Hannah Harper: Erotique

Digital Playground

Genre: Erotica

Director: Celeste

Cast: Hannah Harper, Marco Banderas/Duato, Tiffany Sweet, Lacie Heart, Scott Nails, Audrey Bitoni, Karlie Montana, Alexis Love, Mick Blue, Naomi
Cameo Appearance: Shay Jordan

Length: 129:52 minutes

Date of Production: 1/10/2007

Extras: The best of the batch was the 10:09 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by Shay Jordan (edited by Shy Halewd). It had a number of funny bits, often showing Robby mugging for the camera, but plenty of nudity and sex as well. There was a slideshow, a photogallery, as well as trailers to shows like Pirates II, Island Fever 4, Icon, Shay Jordan: All American Girl, Jana Cova: Sexual Freak, Image, Pirates, and the usual Virtual Sex titles like Virtual Sex with Shay Jordan, Virtual Sex with Kira Kener, Virtual Sex with Jana Cova, Virtual Sex with Mercedez, Virtual Sex with Sophia Santi, Virtual Sex with Teagan Presley, Virtual Sex with Jesse Jane, and Virtual Sex with Nikki Tyler; being all that the DVD contained.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Hannah Harper: Erotique was presented in the same 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen color it was shot in by camera operators Jim F. and Robby D. for Director Celeste to be released by Digital Playground next month. In terms of lighting and quality of picture, the movie looked good, shot in HD with the scenes all being shot with the lighting more straightforward here. There was no unintentional grain or video noise observed, I saw no compression artifacts (though the bitrate was occasionally under 6 Mbps), and the composition of the scenes was such that all of the gals were made to look very nice. Each scene seemed far more like the gonzo style that Robby shoots for his own releases, largely losing the artistic aspects for the most part while embracing what fans have demanded (with Sidney "Keep An Eye On Me" Michaels doing the editing); partially dumping the slow motion and lack of vocals as many of us have requested of the cute director (sorry Robby, I'm talking about Celeste this time). It had a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track with a 384 Kbps bitrate (twice the usual in porn) in English with some decent separation and dynamic range, with the various selections providing a nice aural setting for the visuals in the location it was shot in. I was thankful that the vocal track was restored here and the moody music served merely to punctuate rather than completely replace it, a fine job compared to some of the slow motion ridden older works by Celeste, a tribute to her evolution as a director but not as much as some of her newer works.

Body of Review: Celeste is the name of a once infamous performer who retired from doing scenes to settle down and raise a family while directing for Digital Playground. Over the last few years, Celeste has shown a willingness to evolve as a director, employing tips by her legendary directing accomplice Robby D., and provide a fusion of erotica with a slight gonzo flair unlike most of her peers in the industry. These works do not always work for me but her primary audience is made up of ladies and couples that aren't as keen for the harder sex as I seem to be, her latest title being Hannah Harper: Erotique. As a long time reviewer of the Erotique Series that started back in 2003, I have noticed that the spotlight treatment given to high end performers tends to be limited to contract gals, previous ladies in the series all fitting the bill better. This is perhaps more evidence that Hannah Harper was going to sign as a contract gal for the company and then bailed at the last minute but ultimately a contract is only as good as the scenes one makes while under one so whatever arrangement took place, I can see why things did not work out. That said, here's a quick look at the ten scenes in the movie, noting that no condoms were used, by cast and action for those who care:

Scene One: Hannah Harper, the sexy blond on the front DVD cover, was up first in bed wearing a snakeskin patterned outfit that looked good as she bent over. Marco Banderas/Duato came up behind her and started paddling her sweet ass (to her delight I might add) as the techno music played on too aggressively, tasting the results as she became very moist. He jammed his fingers in deeply as if to mine her liquid gold, feeding her some before it was her turn to satiate him with some oral loving. She took her time to tease out the rod but never let up once it was in her mouth. Her perfectly beautiful eyes looked up at the camera, almost daring the cameraman to join in with them. The seductive hummer continued until she impaled herself vaginally on the now fully erect penis, her fleshy ass rippling as she bounced heartily on top of it. Unlike some of the older Celeste movies, Hannah could be heard puffing and panting as the dick drove deeper inside her cookie, the puffy pussy taking a pounding as Marco finished up to provide some population pudding jerked off to the snatch. It was an interesting scene visually but Hannah was not used to her fullest ability.

Scene Two: Tiffany Sweet, a skinny brunette projecting a shyness few in porn seem able to these days, was up next in a solo scene where she teased the camera to an upbeat tempo that added an air of mystery to her. Once her clothing was off, she masturbated with an old fashioned vibrator but this was more of a teaser scene than a complete one so it faded out way too early.

Scene Three: Lacie Heart, the very attractive contract gal (who was given no biography in the extras section or recognition on the cover), was up next in a BDSM flavored scene that had her tied up in a closet; her hands strapped to the dowel where stuff is usually hung. She also had a gag in her mouth but her panties were lowered and her top not covering anything. She struggled against her bonds to no avail until Scott Nails happened upon her, pawing her perfect body as she looked pleadingly towards the camera. As the virtual massage continued, her look took on a different dynamic to become one more of desire and wanting more; stopped by her lack of control in the situation. He ate her ass and reddened her behind; soon screwing her while she was still wearing the remnants of her capture (though not still bound). The vaginal screwing must have worked for her as she dropped to her knees to get a taste of her juices off his cock; slobbing his knob with flair as she diddled herself some more. Sadly, her puffy pussy did not actively ride the cock, the single position of vaginal sex leading to him being jerked off to her face by the willing woman.

Scene Four: Audrey Bitoni, playing a human version of a "big cat", was up next crawling on the floor wearing a faux leopard coat and mask while animal handler Marco Banderas/Duato cracked the whip about her in an obvious effort to tame the lass. She had her own ideas about what would take place so he dropped the whip as she presented herself to him, the couple kissing before the oral sex began. Neither one spoke but it was clear that he was following her lead, the minimalist oral followed by him mounting her in a doggy styled screw. She was a lot better when riding the rod in cowgirl variations, bouncing on cock like a truly wild child. A few positions later, she took his semen to her face but never swallowed it (the BTS had some funny footage of it and her being punked too).

Scene Five: Karlie Montana, a beautiful gal with dark hair and nicely curved figure, was up next as she masturbated to the lamest bird noises I've ever heard in porn. The "bird of prey" dynamic aside, she began massaging the lovely ass of Shay Jordan who was required to remain still as the masturbating Karlie eyed some graduated toys that were soon plunging into her (Karlie's) pussy. I wished the cameo appearance was more involving but Karlie is a seasoned veteran of the Jack Universe for her solo work so I didn't expect a full blown scene with her.

Scene Six: Alexis Love, wearing a white tiger striped outfit and plenty of flashy jewelry, was up next as most animal noises played during her seductive tease sequence. It was too passive on her part but Mick Blue seemed content to warm her up slowly, the music subdued but the vocals downplayed far too much. It looked like Shay was still passed out on the couch as the couple boned beside her, Mick showing a propensity to give the gal oral loving in between bouts of boning. She was a very passive fuck but she had a lot to look at so perhaps she'll live up to her potential in future scenes but this one ended with the lethargic lass remaining almost motionless even when Mick jerked out a moderate load to her lower abdomen.

Scene Seven: Naomi, the once rounded rump gal that lost her audience when she lost so much weight, was up next in a scene with Scott Nails. She was not at her thinnest, or thickest, here but she was definitely on the sleek side if you know what I mean. Scott teased her with a large black dildo, slowly getting her interested as she tried to suck on it. The couple kissed and he allowed her a chance to demonstrate her skills on the toy before getting some of his tender victuals (pronounced "vittles"), her oral skills surprisingly refined and enthusiastic for a gal that lost so much weight. The blowjob was far too short in fact before she started riding his cock while sitting in his lap; the gal doing a decent enough job that she should apply for the next rodeo she visits. It wasn't her best scene by any means but it was better than many here, the gal sucking the dildo as Scott rubbed out his load on her face.

Scene Eight: Tiffany Sweet, a hot brunette in white bra and panties, was up next as she masturbated to the speedy music while handcuffed to the closet like Lacie had been. With no one to assist her, she was left to masturbating in the darkened room, her panties getting very moist by the time she was done. The dominant use of close ups was more claustrophobic than her setting though so while she's another gal I'd like to see more of, this scene fell short of the mark.

Scene Nine: Hannah Harper, looking even better than she did in earlier scenes, was up last in a walk in closet with Mick Blue. He wielded a paddle and she was properly made up with a white see through bathing suit of sorts; Mick stroking her body with the paddle as he held her leash really tight. This was a lot like some of the older scenes at first with the slow motion and lack of vocals but it got better once the arty farty stuff was cast aside. He cut off her clothing and gave himself better access to the chest before following up in the crotch area that he orally worked on in no time at all. The paddling was interesting but so lightly applied that it had little impact for me. She blew him for a very short time before they started screwing, the gal moderately active but the camera angles too tight on the close ups too often to make it look as good as it otherwise would have. It ended when he rubbed out a load to her ass cheek and she gave him some post coital sucking, the credits rolling soon after that.

Summary: Hannah Harper: Erotique by director Celeste to be released by Digital Playground next month was the weakest entry in the series to date and I wish that Hannah had been given more opportunities to shine. The problem with mixing things up; in this case employing more of the gonzo style Robby uses with the artistic approach Celeste employs, is that getting the mix just right is crucial to generating heat. In Hannah Harper: Erotique, the women often looked held back from their natural inclinations and the slight towards Lacie (the contract performer for the company that has not had one of this series yet) by leaving out a biography was kind of interesting too. Regardless, I thought the rating for this round should be as a Rent It because there were some heated trysts going on but the length of them was limited in an apparent attempt to provide a larger number of them, weakening the results for me in several cases. Give it a look for the wonderfully attractive cast but don't expect as much as you usually get out of the company's releases.