Joseph W. Sarno Retrospective Series: Moonlighting Wives + The Naked Fog (both 1966/Film Movement Blu-ray)/Last Romantic Lover (1978/Cult Epics Blu-ray*)/Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)/Night Of The Iguana (1964/MGM/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Quiet Days In Clichy 4K (1970/Blue Underground 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray/*both MVD)

4K Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B- & B/B/B- & C/B/B Sound: C+/B-/B & C+/B-/B- Extras: C+/B/C/C/B- Films: C+/B-/C/C+/B-

PLEASE NOTE: The Night Of The Iguana Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

Now for films trying to deal with human sexuality with an actual narrative and even some intelligence....

Joseph W. Sarno Retrospective Series: Moonlighting Wives and The Naked Fog (both 1966) continues the long-term restoration and look at the independent filmmakers' output of tales with adult situations, nudity and some pre-XXX-era sexual content. In both films, Tammy LaTour plays two different women who get into the oldest profession in the world by also being in 'more respectable ones' (stenography and just plain writing respectively) with often similar results.

Not a fan of the last films of his we covered (reviewed by another writer) and no more impressed by these, I can say I can see how this was a little more shocking and titillating in its time when sexual freedom and a sexual revolution was on the upswing. However, not much here was very memorable, but I give all participating credit for at least taking the material seriously somewhat and not letting it be the stupid clown show it would have been in idiotic hands if done today. Too bad they have not held up and are just not much better. Now you can see for yourself.

Extras include another solid feature length audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas on Moonlighting Wives, plus on-camera interviews with director Joe Sarno (2006) and cinematographer Jerry Kalogeratos (2007).

For more on Sarno in this series, go to this link for more links:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/new/viewer.cgi?search=sarno

Just Jaeckin's The Last Romantic Lover (1978) was meant to be a change of sorts from the big three films the director had just made: the original and oft ripped-off megahit Emmanuelle, a rare adaption of The Story Of O and Madame Claude (all reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) to be less sexual, but still have nudity and erotica in it. The title refers to a contest with often half-naked men (though the film does not get into gay subtexts or the like) and a very beautiful woman (Dayle Haddon, looking really good here) getting involved with a male entry, a lion tamer (Gerard Ismael) from a traveling circus!

Fellini fans need not worry as there is only so much circus here, but the makers try to make a parallel between that and the male beauty contest, though the guys are very average-looking and the film shows its age because today, these guys would have been hitting the gym and taking body enhancers, et al, so think of that aspect as a time capsule of sorts.

Fernando Rey plays the head of the circus, glad his friend is holding his own the in title competition and the sex is as lite as the nudity. However, though the film has its moments, its nothing great, but at least tries to be different and I can see why some people might like this film. However, it was just not for me and Jaeckin remains one of the odder directors for me, not quite and auteur, but never too boring either.

Extras include a feature length audio commentary track by Jeremy Richey (Author of the book Sylvia Kristel: from Emmanuelle to Chabrol,) separate on-camera interviews (shot in HD) with Director Just Jaeckin and Lead Actress Dayle Haddon (2022) and trailers for more Cult Epics releases.

Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023) is allegedly the last film with Channing Tatum loosely adapting his previous real-life work as a stripper, but despite the welcome addition of Salma Hayek as a wealthy woman up to no good to get him, this one just drags on and on and on and is for fans only.

Tatum has stayed in shape, so fans cannot complain about that and this does not get real silly or the like, but the first film to me was passable, the second a big disappointment and I did not even know what to expect from that one. Also, it feels like this one took too long, so there is a sense of dullness and lack of energy to the whole thing. Thus, it is for fans only, if that.

Extras include Digital Movie Code copy, while the discs add the featurette: Magic Mike's New Moves and a Deleted Scene.

For more on the previous Magic Mike films, find our coverage on them at this link:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/new/viewer.cgi?search=magic+mike

John Huston's The Night Of The Iguana (1964) is based on the Tennessee Williams' play about a former priest (Richard Burton) in a Mexican town suddenly having to deal with three very different women who have mutual interest in him and vice versa. One is a teen flirt, one an artist and one a hotel owner. Can he handle the situation, will it become explosive and will it destroy a man who is already having major life issues?

Huston was taking more elaborate risks at the timer this film arrived and was on the bandwagon to take advantage of the new freedoms slowly arriving in Hollywood. It kept him more on the cutting edge than expected, no matter how things worked out (though he still made big commercial films like The Bible (1966) and landed up being one of the five director's trying to make the fiasco that was the spoofy 1967 version of Casino Royale work) so he was also in an odd hit or miss period.

The best in he business still wanted to work with him and Burton, so they got no less than Ava Gardner, Sue Lyon and Deborah Kerr as the women. The acting is good and the film has its moments, but I did not buy it when I first saw it a long time ago and there is still something a bit off about it. It has aged in odd ways and maybe playing against censorship and changes made from the play to the movie is an issue, though that would require a separate essay to analyze.

Still, this is as good as I have ever heard or seen it (see more below) and those curious have a new chance to take it on.

Extras include two Making Of featurettes: Night Of The Iguana: Huston's Gamble and On The Trail Of The Iguana, plus Original Theatrical Trailers.

Jens Jorgen Thorsen's Quiet Days In Clichy 4K (1970) is the blunt, graphic, honest, no-holds-barred first film adaption of the Henry Miller book about two young men in Paris having a wild time with little money, yet plenty of sex, drugs and other madness. Censored at the time (this was two years before Deep Throat) with all of its English-language film prints sieged by authorities, it won its court case like so many other such films. Oddly, it was little seen in the decades since, so it is great it has survived and done so so well.

Blue Underground is issuing it in this remarkable 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition (and adding a regular Blu-ray for convenience) for a film that is a great counterculture touchstone and long overdue for rediscovery. Be warned that the language, situations, drug use, nudity and drugs are all over the place, so this is not for some people, who might actually be taken aback by it.

I like the French New Wave Style it sometimes offers and the cast of unknowns, including Paul Valjean, Wayne Rodda, Avi Sagild, Ulla Lemvich Muller, Susanne Krage and Louise White are impressively fearless, while other people are just standing by not knowing the film is even being made. I had heard of this film for a long time and though I would not consider it a classic, it is a remarkable film and anyone interested (including 4K fans, see below) should strongly consider getting a copy.

Extras on the Blu-ray include Songs of Clichy: Interview with Country Joe McDonald, Dirty Books, Dirty Movies: Barney Rosset on Henry Miller interview with Henry Miller's editor and publisher Barney Rosset, 'Midnight Blue' Interview with Barney Rosset, a new Deleted Scene, recovered Original Theatrical Trailer (both also on the 4K version), new Poster & Still Gallery, Book Cover Gallery and even new Court Documents!

For more on Clichy, try our coverage of the previous Blu-ray release:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10931/Quiet+Days+In+Clichy+(1970/Blue+Underground+

Now for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Quiet looks really good for an independently-produced, low budget film of its age with fine detail, depth and clarity that is among the best monochrome films now ever released on home video. Its transfer is up there with the best 4K movie black and white releases we've seen (and there are still not enough) including Casablanca 4K, Criterion's Night Of The Living Dead 4K, Hitchcock's Psycho 4K and Criterion's The Seventh Seal 4K. Demo material throughout to say the least and helps dispel the idea that black and white is 'old film' or somehow dated. It kills the idea such footage needs colorized or something as totally stupid. The 1080p regular Blu-ray looks good for what it is, but it is no match for the 4K here.

The 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on the Sarno films (black & white for Fog, color for Wives) can show the age of the materials used because these are independent films with some rough spots, but they still look pretty good and Wives tends to be better overall with solid color and has survived a bit better.

The 1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Lover can also show the age of the materials used, but the color is very consistent and diffusion lenses were used often in the shoot, making this softer more often per the way it was shot. We get some fine demo scenes too.

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Mike is an HD shoot and one of the poorest Blu-ray performers here despite being the newest production and release. It does not even look as good as the first film and the darkness get repetitive. The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on the DVD is barely passable and is, like the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1, here as a convenience at best.

That leaves the 1080p 1.85 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfer on Iguana showing its age a little, but Warner's restoration delivers another impressive job and this is as good as it will look outside of a pristine 35mm or maybe 16mm reduction photochemical film print.

As for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Mike is the sonic champ here by default, well mixed and presented, but not so shockingly memorable that it will be demo material. The film is often dialogue-based. Lover has three soundtracks in a surprisingly decent DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that brings out the best in the original theatrical mono sound, but we also get that sound in PCM 2.0 Mono form that is a bit lacking and is missing some of the fine detail and warmth the 5.1 upgrade delivers, then there is the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that is here maybe for a convenience for grandfathered systems, but it is easily the weakest o the three.

The two Sarno films are here in PCM 2.0 Stereo, doing what they can to upgrade their old monophonic, low-budget sound and it cannot hide or get rid of flaws in the original recordings, but this is a valiant effort and makes these sound as good as they can.

That leaves both Clichy and Iguana, two monophonic theatrical films, presented here in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mixes that are also as good as these films will ever sound and the work to restore them definitely pays off in both cases.

To order the Warner Archive Night Of The Iguana Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20

- Nicholas Sheffo