Film Screenings / Programs / Series
IN THE FLESH
December 5 – December 8
December 5 - 8, 2013
ALL ON 35MM!
Between the age of softcore sexploitation and today’s plethora of Internet porn was the period affectionately known as ‘porno chic’ (1972-75), when sexually explicit films mixed hardcore sex with top-notch production values and compelling stories. These films appealed to the raincoat crowd, adventurous couples, and even mainstream critics. While the moment of commercial acceptance of hardcore was brief, the films themselves continued to improve both aesthetically and technically during what is now known as the ‘Golden Age’ of adult cinema. This fleeting moment came to an abrupt end with the introduction of video which replaced 35mm and 16mm film production in the mid-‘80s. The adult film industry of the ‘70s and ‘80s was filled with talented filmmakers, artists, actors, and technicians learning their craft in a business that paid well and provided opportunities for creativity and experimentation within the loose parameters of what constituted a ‘skin flick’. Legitimate actors in search of challenging work (and a little fun) soon became X-rated superstars.
Over the years, home video has continued to introduce these films to new audiences, but very rarely are they screened in their original film formats for a theatrical audience. Anthology is proud to introduce a continuing series spotlighting the very best of adult cinema from the 1970s and 1980s, with every screening featuring appearances by special guests – filmmakers, performers, or crew members, as well as critics, scholars, and other participants in the ‘Golden Age’ of adult cinema.
This first installment includes four one-time-only screenings of a quartet of beloved X-rated classics from the library of Distribpix, the home of many of the best adult features shot in NYC during the ‘Golden Age’, all screening from 35mm prints and presented by guests who will provide revealing glimpses into the making of the films as well as the general adult film scene in New York.
Curated by Casey Scott. Very special thanks to Steven Morowitz (Distribpix) and Joe Rubin (Vinegar Syndrome).
Danny Steinmann
HIGH RISE
1972, 65 min, 35mm
“Visually inventive filmmaking of a sophisticated and highly self-conscious kind.” –Kenneth TuranThe same year that the landmark DEEP THROAT initiated the ‘porno chic’ phase, a sexier, funnier, better-produced comedy appeared in the wake of Gerard Damiano’s feature-length dirty joke. Until recently it has only been championed by the most devoted adult film aficionados, but the time has come for HIGH RISE to be appreciated for the masterpiece that it is. Directed over the course of two and a half days by the late Danny Steinmann (‘Danny Stone’), who would make 80s genre classics like SAVAGE STREETS and FRIDAY THE 13TH, PART V: A NEW BEGINNING, this utterly charming misadventure follows Susie, a young woman advised by her psychiatrist to explore her sexual boundaries by bouncing door-to-door in a high rise apartment building and pursuing liaisons with whoever answers. A slight storyline is enlivened by plentiful sight gags, pop-culture inside jokes, and a variety of wildly cartoonish characters as we make our way through the high rise with wide-eyed Susie. With surprising bits of meta humor, a delightful leading lady in Tamie Trevor, appearances by porn legends Harry Reems, Jamie Gillis, and Marc Stevens, cameos by Geri Miller (Paul Morrissey’s FLESH and TRASH) and Rita Bennett (the films of Joseph Sarno), and the best original score you’ve never heard, this is one of the most purely pleasurable adult features you will ever see. Watch it with someone you love.
Thurs, Dec 5 at 8:00
Jonas Middleton
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
1976, 91 min, 35mm
“A particularly deviant homage to Fellini, Ken Russell, Roger Vadim, and about a dozen other European directors, all served up in the context of a genuinely creepy horror film.” –Nathaniel Thompson, MONDO DIGITALMiddleton’s disturbing exploration of an unhappily married woman’s fascination with a mysterious mirror in her mansion’s attic is the adult film genre’s sole psychological horror film. While the title implies a porno variant of Lewis Carroll’s classic story of Alice venturing into Wonderland, Middleton instead weaves a tale of incest, child abuse, and mental anguish, with the visual style and storytelling of a Gothic horror tale set in a sprawling, shadowy family estate. Catherine Burgess stars as Catherine, a pillar of high society whose impossibly perfect facade conceals an unhealthy obsession with an evil entity haunting her home, which takes on the persona of her late father. As her life begins to crumble around her, she is offered one chance to reunite with dear dead dad…for a price…. Expertly photographed by future Hollywood cinematographer João Fernandes (‘Harry Flecks’), boasting a cast of some of the best actors in the New York adult film scene of the mid-70s (Jamie Gillis, Terri Hall, Roger Caine, Kim Pope, Nancy Dare, Jeffrey Hurst, Bobby Astyr), and accented by a mesmerizing score courtesy of Arlon Ober and future FRIDAY THE 13TH composer Harry Manfredini, THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS is a horrific gem waiting to be rediscovered by contemporary audiences.
Fri, Dec 6 at 8:00
Armand Weston
TAKE OFF
1978, 103 min, 35mm
“Truly ideal entertainment for men and women, and would make an excellent introduction to the adult film world. It is one of the most entertaining adult films ever made, and proves that care and concern can create a classic motion picture.” –Jim Holliday, X-Rated Critics Association
Lavishly produced, impeccably acted and directed, and packed with smart references to classic Hollywood cinema, Weston’s adult comedy masterwork is often overshadowed by the films of Radley Metzger (THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN) when lists of the best adult films are compiled. A box office flop in its day, TAKE OFF is now considered one of the finest ‘Golden Age’ adult features. Loosely based on Oscar Wilde’s THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, Weston’s tale follows Darrin Blue (future disco singer and soap star Wade Nichols), a dashing man of great social stature who has remained eternally young since the 1920s by keeping a magical stag reel in his attic. During his journey through the decades, Nichols encounters some of the greatest adult film actresses of the era, including Georgina Spelvin as a silent-era flapper, Clea Carson as a gangster’s moll, Annette Haven as a film noir femme fatale, Susaye London as a teenie-bopper, Beth Anna as a hippie, and finally Lesllie Bovee as a modern woman of the 1970s. Additional highlights include a surprising cameo by Warhol star Holly Woodlawn, an original score by John Lennon’s one-time band Elephant’s Memory, and appearances from adult film stars Vanessa del Rio and Eric Edwards. Fast and furiously funny, TAKE OFF is adult film comedy of the most sophisticated and romantic variety.
Sat, Dec 7 at 8:00
Larry Revene
WANDA WHIPS WALL STREET
1981, 82 min, 35mm
“Truly has everything going for it, from an inspired and genuinely witty screenplay to an immaculately professional big name cast at the top of their form.” –Dries Vermeulen, Dirty Movie Devotee
Revene, one of the busiest and best cinematographers on the NYC adult film scene, struck out on his own with a handful of charming sex comedies, of which this is arguably his finest. Hailed by many as the greatest adult film actress of all time, Veronica Hart shines as Wanda Brandt, a small town financial wizard who treks to NYC to work her magic at one of the top investment firms in the city. Teaming with her girl Friday Janie (the ever-underrated Tish Ambrose), Wanda sleeps her way through the company’s stock holders, blackmailing them into signing their shares over to her dummy corporation. Corporate investigator Lou Perrini (Jamie Gillis) and his assistant Ed (Ron Jeremy) set out to uncover the culprits behind this spree of Wall Street espionage, only to fall in love with the women responsible. Featuring appearances by adult film legends Samantha Fox, George Payne, Sharon Mitchell, Ron Hudd, and cult favorite Sondra Hillman, a dynamite library music score, and scenes that look to have actually been secretly shot on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, this is a wild and wonderful example of New York erotica from its most professional period of production. Occupy Wall Street has nothing on Wanda!
Sun, Dec 8 at 8:00
