Directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris; Blazing Guns) Secrets of a Call Girl a.k.a Anna, quel particolare piacere, is very much a film structured in the tradition of the classic European gangster giallos where we have a beautiful girl, a merciless villain, and an abundance of killings to support the storyline. However curiously enough, Guiliano Carnimeo's film begins as anything but a typical giallo story. The opening scenes imply a much more dramatic approach, sans the extended shooting mêlée, as both Guido and Anna unveil very little from the dramatic transformation they will undergo by the end of the film. It almost feels as if we might witness a sweet romantic story with a sugary happy ending. There is an innocent encounter, exchanged looks suggesting a passionate affair, and a naive girl falling for a charming, if a bit edgy, handsome hustler. Fortunately for exploitation fans the more we learn about Guido the more Secrets of a Call Girl returns to familiar waters as the violent giallo ship is well on its course to Milan-the city where most of the action takes place.

Graced with the presence of Edwige Fenech, one of the most admired stars of the exploitation genre and its sub-reincarnations, Secrets of a Call Girl most definitely lives up to the expectations. There is plenty of violence and seductive nudity in this film to keep the hearts of hardcore fans leaping with excitement. In fact, the presence of Edwige Fenech alone would have made plenty of the male audiences around the world happy with this production. Born in Algeria in the family of a French businessman and a Tunisian woman during the 70s and early 80s Edwige Fenech was without a doubt the secret wish for many European men willing to pay for most any movie she would agree to grace with her elegant figure.

Having seen a good amount of the genre films that Europe produced at the time I could easily attest that the only true competition Edwige Fenech encountered was by two Italian actresses that managed to captivate the attention of male film aficionados during the late 70s and early 80s. The first one, a high school teacher from Pola, Italy, Laura Antoneli, came to the attention of European audiences with such revealing films as Massimo Dallamano's Le Malizie di Venere a.k.a Fire in the Flesh (1969) and most certainly Luchino Visconti's L'Innocente a.k.a The Innocent (1976). The second actress that fit the description of a "genre diva" Serena Grandi established herself in the early 80's with such films as Joe D'Amato's Antropophagus a.k.a The Beast (1980) and especially Tinto Brass' Miranda (1985) which made her an instant sensation.

Nothing however compared to the furor that Edwige Fenech caused with her films and Secrets of a Call Girl partially explains why. Her innocent look, perfect feminine figure, and quite frankly very solid acting skills made the French-Tunisian star a marquee name. Exploitation directors flocked to book her for their projects and male film buffs responded with a steady flow of cash to the local theaters proudly waving banners promoting the Edwidge Fenech name.

There is no doubt in me that those that enjoy the genre to which Secrets of a Call Girl belongs will be delighted to see the film finally arriving in North America. In fact, I believe that even those that were not yet born when Edwige Fenech was in her prime will be able to enjoy a production that offers some intriguing plot twits. Judging by the finale of the film Secrets of a Call Girl is anything but a sentimental sugary mix of pretty faces and catchy tunes. This wild-ride of a film surely knows how to navigate the exploitation ship through the murky and often shallow waters of the genre.

How Does the DVD Look? Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and enhanced for widescreen TV's this print of Secrets of a Call Girl is once again deceivingly good looking. Considering the age of the film what we are offered on this DVD by No Shame Films is a very solid looking print-solid picture, acceptable tone colors, very decent contrast. However all of the positives in this package are most certainly negated by the fact that this is a PAL sourced print. Once again there is a visible and very distracting "ghosting" associated with improper PAL to NTSC conversion which I am fairly upset with. I don't quite understand why No Shame continues to deliver these specific PAL sourced prints? Maybe someone in the company can address the issue. As far as I am concerned No Shame have ALL THE RIGHT COMPONENTS to become a leader on the market. They deliver films that the North American market is absolutely in dire need of. Everyone and I mean everyone that I have spoken with, colleagues, analysts, and casual fans, is utterly impressed with the design, cover work, beautiful collectable booklets…but the PAL sourcing. I easily place myself in the camp of their strongest supporters as I own a few of NoShame's Italian discs (and 2 Alan Young early DVDs) and the US discs are clearly with a better contrast. But they have to understand that the reason companies such as Criterion have established themselves on the market is precisely because they deliver the best possible prints that are properly sourced read: progressive anamorphic transfers that are free of digital imperfections (PAL sourcing being one of them). I see a number of quality productions coming from No Shame's vaults- Tinto Brass' Snackbar Budapest, Bernardo Bertolucci's Partner…these films have to be sourced properly!!! I only go in such details as I once again would like to reiterate that I am one of the company's biggest advocates but No Shame has to make the final effort in providing progressive properly-mastered transfers. Be the company your fans want you to be!!

How Does the Disc Sound? Secrets of a Call Girl offers the original Italian mono soundtrack (which in my opinion is superior) and an optional original English mono track. I viewed the film three times, hence my review is coming out a tad later, so I could determine which track is better. I have to admit that though I am not a big supporter of the English tracks/dubs that were originally recorded for many of the Italian genre films (giallos, spaghetti westerns, erotic comedies, etc.) the English track provided here actually sounds quite decent. However it is no better than the Italian soundtrack. The dated charm which the film provides is definitely more convincing when you listen to the actors speaking Italian (some of them were also dubbed in Italian). Overall, excellent choice by No Shame to include the two language tracks.

Extras: The following extra materials are provided on this DVD:

"Memories of a Call Girl"-interview with director Giuliano Carnimeo, Edwidge Fenech, and Ernesto Gastaldi-

Original Italian Theatrical Trailer with optional English track-

Poster and Still Gallery-

A beautiful 12 page booklet with info pertaining to the main stars in the film as well as beautiful photo works from the main feature.

Final Thoughts: I am once again presented with a difficult task and I am unsure how to proceed. We have a beautiful film in an overall very well put together package but…once again marred by an improper conversion. I wish to give this DVD presentation a high mark but I have to warn everyone that the transfer suffers from what I have described in great length above. I am going to run the credit No Shame have with me one more time and RECOMMEND Secrets of a Call Girl though I wish the day when they begin to deliver proper transfers is just around the corner. If not, all of the spectacular work the company has done will sink in a sea of grey releases transforming No Shame Films in just another distributor barely surviving in an increasingly demanding market.