Salon Kitty is set in Berlin, in 1939. The Second World War is just starting to get into full swing and a megalomaniac SS Officer named Wallenberg (played remarkably well by Helmut Berger of The Damned) receives orders from the top brass to gather up the most beautiful women in all of Germany and train them to work in the brothel of on Madam Kitty (Ingrid Thulin of Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers).  

Within the confines of the brothel, the women are forced to submit themselves to all manner of unusual sexual acts at the whim of the Third Reich's high officers. Wallenberg, while all this is going on, is, unbeknownst to the patrons of this fine establishment, secretly recording everything that they do so that he can blackmail them.  

When one of the prostitutes, played by Teresa Ann Savoy who had previously worked with Brass on Caligula, finds out about Wallenberg’s plans she sets into motion a horrific series of events that culminates in perversion and pain.  

Based on a series of real life events that took place in Nazi Germany, Salon Kitty is an elegantly trashy look at a fascinatingly perverse part of history. Featuring an all-star cast of Euro-cult stars including John Steiner of Mannaja – A Man Called Blade, the stunning Tina Aumont of The Nude Princess and John Ireland, Salon Kitty is a psuedo-pornographic epic with amazing cinematography, gorgeous sets, and solid performances. 

It’s also very sleazy. All manner of bizarre sex acts are carried out on screen. There’s even a bit of violence too. Brass makes sure that his camera pays just enough attention to the more risqué elements of the film to keep viewers entertained and interested despite the films slow pace and over two hour running length. 

The film also contains a few unusual musical numbers that in a sense counter balance the sexual deviance witnessed on screen, but at the same time, almost seem to add to them as well. 

Of course, many of Tinto Brass's trademark eccentricities are well represented here. There's not shortage of shots of women's backsides, a fetish he is more than willing to admit to (and if you've seen any of his films you know it'd be hard for him to deny it anyway), and there are also a lot of mirrors used in the sets, which is something I've noticed in a few of his other movies.

Blue Underground presents Salon Kitty completely uncut for the first time in the U.S. The film was previously released as Madam Kitty and trimmed of many of the more blatant scenes of degradation.

Not only is the film interesting from an exploitative standpoint, but it also plays with some interesting political themes as well, the obvious subject matter of the Nazi Party and their self destructive and decadent achievements playing a big role in the film. 

Performances are strong, the direction and cinematography is outstanding, and the sets are phenomenal. Salon Kitty may not appeal to everyone (a lot of people find it boring) but it's very much worth a look for those interested in Tinto Brass and his style of filmmaking.

Blue Underground once again gives one of their releases the deluxe treatment. Broken up over two discs, this set has a wealth of supplements to keep most Tinto Brass fans giddy for a while. On the first disc we have two trailers, the international one and the U.S. one under the title Madam Kitty, and a well-written biography of Tinto Brass. 

The second disc is where the bulk of the extra features lie. First up is an interview with Brass entitled Inside Salon Kitty in which the purveyor of fine filth discusses his career and some of the controversy that has surround it. Anyone who’s seen Brass interviewed on other releases knows that he’s a relatively amicable gent and that is luckily the case here as well. After that we’re treated to Designing Salon Kitty, which, if you couldn’t tell by the title, explores some of the background behind the amazing sets that were used in the film in an interview with Ken Adam who served as the production designer on the film. With the sets playing such an important part in the film, I’m glad to see that Blue Underground chose to explore this route a little deeper than we usually see on DVD supplements. 

In addition to the two features, we’re also privy to a few radio spots, a generous poster and still gallery, production design sketches by Ken Adam, costume design sketches by Jost Jakob and a DVD-Rom feature entitled The Story Of Salon Kitty.