Obscene or Artistic, What is your Opinion?

The Movie:

The Subject of Sex is a fun and odd mixture of short films, porno trailers, commercials and cartoons each focusing on a subject many find interesting, sex. While it's not a documentary in the truest sense of the word, but it works as one by showcasing vintage and not-so-vintage films that might or might not actually have to do with sex.

The subject matter runs the gamut from hardcore porn to government funded exercise films and with each new short I found myself wondering just where I'd be taken to. Some were laugh out loud funny (On The Beach, Buried Treasure), some were genuinely sexy (Love Moods with Lili St. Cyr, Bubble Dance with Sally Rand) and some were a little too strange for my tastes (Crossing The Equator, Giving an Enema). One of which was a new way to play with plastic baby dolls (Memories Within Miss Aggie), Yow! I was also shocked at how many of these shorts actually referred to bestiality by hinting at it (Hollywood Blue, Mondo Erotica and On The Beach) or showing it (Buried Treasure - cartoon). I guess things have changed quite a bit since these were originally made.

The great thing about this DVD is the variety of the shorts and just how sexual in nature each of these films actually are will depend upon the person. I, for instance, didn't find the Giving an Enema or Presidential Physical Fitness shorts sexual at all, but I'm sure some will. I did get that, "press the fast forward button" though!

With the shorts easily available through the menu, the viewer doesn't have to watch the entire thing all at once, which can get a little cumbersome at times.

The DVD:

The Picture:

About the only constant as far as the video is concerned, is the fact that it's full frame, from there it goes all over the place when it comes to quality and coloring. With many of these shorts, the film is scratched or marred significantly, but in a way, it just adds more character to the overall movie. The movie is almost split down the middle in regards the films being black and white or color. Hell, there's even a sepia cartoon thrown in.

 

The Sound:

Like the video, the original audio is a mixture of fairly decent to downright awful. The audio presentation is in stereo, but only the music that has been added has any true separation.

Special Features:

Beefcakes and Cheesecakes: Six minutes and forty-five seconds of body building, spankings, men jumping on pogo sticks NUDE, luscious ladies dancing and more!

Cheap Smut Give-A-Way: Shorts that randomly go from funny, sexy or bizarre with each viewing. I gave up on trying to see just how many there actually are after having to sit through a guy and his motorcycle having unnatural relations one too many times.

Final Thoughts:

Like I said above, the best part of the DVD is the variety of the short films included. Strange, hilarious, sensual and gross all play a part in taking the viewer on a journey through the history of sex in one form of motion media. I had hoped there was some sort of commentary to talk about any facts or information regarding the films, but unfortunately there isn't which is probably the biggest downfall of the DVD.

I don't think this is a repeat viewing DVD, at least as a whole, but there are plenty of things that make the DVD well worth watching even if it's not all at once.