I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE

(A.k.a. DAY OF THE WOMAN; THE RAPE AND REVENGE OF JENNIFER HILLS; I HATE YOUR GUTS)

Jennifer (Camille Keaton) is helped into her car by a bellboy upon leaving a plush-looking hotel. She heads straight off into the Connecticut countryside, where she has hired a remote cabin in the hope of completing her first novel.

As she arrives at her destination, she stops off at a tiny gas station and gets her car filled up. She immediately wins unwelcome attention from pump attendant Johnny (Eron Tabor) and his three crony friends.

The first act of the film plays out quite leisurely, laboriously even, as Jennifer settles into her vacation dwelling and enjoys the odd bout of sunbathing. She even, now and then, puts pen to paper - proof, you see, that she is indeed a budding author.

But as tranquil as these early scenes are (there is no music and a distinct lack of dialogue for the most part), Johnny's wicked grin and his trio of male idiots spell bad news from the beginning.

Sure enough, the trouble boils over one sunny afternoon while Jennifer is sunbathing in a hammock beside the nearby lake. The boys are arsing about on a motor boat and she's unimpressed.

As the boys circle in on their prey, quickly becoming more leery with each successive cackle, Jennifer fears the worst and makes tracks for her cabin.

Alas, the boys curtail her foray back to sanctuary and have their wicked way with her in the woods. Repeatedly. When she finally reaches the supposed safety of the cabin, bruised and bloodied following her ordeal, the boys are waiting for her and it's local retard Matthew's (Richard Pace) turn to get a piece of the action.

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE has an understandably chequered history. Banned for many moons in the UK as a video nasty, the film remains cut at the behest of the BBFC to this day. Indeed, this release - touting itself as the Ultimate Collector's Edition - is still censored, by 2 minutes and 54 seconds. Kudos to distributors 101 for submitting the full uncut film before our state censors, but it was to no avail: our self-appointed moral guardians are yet to comprehend that this is simply a bunch of actors performing a script in front of a camera.

Anyhow, the film - with or without these cuts (primarily to the infamous sodomy scene) - remains a troublesome beast. It's so dull and lifeless whenever there isn't violence on screen, that it's impossible to take it as anything but pure exploitation. Which is all very well, were it not for the fact that a good third of the film revels in gang rape, humiliation of a screaming naked woman and, at one point, a bottle being rammed inside her. All acting, as I say, but still undeniably unsettling - even as drama.

None of which warrants the film being censored, or banned, in my eyes. But my concern with the above is the filmmakers' subsequent defence of their film by claiming it to be a feminist piece; by stating that Jennifer's revenge against her aggressors is all the more satisfying because they truly deserve it. While it's true these men are so evil that they are almost caricatures of every mother's nightmare, the fact remains that director Meir Zarchi shows little interest in the acts of retribution: the direction is flat, the violence uninspired and the punishment not nearly as brutal or lingering as the original transgression.

Away from all of that, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is quite simply an ugly shot, mundane film that is elevated to cult status by those undeniably powerful scenes of rape (full credit to Keaton - granddaughter of Buster, and later married to Zarchi - for turning in such a harrowingly convincing performance). Without them, for better or worse, this film would be so nondescript that it would've faded into obscurity many years ago.

As it stands, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE retains an air of notoriety about it to this day. Its legacy will surely thrive a while longer too, now that a remake has been released. But for people checking out the film for the first time, they are sure to be disappointed by a "cult classic" that comes with such an awesome reputation attached to it. It's weak in every department, aside from its unflinching portrayal of prolonged sexual assault.

If that's all that matters to you, then buy the uncut version and fast-forward about 25 minutes in to reach the "good" bits.

This release from 101, along with being cut, also doesn't look too hot. I compared this anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer directly against the Elite Millennium Edition that came out in America in 2004 and must say that that looked brighter and sharper. Colours are slightly deeper here, but the presentation was softer and grainier.

I've never heard I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE with a decent audio track, and nothing has changed here. Mixes in mono, 2.0 and 5.1 are sadly lacking - very quiet and uneven, even being quite muffled at times. It sounds like the same tracks that were used on the Elite release.

A vaguely animated main menu leads into a static scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 12 chapters.

The disc does at least house some good extras (most of which fans already have).

First off are two worthy audio commentary tracks. Zarchi's track is sincere but naive. He's game though and, when it was recorded several years back, this was the first time he'd been collared to speak at length on the film. It's definitely worth a listen - if only for his readings of critics' scathing comments at the beginning. Ultimately though, he appears to be the film's greatest fan.

Joe Bob Briggs provides the second commentary track, and this is a lot of fun. He points out flaws, inconsistencies etc, as well giving a lot of information about the film's controversial history.

Brand new to this release is a 33-minute on-screen interview with Zarchi. I didn't realise he was just a cuddly old man. He seems affable enough and is pretty erudite too. If this featurette is successful on any level, it's that it went some way to convince me that his intentions were honourable (if misguided). He repeats the story of the victim who entered his life and inspired I SPIT's storyline, from the commentary track, and it carries more weight here.

One gripe though: the featurette is clip-heavy. If you took out all the clips from the film (and its trailer) you'd have a significantly shorter featurette.

On-disc extras are rounded off with four trailers (two baring the original title DAY OF THE WOMAN) and three TV spots.

In a somewhat cheeky move, 101 have released the film in packaging that recalls Arrow's recent genre fare. Along with the DVD you also get a booklet and a fold-out poster.

So, "the most vilified picture in the cinema's history" (Zarchi's words) comes in a new Special Edition that promises to be the Ultimate Collector's package. It would've been more impressive without the intervention of the censors. But, this is Britain and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE remains cut.

Also available on blu-ray.

Review by Stuart Willis