Black Venus (1983)

Black Venus is a work of typical 80s erotica supposedly based on a Balzac story. It decidedly has the feel of Victorian-era erotica. The film begins in a fancy house, where Emiliano Redondo is given a tour of the two-way mirrors into the themed rooms, He sees a face he knows and then relates her tale.

Exotic Venus (Josephine Jacqueline Jones) meets a starving sculptor, and the two fall instantly in love. She becomes the inspiration he was looking for and he begins work on her statue. Unfortunately, he is broke, and when the landlord tries to rape her in exchange for the rent money, she decides to go to work as a model. Models can earn lots of money, provided that they do more than modeling. The sculptor can’t cope with being a kept man, and tosses her out. She ends up kept by a married lesbian (Karin Schubert), until the sister’s hubby returns with a tart of his own (Florence Guérin) and forces Venus to bed her. This is not a problem, but she finally balks when he returns with several party guests, intending to turn them into an orgy featuring Venus. Meanwhile, Venus has made a friend for life. The sculptor has now finished his masterpiece, but refuses to sell it, and is losing everything including his health as he broods. Venus again meets up with Florence Guérin, who convinces her to come to work in a brothel, whose employee list includes a 20-year-old Monique Gabrielle, who looks stunning. Finally, Emiliano Redondo buys freedom for the two of them and takes them to Spain.

This film aired in an 80 minute version on cable, and the same bowdlerized version has long been available on VHS. It is finally being released on DVD October 31, 2006 in an uncut and remastered 95 minute version. The DVD has been produced by a new distribution company called Private Screening, a spin-off of Severin (who brought us the U.S. release of Gwendoline). They will concentrate on international erotica, and are off to a running start. If they continue with equally worthy material and decent transfers, they will be getting a lot of my money.

Black Venus features wall-to-wall full frontal and rear nudity in a good transfer. It has a lovely cast, some exotic locations, and claims literary parentage. What more could you ask for in a soft-core?