Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 1, 2013

Radley Metzger's "The Lickerish Quartet" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the release include original trailer for the film; audio commentary by Radley Metzger and film historian Michael Bowen; making of featurette; behind the scenes featurette; and more. The release also arrives with a collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Robin Bougie, as well as a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly illustrated artwork by The Red Dress. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Let's watch a movie...

The important thing to remember while watching Radley Metzger’s The Lickerish Quartet is that anything is possible. In other words, you do not have to look for a logical explanation of everything that takes place on the screen. The moment you start doing so the film’s magic disappears.

A beautiful castle owned by an aristocratic family somewhere in Europe. The father (Frank Wolff, Elia Kazan's America, America, Once Upon a Time in the West), mother (Erika Remberg, Vienna, City of My Dreams) and son (Paolo Turco, Bread and Chocolate) gather around a large projector. They watch a stag film and then head to a nearby carnival. There they meet a gorgeous girl (Silvana Venturelli, Camille 2000) who looks very much like one of the girls in the film. Curious to find out whether she was in the film, they invite her for a drink.

The father turns on the projector and they begin watching the film again but immediately discover that all of the close-ups with the girl’s face have disappeared. Confused and annoyed, they rewind and watch the film again but this time other parts disappear. The father is convinced that his son is behind the mix-up, while the mother speculates that her husband might have replaced some of the reels. They invite the girl to spend the night in the castle and she agrees.

During the next couple of days the father remembers a young prostitute he met years ago who apparently looked exactly like the beautiful girl. Eventually, realizing that he is attracted to their guest, his wife confronts him and later on confesses that she no longer loves him as much as she once did. Meanwhile, the son goes out for a walk with the girl at the end of which they kiss.

Fantasy and reality constantly overlap in the film but there is a way to figure out how to separate the two – watch for a string of clues that appear after the family welcomes their guest in the castle. The altered scenes in the stag film also serve a purpose.

The “real” erotic sequences during the second half of the film are used to reveal more about the main protagonists and their strengths and weaknesses. After the girl literally unlocks their desires just about everything in the film begins to make sense.

There isn’t a lot of full frontal nudity in the film. The most explicit scenes are in fact in the black and white stag film the family watches before and after they meet the girl. The seductions are beautifully filmed, with a terrific emphasis on detail.

Shot on location at the famous Castle of Balsorano in Italy’s Abruzzi Mountains (now a big tourist attraction), the majority of the film features breathtakingly beautiful panoramic vistas. The costumes and dresses seen in the film, all of which were apparently picked up by the great Enrico Sabbatini (Vittorio De Sica’s Sunflower, The Mission) are also notably stylish (Remberg, in particular, wears a terrific sexy outfit early into the film and a striking black dress later on).

It is Venturelli, however, that makes this film an unforgettable experience. Every single scene with her oozes style and sensuality. Unfortunately, she made only one other film after The Lickerish Quartet before disappearing into obscurity.

The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.86:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Radley Metzger's The Lickerish Quartet arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The high-definition transfer appears to have been sourced from the same master Cult Epics had access to when they prepared their Blu-ray release of The Lickerish Quartet for the U.S. market, and this is definitely good news. Generally speaking, detail and especially clarity are dramatically improved, with the daylight footage in particular now conveying pleasing depth (the old R4 DVD in comparison has some very serious issues). Color stability and especially color saturation are also a lot more convincing. This being said, clearly there is plenty of room for substantial improvements. A fresh new scan would further improve delineation, shadow definition, and color stability. The tiny scratches could be eliminated as well. The important thing to remember here, however, is the fact that the film now has a consistent organic look, and when compared to previous DVD releases the Blu-ray release represents a massive step up in quality. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The inclusion of a lossless audio track immediately makes Arrow Video's release of The Lickerish Quartet the one to own. While the lossy track on the Cult Epics release was fairly good, depth is clearly improved on the lossless track. There are subtle improvements in terms of dynamic movement as well -- Stelvio Cipriani's prominent score breathes easier, while a few sequences (such as circus footage) sound marginally crisper. The dialog is stable and easy to follow, though some extremely light background hiss remains.

The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - original trailer for The Lickerish Quartet. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• The Making of The Lickerish Quartet - this featurette also appears on the Cult Epics Blu-ray release. It offers a quick look at director Radley Metzger's legacy and production history of his sixth feature film, The Lickerish Quartet. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Cool Version Love Scenes - this complete version of the stag film seen in The Lickerish Quartet also appears on the Cult Epics Blu-ray. In English, not subtitled. (32 min, 480/60i).

• Giving Voice to the Quartet - the cast had to post-synchronize their lines once the film was completed (Frank Wolff and Erika Remberg recorded their own lines, while Silvana Venturelli and Paolo Turco's voices were dubbed by other actors). This short featurette compares the original footage shot by director Radley Metzger with some final scenes. The featurette also appears on the Cult Epics Blu-ray release. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - an outstanding audio commentary by Radley Metzger and film historian Michael Bowen. The director spends a great deal of time talking about the film's production history, the filming conditions, how some of the best scenes in the film came to exist, the actors he worked with (there is some fascinating information he shares about Frank Wolff), etc. The commentary also appears on the Cult Epics release.

• Camille 2000 - original trailer for Radley Metzger's Camille 2000. Music only. (3 min, 1080p).

• Score - original trailer for Radley Metzger's Score. (4 min, 1080p).

• Artwork - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly illustrated artwork by The Red Dress.

• Booklet Collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by Robin Bougie.

The Lickerish Quartet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are yet to add Radley Metzger's The Lickerish Quartet to your collection, I strongly recommend that you consider Arrow Video's Blu-ray release. Unlike Cult Epics' release, this one has a good lossless track and optional subtitles. All of the supplemental features from the Cult Epics release are also included. I cannot wait for Arrow Video's upcoming release of Metzger's Camille 2000, which has one of the great Piero Piccioni's best soundtracks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.