This 1989 film made a star of Joanne Whalley, who plays the sexy central character about a true incident in Britain in the early 60s. This DVD, brought to us by Anchor Bay is the uncut and uncensored version which didn't make it into the theaters. Whalley is joined by John Hurt, Ian McKellen, and Bridget Fonda, for this look at the British kinky sex and its consequences.

Whalley plays Christine Keeler, a nightclub performer who befriends Stephen Ward (John Hurt) , a fun loving, rich doctor who decides to groom her and her friend Mandy Rice-Davies(Bridget Fonda) into high class escorts, introducing her to the British upper class politicians of the day. While on a weekend outing, she is introduced to John Profumo( Ian McKellen), the British Secretary of War. She begins an affair with Profumo, who offers her a small apartment but Keeler, just eighteen years old becomes bored and soon has an affair with a Russian diplomat (Jeroen Krabbe), who is also a friend of Ward. When the affair hits the papers, the lives of all involved are deeply effected. The cast's performances are award winning, led by Hurt, who is outrageous as the fun seeking Dr. Ward and by Bridget Fonda, who plays the small town girl out to make it big. Fonda won a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

Picture-The anamorphic, widescreen picture is presented by Anchor Bay with only a few specks of dust noticeable during the opening credits. Other than that, the film is crisp and clear, with good color balance and skin tone. There is a lot of skin to see in this 1989 film. Whalley gets away with the use of a body double for the most outrageous scenes, which include group sex, a poolside strip tease and numerous bed scenes. Sound-The 5.1 Dolby surround soundtrack makes good use of all channels. I consider it is a bonus in this 1989 film, as this is one film where the surround is not really necessary, for teh contents for the most part is adult drama with lots of dialog. One exception is a scenein which a lover of Keeler's is beat up by another jealous fellow. Gun play follows this scene and the effects of the bullets flying does add impact to the film's viewing.

A theatrical trailer is all that is included with the disc. Commentary from the director or actors during the presentation would have added value to the disc. Another bonus possibilty could have been newsreel footage from that era, showing the real life counterparts of the incident. This is one area where the DVD is definitely lacking and some extras should have been included for the price of the disc.

Another nice transfer from Anchor Bay makes this a good disc for fans of the movie. This uncut and uncensored edition is a bit racy with the addition of some scenes, but I wouldn't think it would have received an X or even an NC-17 rating in this day and age. The cast performances are all exceptional led by Hurt, Whalley, and Fonda. Technically, the disc is very well done, with its widescreen transfer and 5.1 Dolby sound. It is sadly lacking of any extras, which is one area where the DVD could have been improved, especially for the disc's high price. The film is a sophisticated drama that does a superb job of recreating the events of the early 60s headline maker. A high society drama, for" adults only".