Bilitis Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Bilitis Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 8, 2022

David Hamilton was a famous British photographer who loved to take pictures of young girls in various stages of undress. He was a controversial figure, inspiring intense debates about the definition of pornography. Eventually, he made his way into the director’s chair, bringing his love of underage pursuits to the big screen in 1977’s “Bilitis,” which offers a coming-of-age story about an adolescent girl trying to understand her sexuality. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hamilton isn’t a decent storyteller (working with a script co-written by fellow provocateur, Catherine Breillat), using the moment to…well, photograph young girls in various states of undress. He certainly has his fetish, and crafts a movie that makes one feel as though they’re on some type of watch list when it’s over.

Bilitis (Patti D’Arbanville) is a girl who’s trying to wrap her mind around the idea of sex, attending a school that’s filled with equally curious teenagers. For the summer, Bilitis is off to live with Melissa (Mona Kristensen) and her husband, Pierre (Gilles Kohler), getting a sense of marital strife and male attention, which comes in the form of a photographer obsessed with deflowering the visitor.

The plot isn’t of primary concern to Hamilton, who opens “Bilitis” with a scene involving all the schoolgirls at a lake. And before you can say, “Dear Penthouse Forum, I never thought this would happen to me,” they all disrobe and frolic in the water, even comparing breast sizes, which Hamilton covers in loving detail. And this is the tone of “Bilitis,” which is determined to find ways to explore the visuals of innocence while dealing with the realities of maturity. Of course, nothing in the picture is even remotely earthbound, mostly favoring the helmer’s gauzy vision of nude girls, with dramatic entanglements much less of a priority to the production.

There’s just not much here to embrace, though it comes as somewhat of a relief to know that D’Arbanville was nearly twice her character’s age at the time of the shoot. Hamilton attempts to de-age the actress with pigtails (good lord) and omnipresent glasses of milk, but it’s hard to cover her twentysomething appearance. Such knowledge helps the viewing experience, as Bilitis deals with predatory men and advanced sexual situations, which are presented here as “exploration,” but the whole picture completely stops to observe these moments (including sexual assault), erasing whatever dramatic value they were intended to have.

Bilitis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.68:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a "4K restoration" of the original 35mm camera negative. This being the world of David Hamilton, "Bilitis" arrives with the softest cinematography imaginable, which this transfer handles adequately, avoiding some compression issues that plague similar product. Detail reaches as far as possible, exploring a generous amount of skin surfaces and lacy costuming. Town tours and nature visits are dimensional. Interiors retain their dreamy appearance, with appreciable decoration. Colors favor warmth, including full- blooded skintones and creamy whites. Greenery is also vivid. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavy but film-like. Source is in good condition.

Bilitis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA French language track provides a clearer appreciation of the limited sonic goals of "Bilitis." Sibilance issues are present, but dialogue exchanges are appreciable, capturing dubbed performances. Scoring emerges with clarity, finding the ethereal synth supporting dramatic moods. An English 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is included as well, but it sounds a bit muddier.

Bilitis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (10 pages) features an essay by film historian Samm Deighan.

• Commentary features film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson.

• "The Hamilton Blur" (19:07, HD) is an interview with camera operator Noel Very.

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

Bilitis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Bilitis" isn't sharply paced or well-acted, and Hamilton is looking to make a seductive viewing experience with a topic that's perhaps best left in another filmmaker's hands, or denied a cinematic exploration to begin with.