Next is Mysteries, a Dutch translation of a popular Swedish novel. Fans of period romance will find great interest in this film. It is slow and absolutely dated, but this late-Victorian era tale is beautiful from start to finish. The nature on display is stunning and realistic, the staging is dynamic and interesting, and the plot itself is intriguing. First of all, the good news is that the frame skip with Jean in the club appears lessened from the previous master. The other, later one with Emmanuelle and Ariane at the sports club has been eliminated, possibly by cutting away a moment earlier. Honestly, Playing with Fire wasn’t a bad film but it was difficult to follow and the editing was very chaotic. However, I still found myself enjoying it but I don’t want to subject myself to this messy film any time soon. Mysteries: Feature audio commentary by Peter W. Verstraten; Feature audio commentary by Jeremy Richey; Interview with the cast and director (6 minutes); Poster and photo gallery; Mysteries trailer; Pastorale 1943 trailer; Julia trailer

First of all, all four films, including both cuts of Emmanuelle, have English subtitles. A big thank you to Koch Films for going to this trouble, especially since their main market is German Europe. To that end, I must point out that I'm not qualified in German in any capacity, so all of the German options went untested by me. I watched all four films in French and this is what the English subtitles are timed to.

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Not to be confused with the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle with the same name, although released just a few years earlier and clearly featuring a couple of common themes, this "Red Heat" is actually a 'Women in Prison' exploitation movie starring Linda Blair (the amount of trashy B-movies she starred in during the eighties is nearly endless) and Sylvia Kristel; the one and only original starlet to depict the legendary soft-core film character Emmanuelle. The main reason why "Red Heat" isn't very popular or even commonly known among exploitation fanatics is probably because the script aspires to be overly ambitious and politically engaging. There's too much driveling about the Cold War and political conspiracies, instead of just focusing a little more on the obligatory "WiP" ingredients such as cat-fights, lesbian perversity and dark affairs ran from inside the prison walls. Don't get me wrong, "Red Heat" does feature all these elements, only in too small portions. That's why I think the comparisons between this one and "Chained Heat" (also starring Linda Blair) are completely unjust. I just watched "Chained Heat" as well and this movie is at least ten times more boring and less sleazy. Featurette "The Joys of Emmanuelle, Part 2" with Sylvia Kristel and Yves Rousset-Rouard (ca. 10 minutes)

Cult Epics proudly presents the SYLVIA KRISTEL 1970S COLLECTION, featuring four of the legendary Dutch icon’s most diverse films in new 2K transfers and entirely uncut, for the first time on home video in the United States. La Marge is a dramatic mixture of love, death, adultery, suicide and full frontal Euro-chic. A rich and handsome vine-grower, madly in love with his wife and their son, visits a brothel on a business trip to Paris. The previous sentence would be contradictory in about every country, except in France where having an extra-marital fling is something of a national sport. After the obligatory nookie with a disinterested Diana, who literally clinches to her money, the man receives a letter that his son has drowned in the swimming pool and that his wife has committed suicide. Instead of going home for the funeral the widower tries to cope with the tragedy by visiting the prostitute again who feels that something basically has changed in his, and her, attitude. There is no happy end, but – like David Lynch in Twin Peaks – it has lots of weird symbolism like a dwarf watching TV or a voyeuristic cleaning lady looking through the keyholes. Don't be puzzled by this ironic review, the movie is a masterpiece in its genre and one of Borowczyk's best and it seriously mystifies us why this hasn't got the same notoriety like Emmanuelle or Bilitis. In the prologue highlighting Sigimond's idyllic family life, he mentions a trip he is going to make to Paris. The narrative then skips ahead to show Sigimond in Paris. There is directorial intent to confuse the audience into believing that this trip is the same one Sigimond had mentioned, but that is later revealed indirectly not to be the case. This trip happens at a later date. The other reviewers missed that vital detail. While on that earlier trip to Paris he had mentioned to his wife, his son drowned and the wife committed suicide. The letter Sigimond retrieved from the post office (the one that had been sent to him by his maid concerning the death of his family) was NOT the first time he learned about it. It was her resignation letter, since she cannot herself deal with the tragedy.The once-in-a-lifetime teaming of two '70s pop culture icons, Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro and Sylvia "Emmanuelle" Kristel, is worth the price of admission alone and the fact it's an awful (albeit awful pretty) movie doesn't hurt, either. It fancies itself a European art house film and even tries to go Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN Paris one better by laying on the kinkiness with a trowel but the results are more laughable than erotic. The label has launched a public campaign to fund a book written by Jeremy Richey that would focus on the prolific career of the late actress. To support the campaign, please go here.

Johan Nagel (Rutger Hauer) is a visitor to a small seaside town who woos two local women, including the rich and popular Dany Keilland (Sylvia Kristel). Nagel befriends a little person whom the townsfolk abuse and call ‘Minute’ (David Rappaport). It is Minute who relays the story. Nagel’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre as the film goes on. There are several beautiful depictions of his visions and dreams including a wonderfully surreal fever dream at the end of the film. Especially for fans of classic romance, Mysteries is recommended viewing. To all collectors, especially those on a limited budget: Cult Epics doesn't care about customers and won't accept responsibility for defective items. The set’s two Dutch films are co-starring Rutger Hauer, and Sylvia at the peak of her career. Submitted for the 1978 Academy Awards — Best Foreign Film, Wim Verstappen’s PASTORALE 1943 is a war drama centered on the Dutch resistance during World War II, and also features the debut of Renée Soutendijk. Painter turned director Paul de Lussanet’s romantic psychological drama MYSTERIES, based on the world famous novel by the Norwegian nobel prize winner Knut Hamsun and shot by renowned cinematographer Robby Müller, also stars Rita Tushingham and David Rappaport.

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Pastorale 1943 is easily my favorite film in the set but it’s far from perfect. It suffers from timing issues and the movie is far too long for the type of story we are given. I really did enjoy it but at over two hours long I found myself truly struggling to finish it. It’s a great period piece about Nazi occupation that many history buffs can appreciate. PASTORALE 1943 (Netherlands, 1978) Wim Verstappen. Bonus features: 2K Transfer, Audio Commentary by Peter Verstraten, Vintage Interviews 1978 HD, Theatrical HD Trailers and more tba.

Kristel was married and divorced twice. She is survived by her partner, Peter Brul, and a son by the Belgian author Hugo Claus, a partner from the mid-1970s.Label description: Cult Epics proudly presents the Sylvia Kristel 1970s Collection, featuring four of the legendary Dutch icon's most diverse films in new 2K transfers and entirely uncut, for the first time on home video in the United States. When I originally saw the announcement for Cult Epics release of Sylvia Kristel 1970’s Collection I was seriously interested in 1978’s Mysteries starring Kristel and Rutger Hauer. I’ve reviewed several films starring Hauer over the years but this was one I was very interested in. The film was based on Knut Hamsun’s novel and was surprisingly well received when it was originally released. I don’t think I had seen a Hauer film from the 70s so as soon as I finished Julia I was ready to toss in this drama. Like always, I would like thank Cult Epics for sending this one over. Filmed and released right after Sylvia became one of the world's biggest stars as Emmanuelle (1974), Sigi Rothemund's 1974 film Julia is a German sex comedy drama, with Sylvia as a young boy's first love, foreshadowing her later U.S. commercial hit Private Lessons. The first film in the set, Playing with Fire, is esoteric not just for Kristel but for the movie’s director, Alain Robbe-Grillet. Arguably the least-viewed film in the director’s oeuvre, the meta-caper about a kidnapping ring is far more invested in set pieces than plot. (At one point, the story’s ostensible ‘hero’ faces the camera and admits that “the script didn’t make any sense.”). Firmly rooted in the avant-garde, Playing with Fire marks Kristel’s first involvement with experimental film, and, despite her dozen minutes of screentime, she makes the most of the opportunity. There can be few film actors so closely associated with one role as was Sylvia Kristel, who has died of cancer aged 60. The title role of the sexually adventurous housewife in Emmanuelle (1974) became a reference for every part she played subsequently. This was not surprising, as the Dutch star did play a character called Emmanuelle, with few variations, many times over.