Gwendoline (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

Is Gwendoline Trash or Treasure?

Blu-ray Distributed By: Severin Films / November 19, 2019

In the ‘70s, he created a daring new world of X-rated cinema with EMMANUELLE and THE STORY OF O. And in 1984, Just Jaeckin wrote and directed the most ambitious, audacious, fun – and final – classic of his legendary erotic career: Video vixen Tawny Kitaen (BACHELOR PARTY, WITCHBOARD) and action hero Brent Huff (NINE DEATHS OF THE NINJA, STRIKE COMMANDO 2) star in this “★★★★ kink-o-rama” (Mr. Skin) based on the infamous S&M comic strip and bursting with perilous adventure, bountiful nudity, spectacular production design, eye-popping lesbian bondage, all-new Special Features and more. César Award winning actress/director Zabou co-stars in the “decadent delight and true cult favorite” (WhatCulture.com) that launched Severin Films, now scanned uncut in 4k from the original negative recently discovered in a Paris vault.

Jimbo’s Take (3.5 / 5)

Now, perhaps, I misheard. After all, Director Just Jaeckin (pronounced ‘Yoost’) does have a wonderfully thick French accent. But I swear he called Gwendoline a ‘family film’ no less than three times in the 2006 archival interview on this blu-ray. I understand the French tend to view sex and nudity more freely than Americans. But I don’t think I’ll be showing Gwendoline to my boys any time soon.

In spite of this, the Director’s assertions are not wholly outlandish. Gwendoline does feel like a mash-up of Big Trouble In Little China and Flash Gordon, with an air of Indiana Jones. It’s a fantasy/adventure/comedy filled with exotic locales, salty heroes, treacherous villains, and lovely women. A perfect recipe for any adolescent young man.

Just Jaeckin could have played it straight and delivered a fairly by-the-numbers adventure. After all, he admits in his interview that he didn’t want to just be known as an erotic film director. This would have been his best chance. However, Jaeckin’s experience in X-rated erotica, coupled with the title character’s origins in bondage fantasy comic strips, made it almost a certainty that sex would play a large part in the final film.

Without sex and humor, the plot alone may have flat-lined the film. Gwendoline (Tawny Kitaen) and her friend Beth (Zabou Breitman) are searching for Gwendoline’s father in the orient. He’s gone missing while looking for an elusive species of butterfly. With the assistance of Willard (Brent Huff), an attractive, sea-sailing scoundrel, the trio will brave gangsters, tribal savages, exposure in the rain forest, and the evil Queen of the Yik Yak.

It begins as a pretty average adventure, but add in sex appeal and humor, and Gwendoline stands out as a cult favorite instead of another Indiana Jones knock-off. One of the funnier character’s is D’Arcy (named after the comic’s main villain ‘Sir Dystic D’Arcy’). However, in this movie version of the character, D’Arcy is an emasculated man-servant to the Queen, constantly repeating “Superb! You’re superb!” It’s dumb, but it made me chuckle every time.

Another unforgettable scene takes place when Gwendoline, Willard, and Beth have been capture by the jungle savages. It’s the movie’s ‘sex scene’ except there’s no actual fornication. Because the trio are tied up, Willard breathlessly describes to Gwendoline how he is making sweet, sweet fuckins to her. Gwendoline closes her eyes and rubs one out. The scene ends in another good laugh.

Gwendoline is definitely not for your average movie watcher. It’s goofier, more bizarre, and much sexier than an Indiana Jones flick. But it’s nowhere near as weird as something like Zardoz, another sexy sci-fi/fantasy. If you’re not squeamish about seeing an overabundance of nudity, and you’re open minded enough to watch half-dressed women pull carts in a chariot race reminiscent of Ben Hur (but not nearly as enthralling), then you may very well enjoy Just Jaeckin’s bizarre adaptation of ‘Sweet Gwendoline’ in the land of the Yik Yak.

The Tech Stuff (4 / 5)

Blu-ray label Camera Obscura recently announced the 4K UHD Blu-ray release of Gwendoline. Many other indie labels are slowly getting into the 4K market as well. Vinegar Syndrome started with Tammy and the T-Rex. Blue Underground launched 4K with Zombie. Shout Factory! = The Deer Hunter. So it’s only a matter of time before the price is right for Severin Films to get in the game. And with Gwendoline, they should!

The picture looks good. But with the amount of extras, and two version of the film, there has to be a good amount of compression to get all of that information squeezed into a single disc. Bare minimum, this should have been a two disc set, but I’m sure Severin did a cost analysis and it was just more cost effective to do it this way. It’s not a deal breaker, but a 4K movie-only disc, with the existing blu-ray would have made this a 5 rating easily.

Audio, on the other hand was very impressive in both quality, and the amount of choice tracks. With older movies I prefer the original version. In this case it’s best replicated with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. But the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is nothing to scoff at. Especially during some of the action set pieces, you’ll experience some nice movement around your room. And if you really want an authentic experience, the blu-ray also has the DTS-HD 2.0 and 5.1 tracks in French.

Extras (5 / 5)

Severin Films’ blu-ray is packed with more extras than this movie probably deserves. Although if you’re a fan, can you ever really have enough? The supplements are exhaustive. You get two versions of the movie, (the longer ‘Gwendoline’ is the superior of the two cuts), two commentary tracks, and a ton of featurettes delving deeply into the technical aspects of the pic. My favorite extra is the audio commentary with Kitaen and Huff. They’re both really fun together and the commentary is light, humorous, and informative. The entire collection of extras range between more ‘technical’, informative, and simply entertaining. And many of the crew are French so expect lots of ‘en frencé’ with English subtitles, so I hope you like reading!

Alternate US Release Version: THE PERILS OF GWENDOLINE IN THE LAND OF THE YIK YAK
Audio Commentary with Director Just Jaeckin
Audio Commentary with Stars Tawny Kitaen and Brent Huff
The Butterfly Effect: 2019 Interview with Director Just Jaeckin
Bondage Paradise: Interviews with Costume & Concept Designers & Comic Book Artists François Schuiten and Claude Renard
The Perils Of Production: Interview with Executive Producer Jean-Claude Fleury
Gwendoline’s Travels: Interview with Production Designer Françoise Deleu
Blu-Ray Promos with Tawny Kitaen & Brent Huff
The Last Temptation Of Just: 2006 Interview with Director Just Jaeckin
Dr. Kinsey Interview with John Willie, Creator of SWEET GWENDOLINE
Revealing Tawny Kitaen Photospread for French LUI Magazine
Trailers
Reversible Cover

Trash or Treasure? Overall Recommendation

The best thing about the coronavirus is that Hollywood has stopped making shitty movies. This gives us an opportunity to catch-up and discover better shitty movies.

Gwendoline is kinda dumb, but it’s also pretty fun. When Director Just Jaeckin was pre-planning Gwendoline you can tell tongue was panted firmly in cheek. The movie isn’t a faithful adaptation of the comic strip. Instead Jaeckin focused on making an adventure flick to entertain and titillate. He couldn’t completely curb his past erotic tendencies, but the movie ultimately benefits from this.

Severin Films’ blu-ray is a must-have for fans. The bonus content alone is exhaustive and complete. I think Severin missed an opportunity to jump into the 4K UHD ring with this transfer. Fans who need the best possible image quality will need to double dip on the German Camera Obscura release. However, that shouldn’t stop you from picking up this release if you’re feeling that desire.

And I’m still not showing this ‘family film’ to my kids.