Porno Manifesto will change your view on porn films

Numerous people still have a lot of reservations when it comes to watching porn films. They perceive them as something dirty and think that they are watched only by people who are perverse and immoral. That is why we recommend the book Porno Manifesto which was written by a French porn diva Ovidie several years ago. Let us look at what the book is actually about and why it might change your view on porn films and industry.

Ovidie, born in 1980 in France, a persistent feminist and a graduate in philosophy, is convinced that porn business is good for a woman's self-confidence and erotic films do not humiliate women. She is also convinced that every woman should make time to enjoy her sexual life if she wants to be a real woman. So at the beginning, Ovidie is convinced that watching and shooting porn films is a good thing. It is these films that raise self-confidence in women. Moreover, acting in such films turns a woman into a real woman. Of course, this is an exaggerated statement because a real woman does not need to prove her sexuality in that way, but Ovidie has her own mind and speaks from her experience. The reason she speaks in such a provocative way is that she is a porn star and she wants to enlighten women in her own unique way.

From promotional material:

Prepare to be corrupted and depraved once more as Nucleus Films releases the definitive guide to the Video Nasties phenomenon - one of the most extraordinary and scandalous eras in the history of British film.

For the first time ever on DVD, TRAILERS to all 72 films that fell foul of the Director of Public Prosecutions are featured with specially filmed intros for each title in a lavish three-disc collector s edition box-set, alongside a brand new documentary - VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP AND VIDEOTAPE.

Disc One presents the 39 titles which were successfully prosecuted in UK courts and deemed liable to deprave and corrupt.

Disc Two presents the 33 titles that were initially banned, but then subsequently acquitted and removed from the DPP's list.

Disc Three This era-defining documentary features interviews with filmmakers Ruggero Deodato ( Cannibal Holocaust ) Neil Marshall ( The Descent , Doomsday ), Christopher Smith ( Severance , Black Death ) and MP Graham Bright as well as rare archive footage featuring James Ferman (director of the BBFC 1975-1999) & Mary Whitehouse. Taking in the explosion of home video, the erosion of civil liberties, the introduction of draconian censorship measures, hysterical press campaigns and the birth of many careers born in blood and videotape, West s documentary also reflects on the influence this peculiar era still exerts on us today.

Extras include a gallery of original video company idents and extensive gallery of lurid cover art for every video nasty.

Possession is a 1981 French/W German horror by Andrzej Zulawski

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2010 Second Sight R2 DVD at UK Amazon for release on 25th October 2010
• UK 1999 Visual VHS

Previously VTC released the film on VHS in September 1982. It was banned as a video nasty in September 1983.

In September 1984 it was cleared of obscenity in a jury trial and was removed from the list. VTC re-released the film with a toned down cover in December 1984.

Review from UK Amazon: Art Horror

Possession is totally extraordinary. Packed with symbolism it can be read on so many possible levels of interpretation it's bewildering.

Set in a European city (obviously Berlin during it's partition) in an alienating mixture of ultra modern buildings and decaying grandeur, visually it evokes a sense of dislocation.

Thematically, it seems to be a study of a marriage in the last phase of destruction, with Sam Neill returning from doing a msterious job (spying?) and meeting his wife played by Isabelle Adjani, whose agitated reaction to his arrival only hints at the deep levels of disturbance she enacts as the film progresses.

What follows is a nightmarish and surreal two hours of startling images, bizarre acting and frequent bloodletting.

If you liked Antichrist you will be interested to see a lot of similar themes in Possession - misogyny, madness, faith, evil and lust permeate a fractured dreamscape.

Possession is as challenging an art-horror as I've ever seen.

Joy is a 1983 Canada/France erotic drama by Sergio Bergonzelli. See IMDb

Severin have located a longer version which is uncut for the US 2010 Severin R1 DVD available at US Amazon  for release on 27th July 2010.

In the UK, the BBFC cut 39s from the 1984 cinema release. The same cut version was released for the 1993-94 VHS versions.

From promotional material from severin-films.com:

Her name was Joy Laurey, the pseudonym of the French-American supermodel whose 1981 autobiography became the most scandalous erotic memoir of the decade.

Two years later, executive producer Benjamin Simon brought Joy's saga to the screen. Succulent Canadian starlet Claudia Udy leaves nothing to the imagination as the globetrotting celebrity whose passion for men, women and strangers – in any combination – shatters every sexual taboo.

Joy has been now completely restored from a print discovered in the screening room of a Paris brothel and is presented uncut and uncensored – including the complete Secret Orgy Dungeon sequence – for the first time ever in America.

The Wicked Pictures' spectacular film presentation, Fallen, has won the Best R18 DVD Award at this year's ETO Show held at the NEC in Birmingham.

Starring Jessica Drake and Brad Armstrong, Fallen is a four disc extravaganza, superbly packaged and rich in extras. An erotic masterpiece comes to life as the movie tells the tale of a fallen Angel (Jessica Drake) who has been banished to Earth and stripped of her wings after the accidental death of the young woman she was sent to watch over.

Alone and desperate for companionship, she finds it in the city's seedy underworld, far from the idyllic heavens she once knew. On her dark journey through sinful and perverse places, she discovers a glimmer of light in Keith (Brad Armstrong), a handsome mortal.

The question is.... can Angel regain her wings or has she fallen for the last time, doomed to live out her days trapped in the purgatory she now calls home? Fallen is distributed exclusively in the U.K. by Nice 'n' Naughty Wholesale and you can find out the answer to Angel's predicament at any of Nice 'n' Naughty's stores in Aberystwyth, Bangor, Bolton, Brighton, Bristol, Chester, Leeds, Liverpool (2), Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Southport, Warrington, Wednesbury, Wigan.

Nice 'n' Naughty director, Simon Prescott, commented, Fallen is an unforgettable film with mind-blowing sex scenes and a screenplay that delivers 'till the very last frame so I can understand why it's won this prestigious award. I'd very much like to express my gratitude to everyone who voted for it.

Here's the (unofficial?) list of award winners for 2010.

Congratulations to all.

Best stand in the Show - Fever
Best R18 DVD - Fallen - Wicked Pictures
Best gay R18 DVD - Young British Hoodies 2 - Rentboy UK
Best Adult Product - We-Vibe II
Best Consumable - ID. Glide
Best Film Brand - TVX
Best Gay Film Brand - Eurocreme
Best Sex Toy Brand - Fetish Fantasy
Best Erotic Book Brand - Excite Books
Best Erotic Clothing Brand - Cottelli
Best R18 DVD Distributor - Erigo
Best Erotic Goods Distributor - Net 1 on 1
Best Overseas Distributor - Scala
Best Lingerie Distributor - Blue Moon
Best Retail Chain - Nice N Naughty
Best Individual Store - Soho Original (Brewer St)
Best Online Retailer - Love Honey
Best Online Resource - Melonfarmers.co.uk
Best online Affilate Programme - Net 1 on 1
Innovation in Adult - Sex in the Shower
Best Sales Team - ABS
Services to the Industry - Jane Bowles

Death Race 2000 is a 1975 US action/Sci-Fi by Paul Bartel. See IMDb

The BBFC passed it 15 uncut in 2008.

Before that it was passed 18 uncut for all UK previous videos and DVDs.

The BBFC cut the 1975 cinema release

From cuts details on IMDb

• cut to remove a head crushing scene
• edited shots of blood spurts from the car killings
• cuts to a man's groin being stabbed with Joe's bayonet.

Review from UK Amazon: Cult Classic

I've ridiculed many a Roger Corman film in my time, but I have nothing but love for his 1975 B-movie triumph Death Race 2000 (although, to be fair, most of the credit should go to director Paul Bartel). In this brilliant black comedy satire, Corman gives us what we want - fast cars, hot naked gals, and lots of glorified violence, not to mention brilliant performances by David Carradine and a pre-Rambo Sylvester Stallone - and all with a budget of only 300 grand.

In this futuristic vision of the year 2000, America has devolved into something of a fascist police state called the United Provinces, ruled from overseas by Mr. President (Sandy McCallum) who, like all good dictators, has established an external outlet for whatever bloodlust, anger, and general discontent that may exist among the populace. Enter the Transcontinental Road Race, better known as the Death Race. Now in its 20th iteration, this fierce competition pits the greatest, most fearless drivers in the land racing from New York to New Los Angeles. Lest any visions of Cannonball Run threaten to run your head, know this: the beauty of the Death Race is the fact that extra points are awarded for any and all innocent spectators you kill along the way, with children and seniors bringing in the most points.

From euthanasia day at the hospital to the wickedly tripped-out cars designed for human carnage as well as speed, Death Race 2000 is a tour de force of B-movie entertainment. Carradine's amazing, Stallone's a brilliant bonus, the supporting cast make hay with even the smallest of parts, and Simone Griffeth is fun to watch both in and out of her clothes. Death Race 2000 is the epitome of cult classic.

Darkman is a 1990 US film by Sam Raimi. See IMDb

The film has just been released in the US for the first time on Blu-ray.

Meanwhile the UK DVD is still suffering BBFC cuts inflicted several years ago. Unfortunately the cut UK DVD was also used for European releases too.

The BBFC cut 2s for an 18 rating for:

• The deleted seconds are missing from the start when Durant turns up at the warehouse. Eddie Black's henchmen start walking toward the camera (to frisk Durant's men) and there is a shot of one of them swinging some nunchukas. The BBFC were sensitive to nunchukas so we are denied this shot.

Review from US Amazon: Entertaining

Sam Raimi, brilliant director of the cult classic Evil Dead trilogy and the current blockbuster Spider-Man, directed this entertaining action yarn hot on the heels of 1989's hit Batman. While many saw Darkman as a Batman rip off (sort of), Raimi's talented directorial skills gave Darkman a personality of its own.

Liam Neeson (before he hit it big) stars as scientist Peyton Westlake, who has developed a synthetic skin, only problem is, it can only hold for 99 minutes before it deteriorates. When his lab is destroyed by Robert Durant (Larry Drake), Peyton is blasted into a nearby harbor. He is left horribly scarred, but when he recovers he uses the synthetic skin to get his revenge on his would be murderers while trying to get back with his girlfriend (Frances McDormand).

Darkman is really entertaining and is a great twist on superhero movies, Neeson shines as the tortured soul hero, while McDormand is great as his girlfriend. Recommended to those looking for a comic style movie with a twist.

Showgirls is a 1995 US drama by Paul Verhoeven. See IMDb

In the US, MGM have just released Showgirls on Blu-ray with an uncut NC-17 rating.

All UK video/DVD releases still suffer 17s of BBFC cuts. The BBFC justified the cuts back in 1999:

More problematic was Showgirls, an expose of the seamy side of Las Vegas, with a prurient emphasis on exploitative nudity, which was not only the subject of the film but its main selling point. In such a context, the sadistic gang rape of the only wholly sympathetic character in the film seemed unnecessarily extended and sensationalised. The rape was trimmed for cinema, and trimmed further for video, since the price of the rape could be adequately conveyed by the sight of the battered and bleeding victim.

The cuts are all in the scene where Carver rapes Molly as mentioned above:

1. Carver slapping and punching Molly just before we see Molly being pushed back on the bed.
2. Carver slapping Molly's rear, then starting to rape her
3. Interlaced shot of Nomi dancing with Zack is cut just before they kiss.
4. The following 7s shot of the rape is totally eliminated.

Review from UK Amazon: A Cult Classic

Showgirls is an excellent cult film. Its filled with terrible dialogue delivered by actors in performances that they'd surely rather forget. Paul Verhoeven - usually a top notch director - fails spectacularly with his fourteenth film and the script by Joe Eszterhas is laughable.

It stars Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone (She's alone in the world, get the joke?), an ambitious young woman who has dreams of becoming a famous dancer in Las Vegas. Berkley's performance is something else. She smiles, she pouts, she shouts, she screams, she gyrates, she vomits, and often all of the above in the same scene. She is joined by Gina Gershon and Kyle MacLachlan, both similarly hamming it up to the extreme as Berkley's fellow dancer and the Entertainment Director respectively. Glenn Plummer also waves goodbye to any credibility in his performance as Berkley's quasi-love interest.

From reading this review you may wonder why I have given it five stars. The reason is this: You will never be more entertained in your life. It is hilarious, outrageous, ridiculous, completely unrealistic, shallow, stupid and ultimately a misunderstood masterpiece of everyone involved in the production doing everything wrong in perfect synchronicity.

A great piece of trash, go on, come over to the dark side!

Porn Diaries aka 9to5: Days in Porn is a 2008 Germany documentary by Jens Hoffmann. See IMDb

The BBFC cut 5:03s from the 2010 TLA DVD, commenting: Company chose to remove clear images of explicit sexual detail during the filming of scenes for sex works and in clips from sex works. An R18 was available with these images uncut. Six compulsory cuts were also required to remove images of abusive and potentially harmful sexual activity.

The US MPAA Unrated 2010 Strand R1 DVD claims to be uncensored:

The 18 Rated German GoodMovies R2 DVD is also likely to be uncut

Review from US Amazon: Titillating, realistic, sensitive

Strand Releasing brings us a new look at the porn industry with 9 to 5: Days in Porn, a titillating, realistic, sensitive film. It is a look at the people who work in adult films. Filming took place over a year and we get ten different stories that go deep into the personal lives of porn stars. Pornography is big business and big money and is now part of mainstream life and has become quite fashionable.

What we want to know is what kind of people make porn movies---what motivates them and how long can they last? Does porn affect their personalities and their private lives? The porn world is small and there seems to be a family like feeling among the people who work in it.

The film does not glorify porn or porn stars but rather it is an honest look at the industry. It is real and totally unbiased and no conclusions are drawn. Of course the movie does titillate but that is because the actors themselves do but that was not the purpose. There are so many misconceptions about porn that perhaps this film may change your mind but we must admit that porn seems to be here to stay.

Marked for Death is a 1990 US action film by Dwight Little. See IMDb

The uncut US R Rated Version has just been released by 20th Century Fox on Region A Blu-ray

The UK Version is still suffering 18s of cuts:

1. The night-time raid on Screwface's house in Jamaica, has lost another arm-break (6 secs)- this occurs just before Seagal faces Screwface's twin brother.
2. The end battle between Seagal and Screwface has been cut in two places - firstly a close-up of Seagal gouging out Screwface's eyes is missing (3 secs) and then a few seconds later a vicious back-break (9 secs) after the two have crashed through the stone wall.

See review from IMDb: Favourite

I cannot believe this film got such bad ratings as it is one of my favourite action flicks of all time.

Marked for Death has Steven Seagal playing John Hatcher a cop whose out for revenge against a gang of Jamaican drug dealers. The film has some terrific action sequences and set pieces, example being the shopping centre fight which really showcases Seagal's talents. This has excellent pacing as well as good location shoots. The score for Marked for Death is amazing, suiting the film so well, giving it the right sinister kind of atmosphere. The voodoo elements were cool, Screwface has to be one of the best villains and the twist at the end is unexpected.

The only minor flaw with this film is that the beginning in Mexico is a little ropey.

Among the contenders for the Michael Powell award for best new British feature is Brilliantlove, a striking debut by Ashley Horner and this year's hot sex in cinema shock.

It's certainly the most explicit British film since Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs, featuring really sweaty, ecstasy-fuelled sex between leads Liam Browne and Nancy Trotter Landry.

I don't know if it's real sex – which always gets people in a bit of moral lather – but it certainly feels authentic, almost musty.

He's an amateur photographer called Manchester, she's a taxidermist called Noon, they live in a garage and in truth, as characters they're a bit forced and annoying (particularly him). But there's no denying the poetic headiness of the sex scenes nor the serious intentions of the film's ideas about privacy, art, exploitation and porn.

The New Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort and Susan Quilliam won the 2010 Erotic Award for the best publication.

Susan Quilliam took Alex Comfort's original best-seller and made it thoroughly modern, sensitive and inclusive.

The illustrations are beautiful and make the book bountiful. We think The New Joy of Sex should make an important contribution to end the sexual ignorance which prevails in our society and around the world and propose it should become required reading in all schools, colleges and homes, including homes for older people.

Otto; Or Up With Dead People is a 2008 Germany/Canada gay comedy horror by Bruce La Bruce

Passed 18 uncut for the 2010 Peccadillo DVD with the BBFC comment: Contains strong real sex and strong violence.

Review from UK Amazon: Political gay zombie movie

I have long been a devoted admirer of Bruce LaBruce's work, and for me, OTTO is unquestionably his finest piece yet. That said, this film is absolutely *not* going to appeal to everyone.

In a film-within-a-film, Medea Yarn is making an indie political-gay-zombie movie, with the aid of her girlfriend, Hella Bent, and her brother Adolf. The setting: the not-too-distant future, where the undead are commonplace, and, in particular, the homophile undead.

Otto, a young zombie, is subliminally drawn to Berlin, and onto the set of Medea's movie, where he is quickly cast into a lead role... though the cast don't believe that he is a real zombie, and think he's just living the role. Otto has flashbacks to his life before he joined the ranks of the undead, but can't remember how or why it happened (I was a zombie with an identity crisis). He is isolated, persecuted, lonely, displaced, shunned even by conformist-gays... and has come to the anonymity of the city for refuge. He is housed by one of the other cast members, Fritz, who is evidently attracted to him. Will Otto find love, sanctuary... assimilation?

At the level of the image, the viewer may find enough (highly-explicit) male/male action, and gory entrails-eating (you'll need a strong stomach), to keep him/her watching... though ultimate satisfaction will perhaps be elusive, since there will be no final resolution; and the boy-meets-zombie, boy-and-zombie-fall-in-love, boy-loses-zombie, boy-finds-zombie, story arcs do not play out as expected.

China may be one of the world's most Internet-repressive regimes. But its Great Firewall is a clumsy and ineffective tool compared with the subtle information control techniques developed over the last few years by Russia and many of the former Soviet states.

That's one of the conclusions of Access Controlled, a new book out from the Open Net Initiative, a consortium of academics focused on free speech and government interactions with the Internet. A sequel to Access Denied, the Open Net Initiative's 2008 report on the state of global Internet censorship, one of the book's theses is that government control of the Internet has shifted from directly blocking sites to slicker ways of repressing dissidents online.

China and Iran still filter the most content online, according to the ONI. In its country-by-country survey of Internet filtering. But while states like Russia and Belarus perform much less of what the ONI calls first generation or Chinese-style filtering, they're increasingly adept at second and third generation control of the Web.

Second generation censorship, as ONI authors Ronald Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski define it in an early chapter, includes tricks like requiring Web site owners to register with the government and using the process to weed out dissident sites with red tape, a tactic often used in Kazakhstan and Belarus. In Belarus and Uzbekistan, veracity and slander laws are used as a pretense for shutting down dissident sites.