The Desirous Wife culls together eight sex scenes of varying length and heat and deals them rather squarely between two set-ups: a bedroom and a randy photographer's studio, said photographer looking like a clean-cut Roman Polanski.

To say the end result is calculably unexciting (complete with absurdist cut­away shots) is putting it mildly. Added to this rather nebulous mix is the fact that the film retains its original Italian (which should trip up story lovers) plus a hippie-era film stock quality that gives it an unwarranted time warp aspect.

The venerable blonde European star Karin Schubert appears in four of the scenes, the last being a less-than-spectacular cast orgy. Penetration shots are virtually non-existent, and lovers of the female form will have to wade through a jungle of garter belts and stockings to have a good look at the ladies.