All Ladies Do It was the 17th film from erotically charged, at times arty euro auteur Tinto Brass. The early 90’s film is a highly stylised erotic drama-comedy, which utilises jarring moments of hardcore action and kinkily arty eye.  Here from Cult Films is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film- featuring a lush new print, commentary track, and a few other things.

All Ladies Do It (aka Così Fan Tutte) was filmed in both Venice & Rome, as well as utlilizing specially built studio sets. It was co-written by Brass, with Francesco Costa, and Ted Rusoff. In total Brass has thirty-one titles to his name- with his last credit being his 2023 director-cut version of Caligula (1979). He is known for his more arty/ stylised take on the adult film genre- I’ve been aware of his name for many years, but the film to hand is my first taster of his work.

The film is centred around Diana (Claudia Koll) a raven-haired thirty-something- who has been married to her bespeckled businessman husband Paolo (Paolo Lanza) for six years. The pair have a fairly active sex life, and he often gets off from her fantasy of being with other men- though she has never cheated on him. 

The film opens in a very well-filmed sleazy manner- as we see Diana stepping into her Rome apartment- in a cupless bra, suspenders & no pants. She sits down at her dressing table to write a letter to an agony aunt- talking about how she loves her husband but has become somewhat bored with him sexually- with shots of either her naked bottom on the stool, her breasts, or her handwriting.

From here we go into flashback- as we see her attending an art party, where a female poet reads dirty texts. Here she meets Alphonse an older red dress-suited Frenchman (Franco Branciaroli) who has several tattoos- the most notable being a pair of red lips on one of his hands. She excuses herself to the powder room- he follows, and fairly soon her buttocks & genitals are uncovered, as he reveals his manhood- but like much of the hardcore here, it’s fleeting & really only used as part of the story & for generally sleazed artiness.

As the film unfolds, we go to Diana‘s work- a very pastel coloured & stylized women's underwear shop- where her ageing & plump boss is often taking staff members into a back room, and where a male gay shop assistant is constantly dusting with his small blue feather duster.  She goes to Venice for the reading of a will - meets up with a randy old flame and visits the apartment Alphonse- who is deeply obsessed with female derrieres- his small pallor walls are packed with framed pictures of some of his favourite buttocks. 

There’s a sweaty barely dressed all-female gym/ shower scene, and towards the end, she goes to a highly hedonistic out-in-nature rave.  The film managers to blend drama & light humour- in a net of gorgeous cinematic artistry, which is often high with perversion & flesh. Yet as mentioned earlier the often-jarring moments of hardcore action are brief- never leering, and it always moves the story forward/ as well as adding to the lushly stylized air of it all.

If I was to compare it to anything I’d say someone like Peter Greenaway- but with more euro sleazy sensibilities.  Acting-wise Koll most certainly has a screen presence- going from being coy, to openly erotically playful, to fully sensual charged. Branciaroli as the buttock-loving Frenchmen balances obsession, and slightly sleazed campiness well. Lanza is fine as the leads husband- manages to portray well enough the range of emotions he’s given.

I’d say you’ll have to have some familiarity/ acceptance of hardcore sex to get through  All Ladies Do It.  I also enjoy arty/stylised films, which sometimes skirt between reality & fantasy.  I found it both an engaging, and visually lush film- so I’ll most certainly be tracking down some more of Brass’s other work.

Moving onto this recently released region-free Blu-Ray, the new 4k scan is a thing of beauty, with wonderful depth, clarity and crystal-clear definition.On the new extras side, we get a commentary track from writers/ experts Eugenio Ercolani & Troy Howarth. They start off by talking about how Brass managed to successfully shift through trends within the film industry. Talking about how over the years he has had many cameo roles in both his own & other's work, and his silhouetted face/ cigar pose is as famous as that of Hitchcock.  They touch on how he managed to get known/respected actors in his films- which is highly unusual in erotic films. They discuss how the film at hand ties to his past filmography, and its use of sets/ backdrops. They talk about how the film sets up the debate of what is porn & what is not. We find out this was the first of the director’s films to use a prostatic penis, and discuss what the reasoning for this may have been. They debate whether Brass could be seen as a feminist director, and how this/ some of his other films create their own reality. Later on, they talk about the director's other notable/ important films from the late '80s to early ’90s, and how he possibly painted himself into a corner with his output. They discuss how every element of the film is built & crafted, and much more. This is a rewarding/ interesting enough track- though it did rather lack focus on the film to hand, being more of a general appreciation of all things Brass. 

Otherwise, on the extra side, we get a 2001 interview with Brass (15.19) which gives some nice insights regarding the film to hand. There are outtakes (9.57), an original trailer, and a Brass trailer reel.

The release comes with a glossy & colour twenty-page inlay booklet- this is largely centred around a lengthy write-up regarding the career of lead actress Claudia Koll, as well as a great selection of stills/poster art. With reversible cover art, and a bold red glossy slip

Cult Epics has done a great/classy job of this reissue of this early 90’s Brass’s film- with the beautiful scan, a small/ worthy selection of extras, and its glossy presentation. If you enjoy where eroticism & art meet in a highly stylised manner All Ladies Do It is a must!