CLASSIC PORN A-Z
You will find contents and photos of the FEATURE FILM's A-Z HERE.
Abbreviations:
H = Hetero, S = Gay, L = Lesbian, T = Transgender,
NX = does not contain explicit sex scenes, X = contains explicit sex scenes,
D = documentary film, FT = Fetish, SW = Sexwork
(films on this year's special theme sex work & prostitution),
F = films made by female directors
The Opening of Misty Beethoven / H X
25.10., 16:15, Kant 1
26.10., 16:15, Eiszeit 2
USA, 1976, 90 minutes, Radley Metzger, English original version
Admit it, you love watching vintage porn
By Adrienne So in "Rasputin reviews"
...Porn's golden age was in the late sixties and early seventies, before plastic surgery became something that you could get done in between your hair and shoe-shopping appointments. It features, among other things, real bodies. Just as today, burlesque dancing attempts to elevate a traditionally lowbrow art form (Scarlett Johansen takes classes!), golden age filmmakers such as Radley Metzger attempted to make good films, that only coincidentally happened to involve sex...
...The cinematographer in "The Opening of Misty Beethoven", for example, ended up winning an Oscar a few months later (although he did his porn work under a different name). Misty Beethoven's actors wear recognizable namebrand designers - one scene features Misty in a Chanel suit! - and has sets in Paris and Rome. Most of all, however, the script for "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" has a plot and a wit that I, a certified literature major from a celebrated American university, can understand and appreciate.
The plot: best-selling author and sex expert Seymour Love - tell me that isn't brilliant! - is accosted by cheap hooker Misty Beethoven in a movie theater in Paris. He's grossed out by her proposition, but intrigued by her raw appeal, and makes a bet with his best friend Geraldine that he can turn Misty Beethoven into the toast of the town, the next
Golden Rod Girl, as awarded by high-faluting magazine editor Lawrence Layman. The movie wanders through exquisite sets - art galleries, Seymour's luxurious and very seventiesmod New York apartment, opera houses - in which Misty undergoes some pretty raunchy and original training montages. As Misty comes closer and closer to winning the bet for him, Seymour finds himself falling in love with her. Any English major worth his salt can tell you: this is the plotline to "Pygmalion and Galatea", which was made into a musical with "My Fair Lady" and into another movie called "Pretty Woman", which, as you may recall, also involved a hooker. The Opening of Misty Beethoven, however, is sexier than those movies, obviously. Surprisingly enough, it is also funnier - such as the opening sequence, when Misty
Beethoven talks to Seymour for the first time. "Misty isn't my real name," she tells him. "I changed it to sound more important. " "From what?" Seymour asks. "Dolores Beethoven."
I thought this was hilarious. Okay, so maybe I'm stupid.
So why watch Misty Beethoven instead of "Pretty Woman"? Because edgy art forms can tackle more edgy material. Because Misty Beethoven is so well-made, and yet also a porn, it can tackle issues that I was surprised to see in a movie dating all the way back to 1976.
Not the endless number of sex acts - in fact, my friend remarked that those were the only parts that got a little boring. But long before "Will & Grace", Misty Beethoven deals with taboo topics such as adultery, homosexuality,
cross-dressing, and male-female power relationships in a way that's surprisingly liberated for its time.
At this time, Mary Tyler Moore was making shockwaves as an independent woman living alone in New York City. Misty Beethoven, on the other hand, was living alone in New York City, Paris and Rome. She has an affair with a gay man, who is actually gay - am I the only one who never, ever wants to see Will or Jack getting it on? - and manages to maintain a friendship with her lover's wife. And in the end, she falls for Seymour. "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" is in fact a love story, which doesn't ignore the fact that love does sometimes involve sex. And aren't most of us happy that it does, and that we don't sleep in separate beds, like Lucy and Ricky Ricardo? How did they explain how Lucy got pregnant on that show, anyway, by budding? But I get on my high horse whenever I talk about sexual liberation. The fact of the matter is, that the only good reason for having any hobby is that you enjoy it, and I do. It's not just because I like watching raunchy material, but also because I appreciate wit wherever it's found, and the darker and more obscure the place, the better. "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" is funny, and I recommend it. Just not while your parents are around.
Dr. Snake und die geilen Baby Dolls
(Original title: Spicker's Magic Wand) / H X
26.10., 16:15, Kant 1
27.10., 16:15, Eiszeit 2
USA, 1973, 78 minutes, Nanu Farlone, German dubbed version
German dubbed version of the 70s porn classic "Spicker's Magic Wand" with Harry Reems of "Deep Throat" fame and Georgina Spelvin, known from "The Devil in Miss Jones".
Katharina und ihre wilden Hengste - 1. Teil / H X
27.10., 16.15 Uhr, Kant 1
28.10., 16.15 Uhr, Eiszeit 2
Germany 1983, 90 minutes, Scott Hunt, German original version
"Katharina und ihre wilden Hengste - 1. Teil" was one of the most stunning high budget productions made in Germany. A fantastic Sandra Nova playing Katherine - The Great and hundreds of extras, many horses and big battle scenes make this
film into an unheard sensation.
Abbreviations:
H = Hetero, S = Gay, L = Lesbian, T = Transgender,
NX = does not contain explicit sex scenes, X = contains explicit sex scenes,
D = documentary film, FT = Fetish, SW = Sexwork
(films on this year's special theme sex work & prostitution),
F = films made by female directors
You will find contents and photos of the FEATURE FILM's A-Z HERE.