Search - Bliss on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 02/11/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Japanese, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 42 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 16 Genres: Drama, Erotic Drama, Marriage Drama

A provocative drama about sex, love, and trust, Bliss concerns Joseph (Craig Sheffer) and Maria (Sheryl Lee), a young married couple whose relationship is in serious trouble. While they love each other, Maria has difficulty opening up to Joseph, and, after six months of marriage, he makes the unhappy discovery that she's been unable to have an orgasm with him (though she's been willing to let him think otherwise). At work, Joseph and his co-workers notice a steady stream of beautiful women visiting an apartment across the street; the scuttlebutt around the office is that some sort of shady sex therapist works out of the building. One day, Joseph is shocked to see Maria visiting the apartment, and he bursts in and demands to know what's happening. The apartment does indeed house an unlicensed sex therapist, who goes by the name of Balthazar (Terence Stamp), and, before long, Joseph realizes that Balthazar's teaching are about the mind as much as the body, and that he's less concerned with orgasm than with "bliss," which he considers an emotional and spiritual as well as physical state. Before long, Joseph has convinced Balthazar to teach him what he knows about tantric healing and sex, in the hope that he can help heal Maria's emotional scars, as well as help himself become a better man. Bliss was the debut feature for writer/director Lance Young. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Craig Sheffer - Joseph
Sheryl Lee - Maria
Terence Stamp - Baltazar
Casey Siemaszko - Tanner
Spalding Gray - Alfred

Lance Young's drama Bliss comes to DVD with a pair of transfers. The widescreen anamorphic transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is preferable to the standard full-frame image. The closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. English, Spanish, French, and Japanese subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include bonus trailers. This is a fine release from Columbia/TriStar. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide