The Lickerish Quartet (Italian: Esotika Erotika Psicotika; also known as The Licorice Quartet, Erotic Quartet and Sex Quartet) is a 1970 erotic drama film produced and directed by Radley Metzger and starring Silvana Venturelli, Frank Wolff, Erika Remberg and Paolo Turco.[1] It was written by Metzger and Michael DeForrest.[2]
| The Lickerish Quartet | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster | |
| Directed by | Radley Metzger |
| Screenplay by | Michael DeForrest |
| Based on | "Hide and Seek" by Michael DeForrest Radley Metzger |
| Produced by | Radley Metzger |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Hans Jura |
| Edited by | Amedeo Salfa |
| Music by | Stelvio Cipriani |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | Italian |
Plot
editIn their castle, a wealthy couple watch an erotic movie with their adult son. Later that evening, at a local carnival, they spot a woman who appears to be one of the performers in the film, and decide to take her home with them. Although a subsequent viewing of the film calls the woman's identity into question, their house guest quickly succeeds in seducing the various members of the family, resulting in the revelation of certain facts, fears and desires.
Cast
edit- Silvana Venturelli as the visitor
- Frank Wolff as Castle owner
- Erika Remberg as the wife
- Paolo Turco as the son
Production
editIt was filmed in Italian and later dubbed into English.[citation needed]
Reception
editVincent Canby of The New York Times noted: “I must say I find most of Mr. Metzger’s movies entertaining to watch. They are so, well, ripe with incredible color and décor and movement.”[3]
Andy Warhol, who helped begin the Golden Age of Porn with his 1969 film Blue Movie, was a fan of Metzger's film work[4] and commented that The Lickerish Quartet, was “an outrageously kinky masterpiece”.[3][5][6]
Roger Ebert found the film to be pretentious and the plot convoluted.[7]
Notes
editAccording to one film reviewer, Radley Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle".[4] Another reviewer noted that his films were "highly artistic — and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous cinematography".[8]
Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.[9][10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ "The Lickerish Quartet". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ "Watch the Lickerish Quartet".
- ^ a b Sandmir, Richard (4 April 2017). "Radley Metzger, Whose Artful Erotica Turned Explicit, Dies at 88". New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Steve (7 August 2014). ""This is Softcore": The History of Radley Metzger". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Metzger, Juliette; Feldman, Caryl; West, Ashley (2 April 2017). "Press Release: Radley Metzger, pioneering filmmaker, dies at 88". The Rialto Report. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ Staff (8 August 2014). "The Lickerish Quartet". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (29 April 1971). "The Lickerish Quartet". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ Simpson, Claire (2 October 2013). "Adults Only: 5 Films By Radley Metzger". WhatCulture.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Rist, Ray C. (4 January 1974). Book - The Pornography Controversy: Changing Moral Standards in American Life. Transaction Publishers. p. 124. ISBN 9781412838467. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Lehman, Peter (2006). Book - Pornography: Film and Culture. Rutgers University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780813538716. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Staff (2016). "Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - DadaBase Search Results - Radley Metzger". Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ Staff (4 March 2017). "Obituary Of The Righteous - The Porn Of The Fabulous 60s And 70s Loses One Of Its Pioneers And Masters: Radley Metzger - Photographer Of War, The MOMA Presents A Retrospective: His Erotic Films Made History - Video: 'Score', On The Relationships Of Couples Of The 70s, In An Uncensored Version". DagoSpia.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
Further reading
edit- Cook, David A. (2002). History of the American cinema. Vol. 9. University of California Press. pp. 274–275. ISBN 0-520-23265-8.
- Heffernan, Kevin, "A social poetics of pornography", Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Volume 15, Issue 3, December 1994, pp. 77–83. doi:10.1080/10509209409361441.
External links
edit- The Lickerish Quartet at MUBI (related to The Criterion Collection)
- The Lickerish Quartet at IMDb
- The Lickerish Quartet – Behind The Scenes
- The Lickerish Quartet – director Radley Metzger & Andy Warhol (1;2)
