5
out of 5.00 -
Film:
5
Extras:
5
Video:
5
Audio:
5
-
11/6/2008
Having already seen how impressive
Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge was on DVD, I was highly anticipating how good the movie would look on the Blu-ray format. Not only has Digital Playground set the standard so far for just how great adult material can look in high definition, but
Pirates 2 marked the first time Digital shot a movie using the Red Digital Camera, which is designed to shoot high definition a 24 frames per second, the same frame rate used for film (most other HD video shoots at 60 fps).
The results are everything I hoped for.
Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge is easily one of the best-looking adult Blu-rays I own, and I found myself quickly looking for a friend to hand-off my DVD copy to, since this Blu-ray proves to be the definitive home video version of the movie. The picture has the kind of "pop" to it that one expects from a 1080p transfer, and the 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is booming, without being overbearing.
Pirates 2 is also the adult industry's first-ever 50GB release, meaning the studio was able to include the entire movie
plus the full-length version of each sex scenes on the first disc of the release. This keeps everything nicely together, although I suppose I couldn't help but wonder why (since all the footage is there) Digital didn't go the extra mile and provide a seamless branching version of the movie that would incorporate the longer sex scenes (one of the few criticisms of this outstanding movie is that the sex is rather short and quickly edited). Like the movie itself, the extended sex scenes (which include one bonus scene that was deleted from the final version) are presented in 1080p with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The movie disc also includes a feature-length commentary track with Director Joone and some of the cast.
Disc 2 of this set includes all the bonus materials that were contained on Discs 3 and 4 of the standard release. All of the bonus materials on this second disc are presented in 1080i and most look fantastic. The only exception is a pair of featurettes shot in full-frame (with standard def cameras) focusing on the AVN Awards and premiere party for the first
Pirates movie, but even that footage has been transferred to 1080i and looks the best it possibly could, given the source material.
Readers curious who want to find out more about the movie, it's sexual action, as well as the specifics of the bonus materials can read by DVD review of
Pirates 2, which is reprinted directly following this review.
With Blu-ray porn releases still at a premium, I realize potential buyers have to be much more picky about what titles they actually want to invest in. Rest assured,
Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge is worth every penny of your porn allowance. If you own a Blu-ray player, this is a must-have release. It's the best adult Blu-ray of 2008, bar none.
By:
Spooky
5
out of 5.00 -
Film:
5
Extras:
5
Video:
5
Audio:
5
-
10/14/2008
Sequels are a tricky thing. Even mainstream studios rarely get them right, and even if they do, few actually surpass the original films. That's why
Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge is so incredible. Digital Playground could have easily done a sequel to the original 2005 hit a few years back, slapped the "Pirates 2" name on it and raked in the money. But instead, they took the time and effort to give adult viewers a true continuation of the events of the first title, and the results are nothing short of spectacular. Other studios might as well not even bother to show up at the AVN Awards in January, because this movie will most certainly be - if you'll pardon the bad pun - taking home all the booty.
How good is
Pirates 2? So good that the first
Pirates looks damn near amateurish in comparison. Not only is the sexual action much hotter and the visual effects more thrilling, but both the story and acting is leaps and bounds better than what porn fans are used to sitting through. It may not quite match an A-list effort from a big Hollywood studio, but it surpasses anything we've seen in adult before, that's for sure.
One of the big surprises of the movie is that it doesn't ignore the events of the first film. As most of you know, Janine played Serena, one of the main characters in the original
Pirates. Since she's no longer in the industry, I only assumed that her character would be all but ignored in this sequel. Far from it. Even though she never appears onscreen, Serena is one of the driving forces of this sequel. It seems that she's now wanted for treason, and Captain Edward Reynolds (Evan Stone, in a performance that should earn him another AVN Award for Best Actor) and trusty first officer Jules (Jesse Jane) request a pardon from Governor Littleton of Jamaica (Ben English). The governor is willing to grant the pardon, if Reynolds and his crew hunt down the evil Xifeng (Katsumi), whom Reynolds will soon learn is determined to resurrect Victor Stagnetti (Tommy Gunn) from his watery grave.
In addition to the return of several characters from the original, including Steven St. Croix as Marco and (in a non-sex role) Frank Bukkwyd as Oxford, several new cast members have joined the crew - most notably Belladonna as Olivia, and Sasha Grey as Maria. There's a bevy of beauties in smaller roles as well, including Digital Playground contract stars Stoya, Riley Steele and Gabriella Fox.
The movie is loaded with sex scenes - 10 in all - although they're not the typical length porn viewers may be accustomed to. Rather, Director Joone has briskly edited these to keep them at pace with the rest of the movie. Those wishing for more extended sex need not worry though, since this release's second disc contains all 10 scenes in their unedited format, plus a bonus lesbian threesome featuring Katsumi, Stoya and Belladonna. As for the sex scenes in the movie, the hottest ones include a girl/girl encounter between Jesse and Belladonna; a one-on-one between Evan Stone and Jenna Haze; and a movie-ending threesome between Evan, Belladonna and Sasha Grey. Really though, there's not a loser in the bunch.
Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge has been shot in HD using the new RED Digital Camera technology, that can shoot material in high-defnition, but maintain the look of film. The movie is presented on DVD in an anamorphically enchanced 1.78:1 picture that looks fantastic - I can't wait to see what the title looks like on Blu-ray (also available for purchase). Audio is in 5.1 Dolby, and also includes the options of a 2.0 Dolby track and a feature-length audio commentary with Director Joone, Director of Photography Robby D., and stars Jesse Jane, Evan Stone, Tommy Gunn, Sasha Grey and Riley Steele.
In addition to a second disc which, as already mentioned, houses extended versions of all of the sex scenes, two more discs loaded with bonus materials have been included in this release.
Disc 3 contains a feature-length (90 minutes) behind the scenes look at the making of the movie. Also on the third disc are a slide show, as well as a handful of shorter featurettes covering Set Design (10 minutes); Wardrobe (6 ½-minutes); Pirate Extras (11 minutes); Make-Up (5 minutes); and Sword Training (24 ½-minutes).
Disc 4 contains additional production extras, consisting of a bloopers reel (6 minutes); a making of FX segment (2 ½-minutes); and a section of deleted scenes and goofing-of (including a
Star Trek spoof) shot during production (there are 7 of these segments in all). Viewers are also treated to additional behind the scenes materials that cover Riley's first day on the set (6 minutes); interviews with 17 members of the cast; 13 different "confessionals" from the cast and crew; and a 5-minute look at some of the auditions for non-sex members of the cast.
Also on the fourth disc is a pair of featurettes on the original
Pirates movie. The first of these is footage from the 2006 AVN Awards, showcasing the acceptance speeches of the winners. The second is footage from
Pirates premiere party back in 2005. Disc 4 rounds out with a dozen trailers for Digital Playground releases, including both the teaser and final trailer for
Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge, as well as the trailer for the original
Pirates.
Few movies ever live up to their hype, so it's always amazing when a title like
Pirates 2 comes along and surpasses even what the most optimistic hoped it might be. This isn't just the best adult release of 2008, it's an instant classic, and has set the bar so high for what can be done in adult film that the only movie that may live up to this one just might be...
Pirates 3!
By:
Spooky