Cheeky! 4K UHD Review

Cult Epics

4K UHD Release: October 22nd, 2024

Video: 1.66:1/2160p/Color

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0

Subtitles: English

Run Time: 90:22

Director: Tinto Brass

It's been a few months since Carla (Yuliya Mayarchuk) and her boyfriend Matteo (Jarno Berardi) have been able to see each other, but Carla has just moved to Paris, and is looking for a place where the both of them can live in harmony. The only problem is Matteo's growing jealousy at the kind of attention Carla attracts. In the present, that attention comes from Moira (Francesca Nunzi), the beautiful lesbian real estate agent with an obvious attraction to Carla. But Matteo's jealousy extends to the past as well, when he discovers a hidden series of love letters between Carla and Bernard (Mauro Lorenz), along with a particularly memorable photo. Can the two lovers work out their differences, or are they doomed by Matteo's anger?

Following their releases of All Ladies Do It and Frivolous Lola, Cult Epics brings Tinto Brass' Cheeky! to 4K UHD. Those who have seen the previous two films will no doubt anticipate the formula here: the movie is basically a vehicle for its beautiful leading lady, seen in various states of undress and sexual pleasure, with a paper-thin story to give the film at least some semblance of a structure. However, for my money, Cheeky! isn't up there with the other two Brass films, even if the release is just as good -- the problem is tone, which strays a little this time around.

Given the nature of Brass' work, one of the things that's unexpectedly refreshing about him is that he's usually not that lecherous. While I don't think Brass will be winning any special accolades or awards for his feminism, both Ladies and Lola genuinely feel like they exist because Brass loves women, and the way in which they showcase women and women's bodies is honestly sort of earnest. The women are almost always exuberant and joyful, taking pride in their sexuality even as they flaunt it unrealistically. There's no question that Cheeky's Carla, a bombshell blonde with a positive attitude and insatiable sex drive who walks around Paris with no panties on, is a complete fantasy character, but I suppose there's still something progressive about the fantasy of a truly liberated woman. It also helps that his leading ladies are generally convincing in playing this part, and Mayarchuk is no different -- whether it's real or just acting, she actually seems like she's having a great time being sexy.

Unfortunately, Cheeky! has a handful of moments that don't play well in the more sexually conscientious atmosphere of the 21st century. From what I can recall, in the other two films, the protagonists were actively trying to get laid, and thus, they welcomed the advances of others. Here, Carla is trying to save herself for Matteo, and thus it's more awkward when Moira has her hand down Carla's pants within the first few minutes of meeting her. Some of the early scenes skate by on the movie's internal logic that Carla is resisting her own desires for Matteo's sake, but later ones more pointedly cross the line, such as Carla being groped by a guy at the photo lab (played by Brass himself!), or a scene where Carla, in tears, reminds Moira that she is a straight woman, only for Moira to comfort her by groping her ass. America is a famously prudish country, and the movie is fairly old (albeit perhaps less old than one might think it is), but these things definitely put a slight damper on the proceedings even taking the film in the context with which it was intended, especially compared to Brass' previous films, which avoided this kind of material.

That said, the movie's still mostly charming, and Brass invents some of his most outrageous excuses to fill the screen with gorgeous women. At one point, Carla and Moira visit a bathhouse, where he creates a tableau of nude women in the sauna with the two of them in the center. Later, they attend a sexy party together, where a bunch of women line up on the couch with their butts in the air, so that men can select them without seeing their faces. Similar to Frivolous Lola, I can't say I cared much for the boyfriend -- gee, what a rough life, your stunning supermodel girlfriend is so horny all the time and wants to have sex with another equally gorgeous woman in exchange for free rent at a massive studio apartment in Paris! -- but I also have to admit that his climactic epiphany at the end of the movie is at least incredibly funny.

Video

Unlike All Ladies Do It and Frivolous Lola, while this is another global 4K UHD first, Cheeky! was at least released on Blu-ray in the United States by Cult Epics back in 2012. Although there's something about the film's look that has the effect of making the film seem older than it actually is (a sort of burnished quality that arguably suggests a mid-'90s movie rather than a 2000s film), I see no reason to think this isn't an intentional choice. Frivolous Lola had what struck me as a faint revisionist lean toward teal, but the color palette here appears natural, and grain is healthy and unaltered. There are times when the richness of the movie's shadow detail seems to be flattening the image a little, such as when Matteo is in Carla's room picking up the book and panties, with more brightly-lit scenes having more dimension and often looking like something that could've been shot yesterday, were it not for the grain, but these quibbles aren't serious concerns.

Audio

Like the other two releases, Cheeky! again offers four audio options across two languages: 5.1 and 2.0 tracks in English and Italian. Based on the menu music, I expected the difference between the stereo and surround tracks to be more pronounced, but they're pretty similar, both having a certain canned flatness to them but otherwise getting the job done. However, I would definitely recommend the Italian track over the English, which feels like it goes a little bit too far on the "winking" scale with the way the actors on that version modulate their performances, especially the woman playing Carla. English subtitles are also provided.

Extras

Note: other than the commentary, all of the extras are on the Blu-ray disc only, including the isolated score.

Commentary by authors and critics Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson - Ercolani returns for his third Tinto go-round, joined again by Thompson, who was his partner on the Frivolous Lola commentary. Once again, the two are well-versed in the history of Brass as a filmmaker, star Mayarchuk (discovered in a pizza place!), the pun in the original Italian title, the film's development and performance at the box office, where the movie falls in Brass' career in both style and format, and what it's like to try and make these movies as Brass enters an era where the Internet is a thing.
"Brassgressions and Other Diversions" Interview with Cinematographer Massimo Di Venanzo (37:49) - Di Venanzo talks about his early days working for Fellini, of all people, on classics such as Amarcord and Roma, before first teaming with Brass on Paprika (1991) as a camera operator, and being called to work on Cheeky! when the original director of photography had health issues. Having seen the films, it comes as no surprise to hear that Brass' imagery is meant to evoke certain painters, which is exactly what comes to mind when watching his movies.
"Backstage With Tinto Brass" 2000 interview (8:18) - An archival piece, which was previously included on the aforementioned 2012 Cult Epics Blu-ray.
Isolated Score by Pino Donaggio (41:17) - I was curious why this was not on the 4K along with the commentary, and it's because it doesn't play over the movie, but rather a still from the bathhouse scene.
Photo Gallery (1:45)
Theatrical Trailer - In addition to a trailer for Cheeky!, trailers for Frivolous Lola and All Ladies Do It have been included on the 4K UHD, while the Blu-ray comes with trailers for Cheeky!, Frivolous Lola, All Ladies Do It, Paprika (1991), P.O. Box Tinto Brass, and istintobrass.

Like the previous two releases, Cheeky! is available in a couple of variations. Genre Grinder was sent the standard edition for review, which includes a booklet with writing by Ercolani and Domenico Monetti, and there are also four Italian lobby card reprints tucked in the case. The cover is also reversible, and there is a glossy slipcover. Those who order via Cult Epics can also choose from not one, but two site-exclusive editions with alternate slipcovers, which as of this writing, are both still available.

Conclusion

Of the three Brass films I've seen so far, I would say Cheeky! is good but not great, the first of the three to arguably cross the line a little in terms of how sleazy its sexual encounters can get. That said, the disc and its presentation are on par with the other two, not to mention, each one of the films so far has starred different muses for Brass. If you're a Mayarchuk fan or a Brass completist, I think you'll be very happy with this disc.

Some bonus screencaps: