An homage to the infamous titular ‘50s pinup girl, Playboy centerfold, and smut icon, Bettie Page: Dark Angel does a faithful job of recreating the absurdity of much of the film erotica of the time, combining docudrama vignettes from Page's life with relatively lavish recreations of the films she starred in for seat-of-the-pants producer Irving Klaw. In fact, these scenes strikingly capture the look and feel of the cheesy sets and limp action of Klaw's oeuvre, the highlights of which featured Page and other actresses rolling around on the floor pretending to wrestle, or being intricately trussed up and stroked lightly with whips and such, all the while wearing two or three pairs of panties, since--as the Klaw character remarks here--any sight of pubic hair would get the filmmakers busted and the films seized as being obscene. Much has been made of Page's fresh-faced portrayals of obviously staged S&M and other relatively softcore porn, and actress Paige Richards captures her look and attitude well in this otherwise unpolished production. Ultimately, however, writer-director Nico B.'s intentions are undercut by the amateurish stagings (especially on the docudrama side)--with the overall result being that Bettie Page: Dark Angel is closer to Showgirls than Ed Wood both in terms of presentation and appeal. DVD extras include a "Behind the Scenes: Bondage, Fighting & Nudity" featurette, Europop-like “original musical recordings,” and a photo gallery. Collections with an interest in Page--and surely there must be some--may want to pick up this video, but most would be better served by acquiring the package of real features, The Bettie Page Collection, a three-disc set also put out by Cult Epics, priced at $49.95. Optional. Aud: C, P. (M. Tribby)[Blu-ray Review—June 19, 2012—Cult Epics, 75 min., not rated, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's Bettie Page: Dark Angel sports a good transfer with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. Extras include "The Original Bondage Films of Bettie Page" from 1951-1956 (40 min.), a behind-the-scenes section with a photo shoot, casting call, and rehearsals (28 min.), the 1993 short "In Search of Bettie Page" by filmmaker Nico B (10 min.), an "Uncut: Dominant Bettie in Black Corselet" segment (8 min.), "The 57' Incident" 1996 Teaserama music video by Nico B (2 min.), and a stills gallery. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut that improves on the DVD release by including Page's original films.]
Bettie Page: Dark Angel
(2004) 75 min. DVD: $24.95. Cult Epics (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 20, Issue 2
Bettie Page: Dark Angel
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