Score (1973)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Camille 2000, The Lickerish Quartet, Wadd
Rating
Year Of Production	1973
Running Time	94:45 (Case: 89)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Radley Metzger
Studio Distributor	Audubon Films Umbrella Entertainment	Starring	Claire Wilbur Calvin Culver Lynn Lowry Gerald Grant Carl Parker
Case	PUSH-1 (Opaque)
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (320Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Score is an adaptation of an off-Broadway play by screenwriter Jerry Douglas. The plot is wafer-thin on content, but also lush with pre-AIDS sexual liberation and freedoms. Pioneer director of adult cinema, Radley Metzger, uses his keen sense for creating fasinating visuals to keep the film from becoming one of merely erotic curiosity. By all reports, the stageplay version of Score was very coy compared to Metzger's film, which shows nudity of both sexes liberally and is open about depictings its many sex scenes.

    The plot of Score could not be simpler. Jack (Gerald Grant) and Elvira (Claire Wilbur) are a happily married couple with a passion for swinging. They play a game with each other, in which they earn points for seducing partners of the same sex. Both have their sights set on wooing a young newlywed couple, Betsy (Lynn Lowry) and Eddie (Calvin Culver a.k.a. gay pornstar Casey Donovan). The young couple appear reserved and guarded about their sexuality; this presents the right type of challenge for the uninhibited couple.

    With Jack out for the day, Elvira invites Betsy over to the house. Elvira has secretly set up a visit from the local phone repairman, Mike (Carl Parker), who drops in to repair her deliberately damaged phone line. With the purpose of shocking and hopefully arousing Betsy, Elvira seduces Mike. The seduction and the subsequent sexual act is witnessed by Betsy with a forbidden fasination. The challenge of this bisexual game of seduction intensifies when Elvira and Jack's plan is put into action. Betsy and Eddie arrive for dinner and are inadvertently drawn into the bizzare game.

    Performances are generally camp, with some moments of humourous dialogue. With his inovative use of reflective surfaces, Metzger adds another interesting dimension to the action and the characters.

    For many, Score will remain a confronting film, even though time may have dulled it's ability to shock and possibly alienate an audience.

    Score is presented as part of a three-disc collection of Radley Metzger films called The Sexadelic Collection.

Video

    The video transfer for Score is reasonable.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced. The original aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

    The video transfer exhibited a moderate amount of sharpness, however it did reveal a distinct softness, especially in mid-ground and background shots. This softness is probably symptomatic of the source material and is much less evident when viewed on a 1.33:1 display. Blacks were quite clean and bold, although I found shadow detail to be inconsistant.

    The colours used in the film are soft and muted, very consistant with similar films of the era. They appear to be well rendered on this DVD and showed no signs of oversaturation.

   MPEG artefacts were well controlled. I found no real issues with aliasing or edge enhancement. Reel change markings were noticeable at approximate twenty minute intervals, with the first occuring at 19:23. The transfer was reasonably clean of film artefacts such as hairs and scratches. Along with minor marks, these were thankfully kept to acceptable levels.

    There are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, single layer disc. As such, there is no layer change to negotiate.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is very poor.

    There is one audio track on this DVD, that being English Dolby Digital 2.0 (320Kb/s)

    Dialogue quality was ordinary at best. The audio track seems to be very bass-heavy and as a result, much of the dialogue is mumbled. This was a constant source of frustration throughout the film, as certain words and passages were not clearly audible.

    Audio sync was not an issue with the transfer and appeared to be quite good throughout.

    The music score has gone uncreditedm, but sounds like folk-style music, very common with the era and genre.

    The surrounds were not used.

    The subwoofer kicked in during music passages, but it was more of a hindrance than an enhancement to the listening experience.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

   The presented extras are very minimal.

    The menu design is static and basic and is 16x9 enhanced. It features looped audio and is themed around the film.

Theatrical Trailer - Score (3:36)

Trailers

• Camille 2000 (2:14)
• The Lickerish Quartet (2:40)
• Wadd - The Life and Times Of John Holmes (4:01)

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    There are two R1 versions of Score available. The first is a stand-alone copy of the film, which is very close to this all-region version. This R1 version features the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is actually derived from a PAL transfer. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

    The other R1 version is a part of a collection of Metzger films, The Radley Metzger Collection Vol 2. This version of Score features an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, pan and scan, NTSC transfer. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

    None of these R1 versions contain extras.

    The first mentioned R1 version appears to be the winner here, due to it's presentation of the film's in it's original aspect ratio. But it is unclear where this R1 version stands in the aforementioned censorship area. The all-region version does have a longer running time, so the decision is yours.

    Score is a good-natured sex romp that is very thin on actual story. The performances are suitably camp and some of the dialogue is quite humorous.

   The video transfer is reasonable.

   The audio transfer is quite poor.

   The selection of extras are basic.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall