White Angel

WHITE ANGEL is a great looking, shot on film release from Cal Vista, starring the lovely and curvaceous Stacy Valentine. First produced in 1998, this film showcases some great sex performed by current legends Chloe, Kimberly Jade and Leanni Lei, among others. Written and directed by James Avalon, this release could have been a first rate porn movie just based on the star power and the overall gorgeous look of the cinematography. Unfortunately, the director gets in his own way with artsy editing that becomes obtrusive during the hardcore scenes, and by under-using talents like Stacy Valentine and Chloe to full advantage. As a result, we get five fairly standard sex scenes which are very, very good, but never achieve greatness.

A big problem in this disc concerns the multiple angles feature, which thankfully, is not displayed via any icon on the main feature (unlike Vivid's large blue "Vivid DVD" or VCA's camera icon), so the look of the feature isn't spoiled by any obtrusive graphics. However, when you do switch to the multiple angle feature, you are greeted with an unsightly "2ND ANGLE" graphic on the bottom right of the screen, which to me, spoils the look of film. If that weren't enough, the second angle feature is somewhat confusing. Rather than getting a different visual perspective of the same scene, we often get different footage involving different body parts or different actors (for instance, we'll see Chloe getting it cowgirl style from Herschel Savage although she was just giving a blowjob to Michael J. Cox on the original angle). As a result, the second angle feature is more of a distraction than a benefit.

Stacy Valentine is a wet dream come to life: blonde, curvy, and with a wonderfully enhanced chest. While peroxide blondes and implants aren't at all unusual in porn, Stacy's angelic face and soft demeanor has always made her a fan favorite. Unfortunately, she only has a single sex scene in this movie, where she is paired with two guys who just can't seem to keep her busy enough. It is quite a sight to see her sucking on some guy's cock, while another dude gives it to her doggy-style. Here, the viewer gets to see the full length of her fabulous body while she performs double duty. Chloe does similar work in her threesome with old timer Herschel Savage and Michael J. Cox, with the addition of doing anal. Unlike the Valentine scene, there is prominent use of condoms here, which are of questionable use since she allows cumshots directly in her inviting mouth.

Leanni Lei and Kimberly Jade take on Marc Davis in yet another menage a trois which maddeningly is spoiled by some artsy-fartsy editing where the picture fades out and then in during crucial hardcore scenes. Certainly, other prominent directors have misused editing techniques before (witness Andrew Blake's recent reliance on quick cuts and MTV-like editing which have almost ruined some of his Studio A work), but it was particularly distracting (and unnecessary) here. Even the facial cumshots are marred by the blinking camera work, which is unforgivable.

For me, one of the best scenes was with curly haired blonde Reyna Via, who does three guys in a mini-gangbang on a couch. Performing deep, wet blowjobs and riding on cock like a rodeo queen, Reyna has an uninhibited sexuality that is amply demonstrated on-screen. Again, however, the screwy editing techniques often interfere with the erotic heat. It would have been far, far better for him to have just left the scene alone and let Reyna do her thing. Fortunately, the oral cumshots are left untouched by the director, and brings a more than satisfying end to this great scene. Finally, Chloe, Charlie, Claudia and Laura Palmer engage in a lesbian foursome which is high on the use of toys, finger-fucking and carpet-munching, but features too many close-ups of the obvious. As all-girl scenes go, this is generally above average, but suffers from the chaotic look of body parts and genitalia, rather than focusing on the actresses.

Despite his misguided use of editing techniques, James Avalon should be commended for his consistent use of threesomes in all of the sex scenes; it's certainly a nice change of pace from the straight girl-guy scenes which comprise the majority of all porn. The DVD transfer of this film is excellent; I saw nary a hint of grain or artifact prevalent in most 35 mm productions. Sound quality was also good. As stated before, the multiple angles feature is better off left alone.

Overall, WHITE ANGEL could have been a real contender when it comes to classic porn, but suffers from a little too much "directorial creative license." However, Stacy Valentine fans should snap this one up if for no other reason than to see her do what she does best.

The transfer to DVD is excellent, and the extras are good too. Chapter stops give you the scenes in progress rather than stills, though when you click them, you go to the dialogue that sets up the sex instead of going directly to the sex itself. As for the sex, it's pretty good, though I found the editing often clumsy. The one real problem is that there is only one scene with Stacy Valentine. Again, it's a pretty good three way with two men, but there's no anal or DP, and there's too much attention to the men, as if the cameraman were gay. The scene with Cloe and two men is better (you have to like small boobs for this one), as is the three way with Leanna Lei and the slutty looking Kimberly Jade. A scene with four women in a strip club doing lesbian numbers is the best, but the editing again is clumsy, a bad imitation of Michael Ninn's techniques. Still, I recommend it.