Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Whore Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 21, 2025

Ken Russell's "Whore" (1991) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with writer Deborah Dalton; new audio commentary and visual essay by Tim Lucas; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Note: The text below was initially used for our review of Australian label Imprint Films' release of Whore in 2022.

Theresa Russell’s character, Liz, frequently looks straight into the camera and talks directly to the audience. Sometimes she shares important rules of her profession. Never get into a van, is one of them. Always use protection, even if the customer is willing to pay a lot more not to do it, is another. Sometimes she brings up consequential mistakes, like her romantic relationship with a guy that could not stay sober and treat her right. Occasionally, she talks simply because she feels like it.

Underground parking lots, underpasses, hotels, and bars. A few particular spots on busy streets in shady areas of LA. These are the places Russell frequents to sell ‘dates’. When meeting regular clients, she would change her routine and travel to other parts of town. One of her favorite regular clients was an old-timer in a retirement home who just wanted to be punished with a whip.

Like most other women in her profession, Russell has a pimp (Benjamin Mouton) and they have a very, very complicated business relationship. She does not like him, and he definitely does not like her, but he likes to get paid for protecting her. Russell explains how she ended up with the pimp, and a series of flashbacks reveal how there was no way she could have avoided him. He tricked her, beat her up, and then taught her that it was in her best interest to use his protection. She wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what he was selling, but when she tried walking away from the profession, it did not work out for her. She found a job in a diner and could not make ends meet. She did long hours and was handed crappy tips. That’s why she went back to the profession. She needed money.

Russell shares various other stories, but they too have something to do with money, which was the catalyst of most of the good and all of the bad she experienced throughout her life. Some are long, some are short, but all are choppy stories without proper beginnings and ends.

Unsurprisingly, Ken Russell’s film looks and feels very choppy, too. It isn’t incoherent, rather it is something of an undercooked slice of life. Or misunderstood slice of life, one that neither the actress nor the director knew how to properly turn into a film. This is precisely why the overlapping of the ugly and funny that defines the film feels so awkward and quickly transforms it into a tasteless parody.

The other very, very big problem with this film is that Russell isn’t right for her part. She is too beautiful, too elegant, and too Hollywood to be a streetwalker who would do tricks for a couple of bucks. It is why everything she says and does is always part of an extremely transparent act, so the harder she tries to convince that it isn’t so, the more she hurts the film.

Someone that could have done a much better job with the same part is former adult actress Ginger Lynn Allen. She is in the film but for a few minutes only. Her character is cut up by her pimp and dragged into a movie theater, where she collapses on the floor. Allen would have instantly transformed the streetwalker into a completely different woman with the right awareness of her miserable habitat. Guaranteed. In an exclusive new program included on this release, Allen reveals how grateful she is to have contributed to the film, but acknowledges the obvious as well.

The film was shot with a small budget and plenty of headaches. While directing, Russell was frequently drunk and unhappy with what was being done by the actors and the crew around him. He often changed his mind and created new material on the spot, too. This is another reason why the film looks and feels so choppy.

*Russell conceived and shot the film as an antithesis of Garry Marshall’s blockbuster Pretty Woman.

Whore Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Whore arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

In 2022, we reviewed this Blu-ray release of Whore, produced by Australian label Imprint Films. It is sourced from an older but pretty decent master, so I was quite certain that the folks at Kino Lorber will use it for their release as well.

Interestingly, on Kino Lorber's release, the technical presentation of Whore is different. In what way(s)? For example, now the visuals have elevated gamma levels and in various areas there are minor color discrepancies. If you do not have the previous Blu-ray release, you may not be able to tell, but if you have seen the previous presentation, the difference is easy to recognize. Additionally, in multiple areas, particularly with brighter daylight footage, grain tends to be noisier, giving the visuals a more video-ish quality. I suspect that the elevated gamma levels and, oddly, the slightly better encoding are primarily responsible for this discrepancy. However, in facial close-ups, on a big screen, I also see a bit of paleness that is not on the previous presentation. There is a tiny framing discrepancy as well, but it is utterly meaningless.

The main limitations in both presentations remain the same. There is plenty of room for improvements in the dynamic range of the visuals -- and definitely more on this presentation. Delineation, clarity, and depth can be improved, too. Highlights and darker nuances can be rebalanced and strengthened. Density levels and fluidity can be superior. Ultimately, while on both releases Whore has an undisputable dated appearance, if I had to choose one of the two, I would go with the previous. It produces more visuals that look more attractive. My score is 3.25/5.00. Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Whore Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is surprisingly good. I suspect that when the current master was prepared, which must have been quite some time ago, the audio was fully remastered because it does not have any notable weaknesses. Clarity, sharpness, depth, and stability are very good. Dynamic contrasts are great, too. So, I still think that even if in the future Whore is redone in 4K and its audio revisited, the strengths of the current lossless track will be replicated, not expanded and/or improved.

Whore Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deborah Dalton - in this exclusive new program, writer Deborah Dalton explains his interactions with Ken Russell before Whore was greenlighted, how the language of the film was Americanized and the dialog adjusted to be snappier, and how the film was trimmed after it was shot. Dalton mentions that Elizabeth McGovern was interested in doing the film but turned it down, and clarifies that Theresa Russell made her character quite a bit more dramatic. Russell's personality and working methods are quickly addressed as well. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Comparisons of Versions - in this new visual essay, Tim Lucas highlights some of the differences between the various versions of Whore that appeared on the home video market in America. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Whore. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, Tim Lucas discusses the various ups and downs in Ken Russell's career, the conception and production of Whore, its publicity campaign and various versions, Theresa Russell's character, etc.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Whore.

Whore Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is Whore a very pretentious, attention-seeking misfire, or a good but misunderstood genre film? It is definitely the former. The bulk of it looks like a bad parody struggling to manage a very unfocused sense of humor that isn't right for it. Theresa Russell isn't right for her part, either. Needless to say, some of the claims that Whore was supposed to have the integrity of a documentary are beyond strange because the entire film is incompatible with realism. During the DVD era, Whore did not get a proper U.S. release, so it has been a while since collectors have had the opportunity to pick up a copy of it for their libraries.