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Sinema: American Pornographic Films by Kenneth Turan;Stephen Zito ➤ Praeger Publishers 1974
Sinema: American Pornographic Films by Kenneth Turan;Stephen Zito Praeger Publishers 1974
Title: Sinema: American Pornographic Films and the People Who Make Them
Author: Kenneth Turan;Stephen Zito
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Praeger Publishers 1974
ISBN 10: 027550770X
Size: 6.25 X 9.25 * 244 pages
Synopsis: Russ Meyer's first film, The Immoral Mr. Teas, started the wave of cinematic sexual permissiveness chronicled in this definitive study of the dirty-movie industry. Vixen, his biggest success, produced for $72,000 in 1968-"on the basis of what it cost, the most successful film that's ever been made"-has grossed over $7.5 million.
Profits of that magnitude, approached by several hard-core films of the seventies, alone might account for the fascination and serious value of Turan and Zito's book. This is Big Business, and its moguls have their headaches. Distribution problems are real. So is the constant threat of censorship and litigation. But the book also contributes to an understanding of the changing mores of American society. Sex movies-some with moments of erotic beauty, others dreary all the way; many berated for their violence and kinkiness, others admired for their zany humor-are being shown in commercial theaters throughout the country to sell-out mixed and middle-class audiences. ("The thing that shocked me most about Deep Throat," a major studio's vice-president says, "was that nobody in the audience was a dirty old man with a raincoat. They were all young couples.")
Here is the whole history of the industry, from stag films, loops, sex-education epics, Nudies and Nudie-Cuties to today's hard-core heterosexual, bisexual, and gay movies. It is spiced by candid, in-depth interviews with the people who are part of it: featured players Marilyn Chambers (the Ivory Snow girl), Mary Rexroth (poet's daughter), Harry Reems, Marsha Jordan, Cal Culver ("Casey Donovan"), John Holmes ("Long Johnny Wadd"), producers and directors Dave Friedman (self-styled "porno king" and supreme jokester of the genre), Radley Metzger, Gerard Damiano. Many are funny; all are frank, forthright, and vividly portrayed. Original camera portraits by Kenneth Turan of some of these interview subjects enhance the 32-page section of photographs.
For film buffs, for students of the sexy seventies, for all who enjoy lively writing about fantastic characters, Sinema is a book of "firsts": First definitive study of the entire pornographic-film industry. First published interviews with several of its "Names." First firsthand account of the making of a modern dirty movie. Probably only its co-authors-one a young journalist who has already won a following for his articles and books about other (outdoor) sports, one a respected, and also young, specialist in the history of the American cinema-could have pulled it off.
KENNETH TURAN, a staff writer for the Washington Post's Potomac magazine and film critic for the Progressive, is a native of Brooklyn. A graduate of Swarthmore College, he holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. He is co-author of The Future Is Now: George Allen, Pro Football's Most Controversial Coach (1972) and I'd Rather Be Wright: Memoirs of an Itinerant Tackle (1974). STEPHEN F. ZITO is at present Program Planner for the American Film Institute Theater. He did his undergraduate work at Columbia University and has a master's degree in cinema studies from New York Unirversity.
Overall Condition: Very Good Ex Library with some of the usual extras in a jacket with protective plastic cover. The binding has minimal wear and the pages are undamaged with no creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. There are no missing pages; see images.
Secure shipping bubble-wrapped in a new box.
2026--U.S. shipping for this (Two Pounds Media Mail) is $5.22 with tracking.
Multiple items will be combined for the lowest shipping price.
International Shipping cost is based on the destination so inquire before buying.
(PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.)
==========================================================================================================================
Just about all the books are USED books. Some have been used more gently than others. Some have been in libraries and have typical library extras. Some are so old and/or interesting that they are being offered for the sake of preservation regardless of the condition they are in. If the condition of the book is very important to you, please feel free to click the 'Ask seller a question' link and I will tell you more.
=========================================================================================
Title: Sinema: American Pornographic Films and the People Who Make Them
Author: Kenneth Turan;Stephen Zito
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Praeger Publishers 1974
ISBN 10: 027550770X
Size: 6.25 X 9.25 * 244 pages
Synopsis: Russ Meyer's first film, The Immoral Mr. Teas, started the wave of cinematic sexual permissiveness chronicled in this definitive study of the dirty-movie industry. Vixen, his biggest success, produced for $72,000 in 1968-"on the basis of what it cost, the most successful film that's ever been made"-has grossed over $7.5 million.
Profits of that magnitude, approached by several hard-core films of the seventies, alone might account for the fascination and serious value of Turan and Zito's book. This is Big Business, and its moguls have their headaches. Distribution problems are real. So is the constant threat of censorship and litigation. But the book also contributes to an understanding of the changing mores of American society. Sex movies-some with moments of erotic beauty, others dreary all the way; many berated for their violence and kinkiness, others admired for their zany humor-are being shown in commercial theaters throughout the country to sell-out mixed and middle-class audiences. ("The thing that shocked me most about Deep Throat," a major studio's vice-president says, "was that nobody in the audience was a dirty old man with a raincoat. They were all young couples.")
Here is the whole history of the industry, from stag films, loops, sex-education epics, Nudies and Nudie-Cuties to today's hard-core heterosexual, bisexual, and gay movies. It is spiced by candid, in-depth interviews with the people who are part of it: featured players Marilyn Chambers (the Ivory Snow girl), Mary Rexroth (poet's daughter), Harry Reems, Marsha Jordan, Cal Culver ("Casey Donovan"), John Holmes ("Long Johnny Wadd"), producers and directors Dave Friedman (self-styled "porno king" and supreme jokester of the genre), Radley Metzger, Gerard Damiano. Many are funny; all are frank, forthright, and vividly portrayed. Original camera portraits by Kenneth Turan of some of these interview subjects enhance the 32-page section of photographs.
For film buffs, for students of the sexy seventies, for all who enjoy lively writing about fantastic characters, Sinema is a book of "firsts": First definitive study of the entire pornographic-film industry. First published interviews with several of its "Names." First firsthand account of the making of a modern dirty movie. Probably only its co-authors-one a young journalist who has already won a following for his articles and books about other (outdoor) sports, one a respected, and also young, specialist in the history of the American cinema-could have pulled it off.
KENNETH TURAN, a staff writer for the Washington Post's Potomac magazine and film critic for the Progressive, is a native of Brooklyn. A graduate of Swarthmore College, he holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. He is co-author of The Future Is Now: George Allen, Pro Football's Most Controversial Coach (1972) and I'd Rather Be Wright: Memoirs of an Itinerant Tackle (1974). STEPHEN F. ZITO is at present Program Planner for the American Film Institute Theater. He did his undergraduate work at Columbia University and has a master's degree in cinema studies from New York Unirversity.
Overall Condition: Very Good Ex Library with some of the usual extras in a jacket with protective plastic cover. The binding has minimal wear and the pages are undamaged with no creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. There are no missing pages; see images.
Secure shipping bubble-wrapped in a new box.
2026--U.S. shipping for this (Two Pounds Media Mail) is $5.22 with tracking.
Multiple items will be combined for the lowest shipping price.
International Shipping cost is based on the destination so inquire before buying.
(PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.)
==========================================================================================================================
Just about all the books are USED books. Some have been used more gently than others. Some have been in libraries and have typical library extras. Some are so old and/or interesting that they are being offered for the sake of preservation regardless of the condition they are in. If the condition of the book is very important to you, please feel free to click the 'Ask seller a question' link and I will tell you more.
=========================================================================================
