All the Sins of Sodom

All the Sins of Sodom was one of a quick succession of films Joe Sarno wrote and directed in 1968, following the auspicious production of Inga back in Sweden.  The New York tale offers us a voyeuristic glimpse into several intertwined lives: Henning, a photographer on the edge of what he feels is a great artistic achievement; Leslie, the model of his current project, who has also become his (latest) lover; and a nomadic young woman called Joyce, who has befriended (beguiled?) Henning to a point where he lets her stay at his flat/studio indefinitely, ultimately allowing her also to intrude on his professional and personal lives.  Joyce develops some sort of sadistic attraction to Henning, deliberately attempting to cause a rift between him and Leslie, while also becoming a supplementary subject in his photographic conquest.  But, perhaps, she poses an even greater threat than he may realise.

It's very much a kitchen-sink style approach to drama, albeit with added eroticism and nudity (it never veers into hardcore territory, thankfully).  Clearly produced very cheaply (almost the entire film takes place in Henning's cramped apartment, where he also works) Sarno manages to elicit quite a buzz from the triangle.  The story is told through quite a lot of dialogue, facial expression, and copulation.  The surprising acting accolade (considering the material) of the film must go to Maria Lease as Leslie, who delivers an amazingly emotive and fragile performance, essentially putting the other actors in the shade slightly.  Having said that, the actress playing Joyce, despite appearing to be relatively inexperienced, comes across as quite fascinating and suitably mystical (indeed, her character is likened to the Devil early on).  Joyce is certainly appealing, though destined to be Henning's downfall just as one of the characters loosely predicts.  He asks the artistically impotent Leslie for more 'evil', and that's precisely what he ends up getting when Joyce strays into the equation.  Overall, aside from the fact that the film could be simplistically seen as softcore fodder, this is quite an intriguing character and situation study.

Film Movement have put this out on Blu-ray as part of their Joseph Sarno Retrospectove series, the disc additionally including the Sarno film Vibrations (also 1968).  Vibrations also features Maria Lease in an excellent role as she plays an uptight typist whose loose sister starts visiting the adjacent apartment for some strange group shenanigans (generally involving a vibrator, which I'm sure is exactly the same one that was used in All the Sins of Sodom).  Vibrations has a great soundtrack, while the story is effectively set against an ambient 60s New York.  Characterisation and drama is not as complex as Sins, but it is nevertheless quite an interesting piece that has welcome presence on the disc.  It has been treated to a 2K scan at 1.78:1 B&W, which is detailed and naturally grainy.  There are a couple of commentaries for this feature.

Back to Sins and you'll find there is an audio commentary and an interview with the director (who died in 2010) - what an amazing life he led!  The clear, slimline Blu-ray case contains a booklet depicting an essay by Tim Lucas, plus film credits and photos.  The 2K-scanned Sins transfer is 1.78:1, B&W, and looks excellent on the Blu-ray, with a consistent grain-field and strong detail.  This film was actually previously released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome, but was limited to 1000 units and is of course out of print.  The Film Movement edition is superior anyway, due to its inclusion of extras and Vibrations, and makes a great buy for Sarno or otherwise curious film fans.