Franco and Brass, even Argento matter to me. They have intuition that inspires. Yes, they make vulgar and sometimes nonsensical films. But that is just a matter of degree compared to Hollywood fare, right?What I like about Brass isn't about the women or situations, but how he chooses to frame and light the photographs. This is related to women's fashion magazines, where we know the models are insipid beings, and the clothes bordering on the ridiculous. They simply provide a narrative vocabulary for the artist to explore and exploit.Brass does well sometimes, but he falls into a crevice when he relies on Nazi images in the context of sex. Here he reaches too far in trying to make something like "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" with the tone of "Europa." The film here clearly reaches to an analogy of Italy as a fading sexual beauty, confused in her passions and easily seduced by fascism. This could pay off, but the filmmaker himself is seduced into making a different film — one he instinctively knows. There is a war between the film he can make and the film he wants to, but alas this war is not interesting. Nor is the woman or the Italy she represents.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This man with lascivious ,nasty traits and libidinous habits (on screen, at least) is a cult—actor—and one of the luckiest, either—he was the man designated by Brass to hug, fondle, embrace, touch those marvelous Brass femmes fatals—in LA CHIAVE, MIRANDA, Senso '45—some of these are mythical movies ;he made a considerable gallery of men who are never no. 1, nor Des premiers, but who nonetheless manage to have a lot—by cunning, chance or by simply being there. His role in LA CHIAVE is perhaps the most sophisticated; in SENSO '45 he is a libidinous, sleazy oldster, in MIRANDA an avid redneck …. MIRANDA is a Goldonian spoof, a fabulous Goldonian parody, and Brass' intentions are obvious beginning with the place that Branciarolli's character gets in the script. Brass never pretended that his fetish hardcore (to a certain degree) actor is a handsome man, or the first choice of a woman—in LA CHIAVE, he is the much younger son—in-law and he becomes a caprice and sexual toy of his bored ,boiled by desires sexually authoritarian and emancipated mother—in—law; in SENSO '45 he is an oldie confident that craves for some sexual attentions …;in MIRANDA he is hillbilly that is accepted in Mme. Grandi's bed only after all the more interesting sexual adventures have been consummated almost under his envious ,jealous eyes. Branciarolii is,in Brass' movies, never the one who conquers or wins, but the one who is conquered or let, permitted to win ….SENSO … is THE KEY turned upside down; the mature woman, humiliated, used for else than her body, despised. The pagan celebration of earthly love turned into a farce. It's very sentimental, because Brass intended to underline his compassion for Livia Mazzoni. Brass is a feminist director; his movies celebrate the women, usually the men are the women's victims and Brass takes delight in that. Brass ' movies are a celebration of the earthly, vigorous, egoist women. There might be about love in THE VOYEUR—only perhaps—and in SENSO …; I do not know if the notion of love ,of sentimental love is ever targeted by Brass.And yes,it is a fairly fancy game imagining various women as actresses in Brass' movies.

A film by Tinto Brass, the purveyer of 70s-style soft porn, all stockings and suspenders, swaying boobs, bent over as$es. It belongs to another era, before video and DVD, before the freeze frame and the chapter selection. You'd have to sit and watch the titillation unfold, unable to speed things up or cut to the action.That said, the women are far removed from the hard, anonymous, blonde Croydon-facelifts of hardcore, they have a bit of va-va-vooom! Some of the couplings did put me in mind of the school librarian being chatted up by the hopeful deputy head, it's that sort of world.This film is set in Venice in the dying months of the Second World War. It has an enjoyable European sensibility that is refreshing and some of the photography of wartime Venice is lovely, especially the dawn shots, which are often used to great effect in war films, the only respite from human cruelty and betrayal, a vivid stripping back to essentials.The story is about an aristocratic woman (Anna Galiena, very good) falling for a young blond brute of a Nazi, cheating on her husband. It's all very straightforward. Generally you'd think you couldn't go wrong with a classy sex orgy featuring Nazi uniforms, cocaine and blow jobs, but thanks to the composer - Ennio Morricone no less - using oboes and trumpets to fashion a comical, inquisitive little tune better suited to the playout credits of Miss Marple Investigates on Sunday afternoon, they manage to... I can't officially recommend it - it's kind of rubbish really - but it has something going for it, you can see where Paul Verhoven got his inspiration for Black Books, and it's all a bit Allo Allo without the laughs (which some may prefer, of course).

Brass pictures (movies is not a fitting word for them) really are somewhat brassy. Their alluring visual qualities are reminiscent of expensive high class TV commercials. But unfortunately Brass pictures are feature films with the pretense of wanting to entertain viewers for over two hours! In this they fail miserably, their undeniable, but rather soft and flabby than steamy, erotic qualities non withstanding.Senso '45 is a remake of a film by Luchino Visconti with the same title and Alida Valli and Farley Granger in the lead. The original tells a story of senseless love and lust in and around Venice during the Italian wars of independence. Brass moved the action from the 19th into the 20th century, 1945 to be exact, so there are Mussolini murals, men in black shirts, German uniforms or the tattered garb of the partisans. But it is just window dressing, the historic context is completely negligible.Anna Galiena plays the attractive aristocratic woman who falls for the amoral SS guy who always puts on too much lipstick. She is an attractive, versatile, well trained Italian actress and clearly above the material. Her wide range of facial expressions (signalling boredom, loathing, delight, fear, hate ... and ecstasy) are the best reason to watch this picture and worth two stars. She endures this basically trashy stuff with an astonishing amount of dignity. I wish some really good parts come along for her. She really deserves it.