My review was written in May 1981 after a Times Square screening:
"Tanya's Island" is the latest screen version of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, only this time done as a skin flick. Director Alfred Sole avoids hardcore porn footage, but frequent nudity and violent sex scenes strain the limits of pic' R rating.
Elliptical script penned by producer Pierre Brousseau gives the film an unfinished quality -many scenes end tentatively with fadeouts and pic becomes tedious with inclusion of lengthy connective scenes wherein cast merely wanders around. Fantasy story is bookended by scenes in Toronto where Tanya (model and actress D. D. Winters) is a tv commercials model involved with an artist. Picture unfolds as her dream/nightmare, set on a remote, idyllic island.
Island episodes have Tanya making love or quarreling with the artist Lobo (Richard Sargent) while exploring the jungle and befriending a massive but empathetic ape there, which she names Blue (Don McCleod) because of its unusual blue eyes. Lobo and Blue become locked in a repetitive contest with Tanya as the prize, ending in the ape imitating man's violent behavior and raping her.
Plotline is thinnest excuse for Sole to show off Winters' undraped form. Plentiful nudity will satisfy voyeurs, but the acting scenes are crude and laughable. Plodding pace makes film most suitable for drive-ins, where uneventful segments will find patrons visiting the concession stand. The ape makeup by Rick Baker and Rob Bottin is expert and convincing, but their creation has little to do. Island scenery, filmed in Puerto Rico, makes a pretty backdrop for the lovely charms of Winters. Sole gives a nod to his forebears by opening and closing the film with footage from "Mighty Joe Young".
