Description

A young infiltrator named Peter is dispatched by moral crusaders, led by Member of Parliament Henry Harding, to gather evidence for a private prosecution against fetish and S&M clubs in Britain, where many activities are still illegal. Peter is thrust into the sex-glamour shock of these big clubs and parties. He soon becomes infatuated with a sex goddess from New York, Tanya Cheex. Her outrageous show and lifestyle at the House of Thwax theatens to send her straight to jail. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Would you like an extra pillow?
Finally on DVD. Love it. I first saw this mistresspiece about the same time as the equally wacky, sex-drenched Tromeo and Juliet (What? You didn't know Juliet had a lesbian lover?), and it has lost none of its magic.

Other reviewers have described it well, so I won't overkill the story line. While this is a lightweight look at the S & M industry/subculture, it is genuinely entertaining, with Chris Anholt (Tia Carrere's sidekick in Relic Hunter) perfectly cast opposite the Divine Guin Turner - check out Go Fish and Chasing Amy.

Apart from being sheer entertainment with a great soundtrack, the movie captures the madness by which corrupt and perverse Government officials presume to judge a subculture in which the genderless, non-hierarchical role-playing is actually very sane and healing.

Hilarious, sexy, exciting. I hope they make a sequel with the same cast.

Introduction to diverse lifestyle
This is a fun movie for fetishists and non fetishists alike. Fetishists will find it amusing and will consider it light entertainment. Non fetishists will find an introductory view point on the BDSM scene without being drawn in to close.
The strong point of this movie is the atmosphere and scene creation using authentic costumes and realistic sets.
The lead and her supportive actress are enticing and play their parts with an engaging style. Enjoyable on the easy side of entertainment.

Who ever said Love wasn't Painful??
Preaching To The Perverted is a visually stunning foray into the bondage nightclub scene, with a surprisingly gentle and heart-warming love story behind it.

The photography, costumes, cast, settings, effect, and music all combine into an exquisitely beautiful and erotic film. If you want dirty "spank me till I bleed" cinema, this is *not* your film. PTTP is a gorgeous visual delight with an industrial/club soundtrack and a lot of eye candy.

There is beauty, love, humor, and yes...a bit of "strapped down" stimulation. Rather like a more risque Exit To Eden, with the stage beauty of All That Jazz.

The Story? Young Peter, played by Christien Anholt (Marcellus in Mel Gibson's Hamlet and a bit part in Power of One) is recruited by Henry Harding (Tom Bell), member of Parliament who heads the United Front Opposing Filth.

They send Peter into the heart of the sex and fetish clubs in order to gather evidence for prosecution in his campaign to shut down the industry. Peter is a fresh innocent, who surprisingly holds himself rather open-minded in his investigation.

In the House of Thwax, he meets Dominatrix Tanya Cheex (played superbly by Guinevere Turner) who begins to gently introduce him into her world.

Along the way, Peter finds himself attracted to Tanya, and realizes that he does not want for her to go to jail in Harding's prosecution. He must make a choice now, not only about the prosecution, but whether the clubs actually cause any harm to anyone.

What I really liked about Peter was that in all he went through, he never lost his innocence, or his inner strength. He manages to stay steadfast in his beliefs and uncorrupted, while at the same time accepting the diversity of others.

And while Tanya is the ultimate beauty with her own convictions; sassy and spirited and free, she learns that sometimes soft does not mean weak.

This really is a great film. I laughed my butt off at the "horse and carriage" scene, I almost cried at the ending, and throughout the entirety of it, I gasped in pleasure at the overall beauty of it. This is human nature at its best, not its worst, and as long as you are not repelled by a many "northern orbital body" scenes and a few spankings, I think that you will agree that Preaching To The Perverted is a beautifully done masterpiece. Enjoy!

Stylish and Funny
This is a marvelous movie (not five star since I save that for things that stand the test of time) -- funny, stylish, delighting in itself. The background players, many of them actual members of the London Fetish scene, seem to be having a marvelous time and are definitely eye candy. The story is simple and the humor somewhat predictable, but the sets and costumes make it worth watching.

Immerse in the perverse!
Not for nothing has the rep of this cult movie from Britain grown and grown, until now it is finally striking out in the States after a little grappling/groping with MPAA over its, er, saucier elements such as the infamous Relaxicisor scene (applied between Guin Turner's legs). It's more cartoonish and stylish than Secretary, but you really do get immersed into a world that most hardly know is there. A blasting dance music sound track and brilliant design, photography, costumes and direction make this a must for anyone interested in the offbeat. Girls especially love it because they stay on top throughout the film. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ghost story meets paranormal mystery in Disney's PG family spookfest, a rare kid-friendly scary movie that still manages to frighten. American girls Lynn-Holly Johnson (Ice Castles) and little sister Kyle Richards move into a secluded British manor cradled in a mist-shrouded forest, home to a ghostly guardian angel and a decades-old mystery that still haunts the place. Director John Hough (whose Legend of Hell House is a classic of supernatural suspense) delivers all the right shiver-inducing ingredients: flashes of light, whispers in the wind, eerie visions of a blindfolded little girl lost (the long-lost daughter of withered widow Bette Davis) reaching out from mirrors, as if trapped behind them. Though tame by today's bloody standards and a flop on its original release in 1981, this handsome little gothic ghost story has become something of a cult film for its suggestive direction, impressionistic imagery, and spooky sense of the unknown. Ages 9 and up, although more sophisticated younger kids should enjoy this. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Description

A young infiltrator named Peter is dispatched by moral crusaders, ledby Member of Parliament Henry Harding, to gather evidence for a private prosecutionagainst fetish and S&M clubs in Britain, where many activities are still illegal. Peter isthrust into the sex-glamour shock of these big clubs and parties. He soon becomesinfatuated with a sex goddess from New York, Tanya Cheex. Her outrageous show andlifestyle at the House of Thwax theatens to send her straight to jail. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Would you like an extra pillow?
Finally on DVD. Love it. I first saw this mistresspiece about the same time as the equally wacky, sex-drenched Tromeo and Juliet (What? You didn't know Juliet had a lesbian lover?), and it has lost none of its magic.

Other reviewers have described it well, so I won't overkill the story line. While this is a lightweight look at the S & M industry/subculture, it is genuinely entertaining, with Chris Anholt (Tia Carrere's sidekick in Relic Hunter) perfectly cast opposite the Divine Guin Turner - check out Go Fish and Chasing Amy.

Apart from being sheer entertainment with a great soundtrack, the movie captures the madness by which corrupt and perverse Government officials presume to judge a subculture in which the genderless, non-hierarchical role-playing is actually very sane and healing.

Hilarious, sexy, exciting. I hope they make a sequel with the same cast.

Introduction to diverse lifestyle
This is a fun movie for fetishists and non fetishists alike. Fetishists will find it amusing and will consider it light entertainment. Non fetishists will find an introductory view point on the BDSM scene without being drawn in to close.
The strong point of this movie is the atmosphere and scene creation using authentic costumes and realistic sets.
The lead and her supportive actress are enticing and play their parts with an engaging style. Enjoyable on the easy side of entertainment.

Who ever said Love wasn't Painful??
Preaching To The Perverted is a visually stunning foray into the bondage nightclub scene, with a surprisingly gentle and heart-warming love story behind it.

The photography, costumes, cast, settings, effect, and music all combine into an exquisitely beautiful and erotic film. If you want dirty "spank me till I bleed" cinema, this is *not* your film. PTTP is a gorgeous visual delight with an industrial/club soundtrack and a lot of eye candy.

There is beauty, love, humor, and yes...a bit of "strapped down" stimulation. Rather like a more risque Exit To Eden, with the stage beauty of All That Jazz.

The Story? Young Peter, played by Christien Anholt (Marcellus in Mel Gibson's Hamlet and a bit part in Power of One) is recruited by Henry Harding (Tom Bell), member of Parliament who heads the United Front Opposing Filth.

They send Peter into the heart of the sex and fetish clubs in order to gather evidence for prosecution in his campaign to shut down the industry. Peter is a fresh innocent, who surprisingly holds himself rather open-minded in his investigation.

In the House of Thwax, he meets Dominatrix Tanya Cheex (played superbly by Guinevere Turner) who begins to gently introduce him into her world.

Along the way, Peter finds himself attracted to Tanya, and realizes that he does not want for her to go to jail in Harding's prosecution. He must make a choice now, not only about the prosecution, but whether the clubs actually cause any harm to anyone.

What I really liked about Peter was that in all he went through, he never lost his innocence, or his inner strength. He manages to stay steadfast in his beliefs and uncorrupted, while at the same time accepting the diversity of others.

And while Tanya is the ultimate beauty with her own convictions; sassy and spirited and free, she learns that sometimes soft does not mean weak.

This really is a great film. I laughed my butt off at the "horse and carriage" scene, I almost cried at the ending, and throughout the entirety of it, I gasped in pleasure at the overall beauty of it. This is human nature at its best, not its worst, and as long as you are not repelled by a many "northern orbital body" scenes and a few spankings, I think that you will agree that Preaching To The Perverted is a beautifully done masterpiece. Enjoy!

Stylish and Funny
This is a marvelous movie (not five star since I save that for things that stand the test of time) -- funny, stylish, delighting in itself. The background players, many of them actual members of the London Fetish scene, seem to be having a marvelous time and are definitely eye candy. The story is simple and the humor somewhat predictable, but the sets and costumes make it worth watching.

Immerse in the perverse!
Not for nothing has the rep of this cult movie from Britain grown and grown, until now it is finally striking out in the States after a little grappling/groping with MPAA over its, er, saucier elements such as the infamous Relaxicisor scene (applied between Guin Turner's legs). It's more cartoonish and stylish than Secretary, but you really do get immersed into a world that most hardly know is there. A blasting dance music sound track and brilliant design, photography, costumes and direction make this a must for anyone interested in the offbeat. Girls especially love it because they stay on top throughout the film. ... Read more

Description

Director Ken Russell's "Mahler" is a dazzling depiction of Gustav Mahler's tormented life. Russell blends history and psychological analysis for a fascinating study of art and sensuality. Equally brilliant and disturbing flashbacks and sequences chronicle the turn-of-the-century Austrian composer's turbulent marriage, passionate affairs and rejection of Judaism. Viewers will revel in Mahler's stirring music, the exquisite cinematography and lavish sets, and characteristic Russellian extremes. ... Read more

Description

This was not your standard passenger list. Some were concentration camp victims. Others just wanted to join relatives in Cuba. Some were wealthy enough to afford the voyage. Most left everything behind in hope they could escape German terror. The passengers are unaware that the voyage is a sham, simply one of Goebbel's propaganda exercises. This ship will not be able to dock in Havana and, when the rest of the world turns the ship away, the Jews will have to return to Germany. Just as hope has all but vanished, the passengers receive word that some European countries may take them in. Come what may, the passengers resolve not to return to the camps. Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, Oskar Werner, Malcolm McDowell, Orson Welles, James Mason, Katherine Ross, Ben Gazzara, Lee Grant and Julie Harris. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

All Star Cast Pulls It Off
The tremendous cast drives this fact-based story of a ship of over nine-hundred Jewish refugees allowed to leave Germany not long before the start of WWII to settle in Cuba. The Germans had no intention of letting the ship dock in Cuba, but it was a propoganda ploy. As the title of the film indicates, there is a feeling of doom permeating the whole story.

Max Von Sydow does an excellent job portraying the compassionate captain trying to find some way of saving his passengers despite the personal risk to himself and his family back in Germany. An all-star cast populates the passengers with strong performances coming from Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Wendy Hiller, Maria Schell, as well as Sam Wanamaker and Lee Grant who both get a memorable scene of hysteria each.

The attempts on land to solve the problem of the ship make up the other part of the film. Most of these cameos are brief, although Ben Gazzara and especially Katherine Ross standout.

The direction isn't particularly inspired, and if it weren't for the compelling story and cast, the film would have been far less effective. It is darkly photographed, which adds to the atmosphere of the story and sets and costumes are all authentic and well done.

Voyage of the Damned isn't a great film, but the plight of its characters and the fact that it really happened will keep viewers watching until the end.

a great little flick !
I rented this movie one night because the title caught my eye as did the list of the stars.This movie is very long but extremly well scripted,casted,acted and edited.Story a german cruise ship the St.Loise(mispelled)filled with 937 Jewish refugees. The ship is enroute to Havana but the Nazi government made a deal with some Havana officials not to allow them to dock or let anyone off.The best performances are Lee Grant(oscar nomination and Golden Globe nomination),Osker Warner,Malcom Mcdowell,Katharine Ross(Winner of the Golden Globe best supporting actress),Faye Dunaway,Orsonne wells,Julie Harris, Jonathan Pryce the list goes on and on please rent this great movie!1!!!!

Voyage of the Damned
The true story of the SS St. Louis at the start of WWII with Jewish refugees endevaoring to escape Nazi Holocaust, being sent from port to port in search of a haven to survive. As usual, petty politics complicated their lives and in the end they were forced to sail back to Europe where most of them perished at the hands of Nazis and their Europen sympathisers. It is a (possibly forgotten) lesson in priorities...One that still has not been learned by today's democracies.

JUDEN IST VERBOTEN..!!
The ill fated voyage of the SS.St Louis has long passed into folk lore as one of the nazi propaganda machines more devious creations. All courtesy of Dr Joseph Goebbels. Briefly the idea was to allow a specially selected group of some 900 jewish refugees to leave Germany ostensibly to Cuba and then wait for the fallout when their visas were refused entry first by Cuba then the US, Canada and other so-called 'democratic' countries. The reasons given for refusal were couched in political jargon but the underlying translation was, 'sorry but we dont want to be overrun by thousands of jewish migrants, take your problems elsewhere'. Juden ist verboten !. The nazis would chomp with glee at these actions which would of course support their aryan theories that the jews were a race apart, and that the policies of other nations were indeed no different from Hitlers germany. Sad to say the plan worked all too successfully.

The star studded cast here give mixed portrayals of a cross section of the ships passengers. They are led by Oskar Werner and Faye Dunaway as Egon & Denise Kreisler. Max von Sydow gives an understated performance as the beleaguered ships captain, determined to stay neutral and non-political despite being caught in the middle of some diplomatic pointscoring. After the war his courage and bravery is honoured by world jewish congress. Lee Grant tends to overact her role but unforgettable is James Mason as Remos, the incorruptible foreign minister determined to save two young girls following a personal appeal by their father to a certain influential high class prostitute. Played superbly by Katherine Ross her parents are also on the ship and their is a brief but tearful reunion scene as the mother realises her daughters true profession. But this is just one story of many. No doubt the story is full of historical inaccuracies and the purists will howl at this but for all that it is still a watchable film re-enacting one of the more shameful episodes of WWII not entirely of the nazis own making.

Excellently acted true story of Jews during WW2.
All-star cast (Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Sam Wanamaker, Maria Schell, Julie Harris, Max von Sydow, Wendy Hiller, etc.) recreate the true and gripping story of a shipload of Jews seeking to emigrate from Germany during the Second World War. They have been granted passage on a German ship but then cannot find a country that will take them in.

Beautifully executed from start to finish, this movie is based on the book of the same title. It has great acting, interesting characters and a poignant story. The action of the movie has an upbeat ending, but the final frames of the movie inform us of the ultimate fate of each passenger. ... Read more