The Movie:

A series of vignettes that start with some sort of minor conflict (and argument or disagreement) and then seem to end in 'make up sex', People was written, directed and produced by Gerard Damiano in 1978, and the director even has a non-sex cameo role in the film. Shot with considerably more artistic flair and attention to detail than most porno films past or present, People assembles an all star cast in front of the camera for a 'couples friendly' trip in a typically 'porno chic' way that doesn't seem to exist in adult filmmaking today. Here's how it all plays out…

Scene One – Serena: After bitching out the painter, Serena (credited in the film as Sirena) decides to relax in a hot bath. She strips down and soaps up her pussy, then uses the shower head on it for a minute or two. This scene is pretty quick, but thankfully it leads right into the next one…

Scene Two – Serena And Jamie Gillis: Gillis, sly sonuvabitch that he is, gets Serena to disrobe for him and convinces her to give him a blowjob. She gets down on her knees and starts going at it, and things start to get really aggressive. As the cheesy, faux lounge music plays on the soundtrack Serena sucks Gillis with the kind of enthusiasm that you'd expect from a more modern porno performer like Aurora Snow. She sucks and grunts and groans as he holds onto her hair and guides her deeper onto his dick. She laps at his balls like a puppy dog, nibbles on the head, licks the shaft, and pretty much gives her all to make sure that all the bases are covered. When she complains that she can't breath, Gentleman Jamie slaps her, pulls her hair, tells her to breath through her nose, and gets his dick right back in there and he eventually blows his wad all over her face.

Scene Three – Sue Swanson and Eric Edwards: After debating the merits of his infidelity, this couple decides to kiss and make up. He starts things off by undressing her and licking her way up her legs to her pussy. He goes down on her and plays with her nipples for a while, and then she lavishes him with a fancy blowjob. He gets her on the couch on her back and does her missionary style then pulls out and she jerks him off on her chest. The scene is shot in very soft light and despite the fact that it's dated, was probably supposed to be on the tender side.

Scene Four – Kasey Rodgers, Paula Pretense, Eric Edwards:Paula and Kasey dress up in bad make up and feathery hats, get Eric into bed, and give him a double blow job. They each take turns using their mouth on him until he shoots, the end. This one is a pretty basic scene but what makes it work is that girls' enthusiasm and the unorthodox costumes that they wear while doing the dirty deed.

Scene Five – Michelle and Kelly Green Entitled The Exhibition, this scene is a little kinkier than what we've been treated to so far in the film. Michelle's all decked up in black stockings and a garter and holding a whip, while Kelly is on her hands and knees, submissive in front of her. An assortment of onlookers watch the scene play out in front of them as Kelly licks Michelle's boots from toe to top. A cage is let down from the roof and a man (you never get a good look at his face) is let out. He lies back on the table and the two girls work him over with a double blowjob. He comes in Michelle's mouth and she spits it into Kelly's mouth. As things heat up, someone credited as Burgandy Grant masturbates with a white feather.

Scene Six – Samantha Fox and Eric Edwards: Sue starts this scene off by giving Eric a rather soft looking blowjob (and by soft, I mean, easy, nice, not too aggressive). This scene doesn't last too long, as that's all that there is to it. He comes and the scene segues into the next one…

Scene Seven – Bobby Astor and June Meadows: She's a hooker, he's a john. After he eats a banana, she gives him a blowjob but he's not really hard at all yet. She isn't a quitter though and soon enough he's up and ready. Once he is, she lays on her back to take him missionary style and he pumps away at her for a few minutes

The DVD

Video:

This fullframe transfer looks surprisingly sharp and colorful and the picture quality, for an old XXX film from 1979, looks surprisingly good. There are some specks here and there as well as a moderate amount of grain but this looks to be a film sourced transfer and not a VHS or tape source. The unfortunate decision to add a 'Video X Pix' bug in the bottom right hand corner of the image during a few key scenes is also a strike against the disc, as it is a little annoying when it continues to pop up, but other than that, the black levels stay strong, the skin tones look natural, and while there are a few scenes that look a bit on the soft side, overall this is a nice picture.

Sound:

The Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is a little muffled and not of the best quality, but again, it's taken from a tape source so the limitations of the older technology are going to be there when that's the case. Dialogue is pretty easy to understand, however, and the background music comes through reasonably clear. There aren't a lot of sound effects used in the film, mostly just some random moaning and groaning during the action scenes and these are handled just fine, as are the talkier bits of the movie.

Extras:

The disc doesn't come with a whole lot in the way of extra features but there are two trailers tucked away neatly underneath the menu screens. First up is a trailer for Slit Skirts and Slippery When Wet.

Final Thoughts:

This Video X Pix release of Gerard Damiano's People looks pretty good and sounds decent enough for what it is. The lack of extra features is disappointing but the movie itself is a winner. The film is very well made, the performances convincing, and the sex scenes simmer with genuine eroticism. Recommended.