Private Screening Collection
Liberation Entertainment
R1 DVD
Shock DVD
R4 Release
Virtually
unseen in the States since its production in 1992, Pornorama has been rescued
from the vaults to offer us the documentary series on DVD for the first time.
It is offered in its original standard video presentation of 1.33:1 with mono stereo
sound and since a lot of the interviews were done “on site” don’t expect it to
be perfect, but it gets the job done. If it looks like a porn film from the
period what would you expect ?
Pornorama
is an amusing yet insightful documentary into the x-rated adult film industry.
Presented by legendary porn star and producer Ron Jeremy and porn star Alexis
Devell, it was directed and written by Paul Norman - the man responsible for such
truly unusual X rated films as Bi & Beyond and Edward Penishands. (For some
reason Norman has a penchant for prosthetics in so many of his films).
Pornorama
asks these adult actors the tough questions. What do porn stars do when they’re
not on set? How did they get into the industry? What do their families think? Jeremy
had an amazingly relaxed style. Perhaps because of his self deprecating humour
and ability to put people at ease he is able to ask quite remarkable questions. For example when Interviewing
Marcello while a sex scene goes on in the background, Jeremy asks, "That's
your girlfriend getting a dick in the old pussy!" looking for a reaction.
He confronts people on the toilet and in the most sensitive of positions and asks
them lots of probing questions, including about their own sexual identity. A
subject most seem to avoid answering.
It
is also fascinating to note that in 1992 most believed their families did not
know what they did for a living as VCR’s were not in great demand. I am sure
these performers will now find it very different in the age of DVD and internet
distribution. It will be a shock to see Mum or Grannie on the internet doing the
nasty Eighties style !
Each
episode is 30 minutes and usually involves visiting the sites of a number of
films in productions. Some discussions are technical such as the significance of
pre filming enema. Poor old Francesca Le, who refuses to use pre-scene enemas,
is interrupted a couple of times when things get a little messy ! While others
cover personal lives and relationships.
There
are some very spooky moments. Jeremy, for example, asks Cal Jammer “So if there
ever came a time that your dick stopped working, what would you do?,” to which
Cal jokingly replies, “Kill myself.” Sadly that is exactly what happened three
years later…
Surprisingly
while this is an adult series, it is not especially explicit, it generally
avoids showing anything that could be construed as XXX and focuses on the
interviews and discussions. Most of the shots cut off before penetration but
there is a lot of nudity, so look forward to seeing such classic porn stars as Samantha
Strong, Chantilly Lace, Brittany O’Connell, Shayla LeVeaux, and Alicia Rio in
this entertaining as well as informative series.
This review will appear in Volume 2 No.3
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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