After viewing SALON KITTY, I was surprised by how good it was. Maybe it's because my expectations were very low. I expected something like an ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS type of exploitation film directed by Tinto Brass, the man behind the wretched and almost unwatchable CALIGULA. SALON KITTY is way better than CALIGULA. SALON KITTY will probably disappoint guys looking for cheap thrills. The film looks more like a glossy 1970s magazine spread (of beautiful people or architecture) than your typical titillating exploitation fare. The sets by Ken Adams are excellent and give the movie an appropriately operatic and posh feel to the whole sordid setting.
SALON KITTY has its share of problems though. It's way too long for its own good. At 120 minutes, it's a good 10 to 15 minutes too long. The story concentrates only a couple of characters, mainly those played by Helmet Berger, Ingrid Thulin and Teresa Ann Savoy. In fact, the whole love story between Savoy and her lover needlessly took too much of the film's time. For a moment I thought I was watching LOVE STORY, NAZI STYLE. The screenplay is full of holes (how does Savoy get away with shooting the man when the rooms are bugged?!?!) And the cinematography was at times erratic and murky. But this is probably because the SALON KITTY video cassette I rented was very old and the print was fuzzy, had tons of scratches and hairs and such. It was barely watchable. But even with all those things going against it, SALON KITTY still held my attention up to the very end. The film is very decadent looking and paced like a millionaire shopping for caviar. Tinto Brass' direction is knowing and melodramatic. Thulin's acting is very over-the-top. I thought she was possessed by a drag queen. And Berger makes for a fascinating Nazi officer. My only real complaint about SK is the scenes where they actually kill real pigs. That was excessive. But those scenes were very popular in "shocking movies" made in the 1970s (Cannibal Holocaust, Apocalypse Now, etc).
If SALON KITTY ever comes out on DVD, with a clean and sharp transfer, I will purchase it
SALON KITTY has its share of problems though. It's way too long for its own good. At 120 minutes, it's a good 10 to 15 minutes too long. The story concentrates only a couple of characters, mainly those played by Helmet Berger, Ingrid Thulin and Teresa Ann Savoy. In fact, the whole love story between Savoy and her lover needlessly took too much of the film's time. For a moment I thought I was watching LOVE STORY, NAZI STYLE. The screenplay is full of holes (how does Savoy get away with shooting the man when the rooms are bugged?!?!) And the cinematography was at times erratic and murky. But this is probably because the SALON KITTY video cassette I rented was very old and the print was fuzzy, had tons of scratches and hairs and such. It was barely watchable. But even with all those things going against it, SALON KITTY still held my attention up to the very end. The film is very decadent looking and paced like a millionaire shopping for caviar. Tinto Brass' direction is knowing and melodramatic. Thulin's acting is very over-the-top. I thought she was possessed by a drag queen. And Berger makes for a fascinating Nazi officer. My only real complaint about SK is the scenes where they actually kill real pigs. That was excessive. But those scenes were very popular in "shocking movies" made in the 1970s (Cannibal Holocaust, Apocalypse Now, etc).
If SALON KITTY ever comes out on DVD, with a clean and sharp transfer, I will purchase it