JCR
01-26-2004, 09:24 PM
From melonfarmers: (http://www.melonfarmers.co.uk)
"Explict pornographic films from the silent era are to be screened in British cinemas after the chance discovery of 300 reels in the attic of a “very respectable family” in France.
Orgies, gay and lesbian sex and a dog flirting with a nun are among the subjects featured in the films, which date from 1905 to 1930.
Some of the hardcore material will startle the most blasé 21st-century viewer, even though it is in black and white with a tinkly piano, a spokeswoman for the BBFC said.
The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, stumbled across the collection while clearing out his attic. The films, edited into a 71-minute compilation called Good Old Naughty Days, were intended for screening in brothels and many of them star staff and clients. For obvious reasons, none of the participants wanted to be identified.
Michel Reihac, the project’s producer, said: It’s rather delightful to watch these ‘actors’ having to readjust their wigs and fake moustaches in the middle of their scenes so as not to be recognised. He added that the films were a part of the secret history of cinema. The bedroom callisthenics of modern porn are already here, but what comes as a surprise is quite how jolly and no-holds-barred the shenanigans are: malefemale, female-female and male-male.”
Right from the very first days of silent movies, the camera seems to have been the perfect voyeuristic tool to film people making love. An underground production system started taking shape very early on, allowing private collectors to satisfy their own secret passion for transgressive sexual footage. He noted that production standards were far in advance of films being made elsewhere at the time — as well as an inventive and often humorous array of diverse couplings
They were shown regularly in the waiting-rooms of sophisticated brothels. They also educated young men who would visit brothels on Sundays after Mass, “along with their uncles”. M Reihac said that they would watch the films to learn how to perform sexually. He added: They basically received a sexual education from these films and could go on to practise what they had learnt. By watching these films one can easily see that the modern porn industry did not invent anything. Everything had already been filmed by our great-grandparents.”
The films have been restored by the Centre National de la Cinématographie, the equivalent of the British Film Institute. Good Old Naughty Days has a restricted R18 classification, but arthouse cinemas can show the film with a special licence. The Other Cinema, near Leicester Square, in Central London, will show it on March 26. Other venues nationwide will follow."
Well I for one can't wait :D Well OK call me childish but the prospect of watching some hardcore at the arthouse while pretending it's meaningful because they 'readjust their wigs and fake moustaches' amuses me greatly. Ha ha.
"Explict pornographic films from the silent era are to be screened in British cinemas after the chance discovery of 300 reels in the attic of a “very respectable family” in France.
Orgies, gay and lesbian sex and a dog flirting with a nun are among the subjects featured in the films, which date from 1905 to 1930.
Some of the hardcore material will startle the most blasé 21st-century viewer, even though it is in black and white with a tinkly piano, a spokeswoman for the BBFC said.
The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, stumbled across the collection while clearing out his attic. The films, edited into a 71-minute compilation called Good Old Naughty Days, were intended for screening in brothels and many of them star staff and clients. For obvious reasons, none of the participants wanted to be identified.
Michel Reihac, the project’s producer, said: It’s rather delightful to watch these ‘actors’ having to readjust their wigs and fake moustaches in the middle of their scenes so as not to be recognised. He added that the films were a part of the secret history of cinema. The bedroom callisthenics of modern porn are already here, but what comes as a surprise is quite how jolly and no-holds-barred the shenanigans are: malefemale, female-female and male-male.”
Right from the very first days of silent movies, the camera seems to have been the perfect voyeuristic tool to film people making love. An underground production system started taking shape very early on, allowing private collectors to satisfy their own secret passion for transgressive sexual footage. He noted that production standards were far in advance of films being made elsewhere at the time — as well as an inventive and often humorous array of diverse couplings
They were shown regularly in the waiting-rooms of sophisticated brothels. They also educated young men who would visit brothels on Sundays after Mass, “along with their uncles”. M Reihac said that they would watch the films to learn how to perform sexually. He added: They basically received a sexual education from these films and could go on to practise what they had learnt. By watching these films one can easily see that the modern porn industry did not invent anything. Everything had already been filmed by our great-grandparents.”
The films have been restored by the Centre National de la Cinématographie, the equivalent of the British Film Institute. Good Old Naughty Days has a restricted R18 classification, but arthouse cinemas can show the film with a special licence. The Other Cinema, near Leicester Square, in Central London, will show it on March 26. Other venues nationwide will follow."
Well I for one can't wait :D Well OK call me childish but the prospect of watching some hardcore at the arthouse while pretending it's meaningful because they 'readjust their wigs and fake moustaches' amuses me greatly. Ha ha.