Resurrection of Eve

Resurrection of Eve (1973)

** (out of 4)

The Mitchell Brothers follow-up to their BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR is certainly more ambitious in terms of a story but that doesn't mean we're going to get a good film. In the movie we meet Eve, a shy woman who suffers a horrible car crash that leaves her face mutilated. We then meet Eve after the wreck when her rather lousy boyfriend tries to "resurrect" her sexuality by making her join a club of swingers. When I read reviews calling the story to this film excellent and more thought provoking than most adult movies it's probably a good idea to highlight the "adult movie" thing. The reason I say this is that the story here is extremely well when compared to any movie with the exception of those bump 'n grind flicks scattered throughout this golden age of porn. With that said, I'll give this film credit for trying to tell a decent story but in the end the story is just downright stupid and it's hard to believe those just wanting sex would be entertained by this and those wanting some sort of story are going to be disappointed as well. The film has three different women playing Eve: Nancy Welch as the teenager, Mimi Morgan as the pre-wreck and then Marilyn Chambers as the post-wreck. I'm really not sure what the entire point of this was unless star Chambers didn't want to appear in every scene in the film. The teenage thing kicks our film off as the 12-year-old Eve gets sex lessons from her white trash stepfather in a sequence that is so corny that you can overlook the ugly subject matter and just laugh. I'm not sure laughter is what they were going for but the situation is just so corny, the dialogue so bad and the acting so silly that I couldn't help but laugh. Chambers is going to be the main reason people watch this thing and she's certainly extremely beautiful and the performances isn't that bad either. The story being told here never really makes much sense outside of the lousy boyfriend wanting her to open up for some wilder sex. The majority of the running time features less than explicit sex scenes with only brief shots of the hardcore footage. These scenes are often filmed in a way where we see very little, which would give me the thought that your typical bump 'n grind crowd wouldn't enjoy this. The more graphic stuff happens towards the end when the orgy stuff begins to happen but by then I was already yawning and checking my watch to see how much more there was.

Pornography doesn't have a great reputation and that's hardly surprising considering the vast amount of rubbish porn films doing the rounds, but Resurrection of Eve is certainly at the top end of the market and manages to be both a good film and a good porn film. The film was made in and is set in the seventies and directors Jon Fontana and Artie Mitchell do an excellent job of creating the seventies style. The production values of the film are strong also, and unlike a lot of porn films; it's clear that some money was spent on this one and the positive results of that are obvious. The story is actually surprisingly strong and focuses on a young girl named Eve. As a girl, Eve is sexually abused and we join the story some years later and she's involved with a man named Frank. Frank's jealous of Eve's relationship with a black man named Johnny and she ends up in a car accident. After facial reconstruction surgery, Eve is 'resurrected'. She and Frank get married and Frank ends up getting a taste for group sex, which Eve has trouble getting into at first...

The most bizarre thing about this film is that Eve is played by three different actresses! When the film starts off, she's just a girl so obviously a different actress for her younger and older years was required, but why have the whole car accident/reconstruction thing going on? It's even more bizarre when you consider that Marilyn Chambers as the final Eve looks nothing like the previous two played by Nancy Welch and Mimi Morgan respectively. Anyway...I guess it's not too important. Marilyn Chambers is the main actress of the three and she's excellent in her role. Nice looking actress and she actually has some acting talent too. Matthew Armon stars alongside her and also gives a good performance. Naturally the most important thing about this film is the sex and there's certainly plenty of it! Since the core plot focuses on group sex you can expect a lot of that too and the orgy scenes are very well done. The directors also pay a lot of attention to background detail and there are a lot of scenes that feature couples randomly getting it on in the background. The sex is also rather erotic, which isn't always the case with adult cinema. Overall, Resurrection of Eve is up there with The Punishment of Anne and Through the Looking Glass as one of the best porn flicks of the seventies and porn fans won't want to miss it!

The Mitchell Brothers' "Resurrection of Eve" was the brothers' film after their classic "Behind the Green Door" and although not as famous, "The Resurrection of Eve" is nearly as good in atmosphere and better in story and character. The story follows Eve (played by Nancy Welch as a young girl, Mimi Morgan as pre-accident Eve, and Marilyn Chambers as post-accident Eve) and her relationship with slick DJ Frank Paradise (played by Shakespearean actor Matthew Arnon). They break up over his jealousy for Eve's black friend Johnny (Johnny Keyes), which leads to Eve's car accident. After visiting the "resurrected" Eve in the hospital, her and Frank get married. Frank becomes interested in group sex and recruits Eve, who is repulsed at first, but that's about to change. The Mitchell Brothers' are by far the best pornographers in the history of adult cinema, making films that not only have a fine detail for the sex, but for story and character, as well. Frank Paradise is by far the most complex male character I've ever seen in adult film, and one of the best things about the film is how real his and Eve's relationship is. The film also serves as a historical piece, showing the hippie days of 70's San Francisco. One of the most interesting, but unnecessary scenes in the film is a concert that Eve and Frank go to at a revue called the Nickelodeon. The performers include a strange bearded man who plays a riveting version of the "Lone Ranger" theme song on a banjo, a group of lethargic looking dancers who do some Broadway-type dancing, a black group who does an "everybody shake your booty" song, and a satirical musician named Ralph Eno, who yells out a senseless song and then puts on a Colonel Sanders mask attached to his guitar. The scene neither moves the story forward or has any real point, but is fascinating to watch for its randomness and quirks. Marilyn Chambers gets to show her amazing acting skills in this film (which kind of went unnoticed in Green Door, do to her lack of speech)and also her physical aspects, which are quite astonishing. To my knowledge, this is the only adult film in which Matthew Arnon appeared, and he is one of the better performers I have seen. Keyes, Morgan, and Welch also give outstanding support. A must-see film for any fan of adult film or even film in general, for the film really has a story and has less of an emphasis on sex than most adult films. The only thing that keeps this film from maintaining masterpiece status is the inclusion of some truly pointless scenes and some overly bizarre orgy segments, but overall a very sexy and intriguing adult classic.

This is sublime, naturalistic, hardcore film making at it's best. Great music too! The film is a perhaps a little over ambitious in it's attempt to weave the early life of Eve with that of her later and rely upon a facial disfiguration to explain her different adult looks. Certainly got me confused but it doesn't really matter and, for sure, Chambers looks much happier and lovelier in this than in Behind the Green Door. Really good sex scenes and including, probably, the best orgy scenes ever filmed. Whereas this starts off as a rather quaint naturalistic affair and although always remaining perfectly believable this develops into something of an American Satyricon! Full marks - well almost.

Truly one of the best adult movies I've ever seen! It actually has a story line which it focuses on more than the sex. It follows shy, even backward, Eve from before her car accident thru her "resurrection" after her accident. It's an adult film that actually shows someone's thoughts and feelings on everything from relationships to sexual preferences. And how both can be changed--for better or worse! It also has historical value, staying true to form on the 70's hippie scene in LA. I wouldn't rate this so much as a porn if it wasn't for the explicit sex scenes. It's an actual movie with everything you want in a porn movie. It has drama, which is pretty much unheard of in a porn movie. The sexual scenes go from extremely mild to very kinky and possibly bizarre. You go from "missionary" to group with even a bit of animal sex thrown in if you watch close enough. There's something for everyone with every taste. The other part of the movie that I really like is that the characters are not the gorgeous model or dumb blonde types. They're more like the real people that you see on the street or even know.