Private Club Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Private Club Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 26, 2025

Max Pecas' "Private Club" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The only bonus feature on the release is a collection of archival stills. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The players

See Max Pecas’ Private Club before or after Tinto Brass’ Paprika and you will understand why many, or at least among those who know that an erotic film and a pornographic film are two completely different things, consider the latter a master director. Although both are good films, they are shot with a drastically different appreciation of style, and not because the budgets were not identical. Paprika looks and feels almost like a secret, surprisingly explicit project Federico Fellini would have worked on.

On a busy street in the heart of Paris, taxi driver Marcel (Philippe Gaste) picks up Corinne (Denyse Roland), an elegant young woman rushing to meet her secret lover. While stuck in traffic, the two start a conversation, and Corinne nonchalantly asks if it would be appropriate to put on the sexy lingerie she has just bought to impress her lover. After Marcel enthusiastically encourages her to do precisely that and watches her put on a lacy bra and a pair of stockings, the traffic clears, and they resume their trip. Much to Marcel’s surprise, Corinne then reveals that she is early and would love to offer him a drink, possibly even two. But in a fancy, unusually slow elevator, Marcel is offered a lot more.

After the fireworks, Marcel is invited to a posh apartment, where two beautiful girls treat him to a new round of carnal pleasures. However, while learning from them that the posh apartment is a favorite destination for various men with deep pockets and very particular sexual desires, Marcel accidentally discovers that Lise (Chantal Arondel), his new girlfriend, also works there. Marcel confronts and shames her in another room, and then makes a new, even stranger discovery -- his entire experience of unplanned carnal pleasures was part of an act, staged by Corinne and her partner. Instead of walking away, however, Marcel agrees to visit a special private club, where even the most absurd sexual dreams come true.

Private Club is not a pornographic film. It is not an explicit erotic film. It is not a stylish erotic film, either. It is an erotic romantic comedy, but with a very loose French sense of humor that frequently disappears for no apparent reason. So, why is Private Club still a good film?

Virtually all of Pecas’ erotic films, but a few of his conventional comedies too, promote the idea that there is a parallel reality where anything goes. As a result, they can be quite amusing, especially when their protagonists engage in strange relationships and do stranger things, but act as if all is perfectly normal. Typically, the more outrageous the amusing is, the better the film is.

In Private Club, there is quite a bit of amusing material, but it is mixed with light humor that is not effective. It is not harmful either, but it is very easy to tell that without it, Pecas could have gone further and done better. Also, next to any of Brass’ famous erotic films, Private Club looks almost like a French ‘kitchen sink’ project. Brass’ erotic films, even the more modest ones, are a feast for the eyes, often with a terrific sense of humor, too.

Pecas’ director of photography was Robert Lefebvre, who lensed Roger Vadim’s famous provocateur Please, Not Now! with Brigitte Bardot.

Private Club Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Private Club arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

It is very easy to tell that the film has been fully remastered. It looks healthy and has stable, quite pleasing organic visuals. However, while the indoor footage from the posh apartment and the club looks very nice, the outdoor footage has a slightly faded appearance of the type that is usually associated with a second or third generation element. For this reason, various darker nuances are not as nicely revealed as they need to be, too. Nevertheless, there are no traces of problematic digital corrections, and this makes a big difference because even when it is easy to tell that certain visuals can look better, their crucial filmic qualities remain strong. Color balance is good. However, during the outdoor footage, saturation levels should be better. Image stability is good. All in all, this release offers an imperfect but still pretty nice presentation of Private Club. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Private Club Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is clear and easy to follow. However, large portions of the audio can be described as somewhat flat, which is not surprising because Max Pecas' films were not shot with big budgets and do not have impressive music scores. I did not notice any distracting age-related anomalies. Despite some small fluctuations, balance was good, too. The English translation and the size of the subtitles are excellent.

Private Club Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Stills Gallery - a collection of archival stills. (2 min).

• Cover - a reversible cover with vintage French poster art for Private Club.

Private Club Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In America, Mondo Macabro has released several Max Pecas films on Blu-ray, the best of which is the edgy action thriller Death Squad. However, Pecas acquired a reputation for his erotic films, and while many are disliked with a genuine passion in his native France, I think that quite a few are refreshingly unpredictable and amusing films. Private Club is one such amusing film that reminds of Tinto Brass' smaller films. This release offers a good presentation of it, but does not have any meaningful bonus features. If you decide to pick it up for your library, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.