9 Lives of a Wet Pussy – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1976
Director: Jimmy Boy L. (Abel Ferrara)
Writer: Nicholas George (Nicholas St. John)
Cast: Pauline LaMonde, Dominique Santos, Tony Richards, Nicholas George (Nicholas St. John), Jimmy Laine (Abel Ferrara)

Release Date: August 27th, 2019
Approximate Running Time: 70 Minutes 3 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $32.98

"Pauline (Pauline LaMonde), a wealthy and bored socialite, has a secret relationship with an opium smoking tarot card reading mystic, known only as Gypsy (Dominique Santos). Recording and reporting on her various sexual experiences, as well as those of her friends, Pauline and Gypsy each use each other to explore their darkest sexual and emotional recesses. But as Pauline begins to pull away from her emotional connection to Gypsy, Gypsy herself realizes that she must keep Pauline under her control at all costs." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm original negative."

9 Lives of a Wet Pussy comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20 GB

Feature: 19 GB

There are a few moments of noticeable print damage, but the bulk of this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, black levels and image clarity remain strong throughout. The grain remains intact, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles. There are no issues with background hiss or distortion; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan.

Included with this release is a DVD that has the same content as the Blu-Ray included as part of this combo.

Summary:

In the 1970's, many aspiring filmmakers used XXX cinema as a way to launch their careers. Though many of these filmmakers have acknowledged their forays into XXX cinema, Abel Ferrara (The Driller Killer, King of New York) has distanced himself from 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy, his feature film directorial debut.

That being said, 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy has all the core elements that have become synonymous with XXX cinema. To simply write it off as just another sex film would be doing 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy a disservice.

The well-constructed narrative alternates between sex scenes and exposition scenes with a woman named Gypsy who recounts the sexual rendezvous of a character named Pauline. And though the sex scenes have an ample amount of heat, the way in which they’re shot goes against the norm, and several of the sex scenes are best described as soft-core erotica.

Without a doubt, the most surprising aspects of 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy are the performances. The cast is all first-time performers, most of whom have never appeared in another XXX film. with the standout performance being Pauline LaMonde in the role of Pauline. Despite her dialog being limited to voice-over narration, she manages to deliver a captivating performance due to her psychic screen presence.

Most XXX films from this era lifted music without permission or consisted of library tracks. The score for 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy is composed of original songs. Another strength of the score is how it uses rock music. That’s the polar opposite of what one would expect from a 1970’s XXX film.

Even at this early stage of his career, Abel Ferrara showed signs of being able to create visually arresting moments. Standout moments include a scene where Pauline’s naked body gyrates on a white florescent floor; a scene where Pauline and her sister rape their overbearing religious father (Abel Ferrara portrays Pauline’s father), who’s passed out after drinking too much; and this film’s most controversial moment, a scene where a woman gets raped at knife point on a stairwell. Though not one of Abel Ferrara’s better films, 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy gives one a chance to see how far he has come as a filmmaker.

9 Lives of a Wet Pussy gets an excellent release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer