Puck: A Midsummer Night's Debauchery

Digital Sin/New Sensations

Genre: Feature

Director: John T. Bone

Cast: Jennifer Steele, Cris Bel, Isa Bismark, Cindy Minx, Laysa Cox, Pamela Devon, Paula Prado, Lolita Rosa, Ellen Padilha, Laysa Milano, Luana, Monica Jones, Hugo, Marcus Alexandra, Michael Steele, Roge, Alex Junior, Guina, Alex Baby, Yoolita, Lu Castro, Fabiana Mina, Paula Mendonca, Cindy Gregory, Tiago, Manlo, Adrian, Castier, Eduarda Martinelli
Note: The cast list on the DVD cover and at the end during the credits had various spellings for names.

Length: 134.5 minutes

Date of Production: 7/15/03 (box), 11/6/01 (credits)

Extra's: photogallery (the menu listed a behind the scenes feature but it was only a short photogallery)

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. Most of the time, the focus was way too soft and a lot of grain present. There were other problems, usually associated with the lighting and poor camera work but those to aspects were the worst. The audio was presented with a choice of either Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo English or Portuguese. While much of the audio track was hollow, the biggest problem stemmed from the fact that the dubbing was weak and voiceovers used in lieu of directly recording vocal tracks on the cast. The moans seemed dubbed too, which was distracting. Lastly, the music track was way too loud and lowered the heat as well.

Body of Review: In the history of literature, there are few writers who approach the level of complexity and intelligence of William Shakespeare. His plays have stood the test of time, finding a new audience with each passing generation over the last several hundred years. That said, the porn world has made many attempts to pay homage to old Bill's works over the years, typically companies like Adam & Eve or Vivid. After all, if you're going to steal a story, why not take from the very best? These efforts over the years have yielded the same mixed results porn always gets since few sexual athletes used in modern porn can act at even a high school play level. Thankfully, they can usually perform sexually better than most theatre companies (at least in terms of what I've seen both on and off the stage).

Okay, the latest takeoff on the classic tale by Wild Bill A Midsummer Night's Dream is one made in Brazil by the director thought long gone from the porn world, John T. Bone. The title, Puck: A Midsummer Night's Debauchery pretty much clues you in to the fact that you're going to see some hardcore action. Sadly, the technical limitations, combined with a lack of vision and other screw ups, made this one a DVD I'd rent on a slow day when all the good stuff was already taken. First off, Bone was known for making porn movies a bit edgier than most of his fellow directors. That doesn't mean they were any good (although, to be fair, a couple weren't bad in his long career) but at least he tried to do something to differentiate himself from the pack. Such is the case with his treatment of the source material here.

For those unfamiliar with the original work by the famed author, suffice it to say, this one won't spoil it for you if you ever get a chance to see it locally or on cable television. The guiding principle here is to get you off by showing a variety of sex scenes, not enlighten your mind with a decent adaptation of Shakespeare's work. The sex included a number of scenes, some of which had anal sex but most focused on oral and straight/vaginal acts with condoms being used by the cast.

The sex itself was not too bad but not as well done as most domestic companies (this DVD is being distributed by Digital Sin but appears to have been made in Brazil a while back by Bone's company). The technical limitations were evident in almost every scene and the fact that the story is told by narration (Puck is played by Michael Steele) rather than the performers reading their lines was a pain in the neck. Anyone who has watched some of the movies released by Private over the last few years will know what I mean.

The movie was longer than average and even though it had crappy extras, I could see couples renting it once in an effort to appear "cultured" to their friends (as long as the friends don't watch the movie or look too closely at the DVD cover). I'm not going to waste your time by breaking down the cast by scene here since it's very unlikely you've heard of any of the performers, not to mention that the credits and box cover don't agree, but the sex was varied enough for couples to get off too. It's not ground breaking in any sense but I'll be a sport and give it a rating of Rent It for those who like seeing classic literature get the porn treatment.

Summary: Well, I had a few moments of fun here but you'd do better to simply turn off the audio track and turn up your stereo when the movie is playing in order to enjoy this one. It's technical limitations, as listed above; it's mediocre cast and premise were enough to keep me from suggesting this release as being anything special but tastes vary and I can see where a few people might like a couple of scenes.