with tales of debauchery from his past.
Anita Blond as Aline emerges as the true star of the film, acting as the mistress of ceremonies for the orgies depicted. I'm a big fan of hers and for neophytes the private joke is that she appears in hundreds of films & videos strictly with a black hairdo despite her porn moniker.
The crude English dubbing doesn't help the Sadean philosophizing on the soundtrack, and the sex emerges as mechanical and tedious. There is no sadomasochism or real bondage on display, the closest being having the guys being blindfolded with the arms tied behind their backs -not for punishment but rather to be passive as Aline and her women give them blow jobs.
Similarly, even though Sean Michaels guest stars as a slave named Ebony for some mixed combo action, the gimmick of having him or others stand blindfolded on an auction block goes nowhere -there's no humiliation involved, no nothing. I guess (per the stupid TOTALLY UNCUT documentary) Joe simply delighted in acting out for his cast certain sexual positions but never understood how to properly direct XXX movies. For him it was all filler.
Happy ending here consists of Sade informed the revolution's afoot, he humps Martine finally after nearly boring her to death, and a money shot in the face signals finis.
You have to count porn like this a failure when the audience is supposed to leave humming the costumes & fancy wigs. That's about all there is of interest here.
Titled ANAL PALACE for U.S. fans, story is set on the eve of the French Revolution, with Mark Davis unconvincingly impersonating Sade. (When I type that I can't get the songs "Smooth Operator" and "Sweetest Taboo" out of my head for some reason, either of which would have sounded great if pirated on the movie's soundtrack, but no such luck.) He's in a cell telling a beautiful young blonde named Martine all about sex & pleasure, while two louts heckle him. Film unfolds in flashbacks as Sade regales her with tales of debauchery from his past.
Anita Blond as Aline emerges as the true star of the film, acting as the mistress of ceremonies for the orgies depicted. I'm a big fan of hers and for neophytes the private joke is that she appears in hundreds of films & videos strictly with a black hairdo despite her porn moniker.
The crude English dubbing doesn't help the Sadean philosophizing on the soundtrack, and the sex emerges as mechanical and tedious. There is no sadomasochism or real bondage on display, the closest being having the guys being blindfolded with the arms tied behind their backs -not for punishment but rather to be passive as Aline and her women give them blow jobs.
Similarly, even though Sean Michaels guest stars as a slave named Ebony for some mixed combo action, the gimmick of having him or others stand blindfolded on an auction block goes nowhere -there's no humiliation involved, no nothing. I guess (per the stupid TOTALLY UNCUT documentary) Joe simply delighted in acting out for his cast certain sexual positions but never understood how to properly direct XXX movies. For him it was all filler.
Happy ending here consists of Sade informed the revolution's afoot, he humps Martine finally after nearly boring her to death, and a money shot in the face signals finis.
You have to count porn like this a failure when the audience is supposed to leave humming the costumes & fancy wigs. That's about all there is of interest here.