When this film came out in the mid 1970's, I was more or less interested in its imagery of 1930's decadence. However, I'm not sure, but it probably would have repulsed me had I seen it in my early 20's. I actually thought that I would never get to see this little gem at all since it was so obscure. It was unavailable for years, but just recently I was able to get it on DVD. My more mature outlook on life some 30 years later made me appreciate the movie, though some of the sexually explicit scenes still made me wince. But after all was said and done, it more or less took the eroticism out of the concept of the pornography industry for me, and I was able to appreciate the black comedy of it all, highly sardonic, cynical, and sarcastic.
I began to consider each and every one of the actors in this flick to be pioneers in the independent cinema genre. None of them were afraid to take the risks involved by appearing in something like this, most of all Dreyfuss, considering "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" and others. Furthermore, they all became fairly successful afterward. I've seen other actors fall further into obscurity and then out of the picture completely after falling into the sexually explicit abyss.
This movie satisfied my curiosity for the decadence that I was always curious about. I also noticed that it had a "Sunset Boulevard" quality; it projected the same message, the cruelty of Hollywood, where dreams can be made and lost simultaneously. It also depicted misplaced priorities, addiction and its consequences and greed.
I was impressed that this was done simulating the three color process that was a forerunner to Technicolor. Set design was very well done; you only had one set, but there was a lot to look at in every corner, and they took you all over every corner. Costumes, well, there wasn't much there, save Boy Wonder's bathrobe and Rex, the Wonder Dog's infamous ascot.
It's a must see, but maybe not suggested for the faint of heart.
I began to consider each and every one of the actors in this flick to be pioneers in the independent cinema genre. None of them were afraid to take the risks involved by appearing in something like this, most of all Dreyfuss, considering "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" and others. Furthermore, they all became fairly successful afterward. I've seen other actors fall further into obscurity and then out of the picture completely after falling into the sexually explicit abyss.
This movie satisfied my curiosity for the decadence that I was always curious about. I also noticed that it had a "Sunset Boulevard" quality; it projected the same message, the cruelty of Hollywood, where dreams can be made and lost simultaneously. It also depicted misplaced priorities, addiction and its consequences and greed.
I was impressed that this was done simulating the three color process that was a forerunner to Technicolor. Set design was very well done; you only had one set, but there was a lot to look at in every corner, and they took you all over every corner. Costumes, well, there wasn't much there, save Boy Wonder's bathrobe and Rex, the Wonder Dog's infamous ascot.
It's a must see, but maybe not suggested for the faint of heart.