Surrender of O, The

THE SURRENDER OF O happens to focus on a sub-genre of adult which, quite frankly, has never been my forte: bondage and domination. Oh, sure, I don't mind seeing variations of the theme in Andrew Blake films or (to cite another extreme) in some of the better Rocco Siffredi videos, but seeing chicks chained up in some sort of dungeon just doesn't do it for me. The whole act strikes me as silly and unconvincing, and oftentime bores me to tears.

However, this Adam & Eve Pictures presentation is such an impressive package that it deserves a solid recommendation. The three hour main feature is an overall solid flick. It doesn't have the technical polish of some of the better adult movies from studios like Wicked or Digital Playground, but I was pleased to see that THE SURRENDER OF O didn't look nearly as cheap and cheesy as most BDSM (bondage, domination, sado-masochism) productions.

For years, Director Ernest Greene has been making titles where top-talents are tied-up and at the mercy of others. But during the overly politically correct '80s and '90s as well as the better half of the new millennium, such videos weren't nearly as explicit as they were in the '70s. In short, it was rare to see graphic sex and bondage in the same flick, so most of Mr. Greene's work featured an all-female cast or else kept the sucking and fucking to a chaste minimum.

Now that we're approaching the "year we make contact" (to quote a sequel to a classic movie), it's clear that adult has continued to push the envelope within another cultural cycle. In the past decade, sex acts have become more daring and taboo without being particularly offensive or in bad taste (depending on your point of view, of course). THE SURRENDER OF O contains overall non-violent conduct, but there are extensive moments of fetish gear-clad girls getting whipped, spanked, prodded and penetrated by dildos and machines, along with being tied up and tied down for submission. In between and during the indulgences, a good amount of fucking and sucking take place, but combination of sex and bondage never degenerates into anything remotely tasteless or dangerous.

Blonde and petite Bree Olson, looking great as always, manages to carry the weight of this rather heavy flick for the entire three hour running time (with, of course, breaks in between while her co-stars get into the action). Her acting is fairly solid, despite the occasional lapses in melodrama and over-emoting, and her three sex scenes are top-notch. In fact, the thirty minute opening sequence where she's dominated by Nina Hartley (wearing a black wig and armed with a whipping crop) and Nicole Sheridan has her performing at Olympian physical standards. She strung upside down to sixty-nine the towering "Miss Nicole" who stands up against her, while Miss Hartley deftly applies a silver vibrator against Bree's pussy. Next, the two hang her right side up for a little playful whipping with what looked like pom-poms (forgive me, the proper term for such implements may be cat-o-nine tails, but I may be wrong), and then strap her down a bed for some pussy penetration via a purple dildo which is run by a machine. Not even Houdini could escape all the straps and leather binding her arms. Afterwards, she tosses Nicole's salad for a while, and then orally lubes up a strap-on dildo so that Nina and Nicole can work her over from opposite ends.

Of course, not all of the affairs are as imaginative or as intense as this opening scene, but the remaining seven scenes are fairly solid. Gorgeous blonde Kayden Kross is strapped to a bed and shaved by Erik Everhard, who manages to clean her off even though she wriggles and writhes, which made me squirm in turn. I assume she was neatly mowed down prior to all the shaving cream being removed by the (empty?) razor, but the process still had me cringing. The two get it on satisfactorily, with Bree making a brief appearance to whip Miss Kross's ass for a few minutes. The cum facial is a bit weak, and had this scene been in a regular gonzo video, it would have been an overall disappointment. Yet again, in the context of the film, it works well.

Ava Rose and Mika Tan, both looking hot with their dark-hair and matching outfits, put on a lesbian show for Evan Stone before they turn their attention to him. As threesomes go, this one is a bit above average thanks to some excellent anal scenes and a dual facial, which is somewhat spoiled by the camera angle which fails to capture the girls kissing in the end. Another threesome featuring Bobbi Starr, Kayden, and Tommy Gunn also sizzles thanks to Bobbi's backdoor performance and Kayden's presence, though it doesn't have the heat as the previous scene.

A foursome starring Trinity Post, Ava Rose, Marco Banderas and Jerry comes off as surprisingly "just okay," proving that quantity doesn't always mean quality. Seeing the girls give head with their hands strapped behind them is quite a thrill, but only Trinity's double penetration shot was memorable to me. Perhaps it was the lack of facials at the end (the guys relieve themselves on the girls' butts), or maybe it was because all the spanking and domination were getting a bit dull by this second hour of viewing, but I was left only moderately impressed.

A quickie dildo-based moment between a bound Trinity and Claire takes place for Bree to watch and enjoy before her concluding affair with Evan Stone. He screws her in a dark room where windows take away quite a bit of the claustrophobia. Bree follows Evan's lead, and the tension builds up to the point where he penetrates her anally. For such a climactic finale, I expected to see Bree get a taste of his juice, but instead, she takes the shot of goo to her crotch. I guess it's too much to ask to see Miss Olson swallow as the ultimate act of submission in this rather fascinating film.

Disc one of this set contains only the main feature presented in 720p high definition, with no menu or chapter selections. The picture quality isn't stunning, but otherwise troublesome scenes like the shadowy finale come across as entirely watchable on Blu-ray. Those concerned with numbers might find the "reduced" video presentation to be disappointing, but really, you have to have a trained eye to see an immediate difference between 720p and 1080p. The audio is mixed in 5.1 surround sound, but the dialogue can be difficult to hear due to poor miking in places, and distortion is evident during several scenes where the girls get particularly vocal. Moreover, there were several moments where the audio was not properly synced with the video, most notably during the dialogue scenes with Mika Tan, Bree Olson and Kayden Kross early on. While I appreciate the surround mix provided by Adam & Eve, the audio sync problems should really have been corrected by quality control. (It really isn't that hard to fix this kind of error for anyone with even the modest video editing software.)

Bonuses on Disc two include two scenes by the director excerpted from O: THE POWER OF SUBMISSION and THE PERFECT SECRETARY. But the most impressive feature was the Behind The Scenes segment which runs over an hour long, and is an enjoyable documentary on the making of the movie. Also adding value to the production is the long interviews with Bree, Kayden and the director which again, increase one's appreciation of the director's work.

In the end, I can't help but give a hearty recommendation to this Blu-ray disc set, despite some technical misgivings. It's been said before that a movie works when it gets you involved and draws you in, even if you have no original interest in the subject matter. Judging by those terms, THE SURRENDER OF O succeeds wildly.

Scene 1 starred by Bree, Nina & Nicole is just amazing. Bree is glowing in her performance in that scene. I watch the scene over and over, I have had it for a while and it's just great, how Bree is performing in that scene, of course in harmony with Nina & Nicole.
I'm a big fan of Bree O. but this scene really tops her work, it's just great.