Tinto Brass is having a career revival. The Italian director is mainly known in America for having his name on the infamous Caligula. You couldn’t go into a videostore in the ’80s without finding a copy on the shelf. Tinto’s name is listed as director, but Bob Guccione, producer and publisher of Penthouse magazine had hijacked the production from him. He shot extra explicit scenes and stuck them into the film. This butchery ruined Brass’ cinematic aesthetic with a lot of American viewers. While other European directors had their erotic films on the video shelves, Brass wasn’t too in demand. But that is changing over four decades later thanks to Cult Epics.
Nico B’s The Films of Tinto Brass: From The Avant-Garde to Erotica is a complete guide to the director’s feature work. Brass started as a director in 1963 with Who Works Is Lost. When another production was delayed, Brass suggested to the producer that they should shoot a different film while waiting. This was back during the glory days of Euro cinema and the producer agreed to give Brass two weeks to shoot his film. He shot on a shoestring budget and ended up with a film that helped establish him in the business as a filmmaker. It was an arty film that impressed the right people. Novelist Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose) commissioned Brass to make a film for the Milan Triennial. Later in his career, he’d get caught up in the wave of Spaghetti Westerns with his film Yankee starring Adolfo Celi. When he worked with Franco Nero (Django), it was a movie called Dropout that also starred Vanessa Redgrave. This success led to his big European hit Salon Kitty about kinky business in Germany during the early ’40s. The movie looked grand thanks to the hiring of Ken Adam, the production designer behind many James Bond films. This film brought him to the attention of Guccione when he wanted to made major X-rated movie about Caligula starring Peter O’Toole (Lawrence of Arabia), Malcom McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), John Gielgud (Arthur) and Helen Mirren (The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover) and written by Gore Vidal. The controversaries and conflicts are all covered here. It was not a happy shoot. It remains a pain to Brass. The current owners of the film cut a whole new Caligula using outtakes and presented it at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Brass openly objected to his film getting yanked around again. The director recently turned 91 and he is still feisty. Brass didn’t let the disaster of dealing with Guccione derail his career. He went to make Action the next year. When Caligula came out and made box office bucks, producers were eager to back Brass. This led to a string of hits in the ’80s until the early 2000s. This was a time when he delved deep into the erotic cinema. The 252-page book is a healthy mix of text and photographs from his films. You do want to see what Brass was shooting. There’s plenty of posters and lobby cards from around the world. You can witness how people were lured into see the lurid action. The Films of Tinto Brass: From The Avant-Garde to Erotica gives a lot of depth to the filmmaker and his work. Nico B gives us an idea what it’s like to sit back and hear Brass share his cinematic life while puffing away on a cigar.
After you finish the book, you’ll be eager to see more of Brass’ movies. Nico B’s Cult Epics gives us All Ladies Do It (Così fan tutte) in 4K UHD (and Blu-ray). This is the uncut version. The movie is a non-musical adaptation of Mozart’s Così fan tutte opera. There do seem to be many cues from the opera playing as background music. The film pops with color as the cast pops out of their wardrobe quite often. This is definitely a film you would have rented from Videorama back in 1992.
Diana (Miracolo italiano‘s Claudia Koll) frustrated by her marriage to Paolo (Fear of Loving‘s Paolo Lanza). He’s a great provider, but he gets rather boring in the bedroom. She wants a wildness to her life. She craves the debauchery happening around her. She tells Paolo stories that sound like her fantasies, but are a bit confessional at what she’s done to others when he wasn’t around or distracted. She hasn’t quite gone all the way and mainly teases the lecherous men. This includes her boss at the lingerie shop who uses the fitting rooms for hooking up. Her aunt in Venice passes away and she inherits the apartment. Diana journeys up from Rome and discovers her Aunt was not a prude. Amongst the furniture and clothes is a pile of photographs and 8mm “home movies” from her Aunt’s wild days. This inspires her to meet up with a guy she’d flirted hard with at a poetry reading in Rome. His apartment is full of art dedicated to the female behind and Diana is more than willing to see how her review view compares to the masterpieces. Will her husband catch on that her fantasies are a bit confessional?
All Ladies Do It is a beautiful film. The camerawork, lighting and sets elevate Claudia Koll’s presence and performance. This is the perfect place to start if you’re curious about the work of Tinto Brass. You’re not having to deal with any atrocities from Ancient Rome or Germany to harsh the eroticism. It’s a couple in Italy who need to bring back their carnal joy. There is plenty of carnality on the screen. Brass takes us to ecstasy fueled parties and a road covered in wall-to-wall street walkers. You even get to see Tinto Brass in a small role as a guy bringing his “niece” to the lingerie store. All Ladies Do It is a perfect taste of Italian wildness with Claudia Koll shedding her inhibitions. The 4K UHD of All Ladies Do It and The Films of Tinto Brass: From The Avant-Garde to Erotica book are the proper way to enjoy the Tinto Brass revival.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 4K transfer is struck form the original camera negative. This must be the best it’s ever looked. You’ll see so much in the details. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo in both Italian and the English dub. There’s also Mono mix in both Italian and English. You’ll feel like you’re with Diana at the rave. The movie is subtitled in English.
Blu-ray with the new transfer and bonus features.
Audio Commentary with Eugenio Erolani & Troy Howarth has them get into Tinto Brass’ 18th feature film. They point out where Brass puts his director’s credit.
Interview with Tinto Brass (15:19) was recorded in 2001. He’s hanging out in his dining room, smoking a cigar and discussing what went into making All Ladies Do It. He explains how one actress not only got into this film, but became the lead in his next film. He does the interview in English.
Outtakes (9:57) is from a previous edition. A few of the scenes are now in the uncut movie on the 4K UHD disc. This includes the wild outdoor party.
Still Photo Gallery (2:05) are the publicity photos that would be sent to your favorite gentleman’s magazine.
Trailer Gallery includes All Ladies Do it, Frivolous Lola, Paprika, P.O. Box Tinto Brass and Intintobrass. The last film is a documentary that has Franco Nero, Helen Mirren and Ken Adam discuss their time with the director.
4 Reproduction Italian Lobby Cards that are suitable for framing.
20 page Booklet with “From Demon To Saint: The Career of Claudi Koll” has authors Eugenio Ercolani and Domenico Monetti reveal the abrupt career change of actress Koll. There’s plenty of photos from the film and her other movies.
Cult Epics presents All Ladies Do It. Directed by Tinto Brass. Screenplay by Tinto Brass, Bernardino Zapponi & Francesco Costa. Starring Claudia Koll, Paolo Lanza, Franco Branciaroli, Ornella Marcucci, Isabella Deiana, Renzo Rinaldi & Jean-René Lemoine. Running Time: 97 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 2, 2024.
