Lustful Feelings (1977) User Reviews

Kemal Horulu's Best

[MrElixir · 8/10 · 1 November 2006]

Not too many fans of 70s adult films are fans of Kemal Horulu. True, his films tend not to pack the punch of those made the best directors of the period at issue, however, he made one adult film that is so well made that it can be seen as a paradigm for an engaging and stimulating adult film. LUSTFUL FEELINGS (aka FEELINGS) from 1977, features a compelling story, competent and stylish direction, an attractive, experienced cast, and a groovy soundtrack. It works on a dramatic level as well as being pretty erotic, and just a bit kinky... Unfortunately the widely available version cuts out most of the kink of course, as well as all allusions to cocaine which is a huge part of the story, rendering it more or less a series of sex scenes and bracketed by drama.

Tony (Jamie Gillis) is a cocaine dealer, but owes Mr. Canucci (Ras Kean) a bit of money, which he isn't paying back fast enough. So Canucci suggests that Tony have his girlfriend Joanna (Leslie Bovee), do some modeling for a girlfriend of his named Claudette (Eva Henderson). Claudette tells Joanna that the real money is in fulfilling men's fantasies. Joanna agrees to join her in servicing her next client (R. Bolla). Tony also has a sexual relationship with his next door neighbor, played by Zebedy Colt favorite, Nancy Dare. Their sex scenes have a nice musical accompaniment and are enjoyable. Jamie doesn't pull out at the climax, which goes against convention and is refreshing.

Tony meets two of Canucci's button men in central park, and the dudes tell him that if he doesn't pay up soon something's gonna happen to him. He delivers some blow to a couple of his customers (Terri Hall and Helen Madigan) and while he gets to see a free live show, they only give him some of the money, still owing him like $1500. The line "I got the coke, you got the money?" is manipulated in the cut version. In the uncut version additional footage shows Tony cutting up the coke at home.

Joanna starts to enjoy her work and her encounters become more frequent and kinky. A stylish S&M scene features her being dominated by a masked Herschel Savage who is credited as 'Harvey'. Bobby Astyr is involved in the end. Eventually things get out of control, and both Tony and Joanna are in for some big trouble. I wont spoil the ending...

The dialog is great throughout: "How do you think I feel having my old lady be a jerk-off fantasy for a bunch of perverts?!!!" Way better than both VIRGIN AND THE LOVER and WOMEN IN LOVE, two films often regarded as Horulu's best.

Golden Age Groping, Grouping, etc.

[dmill030 · 8/10 · 23 December 2014]

I remember seeing this film in a theatre when young, and recently re-viewed it on DVD. It must be one of the best of that era's x-rated output:good photography and music (including a canned, and appropriate, version of Dylan's "Lay, Lady Lay"), effective script and performances, and some well-shot sex scenes including a particularly good one when Bovee and her mentor, Claudette, do a twosome for a curious but yellow type (Richard Bolla)who also likes being smacked.There are some good shots of New York in the 70s (which must have been filmed on the sly)and a fairly realistic ending, with death all around for escort Bovee and drug-dealer Jamie Gillis.

Superior 70's porn outing

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 18 March 2014]

Smalltime coke dealer Tony (well played with sleazy conviction by Jamie Gillis) owes some mobsters a substantial amount of money, so he coerces his beautiful girlfriend Joanna (a solid and sympathetic portrayal by stunningly gorgeous brunette knockout Leslie Bovee) to work as a nude model in order to make the necessary money to pay off his debt. Unbeknownst to Tony, Joanna has decided to become a prostitute instead. Complications ensue after Joanna discovers that she likes and enjoys her new line of work. Director Kemal Horulu vividly captures a decadent and hedonistic vibe that's both seductive and dangerous in equal measure, makes nice use of posh New York City locations, and does a sturdy job with a mercurial tone which starts out as fairly light and breezy before getting more dark and upsetting as the sordidly engrossing story unfolds towards a surprise double whammy bummer ending that packs a brutally devastating punch. Moreover, the sex scenes are extremely hot, varied, and explicit without ever seeming too raunchy or vulgar. The excellent cast of familiar East Coast hardcore movie regulars helps a whole lot: Terri Hall as a ditsy coke buyer, Helen Madigan as Hall's sensuous girlfriend, Ras Kean as the menacing Paul, Eva Henderson as classy and lusty bisexual Claudette, Bobby Astyr as a happy-go-lucky john, Nancy Dare as amorous neighbor Sharon, Robert Kerman as a creepy slimeball voyeur, and Herschel Savage as a kinky masked S&M enthusiast. Joseph Mangine's sumptuous cinematography provides a pleasing glossy look. The neatly eclectic score encompasses everything from groovy instrumental versions of popular hit songs to get-down funky throbbing disco. Recommended viewing for fans of Golden Age adult cinema.

Impressive

[Falconeer · 7/10 · 7 August 2019]

Within the genre of Adult Cinema, "Lustful Feelings" scores high, with it's glossy production values, pretty location shooting, stunning, sometimes jaw-dropping music score, and the fine acting skills of Jamie Gillis. All this is combined with an interesting story about a Playboy coke dealer, who winds up asking his girl to pose nude for extra cash he needs to pay a drug debt. But when Joanna (Leslie Bovee) begins to start turning tricks instead of just posing nude, she discovers that she likes that lifestyle. This of course, makes her man wild with rage, even though he is getting it on with other women left and right. This double standard was common in the 70's, a time when women were still seen as possessions and little more than objects of desire, at least in movies. Basically a study of two people on a collision course with their own bleak destinies. Tony the coke dealer, and Joanna the prostitute, both living in the fast lane, two people who learn the hard way, that there are no free rides in this world. The character Tony isn't the most sympathetic guy around, as he is self indulgent, as well as a womanizing cocaine dealer. And while I found it hard to sympathize with him, I could definitely relate to him. And nobody could rock those skin tight polyester shirts like Jamie Gillis. Damn that guy was sexy. And Leslie Bovee, a hardcore performer who really seemed to enjoy her work, is lovely in this. The film's only drawback is the director's apparent obsession with Bovee's nether region, as way too much time is spent with the camera in her snatch. Those leering shots take away a little of the film's quality, and start to make it look like typical, lowbrow porn. After a while the viewer might start to feel like a gynecologist. On a side note, it is a mystery how the producers got the rights to all that familiar music. Did they pay to secure the rights, or did they just take the music on the sly? The copyrights to all that material would have cost a fortune. Anyway the end result is a quality Adult Film feature that deserves to be rediscovered, especially now in the age where sex films have vanished, replaced by artless and ugly video clips that nobody watches for artistic reasons.

An actual porn movie with a plot & everything like a normal regular movie, I like that

[lovettstough · 10/10 · 10 May 2020]

I remember seeing this movie when I was 11 or 12 when somebody left it laying around in the tv room & I put it in the vcr & played it. I'm only 45 now. I like it because it has an actual plot & everything like a normal regular movie but it was a porn movie, not just a porn video with pretty much only fucking. These days on most of the porn websites even if the video is 1 hour long give or take it's not a movie like this, they're just videos with strictly fucking. Another good thing about this movie is it highlights how girls are lured in by another girl who is called the procurer or something like that but lures them in telling the girls a story which sounds good to the girls & or gets them on drugs & the next thing you know they're addicted to sex & drugs. Unfortunately these are the pros who get these girls like this because you never see these girls hooking out on the street on the corners. If I caught any of these people who do this to these girls I would arrest them or anything like that I would kill them making them suffer a slow painful death. I'm a U.S. MARINE & I could do it & I know how to do it. Unfortunately this stuff still happens today but it has gotten easier with all the new high tech & the internet.