HefnerHefner, Hugh - Tony Palmer's 1973 Film About Hugh Hefner: Founder And Editor Of Playboy

If you want to see Playboy when it was at its peak, this is a pretty entertaining DVD. It's widescreen and the picture is pretty good, although it's an older film and not exactly 'remastered' up to today's standards.Hugh shows the viewer around his amazing Chicago home as well as his newly purchased Playboy Mansion in California. Hugh plays with his pinball machines, monkeys and parrots and gives us a tour of the swimming pool and grotto.We also get a tour of the Playboy jet and watch Hef and his employees party and play while flying across the USA.You will learn very little about Playboy (the magazine) but you will enjoy the eye candy that was the Playboy empire back in 1972.Hef comes across as a friendly James Bond villian that's into beautiful women instead of taking over the world.There is some mild nudity as we watch Playboy models get photographed, but for the most part this film is a documentary about what Hugh Hefner spends his money on.I will admit, I was pretty impressed with the cool man-made paradise that Hef surrounded himself with, so for that alone it's worth owning this DVD for me.

Don't come to this 53 minute "documentary" - "directed and edited" by British filmmaker Tony Palmer in the 1970s and just making it's home video release - expecting a unbiased story. Nearly all the dialogue is by Playboy Founder and Editor Hugh Hefner as Palmer's cameras follow him while he works and "plays". It's almost as if Hefner wanted to make a autobiographical film and hired Palmer to do it.Because the film was made in early- to mid- 1970s, we see Hefner and his magazine at the peak of their success. Home video had not become common and so it was men's magazines that were the main source of adult entertainment for men. The Playboy Clubs were in full swing. There were offices in Chicago and the Mansion in LA. And Hef bought the biggest private jet, painted it black and called it the Big Bunny.The film - taken in context for the time period - is interesting - though, as I said, a bit one-sided. We learn a bit about his beginnings and his work habits too. And , yes, we see lots of women. For the first 20 minutes or so all the playmates are wearing bikinis but - as the film proceeds, the women are shown topless.Palmer does a strange thing with the soundtrack to this film. With the exception of the theme used for Hefner's TV show "Playboy After Dark", all the music is classical with music by Copeland, Walton, Ravel and Wagner, among others. Guess that cuts down the music licensing fees, eh?Palmer's films are eclectic - to say the least - but for anyone who has followed Playboy's rise (and fall) this is a film worth watching once. The package has a 4-page pamphlet with quotes from the film and a few photos.I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.Steve Ramm"Anything Phonographic"