Vinegar Syndrome has collected two very different white coaters for this collection.  White coaters, for viewers who aren't familiar with them, are an early form of adult film that were presented as educational material with hardcore sex to get around obscenity laws.  These days, white coaters can be very hit or miss on the entertainment factor.  This collection combines Eric Jeffrey Haims' 101 Acts of Love and Sessions of Love Therapy.

101 Acts of Love

The Film (2.5/5)

101 Acts of Love is a white coater directed by Eric Jeffery Haims and the writing credits go to the fake Doctor Ann Foster, who is played in the film by Lindis Guinness, who was also the supposed writer of Haims' other white coater The Flanders and Alcott Report on Sexual Response, and the extremely late British poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  This reviewer is assuming that we are supposed to believe that Elizabeth Barrett Browning scribed the original script over a 100 years prior to the shooting of the film.

The structure of 101 Acts of Love is odd for a white coater.  The film is introduced by Doctor Raymond Donald Reynolds – who actually appears to be a real psychiatrist who had his license revoked in 2002 – then goes into vignette-style feature film set-up where Dr. Ann Foster “looks at marital problems,” which of course is for the benefit of introducing sex scenes.

This portion of the film has elaborate sets and almost looks as if Eric Jeffrey Haims was actually trying to create a real feature adult film.  However, halfway through the film the design completely changes going into a series of sex demonstrations, which has a minimalist set and is completely wall-to-wall sex with narrator Paul Forster describing to the viewer what they are watching.  The lighting design for the wall-to-wall sex demonstrations is rather spectacular.

The film never really decides what it wants to do with itself.  The film sounds like it is looking to dispel Victorian era sexual inhibitions yet it also manages to embrace several of them during the course of the film.  The sudden change in format can be jarring, especially since the first half of the film made for a far more entertaining white coater than one often gets due to the attempt at a feature film format.

The sex scenes are nicely shot; oddly with more of an eye for art than for any attempt to actually catch the hardcore action, which was probably a major disappointment for theatrical viewers when this film was new.  The wall-to-wall sex portion really manages to catch the beauty of the human figure and of sex and shies away from the gynecological close-ups that were all too popular during this period.

101 Acts of Love makes for an interesting film to watch, however, this reviewer isn't really sure how much of a replay value the film contains.

Audio/Video (4.5/5)

Vinegar Syndrome has done a nice job with their DVD release of 101 Acts of Love.  101 Acts of Love was shot on film and Vinegar Syndrome has used a 2K scan of the 35mm negative for this release.  101 Acts of Love is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480p.  101 Acts of Love looks nice in this release.  The colors in the film are full and vibrant, which is especially important in the second half of the film.  The image contains artifacts, grain, and print damage and looks beautiful.

101 Acts of Love is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track.  There weren't any noticeable issues with the audio presentation and the dialog is clear and easy to understand at all times.

Extras (0/5)

Vinegar Syndrome hasn't included any extras for their release of 101 Acts of Love.

Sessions of Love Therapy

The Film (2.5/5)

Sessions of Love Therapy is an interesting white coater from director Harold Kovner.  To begin with, Harold Kovner connects the film to two of his previous white coaters, The Undergraduate, and The Post Graduate Course in Sexual Love, despite their styles being drastically different and John Dullaghan's character, who is the supposed connection amongst all three films, changing names from Professor Collins to Doctor Johnson.

Sessions of Love Therapy proposes its reason for existence as examining the complexities of sexual behavior in marital couples.  Presented by Doctor Johnson, the sex lives of four couples, Mr. and Mrs. Arslack (Keith Erickson and Suzanne Fields), Mr. and Mrs. Jason (Ric Lutze and Rene Bond), Mr. and Mrs. Grenner (unknown and Ann Wayne), and Mr. and Mrs. Lindspring (unknown and Sandy Dempsey), are examined.  Under the guise of educational material, scenarios that lead to hardcore sex scenes are set up.

Harold Kovner has done a good job making Sessions of Love Therapy feel like an educational film. Although the integrity of the information given in the film is suspect, Doctor Johnson has been given thick and heavy monologues that are weighed down by ten dollar words.  The visual presentation to the viewer is impressive.  While Doctor Johnson is talking to the four couples, the set is black with black executive chairs and the sex presentations are done on a yellow sheeted mattress surrounded by black.  The result is very striking, and also probably cut down heavily on production costs.

In an inexplicable move, the middle of the film contains a segment from another film (whether this film was also produced by Al Baker, Jr. or what its name was is unknown) where Hertzberger is apparently casting a mash-up of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and Othello since he is casting the roles of Cleopatra and Desdemona.  This set-up makes no sense in the context that the scene is presented and the visual and photographic style of the scene is completely different than the rest of Sessions of Love Therapy.

Sessions of Love Therapy makes for an interesting one-time view, however, most viewers will probably never watch this film a second time.

Audio/Video (5/5)

Vinegar Syndrome has done a stunning job with their DVD release of Sessions of Love Therapy.  Sessions of Love Therapy was shot on film and Vinegar Syndrome has used a 2K scan of the 35mm negative for this release.  Sessions of Love Therapy is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480p.  Sessions of Love Therapy looks absolutely beautiful with deep rich colors and nice solid blacks.  There are minimal grain, print damage, and artifacts present during the film.

Sessions of Love Therapy is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio track.  There were no noticeable issues at all with the audio track and the dialog in the film is clear and easy to understand.

Extras (1/5)

The only extra that Vinegar Syndrome has included on the release is the theatrical trailer for Sessions of Love Therapy.

Overall

Both Sessions of Love Therapy and 101 Acts of Love are historically important adult films.  They present a glimpse into a short-lived period of adult films.  Vinegar Syndrome has done a wonderful job of restoring the films so that the modern viewer can see them as they were seen originally on the blue screen.  However, neither film likely holds a high replay value.  Unless you are a serious collector of classic adult films, this release makes a far better rental than a purchase.