Ahalan Readers! Not beat a dead horse with and old shoe, but as many of you know, my favorite porn actress is/was Marilyn Chambers. Of all her movies, I'd have to say that Insatiable was her finest and is a big part of why I adore her. If you asked me what porno movie I'd pick if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have one, this would be it. In fact, I've actually bought this movie a few times in various formats, the latest being the 30th Anniversary Edition on DVD (pictured above).
Like so many things, it seems even porno movies were made better in the olden days. This one was shot on film and had an obvious big budget feel to it, what with the helicopter, mansion, Ferrari, Rolls Royce and location shots in London. I found this version on a fluke and knee jerk ordered it on the spot. Shortly after, I began to wonder if I'd just thrown my money down the toilet since I already have a DVD of this same movie. What sold me was that it said it was remastered and had some extras I'd never seen before. I tried doing some research after the fact (I know, I know, should've done that first), but couldn't find any useful information about this new release (from the Dynasty Group).
The DVD came pretty quickly in the mail and I popped it in as soon as I had a chance. The first thing I noticed was that the menus were completely different than those of my old copy, a good sign perhaps? When I played the actual movie, to my delight (and relief), I found this version vastly superior to any I'd ever seen. The picture has been brightened and cleaned up considerably compared to the old DVD version. In every iteration of this movie that I can recall ever seeing, there are some scenes that were so dark that you couldn't really see everything that was happening. In this remaster, I could see detail that I never knew existed. All that time, I thought it was the director's intent to hide things in shadow for effect! My only complaint is that they may have gone too far in trying to sharpen the picture as it sometimes has a slight posterized look. Also, strangely they didn't clean all the scratches and such from the film. The sound is quite good, although to my ear, not as far of a jump ahead as the picture quality is.
In addition to the clean up and sound enhancements, they've also added an extra commentary track with Marilyn and a female interviewer watching the film together. This is in addition to the original commentary from the old DVD with Gloria Leonard. I know what you're thinking, who the heck wants to hear some commentary while watching a porn flick, right? Wrong, for fans of this film, it's great to hear what people who were there at the time have to say about the film, especially now that Marilyn is gone and we can never ask her ourselves. In speaking of the famous pool table scene, she tells us that it was a fantasy come true and that anytime she needed to fantasize, that scene would be what she thought of. WOW, I can't tell you how incredibly hot that scene is, but knowing that just makes it all the hotter! The commentary also gives you great insight into the woman that was Marilyn Chambers as she is very open about talking about her personal life, very interesting stuff.
I actually think the commentary track alone is worth the upgrade price, but with the cleaned up video it's all the more worth while. You also get a nice extra of Marilyn at the premiere of the movie in LA back in the day wearing Daisy Dukes that are beyond short with no undies on under them (maybe the same ones on the poster?). If you decide to purchase this, make sure you get the Dynasty Group 30th Anniversary version, as the old version is still around. Also note that the copy I got is only one disc, and it was advertised as being a two disc set (another reason I took a chance on it), so there may actually be a two disc set out there as well. If you want it, try a certain site that rhymes with P-Day, I've seen it there cheaper than anywhere else.
