Score: Uncensored Version – Cult Epics (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA/Yugoslavia, 1973
Director: Radley Metzger
Writer: Jerry Douglas
Cast: Claire Wilbur, Casey Donovan, Lynn Lowry, Gerald Grant, Carl Parker

Release Date: October 12th, 2010
Approximate Running Time: 91 Minutes 38 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"a tale of a happily married swinging couple (Claire Wilbur and Gerald Grant), who make a bet that they can seduce a couple of newly weds (Lynn Lowry "I Drink Your Blood" and Cal Culver) during a weekend get-together a their luxury Riviera villa." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New, Restored High-Definition Transfer".

Score comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.3 GB

Feature: 15 GB

The source looks great; there is still some minor debris. Flesh tones look healthy, with nicely saturated colors, strong image clarity and black levels, excellent compression, and an organic look.

Audio: 3.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English, with no subtitles. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, things are satisfactory.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for Score (3 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for The Lickerish Quartet (2 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Camille 2000 (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a featurette titled On the Set of Score, narrated by film historian Michael Bowen (18 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Lynn Lowry titled Keeping Score with Lynn Lowry (19 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and an audio commentary with director Radley Metzger and Michael Bowen.

Summary:

A sexually adventurous couple seduces a newlywed couple.

By the time Radley Metzger directed Score, he had already firmly established himself as one of the world’s most renowned auteurs of erotic cinema. A year before, Score made its theatrical debut; the cinematic landscape of erotic cinema had already begun to change with the release of Gerard Damiano’s Deep Throat. Not yet ready to fully make the transition into hardcore, Score is a transitional film that showcases Radley Metzger's prowess at creating visually arresting moments of erotica that not only stimulate one's mind but also one's libido.

Though there are explicit moments of sex that do appear in Score, it's a film that straddles softcore and hardcore. That said, Score’s sex scenes are not just haphazardly thrown together, they are carefully crafted with the utmost care. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect merging of the worlds of softcore and hardcore cinema than in the finale for Score.

When it comes to the performances, it is Lynn Lowry’s (The Crazies) portrayal of Betsy that carries Score. Betsy is an Alice in Wonderland-like character whose journey leads her to a sexual wonderland. That said, it is hard to imagine Score with Lynn Lowry, who delivers one of her best performances. Radley Metzger reinforces the importance of Lynn Lowry in the audio commentary.

Despite many softcore erotica films having lesbian characters, scenes between two men were not common. When it comes to sex scenes between two men, a film like Score takes things to another level. Ultimately, Score is Radley Metzger’s most underappreciated film, and now that a fully uncut version of the film is finally available, maybe now it can be viewed with fresh eyes and finally find the audience that has always eluded it.

Score gets a first-rate release from Cult Epics that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and insightful extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer