Secrets of Sex
Encyclopedia
Secrets of Sex aka Bizarre, is a British film, directed by Antony Balch
, an experimental filmmaker and frequent collaborator with William S. Burroughs
. The film is narrated by an Egyptian mummy.
After directing the Burroughs-influenced shorts Towers Open Fire (1963) and The Cut Ups (1967), Balch approached producer Richard Gordon in 1968 to direct an anthology film running just over an hour, titled Multiplication. After the script was rewritten to bring the film up to feature length and the budget doubled (32,000 pounds) filming took place over 14 weeks in 1969. Released in February 1970, it was a huge success in the UK, running for six months at the Jacey Cinema in Piccadilly Circus alone, during which time it recouped its entire production cost. The film remained in circulation in the UK throughout the 1970s, sometimes appearing in a half hour edited version that played on the second half of double-bills.
Five writers are credited with the script, although several other people, including Brion Gysin
and Ian Cullen (writer of Cruel Passion (1977) and husband of Yvonne Quenet, who plays Mary-Claire in the film) also claimed to have worked on the writing. Many of the actresses who appear nude in the film, such as Nicole Austin and Maria Frost, were mainly topless models who had begun to get minor acting roles in British sex and horror films of the period. Frost, who plays Lindy Leigh in the film, was so horrified she’d been given a major role in the film that she reportedly told Balch “I’m a model, I can't act.” She had previously appeared in two Harrison Marks
shorts, Maria and Scouts Honour.
The dinosaur sculptures that feature in the “Strange Young Man” segment are the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
.
Commenting on the film in an unpublished 1975 interview, Balch claimed “this is a very uneven film, but three episodes and a single shot, are good. I liked the ones with the photographer, Elliot Stein, and the Lady in the Greenhouse. The episode of the monster baby is a bore, but the single shot of it, at the end is brilliant.”
removing over nine minutes from the film, while reportedly muttering “nasty stuff”. Heavily cut was the ‘Spanish horse/Female photographer’ sequence, while shots of men in bed together in the ‘Bedroom Beauties of 1929’ sequence were removed entirely. Writing in the Monthly Film Bulletin
(march 1970) Jan Dawson remarked of the cuts “ paradoxically, the bowdlerized version of the film moves closer to pornography than the version from which its audience is being protected. …its sad that censorship should function against its own long term purpose and re-enforce the man-in-the-mac’s sexual furtiveness by denying him the chance to view sex irreverently.” The film was briefly released uncut in America under the name Bizarre by New Line Cinema
, before being withdrawn and re-released in 1972 as Tales of a Bizarre, a drastically re-edited version that deleted around 17 minutes from the film. The 1980 UK video release on the Iver Film Services label is uncut, as is the 2005 American DVD and the 2009 British DVD.
under its American title Bizarre.
In January 2010 the film, under its original title, was finally released on DVD in the UK, by Odeon Entertainment, featuring new sleeve-notes by author Simon Sheridan.
Antony Balch
Antony Balch was an English film director and distributor, best known for his screen collaborations with Beat Generation author William S...
, an experimental filmmaker and frequent collaborator with William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
. The film is narrated by an Egyptian mummy.
After directing the Burroughs-influenced shorts Towers Open Fire (1963) and The Cut Ups (1967), Balch approached producer Richard Gordon in 1968 to direct an anthology film running just over an hour, titled Multiplication. After the script was rewritten to bring the film up to feature length and the budget doubled (32,000 pounds) filming took place over 14 weeks in 1969. Released in February 1970, it was a huge success in the UK, running for six months at the Jacey Cinema in Piccadilly Circus alone, during which time it recouped its entire production cost. The film remained in circulation in the UK throughout the 1970s, sometimes appearing in a half hour edited version that played on the second half of double-bills.
Five writers are credited with the script, although several other people, including Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin was a painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.He is best known for his discovery of the cut-up technique, used by his friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs...
and Ian Cullen (writer of Cruel Passion (1977) and husband of Yvonne Quenet, who plays Mary-Claire in the film) also claimed to have worked on the writing. Many of the actresses who appear nude in the film, such as Nicole Austin and Maria Frost, were mainly topless models who had begun to get minor acting roles in British sex and horror films of the period. Frost, who plays Lindy Leigh in the film, was so horrified she’d been given a major role in the film that she reportedly told Balch “I’m a model, I can't act.” She had previously appeared in two Harrison Marks
Harrison Marks
George Harrison Marks was a British glamour photographer and director of nudist, and later, pornographic films who was active in the fields for several decades.-Kamera and Pamela Green:...
shorts, Maria and Scouts Honour.
The dinosaur sculptures that feature in the “Strange Young Man” segment are the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, also known as Dinosaur Court, are a series of sculptures of dinosaurs and extinct mammals located in Crystal Palace, London. Commissioned in 1852 and unveiled in 1854, they were the first dinosaur sculptures in the world, pre-dating the publication of Charles Darwin's...
.
Commenting on the film in an unpublished 1975 interview, Balch claimed “this is a very uneven film, but three episodes and a single shot, are good. I liked the ones with the photographer, Elliot Stein, and the Lady in the Greenhouse. The episode of the monster baby is a bore, but the single shot of it, at the end is brilliant.”
Censorship History
The film was substantially cut for the British cinema release in 1970, with censor John TrevelyanJohn Trevelyan
John Trevelyan was Secretary of the Board of the British Board of Film Censors from 1958–1971.Trevelyan was born in Bromley, England. He brought a more liberal approach to the role of Chief Censor than his predecessors claiming: "We are paid to have dirty minds". However his approach was harshly...
removing over nine minutes from the film, while reportedly muttering “nasty stuff”. Heavily cut was the ‘Spanish horse/Female photographer’ sequence, while shots of men in bed together in the ‘Bedroom Beauties of 1929’ sequence were removed entirely. Writing in the Monthly Film Bulletin
Monthly Film Bulletin
The Monthly Film Bulletin was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a narrow arthouse release. The MFB was edited in the mid-1950s by David Robinson, in the late...
(march 1970) Jan Dawson remarked of the cuts “ paradoxically, the bowdlerized version of the film moves closer to pornography than the version from which its audience is being protected. …its sad that censorship should function against its own long term purpose and re-enforce the man-in-the-mac’s sexual furtiveness by denying him the chance to view sex irreverently.” The film was briefly released uncut in America under the name Bizarre by New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
, before being withdrawn and re-released in 1972 as Tales of a Bizarre, a drastically re-edited version that deleted around 17 minutes from the film. The 1980 UK video release on the Iver Film Services label is uncut, as is the 2005 American DVD and the 2009 British DVD.
Critical reaction
- “an exploitation sex film informed throughout by the refreshing view that sex is less often fun than funny.. (the stories) create a hilarious effect because of the discrepancy between their own unflinching seriousness and the ludicrousness of the pet theories they expound” - Monthly Film Bulletin
- “Flair, resource, and a splendid gothic dottiness” - The Guardian
- “Strange and personal, a genuine and appealing oddity” - The Times
- “Erotic” - Financial Times
- “It aims to shock” - Kine WeeklyKine WeeklyThe Kinematograph Weekly, popularly known as Kine Weekly, was a trade newspaper catering to the British film industry. It was published in Britain between 1889 and 1971.-Publication history:...
- “Excellent” - Today’s Cinema
- “The sun just set on the British empire…you’ve never seen anything like it” - Screw Magazine
DVD release
In 2005 the film was released as a special edition DVD by Synapse FilmsSynapse Films
Synapse Films is a DVD/Blu-ray label owned and operated by Don May, Jr. and his business partners Jerry Chandler and Charles Fiedler. The company specializes in cult horror, science fiction, and exploitation films....
under its American title Bizarre.
In January 2010 the film, under its original title, was finally released on DVD in the UK, by Odeon Entertainment, featuring new sleeve-notes by author Simon Sheridan.
Sources
- Sheridan, Simon. Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema, Reynolds & Hearn Books (third edition, 2007) ISBN 1905287542