Director Pierre Woodman is nothing if not ambitious. All of his previous videos have been long on spectacular locations scorching sex and drop-dead gorgeous girls, but in his Tatiana trilogy, he combines all of the above with a dazzling visual sense and an attention to historical detail that makes this lavish costume drama the Gone With The Wind of adult entertainment. He's one part David O. Selznick, one part Francis Coppola, one part Leo Tolstoy, and one part sex maniac. Tatiana deserves the award for Best Adult Drama of 1998 - if there were such an award. As it is, Tatiana has to be considered a leading contender for Best Video of 1998.

The Tatiana saga involves the efforts of a young peasant girl as she seeks revenge on the decadent, ruthless Marquis, to whom the family is growing deeper in debt. When her sister was raped by the Marquis and his personal bodyguards, Tatiana enters a brothel and schemes to become the young virgin he's seeking. And is willing to pay a fortune to deflower.

Tatiana 3 begins as the aristocrat and his wife bicker. Taking her daughter, the wife leaves and consoles herself by fucking three guards by the roadside while daughter entertains another guard in the carriage.

While the wife and daughter are busy, the Marquis is back in the palace making up with a maid. No sooner have shirts been tucked into pants and skirts pulled down, but a valet and two maids go at it hot and heavy in a threeway. The valet switches girls throughout, with some reverse cow anal, anal doggie, and a double facial.

Tatiana returns home to her father with enough money to pay off the deed on the ranch and keep herself in silk frocks for life, but dad is furious that she's earned the money on her back and sends her away. With a breaking heart, she goes to find her old flame and the only true love of her life, Dimitri. But Dimitri is mending his breaking heart with the help of three peasant girls down by the river.

And so things go, one scorching scene after another - eight in all - couples, threesomes, foursomes, blowjobs, cunt-licking, fucking, facials. Finally, after Tatiana catches Dimitri and, devastated, returns to the Marquis, the two have a torrid scene. But Dimitri returns to reclaim his lover, and settle things in a sword fight. Needless to say he wins not only the duel but Tatiana. And they ride off together.

It's impossible to overstate the mouth-watering production values here. The attention to historical detail is mind-boggling. The 19th-century costumes, hairstyles, makeup, and furnishings are flawless. The palace where most of the action takes place is actually located in the Ukraine, and has been maintained with loving perfection. The lighting is perfectly suited to the material: no too muted, and bright enough to allow clear viewing of everything that's going on. Woodman's pictorial eye is impressive. His long shots, framing, and obvious passion for his material are clearly evident and contribute to the viewers pleasure. He is also a masterful story-teller, handling the multiple narratives with ease. Even the letterbox frame format suits this epic story.