LOS ANGELES—Way before the term “metrosexual” hit the culture, there were the days when bisexuality was chic ... when ’70s-era pop-culture icons blurred the lines between gay and straight. This month, contemporary audiences can relive that era with the DVD and Blu-ray release of the 1972 erotic film Score.
Writing about the film back in 1972, Interview magazine opined that director Radley Metzger “hilariously hits the bull’s-eye of bisexual chic.” Upon its release, Score was one of the first mass-market erotic films to explore couples who swing both ways. A generation later, the film still stands out not only for its lively storytelling and imaginative sex scenes, but also for devoting nearly equal time to heterosexual and gay relationships.
The film was based on a 1971 hit Off-Broadway play that starred 25-year-old Sylvester Stallone in the role of Mike, the horny telephone repairman, played in the film by Carl Parker.
The film follows the erotic exploits of a happily married swinging couple who make a bet that they can seduce a couple of naïve young newlyweds. The young couple is played by Lynn Lowry, who starred in the horror classics The Crazies and I Drink Your Blood, and Cal Culver, who became an early gay icon thanks to his standout performance in 1971’s Boys in the Sand.
Cult Epics will present two versions of Metzger’s erotic classic this fall, both appearing on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time ever. The original film will be available Oct. 26, preceded on Oct. 12 by a never-before-released uncensored version that contains seven additional minutes of adult scenes. Both editions of Score will be available at retailers for a list price of $29.95 (DVD) and $34.95 (Blu-ray).
The print used for both versions has been newly restored, ensuring a crisp high-definition transfer. The extras for both editions include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a new interview with actress Lowry, plus commentary by Metzger and film historian Michael Bowen.
Film buffs in Los Angeles have a third option: to see Score on the big screen. The Cinefamily, a group dedicated to spotlighting interesting and unusual films, will host a screening of the uncensored version of Score at 8 p.m. Sunday, November 7 at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles (611 N. Fairfax Ave., near Melrose). A Q&A session featuring Metzger will follow the film.
Soho News described Score as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf gone hardcore and hilarious”; Playgirl declared, “Something for everybody”; and Women’s Wear Daily said, “It makes voyeurism seem artistic.”
Cult Epics will continue to spotlight Metzger’s work next year with plans to release two more of the director’s critically acclaimed erotic films on DVD and Blu-ray. The Lickerish Quartet is due out in January 2011, followed in April by an extended version of Camille 2000.
Metzger's work done under the pseudonym Henry Paris is also known to classic porn fans—in particular The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1975), which received an AVN Award for Best Classic DVD in 2002 and was the first film inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame.
For additional information regarding Score, contact Christoph Buerger at (323) 868-7611 or [email protected].
