In The Flesh

This recent hit from VCA comes to DVD: a porn retelling of Macbeth. While the transfer is superb, with rich, true colors and sharp details, this disc also has 2-channel Dolby digital. In the Flesh has it's share of extras, including an interview with star Kylie Ireland.

As a porn, In the Flesh ranks as a very well-done, Euro feature. As a pornographic interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, it fairs less well than the the X-rated Hamelt: For the Love of Ophelia or the to part Romeo and Juliet directed by Paul Thomas, although the production values of the _In the Flesh_ DVD far exceed that of any other Shakespeare on DVD or video. The plot of the film loosely resembles the plot of Shakespeare's play, with the setting transferred to a futuristic world. Lady Macbeth gets Macbeth to kill the King to get the throne for the two of them; they both die at the end. There is a banquet (this one becomes an orgy) at which Banquo's ghost appears, and the film opens with witches, here a lesbian coven. There are also a few direct quotations, including Macbeth's famous last "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow," soliloquy. Unsurpisingly, Lady Macduff's child is absent. Porn can give us deep insight into Shakespeare's plays (check out Richard Burt's fine book, _Unspeakable ShaXXXspeares_ [St. Martin's Press, 1998] for a penetrating analysis of Shakespeare porns), _In the Flesh_ sadly does not really offer much, and does not come close toRoman Polanski's film version (produced by Playboy and covered in two 1972 issues of the magazine), which has nude witches and a nude sleepwalking scene with Lady Macbeth. I am happy that yet another Shakespeare porn has been made, and I hope more will be. _Measure for Measure_, a play about a voyeuristic and repressive Rudy Guiliani type Duke attempting to close down the city's red light district, coul particularly benefit from a porno adaptation, as could _Pericles_, which also has a brothel scene in it. I am surprised that no one ever did a spin-off of _Shakespeare in Love_, another film that seems ripe for a porno treatment. One can only hope. The _In the Flesh_ DVD quality and extras are excellent.

In The Flesh does live up to its shot on location hype, even if riddled with some illogical writing. Commendable acting, enticing costumes, elaborate sets, attractive performers, and remarkable cum shots overshadow the sometimes-random script. The moaning may be the most provocative moaning I've ever heard in a porno, which is especially arousing in the banquet orgy. The 'retro future' time period is confusing, and pretty much ruins what could have been an interesting lustful take on an age-old story. And the poorly integrated Shakespearian quotes do more to add comic relief than enhance the literary Macbeth reference.

If I viewed In The Flesh as simply a porno, then it is a stunning production, brimming with Peter Northian facials that you don't often see from VCA.

The Story centers around the power hungry Lady Macbeth (Kylie Ireland) who intimidates her husband (Mike Horner) into offing the king in order to take the crown. Don't let the machine guns and military jeeps throw you off, because castles, witches and horse riding are still the norm in this befuddled time period. Lucky for us, Macbeth's castle is full of the horniest group of people in all of England/Scotland/Budapest.

The Sex is everything you wouldn't expect from a plot-driven VCA feature film. Aside from Kylie and Mike, all the performers are European - we're talking natural, nasty women and uncircumcised, manly men. The costumes really add to the sexual heat. Kylie spends most of the movie in a black leather bodice with nothing on the bottom. Contrary to the cover Kylie has her hair styled like most Lady Macbeth imagery (long and lustful with curled strands in the front.) The chambermaids are all in skimpy leather outfits, Lady MacDuff wears the white country girl dress, and the men are either in military uniforms with kilts or slave outfits with metal collars.

The American actors provide the couples-oriented scenes, while the Europeans provide the cum-drenched scenes. Kylie opens with some realistic, in-character, masturbation, which her chambermaid watches (also supplying the dildo when requested.) Kylie and Mike have a very Macbethian scene on a big, mahogany, four-post bed. They really do an excellent job of developing their characters even while in the throws of heated action. And Kylie's final scene is a roman fantasy with Michael J Cox. Kylie rises out of some tropical waters looking as she does on the cover, and they have sex on the rocks. Michael J Cox just doesn't do it for me as the roman soldier.

On to the Europeans (as much as I like Kylie it's nice to see some fresh faces and the European men are incredibly sexy.) Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble - three saucy witches give us the only all-girl action in the movie. The leather clad, black-haired ladies finger, lick and dildo their way through the movie's opening. Unclimatic.

The banquet orgy is definitely the sexual climax of this tale. I'm not normally an orgy fan, but the chorus of moaning and the intensity of carnal pleasures is a perfectly choreographed fantasy. The double penetration actually appears enjoyable, instead of awkward and painful. And for a finale you get to watch two dousing facials followed by two more body shots. This is a banquet that will go down in porn history.

MacDuff and his wife have a salacious goodbye outside their country home. She's the blonde innocent who gets it in the ass and ends up with a flood of cum on her sweet, little face. No one could look sexier than MacDuff in a kilt. Complementing the country feel of this foray is the castle wench and slave boy rendezvous. So you get both the leather fucking and the white dress, green grass lovemaking.

In total there are 9 sex scenes and an estimated 4 gallons of dispensed semen.

The DVD extras consist of a brief interview with Kylie, a few jump to scenes with a particular actress, a photo gallery (who cares), and trailers for Timeless, DMJ 6, and Misspelled. The video quality is excellent (I guess shot on film makes a big difference.) And the audio is surprisingly excellent - surprising because many of the actors didn't speak English. But everything is in sync and there are five different language tracks available.

In The Flesh may be a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. But that sound and fury is definitely worth the price of admission.