Confessions of a Young American Housewife Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Confessions of a Young American Housewife Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 21, 2018

Joe Sarno's "Confessions of a Young American Housewife" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Media. The supplemental features on the disc include deleted scenes; vintage audio commentary by Joe Sarno; and exclusive new audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas. The release also arrives with a 14-page illustrated booklet featuring Tim Lucas' essay "Sarno in the Suburbs" and technical credits. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Bad mama

Confessions of a Young American Housewife and actress Rebecca Brooke, whose real name was actually Mary Mendum, are what introduced me to the cinematic world of director Joe Sarno. This did not happen during the VHS era but well into the DVD era, and I would like to explain why so that unlike me you can avoid a lot of the misleading descriptions that exist in old reviews of Sarno’s work.

Sarno was not always known as “The Ingmar Bergman of 42nd Street". I don’t know when this description became popular, but I started seeing it more frequently after Sarno passed away in 2010. When DVD replaced VHS and some of Sarno’s films began emerging on the format, he was basically seen as an arty pornographer that made a ton of low-budget films. I know that this was so because prior to my first viewing of Confessions of a Young American Housewife I had seen Sarno and his films mentioned in various catalogs and magazine reviews, but I ignored him precisely because this was the image that the mainstream critics had created for him. (Some years later I actually stopped paying attention to just about all of these writers because it was already painfully obvious that they weren’t watching the same films that they were describing in their reviews). This changed when one day I picked up a large stack of used DVD releases from a popular market place that had Confessions of a Young American Housewife and then popped the disc in my player not really expecting that I would spend more than a few minutes with it. However, this film turned out to be one of the most interesting discoveries that I made during the DVD era. No, it was not a masterpiece, but it was the complete opposite of what the critics had conditioned me to expect from Sarno. I found the film very funny and incredibly charming because it was so obvious to me that all of the actors knew exactly what type of inoffensive and even goofy characters they were hired to play. I also thought that Brooke looked lovely before the camera and this was enough for me to start digging into Sarno’s catalog. Since then I have seen a lot of Sarno’s films and I want you to know the following: he was neither the arty pornographer nor the amateur that some old articles have claimed. Also, let’s be honest here, “The Ingmar Bergman of 42nd Street" tag is nice but it too creates a very misleading image of Sarno and his work.

Sarno’s best films, and I consider Confessions of a Young American Housewife one of them, are a lot easier to compare to the ones that Max Pecas did on the other side of the Atlantic. These films had the frankness of the ‘kitchen-sink’ dramas that emerged in the United Kingdom, but traded the social realism for erotica. However, neither Pecas nor Sarno had the luxury of working with great young actors, and Sarno in particular routinely hired performers that were in fact doing straightforward adult films. As far as tone is concerned, Pecas viewed his work a lot more seriously and the overwhelming majority of his best films turned out to be dramas, while Sarno was a lot more relaxed and essentially willing to go with the flow.

This willingness to trust his actors is the magic behind Sarno’s best films. (And yes, the magic did not always work). This probably sounds like a cliched description to you because a lot of directors trust their stars, so let me explain exactly what it means. In Confessions of a Young American Housewife a middle-aged mother (Jennifer Welles) visits her daughter (Brooke) and discovers that she is part of an ‘open-minded’ foursome that includes another young woman (Chris Jordan) and two boys (Eric Edwards and David Hausman). The mother slowly embraces her daughter’s lifestyle and even gets a taste of it, but right before things get out of control decides to leave with a younger boy from the local grocery store. So this is it. The plot is indeed very simple and the film could have been excruciatingly boring. Instead, Sarno leaves the actors to do the best of the ‘drama’ and as a result the awkward instantly becomes quite charming and funny. Basically, the whole thing becomes a lot like a low-budget and realistic American soap opera in which the actors routinely abandon the ‘proper’ script and go on to have some naughty fun. It is absolutely hilarious, but in an adult sort of way.

*The film does not have any hardcore footage. A few trims are presented as deleted scenes where Sarno apparently left the camera rolling a bit longer, but this material is also not straightforward hardcore footage.

Confessions of a Young American Housewife Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Joe Sarno's Confessions of a Young American Housewife arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Media.

The film was recently transferred in high-definition and some enhancements were apparently done to make it look presentable, but I would not describe the work as 'restoration'. There are a lot of flecks, specks, some tiny damage marks and scratches that remain. The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so while there is plenty of room for cosmetic improvements the end result is still a very pleasing organic presentation. The color grading is very nice as well. However, a proper restoration job would have ensured much better consistency,m especially in terms of how nuances are preserved, and ultimately stronger fluidity as well. All in all, this is a far, far better presentation of the film than what was previously available on DVD, but I have to say that if Vinegar Syndrome were in charge with this project the end result would have been vastly superior. Their guys almost certainly would have done the right thing and placed the film on a separate disc, so the encoding would have been much better as well. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Confessions of a Young American Housewife Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The dialog is easy to follow and the lovely music is nicely balanced. However, some extremely light pops remain in the background, and a proper restoration certainly would have eliminated them. There are no serious stability issues, just the occasional unevenness that these types of period low-budget production usually have.

Confessions of a Young American Housewife Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - presented here is a vintage mini-commentary by Joe Sarno in which he talks about his work with Rebecca Brooke and her 'perfect presence' in front of the camera, the tone and atmosphere of Confessions of a Young American Housewife and some of its themes (including the incest element), the era in which the film was conceived, etc.

• Commentary Two - in this new audio commentary, critic Tim Lucas, apparently a big admirer of Joe Sarno's work, shares his thoughts on Confessions of a Young American Housewife and explains why it ought to be considered one of the director's best films. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Film Media.

• Deleted Scenes - presented here are a few trims with additional erotic footage. Unrestored. In English, not subtitled. (11 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - 14-page illustrated booklet featuring Tim Lucas' essay "Sarno in the Suburbs" and technical credits.

Confessions of a Young American Housewife Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you sit down to view Joe Sarno's Confessions of a Young American Housewife and at the end of your experience with it you conclude that it is just another low-budget erotic film, then I am afraid you did not get it. Yes, there is plenty of erotica in it, but it is part of a very unique cocktail that also includes wonderful low-key period atmosphere, casual but witty jokes, and most importantly great ensemble chemistry. It is like a Fassbinder project gone wrong but recovered by an American provocateur with a wicked sense of humor. I think that it is one of Sarno's best films, and it was what prompted me some years ago to begin exploring his frequently mischaracterized work. It is included in this set from Film Media together with the director's more serious gem Sin in the Suburbs. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.