NUTS! recounts the unbelievable true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a Kansas doctor who in 1917 discovered that he could cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. From there, the story only gets more bizarre.

Mixing hand-drawn animated reenactments, interviews, and archival footage, NUTS! traces Brinkley’s rise from poverty and obscurity to the heights of celebrity, wealth, and influence.

Filmmaker Penny Lane (HAIL SATAN?) has skillfully borrowed a page from her subject – charming viewers into believing the unbelievable, building their trust and excitement, until the final chapter bares the painful truth and reveals the doctor for what he truly was…

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Video Quality

Nuts! arrives on Blu-Ray with a top-notch 1080p presentation that allows the film to look its best. The film features a variety of materials to help tell this story from newer talking head interviews to archival material and original animation. The recent interviews look crisp and clear thanks to the stable filming conditions with textures within clothing and the background. The archival material looks as good as the source will allow. The original animation is crisp with excellent line detail and a lush color palette. All the material within the film looks as lovely as you could hope for in high definition. There are no unwanted digital anomalies present. Cartuna has impressed us with their first outing with OCN Distribution.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that delivers exactly what is needed. Dialogue and voiceover are the key elements of the film, and they are balanced well with the competing special effects sounds to bring the reenactments to life. The musical cues add some additional personality to the film, and it is executed well here as it fills the room. Environmental sounds are plentiful and are replicated perfectly. The surround channels are not pushed to their limits, but they flesh things out naturally for an immersive experience. This movie is perfectly composed to deliver this information just right. There are optional English SDH and nine other subtitles included for those who desire them.

Special Features

Address To Patients: A nine-minute address from John Brinkley that talks about the intrusion of family members on the hospital premises, the benefits of his treatment, and more.

Making A World’s Record: A 63-minute film featuring the Brinkley family with narration from John Brinkley.

Rejuvenation Through Gland Transplanting: A nearly 14-minute piece that details the procedure made infamous by John Brinkley.

Brinkley Family Home Movies: A 21-minute selection of home movies is provided.

Trailer: The nearly two-minute trailer is provided here.

Booklet: A multi-page booklet featuring fake advertisements is provided.

Final Thoughts

Nuts! is another fascinating documentary from Penny Lane which takes a headline-grabbing topic and plunges into a deep dive into the human condition. The idea of this jaw-dropping surgery feeds into larger explorations of myth-making, political corruption, and trailblazing marketing tactics. Lane uses some really inventive animation sources to complement her captured live-action footage and archival sources for a well-constructed look at the subject. This is what we look for in a documentary. Cartuna has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a welcome assortment of special features. Recommended

Nuts! is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome or select indie retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cartuna and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.