Critique Page for alt.amazon.supermodels #1

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          alt.amazon.supermodels #1 by BuiltMore Productions copyright � 1997.
Reviewed February 10, 1998.
Revised July 3, 1999

          The videotape covered in this review has been around for a few months at this writing. But since I have a life (as in "Get a life!"), I'm only now finding the time to write about it (that sounds SO much better than saying I'm just lazy and unmotivated, which is closer to the truth).
          The name expresses the creators' wish to have a Usenet news group started in support of BuiltMore Productions. Well, all I can say is, "Good luck." Because of the proliferation of Spam advertizing in the news groups, many people are giving up on them. I doubt that this review will be seen by NEARLY as many people on the news groups as my PAST critiques, despite there being many more people on the Internet than just a year ago, from the date of this review.

          BuiltMore Productions has been around since the early 1990's, and has had an Internet presence since 1996. The company has its own Web site, http://www.builtmore.com.
          B.M.P. deals almost exclusively in special-interest videotapes, including amazon warrior tapes, women weightlifter/bodybuilder tapes, and the line that really interests me, the Amazon Supermodels series, which focuses on the allure of very tall women. The subject of this review covers essentially the same kind of material as the more recent tapes in the Amazon Supermodels series -- tall women, with some glamour treatment, but with mostly an emphasis on athletic activity. Surprisingly, the ASM series didn't go beyond tape #9; it may have to do with producer Nercy Navab's desire to experiment with different directions, and the above wish to start a new news group.

          The video opens with credits including the above URL. Produced by "Nercy" -- Mr. Navab wants to be known as a one-name celebrity -- that sucks. Aside: I recently saw on videotape the "Black Adder" British TV series starring Rowan Atkinson, of "Mr. Bean" fame. Six episodes were set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Bess had an assistant, a wet nurse named -- you guessed it -- "Nursie"! Ha ha!
          Samuel M. Oldham (whom I call "Sam the Old Ham") has a credit, video by "Notorious SMO" -- just like in the "Tall Models, Inc." videotape.   That's too bad. His name invokes images of Hollywood; it's reminiscent of Samuel Goldwyn. But instead, he tries for a more rebellious image.

And now, the women:

Dragana Djordjevic 6'2" (187.96 cm.)
          The first scene is in a big-city park in British Columbia with Dragana and a less vertically-endowed woman friend. Dragana is a blond bombshell from Yugoslavia (Serbian ethnic group) who came to North America when she was 4� years old. This footage was not shot by BuiltMore Productions personnel, so they don't have much creative control over it.   Still, it isn't bad. Both women are seen in dresses that end above the knee; in Dragana's case that's WAY above the knee, with a slit, too (Arf!   Arf!). You can hear the cameraman giving directions to the women to walk toward the camera, then away from the camera, etc. The scene changes to a large pond-fountain on which the women are standing, trying to look elegantly feminine but looking a bit awkward. I'd seen still shots of Dragana on the Internet (including some nudes!); there I recall a more poised model. Regardless, both women are lovely. But they're simply shown walking around the park, sitting or standing here or there -- it's all rough, unedited video footage with no particular sense of direction.   But hardcore girl watchers and lovers of tall women may not mind, as long as they can see this robust, high-rise honey. Both women are wearing high heels, which adds to their classic feminine gait though not to their grace.
          Later both women are shown in shorts doing gymnastic stunts on a green playing field. The shorter woman appears the more agile. Both then mockingly flex their muscles and mug for the camera. And more feats of physical prowess, mostly by the shorter woman.
          Dragana is shown sitting in and getting out of a car, taking directions from the photographer, and getting a catcall from a homeless man! This scene was immediately repeated!
          I think this presentation suffers from its rough, unedited quality; repeated takes are shown instead of having the less favorable takes edited out to make a smoother scenario. Later Dragana tells us about herself, but it's still outdoors and her words are often hard to make out over the sound of traffic. Among other things she says she learned to play softball as a child, then basketball, then volleyball. Not many people in Serbia are very tall, but some people of farm stock tend to be quite robust. � Dragana attended college on a volleyball scholarship and played both basketball and volleyball, but torn knee ligaments limited her involvement and kept her from playing indoor volleyball professionally after college. � She does play professional outdoor volleyball, though. She had an interest in modeling and acting, but sports up to the present have taken precedence over those.
          After some discussion about the current crop of famous fashion models, the scene changes to that of a beach volleyball game. There we see Dragana in a skimpy black bikini playing the game. We don't get a complete view of the game because the camera is focused mainly on Dragana -- but I guess that's the idea. What a nice cleavage -- and sturdy-looking legs. � She has a band around her left knee, probably for support from her past injuries. She also claps her hands every so often, which doesn't make sense to me; it doesn't look as though she's cleaning the sand off them -- it's more like applause. What is there to applaud about? I'm not terribly interested in sports, so I find this part of the tape rather dull.   Well, that's not ALL bad; several minutes of it is good for my insomnia (Sk-k-k-k! Buzaawww!).

Katherine Kaiser 5'10" (177.8 cm.)
          Katherine is a pretty, blond, athletic-looking X-ray technician from Texas who wishes to compete in the fitness industry. In high school she played basketball and ran track; after graduation she lifted weights more and did aerobics. The opening scene has her flexing a muscle for the camera. She's not heavily-muscled, which is a relief to me -- rather than looking "cut-up," she simply looks fit. In the background I can hear the voice of Nursie, uh, Nercy, so I know he has some creative control over this part of the tape. �(Another way you can tell is that Katherine is wearing clear plastic high-heeled shoes, ha ha.) Katherine is shown standing, then walking, with a heavily muscled shorter man. There are noticeable background voices and extraneous noises, and somehow the presentation tries my patience, despite my seeing an extraordinary, attractive woman. Then I realize that this tape lacks any musical score such as previous tall woman tapes had. It's evident that seasoned professionals use the music scoring to make their "sound bites," etc. flow more smoothly. It may be that Nercy et al are trying to give the newer crop of tapes a more documentary feel. But this sequence is also surprisingly unedited. Katherine is shown repetitiously walking toward the wall in the background, then toward the camera, then toward the wall, then toward the camera, over and over again (yawn!). And talk about unedited -- we see Nercy's backside, and later his gutside, with his and Katherine's heads cropped. And the interviewer's voice sounds muffled and unintelligible. This stuff definitely needs work.

Diana Meier 6'2" (187.96 cm.)
          Diana Meier last appeared in "Amazon Supermodels" #2 back in 1992. I have inside information on her appearance in "alt.amazon.supermodels":   originally 6'5" Zrinka Kristich (from "Amazon Supermodels" #9) was going to appear in this tape, but she bowed out and Nercy got Diana to substitute for her. The scenario in this appearance has her with a smaller woman, showing off her mental and physical superiority (ALLEGED superiority -- I hate it when people show off). First, intelligence test scores, then comparisons of stature and strength. Diana pats the smaller woman on the head condescendingly, and overpowers her in feats of strength (do SOME male viewers actually find this stuff ATTRACTIVE? Grrrr!). I have a strong sense of justice and see myself as a protector of the underdog, so I viscerally react with anger at such a scene. My reaction is to want to pick on Diana in turn. How would I do it? Let's see... she's big and strong, but doesn't have a well-defined physique with classically-feminine curves. Remember the "Archie" comics? She has a pretty, pixieish face, but otherwise looks to me like the female equivalent of Moose (Hee hee. Ain't I a stinker?). She flexes her fat arm to show us her biceps, and I can't see the muscle! Ha ha! I know the lopsided competition is all being done in fun, and both women are laughing through it, but I still react angrily, remembering childhood bullies. This performance goes on for 16� minutes (yes, in agony I count the seconds). � It's hard for me to look at.

And in closing,

6'5" Zrinka Kristich
          Not a "live" appearance here; this is a collection of raw footage from her appearance in "Amazon Supermodels" #9 ("Fahrenheight"). We see her "maxing out" a doorway, that is, standing in a doorway in her high heels with her head reaching the top of the doorway. Nercy and Sam are giving Zrinka directions from behind the camera. Sam's characteristic camerawork is evident here; he tilts the camera so we get some arty diagonal scenes (hard on the eyes sometimes, at least on mine). The difference between this raw footage and the edited and music-scored final product in ASM #9 is striking. Frankly, I prefer the latter. But whatever the circumstances, Zrinka is a lovely woman, and a joy to see. I think most lovers of tall women will get a crush on her just from this appearance (Oohh, those legs! Mmm, those eyes!). I definitely prefer the glamour photography over the athletic stuff. Chacun � son goût.
          Note: I learned recently that while Zrinka is U.S.-born, she's of Croatian descent -- Yugoslavian, the same as Serbian Dragana! If there weren't such problems in that country, I'd consider a visit.

          There's not much more I can add. I prefer the polished presentation with musical score in earlier BuiltMore videotapes to the unedited collection of tape footage shown here, and I prefer glamour to athletics and dominance. � B.M.P. has experimented with various approaches to presenting tall women, with what to me are varying degrees of success (I'll be fair, and mention that some things I don't like are loved by some other tall woman fans.). I'd be interested in seeing the folks at B.M.P. try their hand at comedy -- though maybe not Benny Hill type comedy, as we'd want the women to be treated with respect and dignity (...but not TOO much respect and dignity, ha ha).

          Anyone wanting to take a chance on this videotape can access an order form at

http://www.builtmore.com
or via "snail mail," send an inquiry to
          BuiltMore Productions
          Post Office Box 571
          Santa Monica, Ca.   90406-0571

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Wilfred D. DeVoe, [email protected]