Babette/Monique, My Love [DVD]

Two more oddball sexploitation flicks from the late 1960's reemerge on this two-DVD from Something Weird Video, who once again prove they're the kings of this particular kinky hill. Both Babette (aka Babette in Return of the Secret Society and reportedly directed by Roberta Findlay under the assumed name Peter Woodcock) and Monique, My Love (from the same filmmaker) have been transferred to disc in their original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1; while the source print for Babette looks a bit mottled in spots, Monique, My Love is clean, clear and sharp, and both display an impressive range of grey tones along with deep blacks and crisp whites. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, preserving the original monophonic sound tracks, and they sound fine, if not quite as strong as the images. The dialogue for both features is in English, with no multiple language options. As usual, Something Weird have made sure to load up this package with plenty of bonus materials, including trailers for Babette, Monique, My Love and four other eccentric nudies, as well as three rare girlie loops, an outdated educational film entitled Careers For Girls, and a handful of rare television commercials from the 1960's for women's lingerie (tapping into a fetish Something Weird hasn't bothered with before!). Closing out the disc is a gallery of still and artwork from the company's "Sick Sixties Sex" trading card collection, through this has already appeared on a number of SWV DVD's in the past. Given the similarities between the two movies -- same leading lady, same narrator, same "no dialogue" style, even much of the same stock music -- Babette and Monique, My Love were a inspired choice for double-bill status, and they've been given the material just the right touch for their DVD debut.