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Taboo 17

Taboo 17

Released Aug 31st, 1998
Company Cal Vista Video
Distribution Company Metro Distributors
Critical Rating AAAA 1/2
Genre Feature

Rating


Reviews

We reviewed the Taboo 17 videotape in our August issue, where it earned four A's. The plot of the video is set out there, so we won't repeat it here. On the DVD, the feature is divided into six chapters, each with its own animated menu button that displays approximately the first two minutes of the scene.

However, customers of mainstream DVDs have come to expect Hollywood to supply at least a few bells and whistles for this digital medium that would be either difficult or impossible to provide on videotape. Cal Vista/Metro has taken up that gauntlet for XXX, and Taboo 17 has plenty of them.

For one thing, the entire feature was shot with two cameras, providing plenty of "second angle" footage for the real aficionado. Trouble is, a lot of that footage is less than interesting. It's unlikely, for instance, that many viewers would want to watch Misty Rain looking through a window (and occasionally rubbing her crotch) when they could see Mark Davis giving maid Roxanne Hall the paddling she "deserves." However, there's also plenty of worthwhile material in Angle 2; viewers will just have to experiment to find the mix they most enjoy.

Of the other extra features, best is the "behind the scenes" footage, which gives the viewer a real sense of "being there as it happens." SEE porn stars without make-up! SEE director Michael Zen pray for a cumshot! SEE the actual faces of Zen and several of the tech crew! SEE Misty Rain about to wash cum off her chest! But mostly, SEE how much fun it can be making a porn feature!  The other major facet of this DVD is the commentary by Zen and production manager JB, which is available on the disc's second audio channel. The two play off each other well, combining insights and humor so fluidly that viewers will probably want to watch the disc at least once with only the commentary track playing behind the visuals.

Viewers will also find fact sheets on the four major actresses (Inari Vachs, Roxanne Hall, Sydnee Steele and Caressa Savage); a photo gallery of production shots presented as an automatic slide show; the Taboo 17 trailer (in fact, that one's unavoidable; it plays as soon as you put the disc in the player); info on Metro's Website and on the corporation itself; and a list of Metro's other currently-available DVDs.

This is one excellent disc, and a must-stock item for stores that carry adult DVDs.



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