1/5 DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY
  by J. Vitkus (Las Vegas, NV United States)
What might promise to be a great collection of classic short films is a total letdown, offering almost nothing rare, humorous, or insightful about sex in modern culture. With the exception of a few great early cartoons, the balance is made up of worn pornography movie trailers, nudist travelogues, tired soft porn clips, government issued health advisory shorts, and a few sexy 60's TV commercial spots. This DVD is such a disappointing bore. With all the interesting archived material out there waiting to be used, it would have been a whole lot better job if they had bothered to take a real interest in the topic.

5/5 A Girl's Favorite DVD
  by Lily Starr (New York City)
I'm utterly amazed at the breadth and scope of this dvd.
It's a joyously hilarious rollercoaster ride through the backroads of sexy cinema.
"The Subject is Sex" contains an imaginative collection of
never-before-seen antique erotica,
quirky animation, classic burlesque routines and hilariously
campy clips from the silent era(with a few newly created vintage soundscores)
to the present. Eric Schaefer's historic essay puts it all into perspective
and Parr's "Cheap Smut Give-A-Way" is a highly creative use of
dvd interactivity. All my burlesque dancer friends love it!
I can't wait for Volume Two.
PS: Don't miss the "Beefcakes and Cheesecakes" montage!


1/5 WEIRD EXPLOITATION CLIPS NOT SEXY
  by Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States)
THE SUBJECT IS SEX (Facets/Other Cinema) is Stephen Parr's bizarre compendium of old exploitation films, nudie shorts, peep show loops, weirdly suggestive commercials, cartoon porn, and X rated clips. There's no narration or thematic thread other than sex and the dated weirdness of visual titillation.

These beat up, scratched, dirty (no pun intended) snippets of found film (?) are unimaginatively arranged -- really just spliced together without any hint of artistry.

It's all rather humdrum and certainly not erotic although at times very explicit. Unrated. 100 minutes.