Absolutely god-awful exploitation film is something of a rape/revenge story with a woeful lack of attention to the "revenge" part. The movie instead focuses on the rape of a lipstick model by a weirdo music teacher and no one believing that she was raped. It holds your attention because you want so badly to see the rapist scumbag get his just desserts. The worst part is that because the victim was a lipstick model who sometimes posed half-naked the rapists' lawyer drags out all these seductive ads she did and badgers her on the witness stand about her "wanting it". It's repulsive. Unfortunately, I'm sure this kind of stuff happens in real life. Chris Sarandon is excellent as the rapist creep (it's hard to believe he also played Al Pacino's transvestite lover in Dog Day Afternoon), Margeaux Hemingway is ok as the victim. Not great. Just passable. Young Mariel Hemingway is excellent playing real-life sister Margeaux's sister in the movie. This is one of those movies that could only have been made in the 1970s, a decade rife with cynicism and a total lack of nostalgia. People would actually go and see movies like this in a theater, which seems extremely odd today.

I saw this film in the cinema when I was young and impressionable. Having watched it again now I am old and cynical I recognise it for what it truly is, a propaganda document. The Nazis were big on this, they made one film that portrayed Jews as rats; of course, none but true believers are ever convinced by such blatant dishonesty, or are they? "Lipstick" uses a slightly - but only slightly - more subtle form of propaganda; a top fashion model is the victim of a brutal rape in her own apartment by a man she has invited in for reasons totally unrelated to sex. The end of the rape is witnessed partially by her younger sister, with whom she lives. She contacts the police immediately after the assault, during which she is also sodomised, in fact she does everything she should, but the jury acquits the perpetrator ostensibly because of her lifestyle.She is warned early on by the cynical prosecutor that in court the defense lawyer will try to terrify, degrade, control and humiliate her, which he does. Furthermore, there are "only" ten thousand rapes reported annually in California out of fifty thousand, and the chance of him doing time is 2%. What a total crock.In case you don't recognise any of the above, it is the feminist rape narrative. How does the DA's office or anyone "know" there are forty thousand unreported rapes in California every year? Furthermore, attacking the character of a victim can be extremely dangerous, especially in a rape case. In 1986, the magazine "Private Eye" lost a libel action to Robert Maxwell, a flamboyant and extremely wealthy individual for whom most juries would have had little sympathy, but he broke down in the witness box - giving evidence rather than under cross-examination - and won a massive judgment. Are the tears of an attractive, violated young woman any less prejudicial to a defendant? A woman who might be your sister or even your daughter?The film has a happy ending of sorts when the victim administers summary justice; the ending is rather abrupt, but the point has been made. Don't forget though, this film is only fiction, or perhaps fantasy would be a better word.

Lipstick was just released on DVD and the remastered print in its original widescreen format greatly improves the viewing experience. I had an old VHS copy which was full screen and a bad transfer at that. This DVD release is clear, crisp and has great audio for a 1976 film.I won't rehash the story but will comment on the film itself. The stark depiction of rape on screen was a new thing in 1976 and I think most people were uncomfortable with the subject matter. The film is well produced and it give you a great look back at LA circa 1976. The performances are somewhat uneven but for her first film Margaux gives a pretty good performance, especially in the rape and courtroom scenes. She was a beautiful women who's memory is forever on film. The striking thing about this film is that 35 years later our legal system and the way it treats women has not changed much, most rapes still go unreported and few perps are convicted.The movie has its flaws but it never fails to entertain and it is much better than most films released today. I recommend this film for it's polished glossy feel, gritty realism, courtroom drama and dramatic conclusion. The film holds up well and other than the disco music at the beginning it could just as well be a story told today.Don't listen to the haters on here, rent it or buy it, it's worth having in your collection.

I've never heard or seen what the late Margaux Hemingway thought of her decision to star in this classic Dino Delaurentis "anything for a buck" hack fest, but I'd guess it's regret.If you subtract the horribly slapped together courtroom denouement, tighten up the sometimes hackneyed, over-melodramatic, cliché-ridden script, you're left with a harsh examination of rape and the judicial realities (circa 1976 anyway) of the crime's aftermath.Providing the movie was of a slightly higher grade (it's really not THAT bad a film if you look at it strictly in a technical sense), an established actress who was put through the paces Margaux is here would probably garner an Oscar nomination (think Jodie Foster's performance as a hard-edged working-class girl in "The Accused" --- was that any less graphic and sleazy?). Unfortunately, it's much easier to beat up (no pun intended) on a model with no acting experience.Frankly, I've never thought Margaux's delivery here was bad --- it's natural, and her exchanges with her sister Mariel are believable and touching. Chris Sarandon, though suitably hateful, brings a creepy realism to his wacko music teacher/rapist role, and Anne Bancroft is solid as usual.The biggest problem I've had with this film is it's unequivocal equation of electronic/avant-garde music with a deviant, unbalanced mind. Given that postulate, behind every sex offender therein lies a complete catalog of Tangerine Dream, John Cage, and Hawkwind.