In search of Ulrike Butz: Uli in HD #4

The Goal Of This Blog

THE GOAL OF THIS BLOG

The internet provides mankind with an abundance of information. Though the quality and accuracy may leave much to be desired, when used properly you may end up with pretty interesting stuff.
So my hopes weren't very high when searching for any information regarding actress Ulrike Butz, in my humble opinion the undisputed queen of German sexploitation. Yet, even with such low expectations, what I did find was utterly disappointing: an almost blank profile on IMDb (save a filmography) and a couple of small pictures from the films she starred in. That's it. No date or place of birth, no biographical information of any kind, no interviews, no candid pictures, no film reviews elaborating on her career or personal life.
I extended my search and was able to buy some more films, movie memorabilia and more interestingly, a few magazines that included unique pictures and interviews. Although I wouldn't exactly describe nudie- and tabloid magazines as trustworthy sources.

So this is my last resort. This blog is purely intended as a communication platform that will hopefully lead to more information.
Should you, dear reader, be in possession of any bit of information regarding Ulrike, I would greatly appreciate you sharing it with me, and with that the whole world, so I can ultimately change this blog's title to something along the lines of "The Ultimate And Only Source On The Net For All Things Ulrike". Together, maybe we can fill a huge overlooked hole in the world wide web.
To increase the chance at any kind of success with this obvious long shot, I will post whatever I already DO know, along with pictures and anything else that may trigger someone else's memory or interest.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Uli in HD #4

Unexpectedly, a Blu-ray was released in Germany of "Junge Mädchen mögen's Heiss, Hausfrauen noch Heisser", also known as "Hot Dogs und Bananeneis", starring Ingrid Steeger and Ulrike Butz.

As this German film from 1973 never saw a home video release since VHS, I was excited to add it to my collection. Ulrike in high definition is always a treat! However, there are some issues.

The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, but the source is obviously a somewhat faded print. This results in skin tones being on the magenta side and plenty of jump cuts due to missing frames. Scratches and tramlines are also present throughout.

Moreover, the entire film is washed in a yellow hue, which could have been easily fixed.

Contrast is off as well, making blacks rather grey, while whites are mostly crushed.

Screenshots below were taken with my phone as the disc is copy protected. Trust me, they look a lot better than the actual disc.

Overall, I applaud any kind of new release featuring Ulrike and I wish many more would see the light of day. This one is limited to 1000 (numbered) pieces, so better hurry should you want it anyway.

Ulrike looks stunning in this!

EDIT:

Apparently this release is also cut by 2 minutes, see the comment section.

In September Cargo released a limited DVD based on the same film print as the blu-ray. Sadly no color correction was applied, but they chose to include the missing parts from a VHS source, making this edition uncut.

2 comments:

Tian1806 said...: Hello Peter,

it is not only the picture quality that is disappointed, also the release is cut by 2 Min.

The Bed-Scene with Ulrike is cut over a minute (mostly dialog). But I'm anyway happy to get it on Blu-ray.

Greetings,

Uli; November 9, 2023 at 7:19 AM
PeGo said...: Thanks Uli, I didn't know that! What a shame...; November 25, 2023 at 5:22 AM