THE LOVE STATUE

(A.k.a. THE LOVE STATUE: LSD EXPERIENCE; THE LOVE DRUG)

"The shocking film that introduced America to LSD!"

The film opens with struggling painter Tyler (Peter Ratray) enjoying a post-sex cigarette with his attractive dancer girlfriend Lisa (Beti Seay, appearing in the cast under the name Ondine Lise). Their sweet nothings turn into a row, and it quickly becomes apparent that this is the norm for their relationship: Tyler is emotionally and financially dependent upon Lisa; she in turns openly mocks him - "you're not much of a man, are you?" - and he resents her for it.

The relationship turns violent when Lisa mocks Tyler's prowess as a lover and he slaps her across the face. She responds by smashing a bottle over his head. She stays long enough to tend to his bloody wound, and then leaves for the cabaret she works in. Both seem to enjoy hating each other - theirs is, if anything, a borderline sadomasochistic affair.

Shortly after Lisa leaves, Tyler's old pal Stan (Harvey Goldenberg) turns up at his dilapidated apartment. Stan is an out-of-work sculptor looking for somewhere to stay while he completes his latest statue. Being a fundamentally good person, Tyler welcomes Stan into his abode.

Later, Tyler goes for a drink at the cabaret bar where Lisa works. There, he gets talking to pretty club singer Mashiko (Chako van Leeuwen), who recognises his sadness and offers to give him something that will make him happy. Realising she's referring to LSD, Tyler declines the invitation - but Mashiko leaves him her card in case he should later change his mind.

After more attacks from Lisa, including a particularly public humiliation in the club, Tyler eventually decides to accept Mashiko's invitation.

Arriving at Mashiko's bohemian pad, Tyler finds the air to be filled with smoke and the den populated by your stereotypical 60s druggie types: dancing hippy chicks; couples canoodling openly in the corner of the room; someone strumming on the obligatory acoustic guitar; beat poets spouting off about fuck-knows-what.

Although a tad perturbed, Tyler follows Mashiko through to the back room and allows her to tell him more about this wonderful thing called LSD. Tyler remains sceptical, but eventually succumbs to the pretty host's charms and embarks on a trip that ultimately lasts for three days.

Meanwhile, Stan busies himself in Tyler's apartment with a blonde model (Nancy Norman) who poses naked for him while he sculpts his latest creation - the love statue. Lisa turns up looking for Tyler and, lo and behold, is genuinely worried about her boyfriend's absence. She loves him after all!

When Tyler finally stumbles out of Mashiko's smoke-filled pit, he returns to his apartment via a disorientating walk through the streets of New York (nice kaleidoscopic camera effects here) and happens upon the love statue - which, in his drugged state, comes to life and reaches out to him.

When Tyler next meets the frantic Lisa, events take a turn for the more sinister, and the film becomes even darker as it draws us in towards its ambiguous climax.

Though broadly acted and theatrical in direction, THE LOVE STATUE is an entertaining and quietly compelling psychodrama with many interesting set-pieces and some truly great monochrome compositions. It also feels alarmingly contemporary for it's age (1965).

A likeable cast, a brisk pace and some wonderfully trashy dialogue help bolster this along. Although nothing of real impact occurs, THE LOVE STATUE is an unexpectedly sincere and at times harsh film that works as serious drama. Even the drug scenes are not as naive or unintentionally hysterical as you probably expect them to be.

Adapted from Robert A Poore's original story by director David Durston (yes, he of I DRINK YOUR BLOOD fame - writing here under the pseudonym of Richard Kent), the script is more concerned with its psychological aspects than with eroticism (something Durston backs up in the commentary track). Peppered with some striking black-and-white photography and the occasional allure of female semi-nudity, THE LOVE STATUE is a successfully intriguing little film that's well worth a look.

The film is presented uncut and restored in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Framing is accurate and images are surprisingly clean throughout. Some specks, grain and vertical lines do inevitably crop up here and there, but for a film of this age and scarcity THE LOVE STATUE looks very good indeed.

The English mono audio is slightly muffled at times but generally offers a fair playback.

The disc opens with a colourful animated main menu that plays out to the attractive beats of jazzy organ-playing. From there, there is no scene-selection menu but the main feature can be navigated through by way of 15 remote-controlled chapters.

A hugely impressive ensemble of extras begins with an excellent commentary track from Durston, moderated with intelligence and wit by Michael Bowen. Durston sounds in fine fettle, speaking with both fondness and an incredible memory for his film. The director is frank about his disapproval of the producers sexing the film up for younger audiences but remains keen on his original vision. Bowen prompts with pertinent questions and keeps the chat ticking over smoothly, making for an overall above-average commentary track.

Next up are two alternate scenes. The first is a variation on Tyler and Lisa breaking up. It's three minutes in length and is surprisingly clean, both in terms of video and audio. The second, "Tyler Phone Call", is of slightly lesser quality in both departments, and runs for 50 seconds. It's incredible to see such footage for an obscure title almost 50 years old.

An on-screen interview with Durston clocks in at 13 minutes in length. Although this effectively repeats much of what's already been given on the commentary track, it's another superb and most welcome addition to this disc regardless. Durston's in-your-face honesty is most agreeable and often amusing, whether it be intentionally so or not.

An interview with Ratray follows, in the 12-minute featurette "A Trip With Peter Ratray". He looks well for his age and seems very happy to be sharing his well-preserved recollections on the film.

In a move likely to bring a smile to any long-term fans of Something Weird Video's DVDs, Secret Key Motion Pictures then throw in a couple of short "Drug Scare Films".

The first, LSD-25, is a dark 26-minute docu-drama shot in faded colour. Complete with roving handheld camerawork and an earnest voiceover, it's an engaging and occasionally side-splitting warning of the dangers of drug-taking. I'm not sure where I've heard the library music used before, but it's awesome all the same.

YOUR AMAZING MIND follows, another grainy colour effort with voiceover and twee library music to complement its 13-minute tale of how man can expand his imagination. We start off learning how clever the human brain is for designing cars and flying to the moon, before the narrator settles into rattling off a list of drugs for us to consider: downers, speed, etc.

A Secret Key retro trailer vault rounds off the on-disc extras, offering previews for ALL THE SINS OF SODOM, DEEP THROAT COMEDY COLLECTION, PUNK ROCK/PLEASURE PALACE, SKIN IN THE 50S, DADDY DARLING, CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE and THE SEXPERTS.

Within the packaging you'll find a nice fold-out six-page booklet with black-and-white production stills of great interest, plus some fine informative liner notes from the ever-reliable Bowen.

The DVD comes housed in a regular keepcase, which boasts the cover art in tasteful black-and-white. The colour cover art, as shown above, is provided on the outer card slipcase.

All in all, Secret Key Motion Pictures have provided a sterling release for a film of great interest. Recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis