The Legacy (L'Eredita')

Pure Play Media/Erotic Media

Genre: Foreign, Feature

Director: Michael Bernini

Cast: Mandy Bright, Maria Bellucci, Claudia Ferrari, Nathalia Sheridan, Katalin Stone, Federica Zarri, Michael "Micky" Blue, Frank Gun, Zenza Raggi, Ciackey "Choky" Ice, Franco Trentalance

Length: 101.5 minutes

Date of Production: 2/10/2003

Extra's: The best extra for me was the 16 minute long Behind the Scenes feature. While their primary language was not English, I thought some of the material was interesting to watch nonetheless (some of the cast seemed so very clueless). Otherwise, there was a pop shot compilation from the scenes and a photogallery with nothing else.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as originally shot. It looked very pleasant with rich colors and warm tones used throughout the movie. I didn't see any compression artifacts and there were only a couple of instances where pattern noise crept in. The camera angles weren't always great (this had a lot to do with the set locations more than anything) but the cast looked good doing what they do best. The audio was presented in a dubbed stereo English track that was really, really, bad. While I don't expect English subtitles on my porn (as an anime fan, I'm used to subtitles), I do dislike attempts to convert the unconvertible when it comes to feature porn. Yuck!

Body of Review: As a true porn connoisseur, I try to take a look at a variety of porn from all over the world in order to get a better perspective of what's out there and what could be coming my way from foreign lands. After all, much of the hardcore circus act sex is just an offshoot of what was long available on foreign markets for years, so it makes a lot of sense to see what the rest of the world is watching to see trends, and perhaps find new practices that appeal to our sense of sexual playfulness. There is a downside to such exploration, however, with a lot of lame porn available not just here in the USA but elsewhere too. Case in point: The Legacy, a movie now being released by the nice folks at Pure Play Media for MGR Communications, that deals with the age old problem of inheritance and greed.

The movie was a feature porn that had an aunt and uncle dying in a car accident (off screen). The couple was well off and left a sizable fortune for their kinfolk to share, even though said relatives were not really close. As with all such movies, the story dealt primarily with the way the nieces and nephews fought to get more than their share of the proceedings and the porn aspect added in some sexual activity to sweeten the pot.

So far, I'm betting it sounds pretty good to you, right? Well, sadly, the feature aspect of the movie was killed by a poor English dub that not only sounded like a cold reading (first time at that) but often left gaps wider than those you'll usually find in a gonzo anal release. I know gaping has become increasingly popular but this is ridiculous. The worse news is that the sex scenes, the main reason for getting a porno, were almost all mundane to the extreme. Unlike some fans, I don't need the latest circus act sex trick to liven my day, and loosen my load, but there has to be some energy, chemistry or passion to make me want to continue watching the couples screwing. If I wanted boring sex, I'd go get some myself since that way, even if it wasn't exciting, it'd feel good.

I can't blame the guys since they have all made a number of solid releases with plenty of heated sex in their careers, from Mickey to Frank to Choky and Zenza, the men have proven their skills time and again onscreen. The women were looking good too, from the alluring Mandy, to the sultry Maria and Claudia, to the playful Katalin, each looked great but somehow lacked the kind of energy and passion I had hoped for in the movie. Mandy's scenes (she had three) were the best of the show and, to be quite frank here, they were far more subdued than I've seen of her previously. The best of the entire show was her lesbian scene and that was too short to fully appreciate. There was a bit of anal sex too but nothing like I've come to expect from a movie made in Budapest, the capital of foreign porn these days.

So, we're left with the hollow shell of a porno that had especially weak acting, a lame story with no originality, and an under utilized cast of cuties that looked like they were watching a clock. If this doesn't scream out Skip It, nothing does. I've found a lot of imported porn these days to be pretty sad so it should come as no surprise that this one didn't work for me but Pure Play tends to be more discriminating about what they'll allow under their banner so perhaps that's what bothered me the most. If you really like the cast to the point where you're considered a slavering fan boy (SFB) by your friends, give it a rental but otherwise, steer clear.

Summary: When the sex is generally boring and the story is lame, there really isn't much you can do with a movie so my rating might've been a little bit generous. The technical aspects with regard to the visuals were decent but the sound was poor and the overall package not worth receiving as a freebie. Foreign porn can be hit or miss and this was definitely the latter of the two concepts. To sum it up in two letters…P. U.

Note: You can see recent candid shots of many domestic performers by visiting: My Photo's and read about their antics at 2004 AEE Show.