Erotic films usually keep within the same narrow lines. They usually take themselves very seriously, try to deliver some poorly hidden political message or statement, or are outright pornography, with vague attempts at story thrown in as an afterthought.
Gwendoline is entirely different.

Then again, it isn’t entirely erotic either.

The first thing that you will notice that sets Gwendoline apart from its peers is that there actually is a story - and a film-friendly three-act story at that. Here we have Gwendoline (Tawny Kitaen) stowing away in a cargo crate to China in effort to find her lost father. Chinese thieves get to her first and plan to kidnap her. Thankfully, she is saved by reluctant hero Willard (Brent Huff), who does more than a little smuggling and gambling in the Orient. Gwen is instantaneously attracted to him, but Willard would rather not be bothered. He simply wants to live out his all-for-himself lifestyle.

Not the type to be outdone, Gwen and her friend Beth (French model-turned-director Zibou) trick Willard into helping them with the search for Gwen’s father. But once it becomes apparent that Gwen’s father is no longer alive, the quest continues, now with a new goal: the rare butterfly that he was searching for. Their quest is not without obstacles though. Along the way they have to deal with a rogue alligator, pirate tribesmen and a lost Amazonian culture in the land of the Yik Yak.

There are so many similarities to other films that Gwendoline could almost be considered parody, especially when taking into account just how goddamned goofy it is. The hero cops the complete look of Bogart’s character in The African Queen. But now imagine that same character with the personality of Stifler from the American Pie movies. Yeah, exactly like that. There are shades of Indiana Jones throughout the film, with temples changing shape and walls moving, and they share the same lushly awesome visuals. Then in the third act, when the film takes a drastic change and it jumps into 5th gear, the Yik Yak sets look like something drawn by Ken Adam for the early James Bond films, with shades of Barbarella spread liberally throughout.

A little more about those sets: The mish-mosh of differing set styles is truly strange. The look is extremely odd throughout, with an unbalanced mix of nature and sci-fi elements. The film’s characters are built to match, completely off-kilter and silly as can be. The villains are amongst the least threatening that the silver screen has ever seen. The whole movie could be accurately described as Romancing The Stone– with topless nudity. As a cable television standby in the mid-‘80s, this film was a perfect fit.

Going back to the eroticism, don’t look too hard for it. Not only is this softcore fare, it’s barely that. There is nudity and many of the characters are in sexually suggestive positions, but there is only one actual sex scene, and it’s covered up at that. You won’t miss it, though, because the film is a blast of fun from start to finish. The cast is easy enough on the eyes and any overacting is easily swallowed when taken in context with the silly script and situations.

Absolutely ANYONE will have a great time watching Gwendoline.

Presentation
Considering the age and budget of the film, and similarly shot films of the same era, the video rocks. The film can be grainy at times, but this is more due to the film stock than the DVD. It is presented in anamorphic widescreen with two 5.1 sound mixes (French & English). Having both versions of the audio is great (it was filmed in English) though the 5.1 mixes are only obvious during certain scenes. One troubling thing is that English subs are only available on the French audio tracks. For being the very first offering from a new studio, Severin started out strong, and hopefully will continue to live up to the standards that they set.

And the Extras Are?
Feature-length audio commentary with Director Just Jaeckin & others - The commentary that we are given with this release is very good. Director Just Jaeckin delivers all kinds of technical goodness about the film. What makes this considerably better than your average commentary track is that it is moderated, with additional questions supplied by journalist Tony Crawley. [Note: I have know idea if I am spelling this right. There is nothing on the packaging that indicates who this guy is.] This makes it so that in addition to the comments on locations, behavior of actors, and difficulties with cold egg sandwiches, we also get to hear Jaeckin’s reactions to Tony mentioning that Kitaen is more known in the U.S. for her role in the Whitesnake videos than Gwendoline, and how she beat the living shit out of Chuck Finley. It isn’t entirely focused solely on the film, but it makes for a wonderfully entertaining track.

Revealing Tawny Kitaen photospread for French LUI Magazine - Pretty much exactly as the title states, this is a very small collection (10 to be exact) of photos taken by Jaeckin himself to promote the film. The explicitness of this material is somewhere between Maxim Magazine and Playboy. A nice inclusion for this DVD.

“The Last Temptation of Just”: Interview with Director Just Jaeckin (24:20) - Now this is a fantastic feature. It covers pretty much any questions the viewer might have about Just Jaeckin. Just comes off as completely likeable and he openly discusses not only Gwendoline, but also his other works Emmanuelle, The Story Of O, and the rest of his career output. As a supplement, it is also extremely well edited and straightforward. There is very little fluff at all. In fact, if you were to watch only one feature on this disc, this should be the one. A perfect feature.

Dr. Kinsey interview with ‘Sweet Gwendoline’ creator John Willie (43:17) - I am not going to get into the history of the Kinsey Institute, and I will assume you know about it (if not, rent the 2004 film Kinsey). John Willie was the artist and creator of the comic strip that Gwendoline is based upon. This interview from 1962 explores how he was sexually inspired to make such a strip, his fascination with the fetishism of bondage, and even features him singing a few bawdy songs. It is an interesting interview, but the recording is of generally poor quality and difficult to discern at points. Not that this is any fault of the DVD. It is a good inclusion, but this audio only feature will be of little interest to the average viewer.

U.S. Theatrical Trailer (1:38), International Theatrical Trailer (2:12) - Always a worthy inclusion, we are supplied with the two theatrical trailers. The U.S. trailer is for the slightly cut version released theatrically as The Perils Of Gwendoline In The Land Of The Yik Yak. As expected, it concentrates more on the adventure film parody and silliness aspects of the film. The international version is without any source of narration, and focuses more on the eroticism and lush environments. Both are good trailers, but I think the U.S. trailer, somewhat ironically, better captures the true spirit of the film.

Fine
Gwendoline is a fine example of what mainstream erotic cinema should aspire to. It isn’t too serious, it isn’t pornographic. Pure and simple, it’s just fun. Like all of Jaeckin’s movies, Gwendoline is artistic and entertaining enough to appeal to both sexes, and it is a blast to see a very young Kitaen and Huff. With the great quality video, and surprisingly in-depth DVD package, there is no reason for anyone interested to decline revisiting this 1980s masterpiece of late-night cable television. B-movies don’t get much more awesome than this. I hope that Severin gets the rights to some more of Jaeckin’s catalog. All movies deserve presentation as good as Gwendoline has received.