Love Circles Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Love Circles Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 15, 2017

Gérard Kikoïne's "Love Circles" a.k.a. "La ronde de l'amour" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Intervision Picture Corp. The supplemental features on the disc include a collection of deleted scenes; new video interview with director Gerard Kikoine; and filmed introduction from Fantasia Film Festival. In English or French, without optional English SDH subtitles. Region-Free.

I will be back

I first saw Gerard Kikoine’s Love Circles when it was released on DVD in 2006 and back then I thought that it was a pretty poor film. The DVD release came via the Private Screening Collection, which also had such similarly themed erotic films like Paco Lara’s Christina and Bud Townsend’s Love Scenes. My catalog also reveals that Norman Apstein‘s The Erotic Adventures of the Three Musketeers was part of the same collection, though last night I tried to locate my copy of this film to confirm but could not find it. I mention this because now some of these films are transitioning to Blu-ray and when the releases are sourced from nice new or recent remasters they can actually look a lot more attractive than they did years ago. In fact, occasionally a better presentation can even force you to change your mind. This is exactly what happened to me a few nights ago when I viewed Love Circles on Blu-ray. (While a lot of classic erotic films that I like are not yet available on Blu-ray, there are a number of European genre films from the ‘70s and ‘80s that have been restored and released on Blu-ray in recent years. Some of these films can be quite underwhelming when viewed on DVD, but I urge you not to automatically dismiss them if you remember seeing them years ago and not liking them. Many of these films actually have brilliant soundtracks and if properly restored or remastered Blu-ray makes it possible to appreciate them in an entirely new way).

So a few nights ago I viewed Kikoine’s Love Circles together with Lady Libertine -- the two films are included on this double-feature release from Intervision Picture Corp. -- and while I really liked the period look of the latter, I thoroughly enjoyed the former. It was a bit of a shock really because Love Circles was the second film, it was late and I was convinced that it will quickly put me to sleep. But exactly the opposite happened -- I viewed the entire film and then spent another hour watching the bonus footage with Kikoine.

The plot borrows a few elements from La Ronde, but it would be quite a stretch to consider Love Circles a remake of sorts. (Both Arthur Schnitzler’s play and Max Ophuls’ film are in a completely different category). The film basically combines a few prolonged erotic vignettes that make it perfect for late night viewing. (Apparently, the entire project was funded for the newly launched Playboy Channel, though I am unsure when exactly it was first broadcast).

Love Circles was produced by the great Harry Allan Towers and it actually has a pretty nice retro vibe that now makes it look unusually elegant. The lovemaking footage in particular is very well shot, though viewers familiar with Kikoïne‘s adult films from the late '70s and ‘80s will not be surprised to read this because they were known for their quality, and many even influenced the output of prolific producers like Marc Dorcel. Also, and this is something that is virtually impossible to appreciate while viewing the film on DVD, the settings and clothing choices are far better than what you will see in contemporary made-for-TV erotic films.

The cast includes a number of European beauties, and knowing Towers’ reputation he almost certainly was responsible for the signing of at least a few of them. Amongst them are Sophie Berger from Francis Leroi's Emmanuelle 4, Josephine Jacqueline Jones from Claude Mulot’s Black Venus, and Marie-France.

Love Circles Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Love Circles arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Intervision Picture Corp.

The label must have accessed some sort of a remaster because the film actually looks surprisingly healthy in high-definition. A lot of the outdoor and well-lit footage, for instance, conveys rather pleasing depth and clarity never disappoints. The darker footage also looks good, though compression isn't optimal and elsewhere the grain struggles with some very light noise. Density can also be improved, but even on a larger screen the entire film maintains a fairly pleasing appearance. Colors are stable and the majority also rather well saturated, but there is certainly room for improvements. I a few tiny blemishes remain, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, or other big distracting damage marks. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Love Circles Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks for this film: English 2.0 and French 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

A lossless track would have been preferable, but I doubt that the difference in quality would have been substantial because the the entire film was clearly redubbed in English after it was shot in English. So basically it has some of these minor dynamic fluctuations that a lot of Italian (and other European) genre films from the '70s and '80s have. The music accompaniment, however, probably would have had slightly better depth. Still, I am unsure precisely how the original audio track was mixed for TV.

Love Circles Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes without audio. (2 min).

• Interview - presented here is a long and very interesting interview with director Gerard Kikoine in which he discusses his relationship with Harry Alan Towers and the production histories of Lady Libertine and Love Circles. The director also has some very interesting comments about Sophie Berger and the controversy she was a part of and Tony Perkins (Edge of Sanity). In French, with optional English subtitles. (27 min).

• Gerard Kikoïne Introduces Lady Libertine at Fantasia Film Festival - Gerard Kikoïne explains how he transitioned from the adult business (he shot 22 films during the '70s and '80s) to the mainstream film business and discusses the production history of Lady Libertine. The introduction was filmed at Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada, in July 2016. In French, with optional English subtitles. (19 min).

Love Circles Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I saw Gerard Kikoine's Love Circles a long time ago on DVD and thought that it was instantly forgettable, but after viewing this recent double-feature release I think that I missed a pretty decent film. It certainly looks much more elegant on Blu-ray than it does on DVD, and this time around I also found it to be quite funny. The segment with Josephine Jacqueline Jones definitely feels like something Harry Alan Towers would have enthusiastically endorsed. If seen at the right time and with the right mindset, these films could be quite enjoyable. RECOMMENDED.