One of the best films Vivid has ever released does not get the grand treatment we might have hoped for on DVD. While other companies have either released or are planning to release special editions of some of their bigger features with lots of extras and goodies (Metro's Taboo 17 has commentary on the second audio track, and Wicked's planned release of Flashpoint willinclude that, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary), Vivid seems to be resting on their laurels. Certainly, no one can argue that Vivid pioneered multi-angle adult product, but the fact is that most discs they release now have only that. Masseuse 3 could have been Vivid's "Criterion" DVD. Instead we get a mediocre digital transfer with sparse extra angles, and the usual pallet of Vivid self-promotion materials. All those Internet promos and "virtual rooms" take up a lot of space that frankly could and should have been used to give this disc a lower compression ratio. Alas.

Moody, psychologically challenging and very erotic, The Masseuse 3 might be Paul Thomas' best film ever, with some of the finest acting performances you'll ever see in a porno film.

A college guy, played by the talented James Bonn (Models), has an obsession with a prissy student, played by gorgeous Taylor Hayes. He acts as her servant and houseboy, cleaning her apartment and washing her clothes. Humiliating him at every turn, she drops him a few morsels, fucking him in the school hallway in a strange sex scene where he cums on her glasses.

More than that, she senses that he sneaks around her place, and is turned on knowing he's watching her getting fucked by Mr. Marcus and Billy Glide in an animalistic fuck-a-thon, the best sex scene in the film.

For refuge, Bonn patronizes a New York massage parlor where Melissa  Hill becomes his personal friend and masseuse. The first time they meet, he fucks her in a very erotic scene, but she, of course, has her own set of problems. The complex story develops interest in several dimensions, with several twists and plot turns worthy of mainstream Hollywood.

Bonn plays the humiliated loser extremely well, especially in a scene with the delectable Chloe and Leanni Lei, where he licks Chloe's shoes and watches them fuck each other before jerking off. Herschel Savage completes his comeback with a wonderful performance as Bonn's friend/advisor, who helps him find the massage parlor. Chloe and Savage perform a healthy anal fucking near the film's outset and Savage has a particularly dirty scene in an alley with Leanni Lei.

In fact, all nine sex scenes bring degrees of heat and help the story evolve. To further develop Taylor Hayes' kinkiness, she and Katie Gold lick each other's twats for the entertainment of a kinky school professor, played by Jamie Gillis.

The performances are among the best in adult this year, with Taylor Hayes (Best Actress pre-nom), James Bonn (Best Actor pre-nom), Chloe (Supporting Actress pre-nom) and Herschel Savage (Supporting Actor pre-nom) worthy for AVN Award consideration come December. The screenplay by Neil Wexler, cinematography (great outdoor shots of New York City work seamlessly to give the whole movie a Manhattan feel), editing and direction are top-notch. And several sex scenes may well get nominated as well. Everything about Masseuse 3 makes this one of 1998's top choices and a spectacular achievement in adult film.

Titling the film Masseuse 3 makes sense from a marketing point of view, since the first two were so successful. But the massage angle is a minor part of the story and I personally would have liked to have seen this movie have a different title.