Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pagePrivate Lessons (1980)
Director: Alan Myerson
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Anyone who enjoyed Steelyard Blues and waited patiently for Myerson's second big screen venture, might be tempted by this; but unless you're also a 15-year-old male virgin dreaming of being sexually initiated by your father's housekeeper, who just happens to be Sylvia Kristel, then forget it. This particular wet dream is wrapped in a vacuous blackmail plot (which enables the young hero to fantasise that he's fucked Sylvia to death, and her to reveal her heart of gold) and padded with lots of horrible Adult Oriented Rock (Clapton, Rod Stewart, etc). But Teen Oriented Voyeurism rules as the protagonist (Brown) stalks his prey (and her stand-in) armed with cameras, binoculars, and an overtly Oedipal mix of fear and desire.Author: SJ
Cast & crew
Director: Alan Myerson
Producer: R Ben Efraim
Cast: Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Eric Brown, Patrick Piccininni, Ed Begley Jr, Pamela Bryant full cast
Duration: 87 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now