Plot: What’s it about?
One of the top pin up queens of the 1950s, Bettie Page has become an immortal sex symbol and remains a cult figure, even five decades later. She might have been beautiful and had a dynamic body, but she was not the typical centerfold by any means, not even close. Page wasn’t as inhibited as most other pin up girls and while they stopped at bikinis, she pushed forward into cutting edge stuff, including nude shoots. She also did some bondage shoots and some of her spanking photos have become timeless, making her mark on onlookers to this era, even. Her stunning good looks, trademark hairstyle, curvaceous figure, and daring, charismatic persona have made her one of the all time greatest beauties, hands down. A lot of her shorts have been hard to come by, but thanks to her surges in popularity and the mainstream success of DVD, we’re seeing more of her work made available, including two released from Cult Epics.
This disc is titled Betty Page: Bondage Queen and in my opinion, is the better of the two Cult Epics releases. In addition to a slight improvement in video quality in these shorts, I think the bondage based photos are more famous, so folks will be more interested. This release runs over one-hundred and ten minutes and is filled with short films by Irving Klaw, who did a brisk business in mail order fetish videos back in his time. The reels of short films don’t all feature Page, but she is in a great number of them and chances are Page fans will appreciate the others also, if just for an opportunity to see some of this rare footage. A lot of the bases seem to be covered in these reels, from spanking to ropes to whips and beyond, so while it isn’t hardcore, it does deliver on the bondage side of the coin, which is what counts here. I found this to be an excellent release and if you’re a fan of Page or pin up girls, this is a must own release, no doubt about it.
Video: How does it look?
The shorts are shown in full frame transfers, as intended. The images here seem sharper and cleaner than in Pin Up Queen, but as expected, some wear is still evident. Even so, I was surprised to see some of these clips in such good shape, quite impressive indeed. I can’t imagine we’ll see better editions unless a full restoration is done and given the cult status of the shorts, I don’t see that happening soon. The images seem better than you’d expect and since the material is well treated, that’s all we can ask for in this case.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is pretty much the same as in Pin Up Queen, so I am using that section again for this review. Not much to discuss here, as the included track is unmemorable and if you ask me, that’s how it should be in this case. The music is clean and not distorted, while any narration is also well represented and easy to understand. In short, I expected some wear signs and there are some here, but nothing serious in the least. This is a basic, but quite adequate audio effort and it might not be grand, but it is good enough, without a doubt.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some notes from Page, a talent file on Page, a selection of still photos, a text history of fetishism, and ads for related products.
