The Film (5/5)

    Fleshpot on 42nd Street is the final sexploitation feature by director Andy Milligan. His career at this point would be bookended with horror films with a touch of gothic flare. This film feels in tone with what Milligan has done before, with the exception that it is probably the highest quality sexploitation film he had done (That I've seen at the very least). The film has that sleazy Milligan atmosphere, but at the same time channels such things as Paul Morrissey's Flesh Trilogy, and the films of John Waters.

    The film follows Dusty, a prostitute who has been living with her older boyfriend Tony. Tony just wants Dusty to get a real job, clean the house, and make dinner. She agrees to make him dinner that night, but instead steals his TV and leaves. Following that she sells it a pawn broker she knows, but similarly rips him off. This pattern continues until Dusty meets fellow hustler, Cherry, the pair decide to become roommates, which works well for both of them until Dusty impressed one of Cherry's clients with her ability to conform to his sexual wishes in a way that is more pleasing to him than Cherry's.  She is ousted from the place, and that's when she meets Bob, a lawyer, and after one night together decides she might finally want to go straight for him. However, is this true love or something else entirely?

    Fleshpot on 42nd Street is a truly fantastic film by Milligan that works as a sleazy masterpiece populated by the sort of weirdos he was known for putting into his films.   It also is an effective exploitation time capsule for the New York that was, and is sadly no longer.  The film is entertaining to the max. The performance are great, and the situations while not always over the top are awesome enough to keep viewers eyes on the screen for the duration. There are Milligan's I enjoy more than Fleshpot on 42nd Street, but this is one that gets returned to quite often.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Vinegar Syndrome presents the film in the intended 1:33:1 transfer  or an alternate theatrical ratio of 1:85:1.  Both look fine, but Milligan intended the film to be shown at 1:33:1 so I primarily stuck to that. The original uncut negative was scanned in 4k and it shows reasonably well. Colors are stable (though the film is muted in tone) with natural film grain, and solid detail. Like most Vinegar Syndrome releases Fleshpot on 42nd Street has a natural, organic film look that replicates the theatrical viewing experience for HD home video. Audio is handled by a DTS-HD Mono track in English, this sound mostly fine, with the sound sounding much more clear than ever before.

Extras (3/5)

    Vinegar Syndrome has put together a solid extras slate for their Blu-ray of Fleshpot on 42nd Street.   The primary extras is another informative and fantastic commentary track by Heather Drain, Kat Ellinger, and Samm Deighan.  The film is less about the film itself, and more of an overview of Milligan's career, but that works quite well here. The other extras are a locations then and now featurette.

Overall

    Fleshpot on 42nd Street could be considered Andy Milligan's sleazy masterpiece. The Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome looks and sounds fantastic, and has a small but excellent extras slate.