4.25
out of 5.00 -
Film:
4
Extras:
4
Video:
4
Audio:
5
-
12/17/2000
Nothing To Hide 3 & 4 is an almost perfect DVD set that might have been my top choice for adult DVD release of 2000 were it not for the disappointment I felt watching the second half of this double feature. However, there is more than enough in the way of great story, great sex and great bonus features to still highly recommend this box set.
Nothing To Hide 3: Justine's Daughter is a sequel to previous movies which this reviewer has not seen. However, one really doesn't need to see the previous movies to pick up on the story and what is happening. Gwen Summers stars as "Ariel", a young woman who has been in an automobile accident and has amnesia. She spends this movie and most of the sequel trying to find out who she was before the accident.
Part 3 begins with an odd medieval sequence, and one which we never learn the significance of. Is it just a fantasy Gwen is having, or is it some memory from a past life? It seems kind of out of place once you see the whole movie, but that doesn't make it any less hot. A young woman, played by Wendi Knight, is being led off to her execution, which she tries to barter her way out of by offering her body up sexually to the executioner and two of the guards.
It's back to reality (or is it?) for the second scene, a threesome in a doctor's office with Gwen, Mark Davis and Marylin Star. The viewer thinks that they are now witnessing Gwen's reality, but this turns out to be her fantasy as well. In fact, the entire movie walks the fine line between fantasy and reality in a incredibly interesting way. Director James Avalon presents the story in such a way that it reminded me of mainstream movies directed by David Lynch. Both the visuals and the music are almost dreamlike in quality.
We learn a little about the accident Gwen had in the very next scene. We don't learn why she was crying and speeding in a car, but we do learn that she runs into Billy Glide, who just happens to be having sex with Claudia Chase in his mini-van at the time. Yes, Claudia decides that she is going to go down on Billy's cock while he is driving down the road, and sooner than you can yell "Billy, don't be a hero!", Mr. Glide decides that instead of doing the smart thing and pulling off the road, he is going to continue to barrel down the highway at unsafe speeds while having sex!
Hershel Savage is on hand for both this film and the sequel, and his character, as well as one played by Melissa Hill, holds the key for Gwen being able to uncover the truth. He refers to Gwen as his daughter, but we are never quite sure in what context he means it (at least not until the end of the movie). So, when these two go at it in the climax of Part 3, we are not sure if we are seeing two characters involved in incest or not...which makes the tension and sensuality of the final segment all the more enthralling for the viewer.
Nothing to Hide Part 3 ends with a few questions answered and a teaser for Part 4. After watching the first of these two DVDs, I was really impressed by the way I was pulled in by the storytelling and direction. I was anxious to see Part 4 and find out more about these characters. I wish I would have quit while I was still aroused.
Unfortunately,
Nothing To Hide 4: Club Purgatory is a terrible mess of a movie, trying to top the previous film in surreal settings and questions to such a degree that it becomes a totally confusing mess of a movie. Perhaps that is why Part 4 is bundled with Part3...because otherwise no one would want to buy Part 4.
The film begins nicely enough, with a flashback to before Gwen's accident and some poolside fun she has with her boyfriend, played by Julian. There's a bit of in-the-pool action here as well, as we see a few seconds of Gwen giving Julian an underwater blowjob.
The next couple of scenes get a little too goofy, as Gwen watches Hershel with two other girls through a one-way mirror, and then in perhaps the weirdest scene of the movie (actually it's a toss-up between this one and the final scene), Gwen and Hershel are sitting in a room with a bunch of other mannequins watching two lesbians go at it.
There is a nice blowjob-only scene halfway through the movie in which Gwen goes down on Hershel. Although there is no other action between the two, its an erotic reminder of the chemistry that these two particular actors seem to have together, and recalls the extremely hot scene they had at the end of the Part 3.
The movie ends with an interesting twist that for some reason or another the director seems to retreat from and throw the viewer back into questioning what is really going on. I won't reveal the "twist" anymore than that, only to say a more definitive ending might have saved the movie, despite the fact that much of it was not very good. I don't know if
Nothing To Hide 3 & 4 were filmed at the same time (I'm assuming that they were, but am not positive), but I think director James Avalon would have been wiser just to make one film instead of trying to stretch the story out into two parts, as much of what we see in Part 4 is an extension or re-telling of things that the viewer has seen in Part 3, and only at the end do things start to get interesting again. But by then, it's almost an issue of too little, too late.
The
Nothing To Hide 3 & 4 set comes with a nice selection of bonus features, including behind the scenes making of both movies, a bonus scene (which is cut footage from the Phyllisha Anne/Mark Davis scene in Part 3, and is repeated on both discs for some strange reason), director's commentary and some other nice goodies. The audio for both films is particularly nice, and the video, while not perfect, is well done.
For
Nothing To Hide 3 alone, this box set is a worthy edition to any porn fan's shelf. Things may simmer down in the second half of this double feature, but you'll be hard pressed to find another movie with the sexual heat and intrigue of Part 3, and that's enough to make it one of the top releases of the year.
By:
Spooky
5
out of 5.00 -
Film:
5
Extras:
5
Video:
5
Audio:
5
-
11/16/2000
The first sequel to the original NOTHING TO HIDE film is already considered a modern classic. Featuring the stunning debut of Roxanne Blaze as the title character JUSTINE in NOTHING TO HIDE 2, that Paul Thomas-directed film rightfully won major industry awards and critical acclaim for its combination of white-hot sex intertwined with a compelling story (for porn that is).
Now several years later, Director James Avalon takes on the daunting task of continuing the series with two new sequels released as a bargain-priced, double DVD set: NOTHING TO HIDE 3: JUSTINE'S DAUGHTERS and NOTHING TO HIDE 4: CLUB PURGATORY. And like the first sequel, these two follow-ups succeed wildly in their artistic design and erotic ambitions. Despite unavoidable trappings like condoms, multiple angles, and the generally overcrowded marketplace competing for your DVD dollar, Mr. Avalon's films are a triumph and this "Double Feature" deserves a space in every porn lover's collection.
Credit most go to the (super) star of these sequels, the incredibly alluring Gwen Summers, who manages to convey Roxanne Blaze's fresh-faced, smoldering eroticism convincingly, and eases into the highly-charged, atmospheric hardcore scenes effortlessly. Since these films have been my first exposure to this naturally attractive brunette, I was disarmingly captured by her charisma in the same way Ms. Blaze had cast her spell as JUSTINE from some years back. Gwen plays Ariel, an amnesiac that struggles with the legacy of the Justine character, as sexual images and carnal urges overwhelm her consciousness. Having recently reviewed a Janine vehicle which essentially follows the same storyline [titled, obviously enough, AMNESIAC], I can attest that this psychological/sociological premise is one of the biggest clichés in porn (kind of like the pizza delivery boy who gets a blowjob, or the babysitter who gets screwed by the kid's father). But Director Avalon executes the concept masterfully. With over thirteen hardcore scenes (six in part three, and seven in part four), including one hot girl-girl fest and five multi-partnered sequences, this two disc set has almost anything a viewer could want from a porn video: beautiful, high class women, enthusiastic sucking and fucking, and a surprisingly intriguing storyline. Although condoms are used widely, they don't get too much in the way of the fantasy, especially since oral and facial cumshots end each and every straight scene.
While there is a lot to like in both videos, a few stand-out encounters are worth noting: beautiful blonde Wendy Knight opens JUSTINE'S DAUGHTERS with a torrid trio of blowjobs on Michael J. Cox, Brandon Irons and Pat Myne which later leads into a stunning mini-gangbang, filmed as a flashback to medieval times. Our heroine (and victim) Gwen then shows up in her first carnal affair in a doctor's office with Mark Davis, as Marilyn Star watches, then eventually joins in. As Mark holds Marilyn upright for a standing sixty-nine position, Gwen gets on her knees to participate in a double-header blowjob which was positively arresting to watch. Plaid skirted Phyllisha Ann performs anal with a masked Mr. Davis, but for whatever reason, her considerable oral skills are relegated to the "extras" section on the DVD.
In CLUB PURGATORY, Gwen joins Julian for a dip in the swimming pool and into her own pool of wetness as they get it on a for a rousing recreational session of athletic lovemaking. Flower and Davis perform a loving sixty-nine under swirling colored lights which precedes a stunning blowjob delivered by Gwen on Herschel Savage. This segment is filmed with such intensity that it is reminiscent of, and certainly rivals the classic oral work by Tori Wells on Randy Spears in NIGHT TRIPS. One of my favorite redheads of all time, Melissa Hill, also performs with a Mark Davis in a straight scene that just radiates pure lust. The final scene, which takes place in "Club Purgatory", involves three couples - gorgeous Inari Vachs with Michael J. Cox, blonde cutie Shelby Mine with Pat Myne, and out featured starlet with Vince Voyeur - performing in a sexual circus which seems to have a Dark Bros-ish influence. Inari is DP'd at the end and in her end, for a rousing conclusion to an exhausting blue movie experience.
Visual and audio quality on both discs are excellent. Metro also offers a generous roster of extras including an entertaining behind the scenes featurette (which only serves to make the lead actress all the more appealing and desirable even when she is not "acting" before the cameras), a picture of the original video boxcovers (an excellent idea for completists and amateur porn historians), and other standard goodies like photos, biographies and website information.
However, nothing is perfect in the world of porn, and there are some things I may as well nitpick about this release. Actually, the only caveat I really have here, is the use of multiple angles. Now, I understand that other viewers feel differently and actually enjoy the novelty of flipping back and forth between visual perspectives, but I'm still not convinced of their value (after all, why would you want to use your hands playing with the remote when they may be needed for more practical purposes?). Metro has thankfully spared the viewer of having the angles icon feature appear on the main feature, although a distractingly obvious "2ND ANGLE" description is provided on the bottom right of the screen whenever angle two is chosen. Since I never got to see NOTHING TO HIDE 3 and 4 on videotape when they were first released, I have no idea if the second angles compiled from extra footage originally left on the cutting room floor, or if Metro has merely cut up the original scene to create the different visual perspectives (a la Vivid DVDs).
Some of the second angles definitely have different color schemes and visuals than the main feature footage, (for instance, in the Gwen Summers/Marilyn Star/Mark Davis ménage a trois, the first angle has jumpy edits of Marilyn watching the other two before joining Gwen for a dual blowjob, whereas on the second angle, we see Marilyn undressing and a little more foreplay), but the soundtrack remains the same, which means that the "2ND ANGLE" picture is usually off-synch with the audio. In any event, I prefer to enjoy my hardcore without the diversions of what I may be missing on the second (or more) angles, and I hope that the producers of these DVDs didn't compromise the integrity of James Avalon's work for the sake of a gimmick.
My usual technical bitching and whining aside, I must make it clear that JUSTINE'S DAUGHTERS and CLUB PURGATORY are excellent titles, and the Adult DVD Empire price is worth it for each disc alone. However, when you can get this kind of bargain for two DVDs of this caliber, then there is no doubt as to what you next purchase should be. Get it; you won't regret it!
By:
Diesel