Alternately distressing, instructive, contestable, and fascinating, Juliet Bashore’s quasi-documentary plunge into the 1980s porn industry takes an unsparing look at issues of misogyny, drug abuse, and exploitation via the story of two women—the naive newcomer Tigr and her partner, the magnetic, imperious porn veteran Sharon Mitchell — caught in a toxic romance.
By turns mesmerizing and unsettling, Kamikaze Hearts is both a fascinating record of pre-gentrification San Francisco’s X-rated underground and an intense, searing love story. The film offers a disturbing glimpse of the modification of bodies, feelings, and lives. New restoration!
For more in-depth thoughts on Kamikaze Hearts, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical re-release here.
For more thoughts on Kamikaze Hearts, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Kamikaze Hearts debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Kino Classics with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio that is derived from a brand new 2K restoration. This film is the product of some resourceful underground filmmaking, and it is unlikely that many ever dreamed of getting this in high definition. Instances of print damage such as nicks and scratches have been eliminated for the most part with distinct clarity and detail looking magnificent. You might still spot some minor specks and blemishes that have slipped through, but this likely looks better than it ever has even during its original run. The presentation is fetching throughout with image stability and delineation being surprisingly strong.
This film is composed of footage captured in a verite style which this transfer captures in a really natural way. The picture may run slightly soft in long shots, but environments lend themselves to some nice detail. Colors are vividly saturated with some key hues coming through in a marvelous way. Skin tones are natural and consistent with delicate features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well enough with no major instances of crush, banding or compression artifacts apparent. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation that is often coarse but refined with nothing looking unsightly. This is a top-tier presentation for a film that did not seem likely to ever receive such consideration.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a strong LPCM 2.0 track that achieves everything this film is trying to do. The track shows no tell-tale signs of age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. The music utilized in the film appears to be faithful to the intent of the creative team as it flows through with vibrancy and clarity. Even with the strength of this element, the star of this piece are the exchanges of dialogue. Even though certain recording locations seem less than ideal, dialogue and background noises are represented in harmony. Considering its independent roots, it is refreshing to hear this hold up so well. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. Kino Classic has delivered as you would hope with this audio track.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Juliet Bashore, actors Sharon Mitchell, Jon Martin and Howie Gordon, and performance artist Shelly Mars provide a very frank and illuminating commentary track in which they discuss the production of the film, distinguishing between fact and fiction, memories of some of the subjects on screen, the scrappy nature of the production design, the state of mind they were in at the time of the shoot, and so much more that offers very rewarding insight.
- Interviews
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- Juliet Bashore: A new 17-minute interview with the writer-director in which she discusses how she came to make this project, her experiences with the subjects, the feedback she received from the producers, the troubles she faced during production and more.
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- Sharon Mitchell: A new 22-minute interview with the star in which she discusses her involvement with the film, where she was at this point in her life, and various dramatic stories about her life that are none too easy to stomach. Mitchell is unafraid to go to some dark places as she gives context to her life.
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- Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens: A new 34-minute interview with Anna Sprinkle (actor/sexologist) and Beth Stephens (artist/ecosexual) in which they discuss their lives in the sex industry, their interactions with the subjects of this film, give context to the scene at the time this film was made, analyze the thematic meaning behind certain shots in the film and more.
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- Susie Bright: A new 68-minute interview with the author/critic in which she discusses where she was behind the scenes of this film, how she knew the subjects of the film, the queer scene in the ‘80s, the semantics of their world at the time, San Francisco life and more. There is a lot of great stuff to dig into here which gives great context.
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- Howie Gordon: A new 29-minute interview with actor Howie Gordon in which he discusses the special place of San Francisco at the time this film was made, his career as a porn star, the realities of shooting a sex scene, why he does not consider the film porn and more.
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- Jon Martin: A new four-minute interview with actor Jon Martin, who is accompanied by Sharon Mitchell, in which they discuss working with one another, how he got involved with the project, memories from the production and more.
- Crash (1990): A nearly 13-minute short film is provided here from Juliet Bashore which begins with a note from the director giving context that this was made as a sketch for a potential “Hollywoodized” version of Kamikaze Hearts which people were trying to persuade her to make. While Bashore is likely right that this effort probably would have been a bad idea, it is still interesting to see what could have been under different circumstances.
- Trailers: This release provides the Original Trailer (1:58) and the Re-release Trailer (1:17) for Kamikaze Hearts.
Final Thoughts
Kamikaze Hearts is a unique straddling of narrative and nonfiction storytelling which can be hard to parse even once the exact scenario has been explained. This is in part due to the fearless performances from its ensemble, namely the one and only Sharon Mitchell. Even during the most tough or disturbing moments, it can be difficult to look away from what the camera was allowed to capture. The film will not be to all tastes, but there is no arguing that it stands as an important part of the underground queer cinema movement. Kino Classics has helped rescue this one from obscurity with a new Blu-Ray with a terrific A/V presentation and a really expansive selection of special features. If you are interested in this realm of cinema, it is worth exploring further. Recommended
Kamikaze Hearts is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.