Blake takes a new direction! 4 out of 5.00 - Film: 4 Extras: 4 Video: 4 Audio: 4 - 3/5/2003
Many people are going to have issues with Andrew Blake's latest release, and though I was initially disturbed by many aspects, it's still a great offering for Blake's fans. The first thing that startled me about Adriana was that it was shot on digital video and not film. Blake has always made a point to make sure people knew he still shot his movies on film. He makes no claims this time around, and one wonders whether or not his fans will let him get away with this. Being a digital video movie maker, I have been wondering when Blake might make the change. Why go on about this when people just want to know if Adriana is sexy, good fun, or not? It's simple really, Adriana is a different kind of animal, and though I welcome the change, others will need to adjust to it because the image quality is vastly different from what fans have come to expect from Andrew Blake.

The first thing that irritated me, though, was that Blake bills Adriana Sage as an "exotic new sensation", which is a bit absurd since she has been around for awhile and was featured in Aria Giovania's debut, Aria. Make no mistake about it, she is beautiful and well-celebrated here, but there isn't much about Adriana that is fresh or new. It is more of the same fetish and bondage material from Blake, with the camera always lingering around the masturbation or the petting, but disappearing when the action heats up. This has never bothered me until now. It is almost maddening how Blake lulls the viewer into the action, but always cuts before there is any real penetration or even more involved interaction. This isn't to say this disc isn't worth the money, but it is more for fetish and bondage fans, and Andrew Blake fans than anyone else. There is a lot of light spanking, light bondage, and kissing and petting. My first thought was that Andrew Blake believed he was delivering one of his "hardest" features yet, but truth be told, this is "Andrew Blake lite"! It is sadly lukewarm and not as hot as last year's Girlfriends or Justine.

Speaking of Justine, she is one of the hottest finds of late, and is worth the price of any Blake disc. Justine is a gorgeous woman, and radiates some of the hottest raw sexual energy I have seen from any of Blake's girls. Every time she appears in a scene, she captures your attention and leaves you wanting more when it is over.

Blake hasn't figured out yet that Aria Giovani and Justine are enough for his fans. We don't need anything else, just them and a little more engaging action. This is where digital video can work for Blake once he gets his groove going. On digital video, everything is real. The action often seems more intimate and voyeuristic. Blake needs to appreciate that his trademark style won't work the same on video, but a new style will evolve that his fans will openly welcome. I know I speak for other fans when I say, we would prefer a little more raw action. We want the hot sex that dripped from Delirious, Paris Chic and his earlier releases. The bondage is interesting, but not as satisfying as good, old fashioned sexual couplings between lovely beauties.

The image quality on this disc is good, but very washed out. As I said, the old tricks don't translate the same way here. The sound is excellent and typical of Raoul Valve's piano-heavy soundtracks, but not as good, however, as his work on Blake's High Heels.

The extras consist of outtakes from Adriana, which is basically more of the same, but with some additional great stuff with Justine and Aria. Dahlia Grey fans should enjoy a series of short segments of her showering and getting dressed and undressed. I particularly liked the more intimate way digital video portrayed Dahlia. This is where DV will work for Blake. It is very sexy to see the actresses in such a "normal" setting. I think his fans wouldn't mind a scaled down approach where the actresses seem to be in everyday settings, but I do think they might resent a scaled down approach dressed up to be something more. Using digital video will save Blake a lot of money, so he certainly should be concerned about the way his fans respond to this.

Adriana is worth getting because it is another aspect of an artist who has entertained us and aroused us for years, and it puts some very lovely ladies in some strange and unusual situations. But this is not the "hardest" of features, and honestly makes one wonder if Blake isn't moving in a more "softcore" direction. I for one, hope not.

      By: terry dennis

Blake Adds New Dimension In Texture And Intimacy 4 out of 5.00 - Film: 4 Extras: 3 Video: 4 Audio: 5 - 5/27/2004
Andrew Blake has been quoted as saying he is not interested in shooting a movie on video. Intriguingly enough, that is exactly the look and feel he is going for in "Adriana," which looks like it was shot on handheld video almost in its entirety. The results are a mixed bag, adding a whole new dimension in texture and intimacy, yet lacking in certain other areas.

This time out, the casts contains no new faces, which is appropriate since the main feature is all about achieving new intimacy with the familiar models. Cover girl Adriana Sage is joined by Aria Giovanni, Justine and Emily Marilyn, who all bring to the set something different and entirely their own. After Adriana shows a few up skirt shots on the stairs, she gets tied up, string wrapped and generally dominated, with or without a dildo, by Emily. Adriana continues in the bathroom, where she indulges in masturbatory pleasures, proceeding to a nearby room where her passion intensifies to such a degree that she knocks over the chair she is half sitting, half standing on.

Enter Emily, in full dominatrix mode, who punishes Adriana by putting her in an impossible pair of shoes and mostly focuses on the other's legs and feet. Enter Aria, the curved brunette who shifts the mood into something more romantic, bouncing her large breasts between the other's legs. Finally, enter Justine, who shifts the mood even more as she continues past the leg worship and, with a devilish smile on her face, puts tongue and fingers to good use where it matters most. The segment is bookended by Adriana, alone and back in the bathroom, as she finishes the job she started earlier. We then move outside, finding Adriana tied to a fence, being whipped and kissed by Emily.

For Aria, in the meantime, Emily has something different in mind. As a bathtub fills, she ties a rope around Aria's breasts and legs in a complex pattern, rendering the other completely to her mercy. The scene nicely shows off the stark contrasts between the two, with Emily's perky breasts and slim figure oozing a power that overwhelms Aria. In an act of submission, Emily pushes Aria underwater a few times, baptizing her in the art of BDSM. Back to Adriana, tied up and ready to be on the receiving end of Emily's fingers, whip and mouth again. Justine is up next and Emily has her glossed lips meet the business end of a hypo needle in what hands down is the weirdest scene Blake ever shot.

As before, Emily ties up Adriana and goes for a poolside encounter with Justine. Night falls and the four girls get together surrounded by candles, which Emily uses to drip hot wax over the others. The scene, an orgy of naked bodies writhing in ecstasy, goes for a hard break to the bathroom, where Emily has Justine put a dildo to use on the tied-up Adriana. Mirroring earlier exchanges, Justine gets her face wrapped with strings by Emily and gets pushed under water by Adriana. Then, no longer needing Emily's tutelage, Adriana tests nipple clamps with Aria, moving on to tying Aria up, eventually hanging her upside down. As the credits roll, Adriana gets spanked by Aria, showing she can take as well as she can give.

The extras consist of six featurettes, all set to quite different music and basically being scenes that were left over from the main feature. Emily uses a dildo on Adriana, followed by four full minutes of Justine fingering herself with a passion that always makes her a joy to behold. On top of that, Aria and Adriana continue the ripping of underwear they began during the main feature and Emily keeps up her dominating schemes first with Adriana and then with Justine. Rounding things off, Adriana enjoys a dildo strapped on Emily's leg. Not satisfied, Blake included seven Dahlia Grey featurettes, which, running well over an hour, become an exercise in repetition: Dahlia's Amazonian beauty cannot hide that nothing happens.

Compared to the productions before this one, the main feature has an added layer of intensity. Not only do the four girls engage in sexual acts that are considerably more hardcore, the 'shot on video' look gives everything a gritty feel, more textured and more intimate than what Blake usually goes for. In that, the experiment worked, while at the same time, losing major points insofar as producing aesthetically pleasing, stylized and polished shots is concerned. In a way, this could almost be considered an anomaly in Blake's oeuvre. What truly makes it worth it, though, is the fact that it stars four girls that have been featured before and this experiment gives viewers a chance to see them in a totally different light.

"Adriana" is not for everybody and not even the diehard fans of Blake's work will appreciate the lengthy Dahlia featurette. On the other hand, in terms of thematic coherence, the main course is well-shot and should guarantee to raise room temperature. It would be hard not to get swept up in the girls' erotic fantasies.

      - tri

A welcome change with the times 5 out of 5.00 - Film: 5 Extras: 5 Video: 5 Audio: 5 - 3/11/2003
It's no secret that digital video has become a viable medium in which filmmakers have access to a new palate of visual shapes and images to experiment with while producing their art. Why some would be offended by this effort to examine the possibilites afforded by digital video is beyond me.

As a filmmaker myself, I applaud this latest effort wholeheartedly. I will, however, admit that I too was surprised at first when the DVD started. After the second and subsequent viewings, I can now say this is one of my favorite Blake outings.

I have been a fan of Andrew Blake from the early days of Night Trips and House of Dreams. This project continues Blake's excellent trend of providing extreme and subtle shock content laced with sexy fetish pleasures.

If Blake's true fans can't appreciate the stunning beauty of Adriana's legs and feet in this feature, then become a fan of something else. The true and real fans will love it.

      - Steven C.

Danger, Will Robinson. Danger! 3.5 out of 5.00 - Film: 3 Extras: 4 Video: 2 Audio: 5 - 3/7/2003
This is not your typical Andrew Blake movie. Or rather, it is your typical Andrew Blake movie, but with a twist.

Blake has opted not to shoot on film this time, relying instead on digital video. For those wondering if it works, let me settle it for you: it doesn't.

What has always set Blake apart for me was the fact that he used film to begin with and, as a result, the discs felt more like films than porn. Now, however, there's nothing to separate this release from any other random bondage video you can find on the market.

The action starts with Adriana in a blown-out setting. The white levels are so hot that she actually has a black line around her, like a poor matte line from a 1981 Flock of Seagulls video. It doesn't improve from there. While Blake has typically used great lighting and slow-motion to create his mood, here everything is lit poorly, and is mostly in real time.

To be honest, if it didn't say Andrew Blake on the cover (and feature both Aria Giovanni and Justine, both of whom seem to work exclusively with Blake), I would not have guessed that he had anything to do with this title.

I can not recommend this movie unless you're a die-hard fan of one of the girls and just want to own everything Aria or Adriana or Justine has ever appeared in. Even if you're a big Blake fan, you'll probably be disappointed in this. As a feature, it is comparable to Captured Beauty, in that it is mostly bondage scenarios with little or no penetration. Most of the penetration actually appears on the second side, with featurettes focusing on Adriana and Justine. Even then, it's fairly mild.

I always buy the newest Blake release as soon as it's available. Next time, I'll wait. Unless he brings back Kyla Cole, I can't imagine I'll want to buy the next one if it's shot on digital video as well. This is the first Blake DVD that I don't think I'll ever want to watch again.

      - Paulmg