Search - The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak on DVD

ADAPTATION OF EROTIC ADVENTURE COMIC MISSES THE POINT

Zorikh Lequidre | Brooklyn, NY | 04/27/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Despite what Leonalrd Maltin says, this film, though a French production, is based on a comic strip created in America by an English-Australian, John Coutts (aka John Willie), which first appeared in his amusingly erotic fetish publication "Bizarre" in the late '40's-early'50's. The title was "The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline" and has recently been released in a deluxe hardcover collection. The original story involved the heroine constantly getting captured by the villains trying to prevent a horse from being run in a race to save the family farm, and a mysterious bob-cut agent keeps on helping her out. The whole point of the comic and its sequels appears to be showing impossibly sexy women in bondage and sexy clothing. This film keeps the names of some of the characters, borrows some concepts from "Bizarre," and does put the heroine in perilous predicaments, but basically goes its own way in theme and story.In the film, our 1930's heroine, along with her faithful French maid (who wears the bob-cut), are seeking a rare butterfly that her late entymologist father disappeared trying to find. Their adventures take them to a steamy, slimy, decadent Asian port city where they meet a tough, world weary, cynical mercenary who rescues them from an unscrupulous gangster. They travel through jungles and deserts meeting cannibals, river pirates, and other dangers, until they find a hidden civilization of women. To say what happens next would give away too much and besides, the shock of the bizzarre is half the fun of the movie. Suffice it to say that there is much nudity and various forms of imprisonment, bondage, restraint, and gladiatorial combat (even a human-powered chariot race). It is all very French it its creation of scenes, locations, and cultures. It's as if certain elements of old movies that were done but not considered very important really caught the imagination of French fimakers and now they were trying to create their own version.Many of the actors obviously were not speaking English during filming, and its pretty obvious that the film was completely dubbed. This does get a little distracting.This movie plays occasionally on TV, where every bare breast must be edited out. This makes the end of the film very choppy. To make up for this lost time, the TV version includes some extra dialogue that makes the character development slightly more believable, and some extra footage that adds some comedy. The video tape lacks this dialogue and footage.Old fans of the comic probably already know this film exists, it having recieved a lot of attention from the bondage and fetish community. New fans of the comic curious about this film should be warned that the style and frequency of the bondage and restraint is very different from the comic; focused a lot more on the wierd sci-fi dungeon aesthetic and mostly in the last quarter of the movie, rather than the traditional damsel-in-distress style. This was one of Tawney Kitaen's first movies and the filmakers wanted her so much they were willing to scale down the sex and bondage to please her.Few people would call this a "good" movie, though many people would enjoy it. If you want an actual "good" movie, subtract one star from this review. However, ther is plenty of stuff that will make an audience react: nudity, violence, blood, corny dialogue, bad dubbing, great production value, etc. If you enjoy this sort of thing, add a star."

FINALLY!!

D. Roberts | Battle Creek, Michigan United States | 10/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been wanting to pick up this obscure movie for years, ever since I first watched it some 12 years ago. Unfortunately, up until now it has been out of print - even on VHS. I was un-willing to pay an obnoxious price for a used version on Video tape. Now there is no reason to fret any more: Gwendoline is here & she's on DVD!!!



The original title of the film was The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak. It is basically a low-budget INDIANA JONES type of adventure movie, only with a whole lot more erotica mixed in. One could say there are elements of Monty Python as well. Brent Huff plays a Harrison Ford wannabe. He has a great physique for an adventure movie, but he's not a particularly good actor. The third major character is Gwendoline's sidekick / friend, Beth (played by French actress Zabou).



The overwhelming reason to buy this DVD may be summed up in 3 words: Tawny Kitaen topless! While she has stripped down in a few other movies (such as WITCHBOARD), one needs to have the pause button on the DVD remote handy to get a good look. Not so with this film. She is topless throughout most of the 2nd half of the film - and that's a very good thing!!!



I can't for the life of me understand why Tawny has not had a more robust acting career or why she didn't make many more movies. For one thing, there have not been too many female redhead movie stars. Tawny is gorgeous and there are a few scenes in this film where she is absolutely ravishing - to the extent that she took my breath away. She is also a better actress than a great many women in Hollywood.



To be sure, this is a very corny movie. Tawny and Zabou are good actors; the rest of the cast are all a bit stilted. I believe it was originally in French as the people all suffer from dubbing-man's disease. However, it is also a very fun movie, and I had forgotten just how cute Zabou is.



So, if you are even a remote fan of Tawny Kitaen you need to JUMP at the opportunity to buy this one. It's a feel good movie and Tawny is the one who will making you feel good!

"

A hoot

Zorikh Lequidre | 02/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"About 20 years ago my friend and i went to see this, we had no idea what to expect. It was rated R. But judging from the audience of 10 people, no one had noticed. A family of 4 with 2 young kids and a old couple are what I remember. Well, the film was not for them and they were awfully quiet, but we were laughing ourselves silly since it's such a goof. I think that it would help to get lit before watching it. I just bought it and await my trip down memory lane."

Soft core?

wiredweird | Earth, or somewhere nearby | 03/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Not just soft. It's flaccid, floppy, and limp. It's silly, fun, and adventurous, but it's still pretty limp.



What's to like? A lot, really. This comes down to us from a time when a B-cup was a god-given gift of beauty and a joy to behold, rather than an unhappy accident to be repaired with implants. It's filled with silliness. "We need water - quick, take your shirt off!" And best, the silliness just gets better as it goes along. Watch the costumes on The Grand Dames of Whatever - the colors get brighter, the poufs get poufier, and the haircuts get closer to one of the worse "Dune" movies.



Babes, bods, bouncing boobies, and bravado. There's a lot to like. Nothing that matters, but a lot anyway.



-- wiredweird"