Whore (1992)

Director Ken Russell (Altered States) turns the world's oldest profession into the dullest. Theresa Russell (Black Widow), Valley Girl vowels in full throttle, takes the business of acting into new depressions as she gives the grand tour of the horrors of her job description, including an abusive pimp (Benjamin Mouton). Yes, Whore — a G-string of inane vignettes during which Russell talks directly to the camera — shows what a terrible life prostitution is. But the poor hooker, who doesn't have a brain cell to spare, is clearly on display for the audience's amusement and condescension.

Four video versions of Whore are in release; you'd think this was a scholarly restoration of ''Ben Hur.'' There's the NC-17 version that was released to theaters; the unrated version, which is five minutes longer; and the R version, which is five minutes shorter. The latter is also available under the coy title ''If You Can't Say It, Just See It.'' All four: F