Offbeat, rather pretentious porn comedy by Joe Sarno
At his best, Joe Sarno cranked out many effective '60s (and some '70s) melodramas. His fault was repeating himself, as many of the films, even the good ones, merge into an unmemorable sameness.
But PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX is an odd-film-out, a flight of fancy that fails to take wing but is an admirable attempt nonetheless. As with many other talented but limited auteurs (limited by economic factors), I lament the fact that Sarno was never able to make a real film freed from the requirement of delivering porn content.
Filled with pretty girls, tons of dancing, and a surplus of cute Borscht Belt humor, PANDORA is definitely an acquired taste. In his oeuvre it sticks out like the XXX genie film which I could not get into at all thanks to its Jewish stereotyping, A TOUCH OF GENIE.
With a cast of Greek gods and mortals name-dropped throughout, Queen Scylla is a sexy blonde dancer who does a hot striptease. I liked her better than Nick Millard's take on Scylla that he misspelled as Scyla (ask Nick, don't look at me for reasons) a couple of years later.
The target audience here was fans of the then-popular nudie-cuties, but Sarno for some reason doesn't bare breasts but rather teases with them showing through diaphanous outfits -a peek-a-boo approach. I suspect this didn't go over very well at the box office, as 85 minutes drag by without a single topless scene.
Ria Milan as Pandora is a cute brunette with big, pointy, gravity-defying breasts. Why she didn't make it in this field is a mystery. Poverty budget is a major drawback, noticeable in the chintzy sets and SPFX.
But PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX is an odd-film-out, a flight of fancy that fails to take wing but is an admirable attempt nonetheless. As with many other talented but limited auteurs (limited by economic factors), I lament the fact that Sarno was never able to make a real film freed from the requirement of delivering porn content.
Filled with pretty girls, tons of dancing, and a surplus of cute Borscht Belt humor, PANDORA is definitely an acquired taste. In his oeuvre it sticks out like the XXX genie film which I could not get into at all thanks to its Jewish stereotyping, A TOUCH OF GENIE.
With a cast of Greek gods and mortals name-dropped throughout, Queen Scylla is a sexy blonde dancer who does a hot striptease. I liked her better than Nick Millard's take on Scylla that he misspelled as Scyla (ask Nick, don't look at me for reasons) a couple of years later.
The target audience here was fans of the then-popular nudie-cuties, but Sarno for some reason doesn't bare breasts but rather teases with them showing through diaphanous outfits -a peek-a-boo approach. I suspect this didn't go over very well at the box office, as 85 minutes drag by without a single topless scene.
Ria Milan as Pandora is a cute brunette with big, pointy, gravity-defying breasts. Why she didn't make it in this field is a mystery. Poverty budget is a major drawback, noticeable in the chintzy sets and SPFX.
- lor_
- 27 ene 2011