5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
After a string of bad times with men, Sandy tries to kill herself. Co-waitress Libby saves her and takes her to meet some female friends of hers who live on a ranch in the desert. Grace, the leader of the gang, puts Sandy through her initiation and they get on with the real job of running drugs across the Mexican border, hassling poor farmers, taking any man they please, and generally raising a little hell. Soon Sandy becomes unsure if this is the life for her, but it may be too late to get out.
Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Russ Tamblyn, Jennifer Bishop (I), Aleshia Brevard, Leslie McRayDrama | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 1.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection.
While there are earlier films in The Masterpiece Collection that arguably could have been presented on the first disc of this set (this film
shares Disc One with Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson), in a way The Female Bunch may be the perfect
film for the "uninitiated" to dip their cinematic toes into Adamson's oeuvre (and, yes, the irony of that term is not unnoticed). This is a
typically gonzo Adamson effort that pretends to be about nascent feminists (at least as evidenced by one of the trailers, which mentions "women's
liberation" run amok), but which really serves as an excuse, at least on several occasions, to get as many women as possible as undressed as
possible, while also hinting at various lascivious behaviors.
The Female Bunch is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. This presentation comes with a warning text card describing the issues involved (see screenshot 6). I'm scoring this at 1.5 in order to account for the huge variances in quality and pretty nonstop damage, as well as to temper expectations, but there are moments here, albeit sometimes very brief moments, where things look reasonable, with decent saturation and a relatively naturalistic accounting of the palette. But scratches (many bright green) abound in abundance, and the many prints used all have different color temperatures. Some night or day for night scenes are virtually indecipherable due to damage and inconsistent contrast.
The Female Bunch features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that doesn't have the same levels of damage as the video side of things, but which still exhibits some inartful edits (perhaps between different source elements), as well as occasional pops and crackles. The film's actually kind of enjoyable theme music sounds fine, if a bit boxy, and dialogue (such as it is) is rendered cleanly if again a bit on the boxy side at times. English subtitles are accessible via your remote button.
The Female Bunch is weirdly entrancing in a typically Adamsonian low rent way, and Tamblyn in particular seems to be having fun, though Chaney is actually kind of in shockingly bad shape. This has one of the worst looking video presentations in the set, but audio is generally okay, and the supplementary interview featurette is a lot of fun.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1969
1969
The Murder Gang
1976
Nightmare in Blood / Swastika Savages / The Fakers
1970
Soul Brother
1974
1974
1974
1967
Space Mission to the Lost Planet / Vampire Men of the Lost Planet
1970
1976
Screaming Eagles / Rough Riders / Commune of Death
1972
1973
1976
1965
1969
1978
1960
1978
1983
1975