Customer Reviews

The Lickerish Quartet

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Lickerish Quartet" is what I always thought pornography should be, but never is. There is enough sex in the movie, but it's all very real-seeming, without being vulgar (no close-up entry shots, etc.) The settings are evocative and stylish, the story line is OK, and the individual scenes (even besides the sex) are extremely interesting and intriguing. Expect some subtle eroticism, and a lot of not-so-subtle.

"The Lickerish Quartet" is a shining example of alternative 1970's film making. In a time when adult films had to be classified as "art-films" to avoid censorship, writers and directors were forced to put a lot of effort into plot, dialog, and storyline. The end result sometimes worked better than others and here we see just how imaginitive a.... film can be. Beautiful cinematography, grandiose setting, and a certain "twighlight-zone" twist, make this film anything but boring. What makes it shine is the way it reflects the ... vision of 1970. The sex is free and easy, though carefully handled and practically "R" rated. If you like seduction, passion, and lovers running through the grass, this is the film for you. There's plenty of porn around, but this is something else. The motorcycle stunt scene is worth the price of the film alone. Director Radley Metzger has secured a place in film history.

I once wrote a review on "Wildflowers" (2000) suggesting that it should have won an Oscar for cinematography. Same thing applies here. Anybody who has been captured by (or curious about) the mystical splendor of Europe's old castles doesn't want to miss this 1970 movie. Whether it's erotic enough (or too erotic for an art film) is another story. Cinematography alone defines pretty well the difference between "Lickerish Quartet" and thousands of sleazy flicks out there. (P.S. I first gave it 3 stars then realized Sylvana Venturelli's stunning beauty deserved another one).

Watch it as a "regular" movie as the sex scenes aren't really TOP! But the movie itself is quite nice, some nice avant guard movie making (being the 70's), the story is not bad, nice parallel stories and flashbacks...

Worth watching, but don't expect to be "horny as hell" after....

Although it's definitly a 70's movie - clothing styles, music,etc., this is more like a French film the way it is presented. Presents a story but leaves the main characters somewhat mysterious and leaves you with as many questions as it answers. Good fun - you just have to watch it again to try to figure it out. As others have said, beautifully filmed and quite well done. Our first Metzger film, but not our last!

The Lickerish Quartet, though tame by today's standards comes from an era when for a movie to have some explicit content would have to be deemed "to have political, social or artistic value". The "experimental" aspects of The Lickerish Quartet are weird or don't make sense like sudden cuts to Bosch paintings or a couple making love on a floor with words written on it as from a dictionary that suddenly happen to be words relating to sexual terms. The whole "was it real or just a dream?" plot barely pieces together. It is a relic of its time. Radley Metzger, unlike Russ Meyer (Mudhoney, Vixen) the other "auteur" of this genre puts together a film that is fun to watch as a camp classic but otherwise will have you scratching your head one minute and laughing the next.

To be honest, I purchased this dvd because of the numerous positive reviews I read on the web. I was very disappointed. It is very "70's" looking (and sounding) and has little value as a supposedly erotic film. Outside of a few visually interesting scenes (i.e. an older (ugly) guy and a young (very attractive) woman rolling around on a floor covered with what looks like giant pages out of a dictionary, with definitions of sexually oriented terms). Most of the film came off as pretentious, boring, and outdated. I have seen one other Metzger film to date, "Therese and Isabel", and that one was slightly superior.

Clumsy attempts at eroticism usually come out vulgar, as did this. Alternating scenes of the movie and the home movie within it is only one example.

No redeeming qualities, except maybe the cute blond in a short skirt. That is all. Dumb settings, not artful or exciting. Who cares about a weird bored family living in a castle, with a grown up son who likes to do magic tricks? Life is too short for this.