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Released by: Alpha France/TLA Video
Released on: June, 2014.
Director: Burd Tranbaree
Cast: Serena, Richard Allan, Jean-Pierre Armand, France Lomay, Olga Chris, Morgane
Year: 1980
Purchase From TLA Video
The Movie:
One of the countless films directed by Claude Bernard-Aubert under his 'Burd Tranbaree' alias for Alpha France, 1980's The Nymphomaniacs may top bill sexy American starlet Serena on its cover art but it is, more accurately, a vehicle for a fairly prolific French adult film star named Morgane. She plays Marinette, a maid employed by a randy young man named Matthieu (Richard Allan) and spends some (well, very little, really) of her time cleaning up his swinging pad. When the film begins she pulls a picture out of a drawer and puts it on the wall just in time for the photo's subject (a brunette played by Olga Cris) to arrive. Marinette lets her in and she undresses just as Matthieu sneaks up behind her and slips it in. You can basically figure out where things go next, but you may not expect Marinette to show up with a snack tray in the middle of the scene!
When that's done, the brunette is ushered out quickly under the false pretense that the man hanging around outside on the street corner is a private eye hired by her husband. Shortly after, the portrait is replaced by a picture of a blonde. There's a knock at the door and that blonde, a German stewardess (Serena), wanders into the room. She offers Marinette a present in the form of a massive silicone dong and after a quick 'how to' demonstration, they get it on before Matthieu shows up and gets in on the action himself. Before you know it, she's late for her flight and zipping out the door. After that, a cute blonde with a goofy Texan accent (France Lomay, who popped up in some of Erwin C. Dietrich's Six Swedes movies) arrives. Another three way ensues and from there, she's out the door, another victim of that man hanging out on the street (who Marinette has been calling and promising to 'reward' for helping out here).
With the three ladies out of the way, Marinette and Matthieu figure it's a good opportunity to enjoy some alone time, but those ladies of his, they might know more about what he's been up to than either he or his foxy French maid realize…
Obviously inspired by the Jerry Lewis/Tony Curtis comedy Boeing Boeing made in 1965, this one is light on plot compared to many of Bernard-Aubert's other pictures but there's nothing wrong with that per se. The emphasis here is on sexy fun and on that level the picture definitely delivers. The camera work is up to the typically high standards of the director's output and at just over sixty-five minutes in length, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome. While the sets are pretty limited (the vast majority of the action understandably takes place in the bedroom but we visit the bathroom and the living room and the entry way as well!) and confined to the interior of our hero's apartment the movie is nevertheless very well shot. Camera angles leave little to the imagination but don't tend to linger so long as to let things get repetitive or boring. On top of that the score is quite fun, bouncy and light like the movie it's representing.
The cast are what make this one worth seeking out, however. Morgane does great work here and seems to enjoy her time with Allan and her three female co-stars in equal amounts. Serena is in fine form and looks as foxy as ever, performing with plenty of gusto and enthusiasm while Ms. Cris and the cute and ridiculously perky France Lomay are just as fun to watch. Again, the film really doesn't have a whole lot going on in terms of plot, but the production values are slick and cast really are all in fine form indeed.
Video/Audio/Extras:
TLA Video, through a deal with Alpha France, presents The Nymphmaniacs on MOD/DVD-R in letterboxed non-anamorphic widescreen. The image is a little soft, though not as soft as some of the other transfers in the line so far which results in slightly better detail here. Colors look good, skin tones look pretty natural and what few black levels there are in the movie (it's quite bright) are decent.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital Mono track - which amusingly has Serena dubbed with a wonky German accent (ironic given that she could have done her own dubbing, but then we'd lose the unintentionally comedic effect that this has on the movie). It would have been cool to see both the English and French tracks provided as the dubbing here is pretty obvious, though it is at least played straight. Dialogue is occasionally a bit muffled but more often than not it's pretty clear and the score sounds quite good.
There are no extras on this disc.
The Final Word:
The Nymphomaniacs is remarkably light on plot but it's a fun, breezy and frequently steamy raincoater shot with some nice style and loaded with some kitsch appeal. Serena fans will definitely enjoy this as her scene is a good one but the rest of the cast fare well here too. Not a deep film by any stretch, but it doesn't aim for that. This is really fun Euro smut and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!
