The Lickerish Quartet

Summary

The Lickerish Quartet (Italian: Esotika Erotika Psicotika) is a 1970 erotic drama film produced and directed by Radley Metzger. It was filmed in Italian and later dubbed into English. The film was written by Metzger and Michael DeForrest.[1]

The Lickerish Quartet
Original film poster
Directed byRadley Metzger
Screenplay byMichael DeForrest
Based on"Hide and Seek"
by Michael DeForrest
Radley Metzger
Produced byRadley Metzger
Starring
CinematographyHans Jura
Edited byAmedeo Salfa
Music byStelvio Cipriani
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
1970
Running time
90 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • West Germany
LanguageItalian

Plot edit

In their castle, a wealthy couple (Frank Wolff and Erika Remberg) watch an erotic movie with their adult son, played by Paolo Turco. Later that evening, at a local carnival, they spot a woman (Silvana Venturelli) 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

Reception edit

The Lickerish Quartet received critical praise upon its release by many critics, especially Andy Warhol and Vincent Canby, as being one of the first films with graphic sex to have Hollywood-like production values.[2] Vincent 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] However, Roger Ebert found the film to be pretentious and the plot convoluted.[7]

Notes edit

According 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

  1. ^ "Watch the Lickerish Quartet".
  2. ^ The Lickerish Quartet trailer.
  3. ^ a b Sandmir, Richard (4 April 2017). "Radley Metzger, Whose Artful Erotica Turned Explicit, Dies at 88". New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b Gallagher, Steve (7 August 2014). ""This is Softcore": The History of Radley Metzger". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Staff (8 August 2014). "The Lickerish Quartet". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger (29 April 1971). "The Lickerish Quartet". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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)
  10. ^ Lehman, Peter (2006). Book - Pornography: Film and Culture. Rutgers University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780813538716. Retrieved 29 February 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Staff (2016). "Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - DadaBase Search Results - Radley Metzger". Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  12. ^ 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