It's been 30 years since Dick Fisk, Al Parker, Chad Benson and Casey Donovan "holed" up in a cabin in Aspen and taught ski instructor Jeff Turk a thing or two about hitting the slopes. The Other Side of Aspen was actually filmed on film, but the advent of home entertainment in the form of the VCR got a huge boost when Falcon put Aspen on a videocassette. It signaled the birth of modern porn. (One has to wonder how the world would be different today if Falcon had chosen the Betamax format.)

The 10 cast members of Winter Heat were not even born then. They're not in Aspen, they're in the resort of Otevreno in the Czech Republic, enjoying winter sports. The forms of wintry outdoor entertainment offered at their particular playground are completely foreign to me, since I live in a place where it never snows, but once they venture indoors, the activities become more familiar.

Several of the cast members get together for a game of pool, wearing only their undies. Benjamin Bloom plays class clown, snatching balls off the table and dropping them into his Ginch Gonch briefs, or straddling the table to offer his crotch as a bridge for whomever needs to take the next shot. Eventually every wanders away except for Bloom, Jack Robbins and Andreas Mouskouri. Blooms briefs disgorge the stolen balls, and a couple of others. Robbins sucks Bloom to a quick orgasm, then Bloom, unwilted by his climax, fucks Mouskouri. Robbins also fucks Mouskouri and Bloom fucks Robbins to bring things to a close.

Another day hard at play leaves some of the lads tired, while others are still raring to go. For Lukas Pokorny, a solitary wank in the shower is what the doctor ordered; for Robbins, Mouskouri, Bolek Polanski, Thierry Aulin and Trevor Yates, an orgy is called for. It's all oral and ends with a satisfying nut for all.

Skiing is on the agenda next, but Polanski and Todd Rosset prefer to skip the skis in favor of some tender horseplay in the snow flurries, followed by a romp in the bedroom. It's an affectionate tryst with good chemistry, in which Rosset bottoms.

His day of skiing leaves Aulin horny. He thinks he can grab a quick j/o in the shower, but he's interrupted. Drying himself, he sneaks into the bedroom where Mouskouri and Yates are sleeping, still jerking his cock. Unable to rouse them, he moves on to Joe Donovan's room, and discovers that Joe, too, is looking for quick sexual relief. They satisfy each other's needs with mutual blow jobs, after which Joe fucks Thierry.

Work intrudes on play when the cabin runs out of wood (the kind that comes from trees, certainly not the other kind) and the boys have to carry in firewood from outdoors. Yates make an offer that Rafael Bianchi cannot refuse, and after a quick make-out session they wend their way up the spiral staircase to an available bedroom. Bianchi is the top, and he and Trevor cum in each other's mouths.

In the sauna, Donovan and Rosset grow hardons for each other, but it's too hot for sex, so they shower off and head to bed. No sexual versatility here: Donovan is still a top and Rosset is still a bottom.

Bloom is evidently a fan of threesomes. In the film's final scene he enlists Bianchi and Pokorny for a fireside frolic, which is deftly choreographed so that each of them has an opportunity to top and to bottom.

With so many studios today cutting costs by releasing shorter films with only four scenes, Winter Heat offers seven scenes and a 2 1/2-hour main feature. The models are unabashed in the enjoyment they take of each other, and their teeth are perfect. Bloom is a stud with body that would complement marble. The lack of rimming or ass play was my only disappointment.

The DVD has scene selection with fetish submenus, photo gallery, behind the scenes (interviews) and a trailer for Grand Prix.

review posted Feb. 20, 2008