Caged Heat Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Caged Heat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 28, 2020

Every career has a beginning, and for the late Jonathan Demme, his start arrived with 1974’s “Caged Heat.” While producer Roger Corman had already exhausted his interests in women-in-prison pictures, Demme attempts to do something a little different with his take on bad ladies behind bars. Exploitation interests are met, but “Caged Heat” comes at the audience in a slightly different manner, with Demme upping some sense of humor and horror while introducing semi-documentary technique to the endeavor, making it far more interesting than it has any right to be.

Sent to the Connerville Institute for Women, Jacqueline (Erica Gavin) is subjected to “corrective therapy” courtesy of Warden McQueen (Barbara Steele). Befriending Belle (Roberta Collins) and Pandora (Ella Reid), Jacqueline tries to find her way out of the facility, with angry inmate Maggie (Juanita Brown) leading the charge on an escape attempt, which only puts the women in greater trouble.

Prison is only half of the “Caged Heat” experience, but Demme strives to make the place feel horrible. McQueen pursues behavior modification, subjecting the inmates to shock treatment and surgery, with Demme reinforcing the claustrophobic setting while offering glimpses of the strange personalities that inhabit the facility. The helmer is also aware of R-rated needs, delivering plenty of shower sequences, fantasies, and kink play to satisfy the core demographic. However, “Caged Heat” departs from the prison setting fairly early, evolving into a road movie before becoming a rescue adventure, upping the potential for chases and shoot-outs, while the actresses are gifted more time to showcase their takes on tough individuals trying to stay out of McQueen’s control.

Caged Heat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While dealing with a quickie Corman production, the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a clear view of the "Caged Heat" world. Prison interiors are textured with rusty cells and cramped offices, and prisoner outfits retain thinness. Body particulars are detailed, showcasing not only nudity, but wear and tear. Exteriors are dimensional, surveying wide open rural spaces and tighter, longer urban tours. Colors connect as intended, with defined greenery and natural skintones. Period paint hues and costuming are exact. Bolder primaries are memorable. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is film-like. Source is in strong condition, with mild speckling and scratches.

Caged Heat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix basically reaches the limitations of the original track, dealing with adequate dialogue exchanges. There's inherent muddiness and fuzziness, but nothing too severe. Scoring is a little more defined, with satisfactory instrumentation.

Caged Heat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Jonathan Demme, cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, and actress Erica Gavin.

• Interview (4:58, SD) is a brief chat with producer Roger Corman, hosted by critic Leonard Maltin. The duo discusses marketing mischief at New World Pictures, with strong poster imagery and weird taglines helping to sell the features to the public. Corman recalls Jonathan Demme's interest in direction, ordering him to work on his women-in-prison tone and surprises to help his debut stand out from the pack. The casting of Barbara Steele is recalled, and Corman details the slow burn success of Demme's career, even invited to participate with cameos in "Philadelphia" and "The Silence of the Lambs."

• Image Gallery (1:46) collects poster art and lobby cards.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:05, HD) is included.

Caged Heat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Demme makes some interesting technical choices during "Caged Heat" (perhaps unintentionally), experimenting with silence and snappy editing to help distort the Connerville experience, giving the picture a little something extra while dealing with the familiar. That's not to suggest the movie is riveting. It's not, clearly searching for things to do at times, but Demme, in the early stages of his remarkable career (going from "Crazy Mama" to "The Silence of the Lambs"), is eager to prove himself with "Caged Heat," giving the feature a restless energy and sense of the unexpected, also doing well with his cast, who portray hardened and kooky troublemakers with enthusiasm, giving the endeavor some extra flavor to help the director reach his limited creative goals.