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Released by: Peekarama
Released on: January 28th, 2025.
Director: Bud Lee
Cast: Hyapatia Lee, Sharon Kelly, Peter North, Patti Petite, Gail Force
Year: 1985
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The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury/Tasty – Movie Review:
Peekarama gives a welcome high-definition upgrade to a pair of Bud Lee directed features from the mid-eighties showcasing the considerable skill set of the lovely and talent Hyapatia Lee, and a few of her good friends. Check it out!
The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury:
The beautiful Hyapatia Lee got into the adult film business when she learned that actresses in the business were making a whole lot more on the strip club circuit than she was despite the fact that they typically delivered lousy performances on stage. When she decided to go this route, she and her husband Bud Lee debuted in a 1983 film called The Young Like It Hot, directed by Bob Chinn for Caribbean Films. This relationship proved fruitful and as the years went on, the Lee's would wind up making a fairly ambitious film for Caribbean Films called The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury. As the title suggests, it's a triple X take on Chaucer's writing with Bud getting directorial credit and Hyapatia getting top billing.
Set in medieval times (and shot on a studio lot with costumes previously used by MGM for Excalibur), the story begins with a scene in a tavern where an insanely catchy, goofy theme song plays. Here a female hostess (Hyapatia Lee) talks to those in her party and sets up a little bet. Whoever can tell the best story on the journey they're about to embark on together will win the prize.
So, as the movie plays out, everyone in the party gets the chance to tell a story. Along for the ride are a handsome knight (Mike Horner), a rugged carpenter (Jesse Eastern), a goofy flour mill operator (Dennis Duggan), a rather unorthodox monk (Elmo Lavino), and the beautiful Lady Of Bath (Colleen Brennan/Sharon Kelly). As the stories are told we see them play out by way of some flashbacks. The knight recalls how he escorted an abbot on a journey to visit the pope only to learn that the abbot was not an abbot at all but secretly a hot chick (Debra Lynn). The carpenter talks about how a cheating miller attempted to con two young men (Peter North and Jon Martin) but how his con backfired when his wife (Stevie Taylor) and daughter (Buffy Davis) decided to have an orgy with them. The Lady Of Bath tells of how her father was cheated out of some land by an evil Lord (Bud Lee) and how she used her feminine wiles to win it back by messing around with him and his wife (Cheri Janvier). It goes on from there with a few more stories told before the winner is chosen.
Highlight by a pretty great scene in which Sharon Kelly does the deed with Hyapatia, this is a nice mix of steamy sex, goofy comedy and reasonably posh production values. It's obvious that the filmmakers behind this one cared about putting out a good product as the move is nicely lit, the costumes look good, and the cast all deliver better than average performances both in and out of the sack. The movie is also well edited and briskly paced, balancing out the hardcore action and the comedic vignettes in between in equal measure and with a good amount of success. Those looking for a serious or literal adaptation of Chaucer may walk away disappointed, but really, who'd be doing that in the first place? Those looking for depth need not apply but anyone who enjoys breezy hardcore action mixed with some comedic moments ought to get a kick out of this one.
Tasty:
Included as a second feature on the disc is the film Tasty, also directed by Bud Lee in 1985 with Hyapatia Lee once again top billed. Shot directly after Ribald Tales, Tasty takes place at a radio station called 96 KNUT. Ratings at the station are in a bit of a slump and it's for this reason that their chief advertiser (Bud Lee) tells them that he's pulling out and spending his dollars elsewhere if things don't improve.
Gary Connors (Jesse Eastern), the station manager, is ready to fire whoever he has to fire to make this happen so one of the station's DJs, Tasty Tastums (Hyapatia Lee), decides with nothing left to lose they might as well have some fun. With this in mind, Tastums decides it'll be way more fun to focus less on the stations stale rock 'n roll format and instead focus on… sex! So, she starts a live call in show to get things moving, and before you know it she's dishing out sex advice to a couple (Patti Petite and Scott Irish) who have a thing for a certain scene from Last Tango In Paris! News reporter Legman Mack (Steve Drake) starts reporting on local brothel activity to help would be patrons avoid the cops while DJ Dr. Fermento (Steve Powers) helps Tasty out with a contest. Meanwhile, sex toys are being advertised with great success and Tasty is out to launch her own music video (for a song called Hit Me With Your Wet Shot that's eerily similar to a certain Pat Benatar song! Spoiler - she gets a facial from Mike Horner at the end of the video!).
Connors doesn't know what to think of all of this, but he does know that both his wife (Ashley Welles) and the younger woman he's screwing on the side (Stacey Donovan) are paying very close attention to what's on the air. Maybe Tasty was on to something from the start and the station’s chances at making it are better than anybody thought?
Not as ambitious or as good as the main feature on the disc, Tasty is still a pretty amusing XXX comedy thanks mainly to the efforts of the cast. For the most part, it works rather well. Hyapatia actually makes for a reasonably believable on air-personality and while the synch on the audio in her 'music video' has obvious issues, she gives it her all as she struts around in lingerie, kicking away and dancing like she means it (Mike Horner sort of just hangs out in the bed and looks confused by it all). There are some decent jokes here and the sex is once again well shot and appealing. Trailers for both features are provided as are static menus and chapter selection for both films.
The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury/Tasty – Blu-ray Review:
Peekarama brings The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury and Tasty to Blu-ray newly scanned and restored in 2k from their original 35m negative and framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. The transfers are good ones, offering up the movies in very nice shape and with good depth and detail. Colors look great and skin tones are always lifelike and accurate. The movies always look like proper film transfers, showing no obvious noise reduction or edge enhancement, and the images are free of compression artifacts or crush. There’s some minor print damage here and there in the form of the occasional small white speck, but that’s about it, the images are otherwise very clean, aside from the natural film grain that you’d want preserved here.
The only audio option for the disc is a 24-bit DTS-HD 1.0 Mono track in the films' original language. Optional English SDH subtitles are included. Audio quality is fine. The levels are generally well-balanced and the dialogue easy to follow and understand. There aren’t any problems with hiss, distortion or sibilance, the track sounds pretty clean.
The main extra for Ribald Tales is a commentary track with director Bud Lee moderated by Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin. This is a pretty interesting discussion in which Lee talks about how he got into the adult film business along with leading lady Hyapatia Lee, what his relationship was like with working with Harry Mohney, who did what on the movie and what it was like on set. He also talks about his approach to shooting sex scenes, noting that he went for realism whenever possible (which is why there are no phallic toys present in the lesbian scene) and he's quite open about his actual role as a 'director' on the movie. He shares some stories about working with Peter North (he was as obsessed with his hair as everyone says he was), with Sharon Kelly, and of course, Ms. Lee as well. It's informative, quite well paced and a nice addition to the disc.
A ten-minute long video interview with Bud Lee is also included here and although it does cover some of the same ground as the commentary the focus is more on his introduction to and subsequent relationship with Hyapatia - definitely worth a watch, Lee come as an intelligent and friendly guy.
Original theatrical trailers are included for both features and, if purchased from the Melusine website, this release comes with a limited edition spot gloss slipcover designed by Rich Long and limited to 2,000 units. Double-sided cover art is also provided.
The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury/Tasty – The Final Word:
Peekarama's double feature Blu-ray upgrade of The Ribald Tales Of Canterbury and Tasty is a good one, offering up both movies in excellent high definition presentations and with a really interesting commentary track serving as the main extra over the feature attraction. Some new extras would have been cool to see, but both pictures are a lot of fun, and this release comes easily recommended.
