FUEGO/THE
FEMALE (1968)Directors: Armando Bo, Leo Towers
Something Weird Video/Image Entertainment
FUEGO/THE
FEMALE (1968)So, months of hinting and begging Something Weird Video for a double feature DVD of Isabel Sarli films finally paid off! After importing the Brazilian horror icon Coffin Joe, Something Weird Video released on video a selection of titles starring the sizzling Argentinean film star Isabel Sarli. Frequently collaborating with director husband Armando Bo, Sarli broke into the American mindset with her role in 1968's FUEGO, and she needn't have made any other films to cement her reputation as a sex goddess of the highest caliber.
Laura (Sarli) is a young woman
living in a mansion with her reptilian lesbian maid Andrea. She meets and falls
in love with Carlos, a man of high society who sees in 
her
a vivaciousness he so longs to have in his life. But little does he know what
troubles lie in store for him. Laura suffers from a dangerous case of nymphomania,
desiring any man she lays her eyes on. Or as she puts, "I love you, but
I am consumed by the sexual fire inside! I need men! I NEED MEN!! "Strutting
around town in a string bikini underneath a bulky fur coat, enticing every man
she encounters with a quick romp in the woods, escalates into dangerous territory
when Carlos almost kills her latest conquest. And when Laura can't find any
men to satisfy her wicked carnal desires, she settles for the wild gropings
of Andrea, who figures feathers and beatings into her sexual shenanigans! It
all culminates in a laughably tragic twist of fate that will leave you tearing
the eyes from either a broken heart or splitting your sides with laughter.
The
truth is, folks, you'll never see another film like FUEGO ("fire").
Many American and European films have featured nymphomania in sex films, but
few have displayed the pros and cons of its effects on the human psyche...in
such a hilarious fashion! Filled with huge hair, garish eye make-up, an addictive
overplayed theme song that borders on genius, and over-the-top thrashings, screamings,
and dialogue, Armando Bo's all-color sexual adventure is never guilty of boredom.
Sarli is a breathtaking vision, dropping her clothes in every other scene, sultrily
posing in the wink of an eye, all in full color. Adult film actress Vanessa
Del Rio has named Sarli as her biggest influence, and it's not hard to see why!
It's a shame more of her films weren't released in the United States and for
the time being, still remain buried by the censorship boards of Argentina.
SWV's transfer of FUEGO isn't
as great as the film deserves. Every color in the film is simply stunning.
Each frame is dripping with luscious reds, blues, and greens, and displays Sarli's
wardrobe to its full beauty. Unfortunately, the print used is often covered
with dirt, there are splices and jumps during some of the nude scenes (possibly
obtained from several different prints?), and there are so few completely clean
frames you could count them on one hand. But where the presentation fails, it
also gains points for the simply gorgeous color restoration shown here. Miles
ahead of SWV's VHS transfer, FUEGO will doubtfully look better. The mono audio
has good level sand "Fuego" has never sounded better! The one problem:
a Spanish language track would have been wonderful. Hearing Isabel Sarli's original
voice would have been a surprise for her American fans, who have never been
exposed to it. The same would have been nice for the next feature on the bill,
THE FEMALE.
THE
FEMALE is a black-and-white feature typical of the foreign features usually
shown in arthouses. A few scenes of sex and very little nudity, while the rest
of the film is a stark adult melodrama. Needless to say, it's pretty boring
if viewed after the outrageous FUEGO (surprisingly made the same year). But
viewed on a separate occasion will reveal a well-made little film, with a good
performance from Sarli. She plays the young daughter of a farmer who falls in
love with a burly, but boring sheepherder who whisks her away to his isolated
farm in the desert. Into their lives comes a fugitive horse thief who plays
Sarli like a piano. Torn between the two men in her life, she makes a woefully
tragic mistake and ends up in a whorehouse, where she relates the film in flashback
while fearing a hole in her ceiling!
THE FEMALE is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, which seems very tight for this film. 1.66:1 would have been more accurate, but the print used for this film makes up for it. For a black-and-white print of a film that played few arthouses and disappeared from sight for 30 years, THE FEMALE is damn near flawless! Much more detail and clarity than FUEGO's print, Sarli provides no nudity in this film. But viewers who don't go in expecting an exploitation film will be presently surprised by the depth and intelligence of this film. Quite like the earlier SWV release JOHNNY FIRECLOUD!, another witty film hidden behind an exploitation moniker.
SWV always delivers the good with
extras, and this disc includes some choice trailer pickings (all from Argentina
unless otherwise noted). Three (count 'em) trailers for FUEGO are shown, with
varying degrees of nudity and ballyhoo. Trailer #1 is the more 
familiar
of the trio, but all are worth owning. Trailer #3 is a French trailer, and Trailers
#'s 1-2 both feature the original Spanish language track. There is no FEMALE
trailer, which isn't surprising considering the rarity of the film itself. THE
CURIOUS DR. HUMPP is a vastly overrated sexploitation item that has been released
on DVD from SWV, and the trailer highlights the made-in-the-USA sex inserts
more than the monster in the film. DEADLY ORGAN is a similar venture into the
sex-horror hybrid genre that is forthcoming from SWV on DVD as FEAST OF FLESH
double-billed with NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES. LOVE HUNGER is a color sex drama
with romance, intrigue, and violence. SWV offers it on VHS. NO EXIT is a film
version of the brilliant Jean-Paul Sartre play starring Viveca Lindfors and
Rita Gam which won dual prizes at the Berlin Film Festival for Best Actress!
No video release yet, but it looks wonderful. PUT OUT OR SHUT UP is a strange
one. It appears to be a sex western from Armando Bo with a great catfight scene,
but the title changes in the trailer back and forth between PUT OUT OR SHUT
UP and POSITIONS OF LOVE. Hmmm... THE UNSATISFIED is a juvenile delinquent tale
from Spain which features Gigi Darlene in U.S inserts!! THE PINK PUSSY is a
great sexploitation vehicle which also stars June Roberts in US inserts!!
Also on hand here are two pretty
dumb "short subjects" excerpted from feature films. SOUTH AMERICAN
SMOKE-DEN STRIPPER has a stripper doing her thing in a smoke den...kinda like
the title suggests. SOUTH AMERICAN S&M SHOW is more interesting and reminds
one of the Audrey Campbell OLGA films. The Gallery of Sexploitation Art with
Radio-Spot Rarities is top-notch, as usual. Despite featuring the same posters
as seen in every previous gallery, the radio 
spots
are all new and great listening. Easter Egg hunters should highlight on the
menu the option to play FUEGO and press left. SWV has included a short excerpt
from the black-and-white NAKED TEMPTATION, starring Isabel Sarli and directed
by Armando Bo.
FUEGO/THE FEMALE is a winner of a disc, one of the best SWV has done. Viewers experiencing THE FEMALE are apt to claim the film is not an appropriate second feature to FUEGO. But both films present intensely different performances from the wonderful Sarli and there is no better introduction to her seductive charms than this disc, a long time coming and no disappointment in any way. (Casey Scott)