I Am a Nymphomaniac / I Am Frigid… Why? Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

I Am a Nymphomaniac / I Am Frigid… Why? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 7, 2025

Max Pecas' "I Am a Nymphomaniac" (1971) and "I Am Frigid... Why?" (1972) arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro. The supplemental features on the release include documentary feature about the life and legacy of Max Pecas and additional scenes. In English or French, with optional English subtitles for the French versions. Region-Free.

For years, Max Pecas enjoyed the same reputation in France that Joe Sarno had in America. A majority of people who knew something about Pecas’ work thought that he was a pornographer pretending to be some misunderstood auteur. However, a majority of the same people disliked him with a passion, too. For this reason, Pacas’ name was never linked to Ingmar Bergman. (In America, Sarno was tagged “The Ingmar Bergman of 42nd Street”).

But while Pecas was never a misunderstood auteur, he was not in the same league as Sarno. He left a pretty diverse body of work, and his erotic films were much easier to compare to the similar films Jean Rollin and Radley Metzger did. Virtually all of Pecas’ erotic films were done with bigger budgets, much better actors, and cinematographers, and turned out a lot more stylish. Yes, Pecas worked on several hardcore films, but so did Rollin and Metzger. In fact, at the same time, a lot of talented people did because as the demand for erotic films collapsed and the demand for hardcore films skyrocketed, the emerging adult industry offered more and better opportunities.

Pecas began directing in 1960, “accidentally” according to him, and at least initially tried his best to copy the new way of making films that the directors from the Nouvelle Vague gang had legitimized. His earliest films were thrillers and melodramas, a few virtually indistinguishable from the Nouvelle Vague films, featuring the likes of Elke Sommer and Pierre Brice. But by the 1970s, Pecas had permanently brushed aside the Nouvelle Vague gang, instead focusing on shooting erotic films, providing the many skeptics with all the evidence they needed that he was indeed the talentless director they had correctly profiled earlier.

The Sensuous Teenager a.k.a. I Am a Nymphomaniac and I Am Frigid… Why? a.k.a. Let Me Love You come from the 1970s and have been advertised as erotic films, but both are psychological romantic melodramas that do not have one-tenth of the arousing material Vilgot Sjöman’s famous I Am Curious films do. The first is the better and more stylish film, but they work with the exact same material and share the same star, Sandra Julien.

In the first film, a young girl has an odd accident that switches something in her head, instantly transforming her into a shameless lover. The girl’s transformation is so dramatic that it destroys her romantic relationship with a boy who genuinely loves her and forces her away from her family and hometown. After arriving in Paris to reset her life, the girl, while still struggling to rationalize her transformation, is seduced by a pair of uninhibited socialites who reshape her entire philosophy of life. Now firmly convinced that she is an incurable nymphomaniac, the girl proceeds to benefit financially from her transformation, but it is not long before she realizes that her sexual urges are not part of a dangerous condition. The second film reverses the major developments in the first film. A different young girl has a terrible first sexual experience and consequently sees her romantic relationship with the boy she loves collapsing. In Paris, the girl becomes a courtesan, but after a string of disappointing experiences, personal and professional, and following the sudden death of her father, she resets her life for the better.

Julien looks gorgeous in both films. However, half of the first film has a decadent style that makes her and her adventures more attractive. This film is very easy to compare to some of the better ones Metzger directed in Europe. The second film runs with fumes from the first film. It attempts to overlap some more provocative material but does not go far enough and ends up telling a most predictable story.

In the first film, Julien is joined by Janine Reynaud, a wonderful, also very beautiful actress who was the star of Jess Franco’s erotic mind-bender Succubus.

Both films have first-class jazz/psychedlica soundtracks that were composed by American artist Derry Hall.

I Am a Nymphomaniac / I Am Frigid… Why? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, I Am a Nymphomaniac and I Am Frigid… Why? arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro.

It is pretty easy to tell that someone attempted to remaster both films because they have healthy visuals. Before the second film starts, there is a disclaimer that some sourced imperfections are retained, but I still think that the visuals are easy to describe as very healthy. Image stability is good, too. Unfortunately, I do not think these films look as good as they can and should. The first film has visuals with more obvious density fluctuations, but I like how it looks better. Why? Its colors are balanced better and most visuals have a more convincing period appearance. But this appearance should be dramatically superior. For example, in many areas the dynamic range of the visuals is clearly far from optimal, partially because saturation levels are not good enough, and partially because some primaries are simply not set correctly. The second film reveals even bigger inconsistencies. Here, it is even easier to tell that someone tried to grade the film with that dominant light yellowish tint that has become so famous, which further destabilizes various primaries and supporting nuances. As a result, many darker areas, but outdoor footage as well, can appear quite flat. However, I have an old DVD release of the first film and I can categorically state that the Blu-ray has the best presentation of it to date. My score for the first film is 3.25/5.00. My score for the second film is 3.00/5.00. (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).

I Am a Nymphomaniac / I Am Frigid… Why? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both films can be viewed with English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks. Optional English subtitles are provided for the French tracks.

The French tracks should be considered the original tracks for these films. However, the English dubs were the more popular ones for international releases. The quality of these tracks is a mixed bag. At the same time, it is difficult to be unhappy because the narration on the English dub, for instance, is done rather well. The problem is that dynamic variety is quite mediocre. Both films have wonderful soundtracks, so it feels like the music should be a lot more impressive. However, what I just described is a very common problem with all of the Max Pecas films I have seen in the past.

I Am a Nymphomaniac / I Am Frigid… Why? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Documentary on Max Pecas - this wonderful documentary takes a closer look at Max Pecas and his diverse cinematic legacy. In it, Pecas can be seen and heard addressing his famous reputation as a "King of Crap", at least in France, where he spent the majority of his life. In English and French, with English subtitles where necessary. (25 min).

• Extra Scenes - presented here are a couple of extra scenes that were not included in the French theatrical version of I Am Frigid... Why?. These scenes were found in the U.S. version of the film, distributed by Radley Metzger. In English. (14 min).

I Am a Nymphomaniac / I Am Frigid… Why? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In America, many of Max Pecas' films were distributed by Radley Metzger, which is hardly a coincidence. For a while, Pecas and Metzger shot films that appealed to the same audience. However, in France, Pecas enjoyed the same reputation Joe Sarno had in America, only he was disliked with a passion by many more of his countrymen. I think that Pecas made some really interesting and stylish films, one of which, I Am a Nymphomaniac, is included in this release. If you decide to explore his work, I encourage you to pick up Death Squad, a close relative of Abel Ferrara's Ms .45. RECOMMENDED.