User reviews

SCORE

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

A sexually liberated couple (Claire Wilbur and Gerald Grant) set out to seduce a young newlywed couple (Lynn Lowry and Calvin Culver).

Having explored familiar heterosexual obsessions in well-regarded softcore dramas like CAMILLE 2000 (1969) and THE LICKERISH QUARTET (1969), director Radley Metzger upped the sexual ante with SCORE, a good-natured bisexual romp which crosses the boundary into hardcore territory popularized in US theaters by the likes of DEEP THROAT and THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES (both 1972). Based on a play by screenwriter Jerry Douglas, SCORE pits a couple of worldly, uninhibited predators against naive, conservative-minded 'virgins' during a weekend get-together at Wilbur and Grant's luxury Riviera villa. Having plied the hapless duo with drink and soft drugs ("I'm not a very good junkie!" Lowry complains) and dressed them in costumes which tally with their sexual fantasies (cowboy, nun, sailor, etc.), Wilbur and Lowry pair off for a lesbian encounter, while Grant and Culver descend into the basement bedroom for a full-blown gay seduction.

Artfully photographed by Metzger himself and veteran cinematographer Franjo Vodopivec on location in Yugosalvia, and framed as an adult fairy tale (the delightful opening narration locates the action "...in the lush little land of Plenty, in the enviable state of Affluence... deep within the Erogenous Zone"!), the movie is distinguished by clever dialogue which removes outmoded notions of sexual parameters from the outset. When asked how she differentiated between sexes during the orgies she's attended in the past, Wilbur replies: "First you don't know, then you can't tell, then you don't care!" The plot is wafer-thin, and the acting is merely OK (the women fare best in this regard), but Douglas' script - played out for the most part in a single interior set, with only a handful of outdoor sequences - allows Metzger to build slowly and surely to the climactic double seduction, using reflective surfaces (amongst other devices) to convey sexual dualities within the characters. Viewers hoping for a non-stop flesh-fest may be irritated by the long narrative preamble (punctuated by Wilbur's rough-house tumble with studly repairman Carl Parker), but there's still plenty of uncompromising nudity, and the film manages to stimulate the brain whilst simultaneously tickling your, er... fancy. Great music, too, including an ultra-groovy (and uncredited) theme song! The film exists in two separate versions: Metzger is said to prefer the softcore edition (85m), but the all-important sex scenes are seriously compromised by jarring edits and obvious gaps in the soundtrack. Try to see the full-on hardcore print (92m), which includes rather more graphic detail during the gay sex scenes.

'Calvin Culver' is actually gay porn performer Casey Donovan, star of groundbreaking titles like BOYS IN THE SAND (1971) and THE OTHER SIDE OF ASPEN (1978), though he later re-teamed with Metzger for the director's hetero masterpiece THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN (1976). Co-star Grant only appeared in two other films - Metzger's NAKED CAME THE STRANGER (1975) and Umberto Lenzi's EATEN ALIVE! (1980) - and it's sad to report that both he and Donovan have since passed away. Wilbur featured in the original stage version of SCORE, but her only other screen acting credit appears to be TEENAGE HITCH-HIKERS (1974), while the beautiful Lowry has since pursued a career in mainstream movies, including THE CRAZIES (1973), SHIVERS (1975) and CAT PEOPLE (1982). Writer Jerry Douglas adopted the pseudonym 'Doug Richards' and made a name for himself in gay porn, writing and directing a number of celebrated productions, including THE BACK ROW (1973), BOTH WAYS (1976) and MORE OF A MAN (1991), the latter featuring Joey Stefano and Chi Chi LaRue, while SCORE's production manager Branko Lustig has since become a major Hollywood producer, with titles like SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) and GLADIATOR (2000) to his credit!

"Score" is a very interesting film! I was captivated with it the very first time I saw it, and it was even inspirational to me. Score's main characters are Jack and Elvira. They are married and bisexual swingers in a swanky fashion. They play a game of seduction in which each takes a turn trying to seduce someone of the same sex. This time it's Elvira's turn, and her target is a younger, married girl named Betsy. Elvira seems to be having some trouble getting Betsy in the sack, and her time limit is fastly approaching. Jack seems to take an interest in Betsy's husband, Eddie, as Elvira continues to attempt to seduce Betsy.

"Score" is an adult comedy/drama, and the sex scenes are interestingly crafted. The film is full of tacky charms, witty lines, and memorable images. It's a great reflection of the swingin' 70's, and the sexual revolution. I think "Score" deserves repeated viewings.

This vintage piece exudes a sense of adventurous sensuality, artistry and style that has been lost in the intervening decades, both in the now cheap and voluminous porn industry, and the edgy sexualised segments of the Indy "mainstream" film industry. "Score" is a creature if its time, and whilst it gives a somewhat contrived view of the magical but brief post-sexual-revolution/pre-AIDS era, it speaks to certain freedoms and a sense of adventure and newness that is lacking in our age of internet-annihilated innocence and clinical political correctness. This film reminds me of the more philosophical prognostications I snuck readings of from my step fathers antique 1970s Playboy and Penthouse magazines - those where they laid out musings about a more sexually liberated future, where open sensuality and psychedelic exploration of our bodies, minds and the world around us would usher in a new era of universal love, sharing and luxurious living. Whilst we may be far more sexualised and open minded than the average suburbanite was in 1974, and unquestionably far less innocent and naive, we have also lost a certain warmth and exploratory openness that seems to be in the DNA of this film and the era it gives a window to. Our loss; but at least the spirit of the era has been preserved on film to be peered at in wonderment by future generations.

"Score" is an amazing cult classic that should be seen by everyone. Even though I have only seen one other of Radley Metzger's movies ("The Lickerish Quartet"), I don't hesitate in calling him an "auteur of adult film." To call his movies "soft-core porn" would be an insult. "Score" and "Lickerish Quartet" are both top-notch turn-ons.

What I liked about "Score" was the fact that nothing about it ever seemed gratuitous, given the subject matter. The same-sex seduction scenes in the movie were fun and genuinely erotic. I especially loved the oh-so subtle ways the characters would flirt and come on to each other. The fact that the nudity was used very sparingly only added to the erotic tension. The movie literally teases and arouses the viewer from beginning to end. And the love scenes between the two men (Jack and Eddie) and the two women (Elvira and Betsy) were done in beautiful taste.

While very elegant and aesthetically pleasing, "Score" never takes itself too seriously. I think anyone could easily be hypnotized by this movie if they give it a chance. It is beautiful.

enjoyed watching this movie late one evening. one of the better movies out there that dealt with sexuality openly and explicitly from the seventies. well-written and directed by the auteur of erotica, radley metzger who went on to do more films of the same nature ie. the lickerish quartet, carmen baby, the alley cats. a very simple plot that involved a married couple who make a wager to seduce a newlywed and somewhat naive couple. Lynn lowry and Calvin Culver (a.k.a Casey Donovan) are the newly hitched couple who meet the more mature and experienced couple played by Claire Wilbur and Gerald grant. interestingly enough there's an un-cut/un-censored version that has just been released that shows a couple extra minutes of full-front nudity and other inserted shots. Lynn lowry would later say that during the shoot of the film, Claire Wilbur learned that Lynn was making three times the amount of money she was and for the duration of the shoot, there was tension between the actresses. Wilbur also stated that she only did the movie to earn enough money to finance a friend's film and was disappointed that she was only remembered for this role in particular. as one movie reviewer said, 'there's something for everyone' in this film. i agree.

If all you want to see is closeups of two guys blowing each other, then this movie is for you. You have to be gay to enjoy this. I would have never watched it if I had known. Very little female nudity.

This movie is a trip! I came across this DVD a couple of years ago at a local retailer. Having never heard of this movie or Radley Metzger, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Boy, were my fiancé' and I floored when we started watching this classic piece of erotic entertainment. This movie did NOT go where I expected it too! The movie is filmed beautifully (in the village of leisure, in the land of play, deep within the erogenous zone) & focuses on the seduction of a young newlywed couple by a pair of married experienced swingers.

This movie was WAY ahead of it's time when it was first released in 1973. Score features some great erotic scenes, and is filled with plenty of nudity and drug references. The lead actress (Claire Wilbur) is marvelous in her role as Elvira, the swinging married seductress. Lynn Lowry is quite convincing in her role as an innocent newly wed catholic school girl turned wild sexpot! All in all, this movie is great fun to watch! Not really a movie to sit and watch with your friends (unless there extremely open minded), this movie should be viewed alone or with that special someone.

Nevertheless, it is an extremely enjoyable and often shocking piece of erotic cinema. They just don't make them like this anymore!! I would have given Score 10 stars, but I hear that the DVD is edited much more than the video release. I can't imagine what they could have left out!! Definitely recommended......just not for everyone.

If you are able to find this lost gem of the early 70's porn scene, you will be giving yourself a treat, whether you are a fan of porn or not. Although the movie humors us with moments of on screen sex, it is not the visual eye candy that a modern day audience is used to. Instead, we are watching an X-rated movie with real production value along with good acting. These are elements not found in most if not all modern day porn. The dramatic use of close ups along with mirrors is evidence that they had an Art Director and a real cinematographer while making this movie. The narrative is surprisingly good as well. Lynn Lowry is fantastic as the innocent, yet curious girl. The queer element in the story is not only erotic for a straight audience but poetic as well for an audience five decades later. The musical score is equally compelling as Score has moments of theft from scene stealing from movies like 8 1/2 and Band of Outsiders. With that said, Score never tries to be pointless porn but art.

Maybe this would be "hot" to someone who has never seen a movie or book with a sexual theme, but to me it was just a poorly-acted soft-core porno movie. There's bigger kicks waiting for you in the video store...in the curtained off area! The quality of acting is the same as porno, and the cast is actual 70s porno stars. On the plus side, the soundtrack is very how do you say groovy?

Relationships can be quite delicate ... well you may not care for some, especially if you are conservative. Relatively early on, one of the females here does what some would call an adult movie cliche. A service man who comes to fix something ... well I'm not even sure I have to paint the picture, what he ends up fixing. And that woman is in a relationship.

The other woman who is there is quite shocked to say the least. But maybe also intrigued? What do you bet she is? Well you may have a deal or not there. Whatever the case, the movie is about couples, about being open ... and about different forms of lovemaking. While the first sex session shows nudity, later on you get even more of that - in an explicit kind of way! At least in the uncut version that I saw ... but even if you don't mind that in particular, you may have issues with who is doing what to whom ... without going into too much detail, I'm pretty certain that some will not be ... up for it (no pun intended).

Love is love some may say, others will only accept it between married people and them being man and woman. Now if you think like that, the movie will shock you to say the least ... you may not be comfortable with what the movie is shoving down your throat - again no pun intended, just a fair warning to those who may be better off not watching this - especially those of the delicate nature. Those who do watch and are able to see beyond the explicit material and the "offensive" subject matter overall, will see an intersting look into human nature and psyche ...

This is a pretty good movie but I'm not exactly sure who it was aimed at. Straight guys that want to see the gorgeous Lynn Lowry in hot, sapphic action might be tempted to watch it, but they will no doubt be left pretty jarred by the way Metzger intercuts the gay and lesbian sex scenes at the end. I would think the (in some versions hardcore)gay footage might ruin the mood a little for heterosexuals. There is a good softcore hetero scene at the beginning between Claire Wilbur's character and a TV repairman while Lowry's character looks on, but if you just want to see Lowry and/or a lot of heterosexual and lesbian sex you might do better with the contemporary cult film "Sugar Cookies" which features her and a young Mary Woronov. Gays, on the other hand, probably won't relate too much to a movie about swinging married couples, although they will no doubt find it pretty funny how obviously gay the two "husbands" in this movie are to begin with (especially Lowry's husband played by gay porno actor Casey Donovan). That leaves swinging bisexual types like the characters in the film (although I imagine those kind of people don't have too much time to watch movies)and weirdos like me who don't really watch sex movies for the sex (and there can't be too many of us around).

On the plus side, this is a Radley Metzger movie. Metzger is perhaps the only American who can make graphic sex movies that have any class at all. The word "erotic" is overused almost as much as the word "pornographic", but whether they're erotic or not Metzger makes movies that really look great visually, and whether you're turned on by the action or not, at least you're not crying over the wasted celluloid or cringing at the cheesy music and atrocious acting and dialogue. The acting here is also excellent, especially Lowry, Wilbur, and Gerald Grant--Donovan is good too but a little stiff (no pun intended). I'm not exactly sure who I'd recommend this TO, but I'd definitely recommend it.

Ever wanted to see a meme template but a gay porno? No? Why not?

Keep in mind, I watched the "plot" free cut on YouTube. Really funny, both intentionally and unintentionally. Give it a go. Gay rights of course!

The movie reminded me the whole array of 70's cheap porno. The development stops pretty much 15 minutes into the movie, followed by the stopples sex, sex, sex... with a tint of 70's style. I've got bored 30 minutes after the beginning, and quit 20 minutes before the end. Definitely not your Cinderella story....

"The Score" is an amazing movie. I was expecting a pretty good saucy movie, but it easily breaks out of that envelope. It's the first Radley Metzger film I saw, but just from this single one I'd rate him as one of the great movie makers, and if the rest of his work is au pair, I'd say he is a genius. The dialogues are brilliant, and the same goes for the actors. They were all unknown to me but quality-wise they're A-list all the way, and can really show off their prowess on a very difficult subject matter. The women are very foxy too (I can't really judge the men in that department).

I'm saying all this even though I didn't really like the subject of the movie. I'm not gay or bi, and I don't find the whole swinging philosophy all that attractive, and the movie is really all about swinging and gay sex. But it's a great movie not despite but because of that, because it took me somewhere else. I would have expected a pornographer like Metzger to have thrown in more explicit scenes, which would certainly have pleased the audience, but he wanted to entertain us by telling a far-out story, in the land of leisure, bordering on insanity in the West and decadence in the East ...

This movie really surprised me and made me sit up open-mouthed. That's why I'm awarding it a solid ten points.

On a sad sidenote, Calvin Culver / Casey Donovan, who played the husband of the younger couple, died young, in 1987 from AIDS.

A swinging couple (Claudia Wilbur and Gerald Grant) seduces a straight-laced couple (Lynn Lowry and Casey Donovan). That's about it for plot, but the movie is fascinating. It was made long before AIDS (and, ironically, two of the actors later died of the disease) so there are no boundaries on what the couples will do and there's no moralizing on what is right or wrong. That's the great thing about the movie-it doesn't judge. I saw this years ago at a film festival and was just astonished. It's hard to explain WHY I liked it but I did. It dealt with sex roles, male and female sexuality, bisexuality in an uninhibited and fun way.

As for the sex...there's not much. I saw an uncut version and while somewhat explicit, it's tasteful. There's a man/woman coupling, and two long lesbian and gay sex scenes. In fact when this came out in 1973 it was a bomb. It was X but it wasn't explicit enough for the porno crowd or intelligent enough for the "intellectual" audience. Now it's being realized for how good it is.

It's beautifully shot in Yugoslavia, has great dialogue and all the acting is good. Also the cast is attractive and look great with their clothes off. It's available uncut on DVD (previous versions were edited) and well worth getting.

"Score" is more or less a period piece now, filmed as it was in that post-sexual liberation/pre-AIDS window when it seemed that sexual, political and aesthetic freedom were essentially linked. The film is a manifesto for sexual liberation purely, brushing only briefly by sexuality's darker aspects (the somewhat creepy Mike, and a certain core hollowness in Elvira and Jack's marriage). The characters are psychologically simplistic (Betsy's nun fixation, Eddie's glaringly obvious repressed homosexuality), but--important in a film of this type--extremely likeable. Claire Wilbur and Gerald Grant are particularly good in their roles.

All of this is wrapped up in good-natured sex and spot-on stoned dialogue. Even the music's entertaining--particularly the early-Rolling Stones ripoff that functions as a recurring motif and perhaps as well the goofy thematic heart of the film.

The trailer for "Score" recommends, "Watch it with someone you want to excite!" Well, it might not be as libidinally exciting now as it was thirty years ago, but it's still fun, and sweet, and highly recommended.

I was lucky enough to have found this title at a discount retail store and all I kept thinking is oh, boy what a treat. It was lovely to see a period in time where folks were carefree with their bodies and uninhibited play flowed beautifully throughout this film. I specially like the fact that as the DVD box stipulates, this is a film made with all audiences in mind and you will fully leave satisfied. I was so enthralled in the story that I wish the film continued for another two and a half hours. I was reading some of the reviews here and I'm sad to hear that some of the main actors passed on. However, I was glad I was able to find this gem that took me back into a world where life is light, fun and filled with sexual joy! Now that I have discovered "Score" I will be looking more closely in the bins for the other dvds of these fine actors. Everything about this movie was exceptional, specially the sex, not overt sadly, but most enjoyable and very sexually stimulating! A must see!

This movie is sooooo campy! I'm telling you...the dialogue in this movie is down right funny. When I rented it (and later bought it), I just wanted it cuz it looked really funny. However, it was not only funny, it's extremely erotic & kinky. I highly suggest this movie to anybody that is looking for a good laugh, very bisexual, and down right horny! This movie is a real shocker! Pure Cult Classic! 10 out of 10.

Jack and Elvira, a thirtyish American couple living in Europe, amuse themselves with the game of seduction, keeping score on each other's successes and failures. As the movie opens, Elvira is laying an elaborate trap with which she hopes to lure the fresh-faced Betsy into her lair. Betsy and her equally-innocent husband Eddie come to dinner, and the evening is devoted to the machinations of the wilier and far more experienced couple as they try to further Elvira's plot. The musical soundtrack is unbelievably horrible, but the dialogue is hilariously arch, the cast is attractive, and director Radley Metzger, the undisputed master of the classy Eurotrash film, conveys more with close-ups of the actors' eyes than has anyone since silent film director G. W. Pabst. If sexual humor in film makes you uncomfortable, stay far away from this one, it'll save you stomping out later in a huff. But if you think sex can be funny, and you're out for some of the best lines ever uttered, go for SCORE -- you won't regret it.