Ze Good Ol’ Days Part Deux
Behind The Green Door
Me and Vanessa Del Rio
I refer to today’s stable of porno actress as “occupants.” They have the staying power of a sickly fruit fly. They enter the porno business not out of the commitment to “make love and not war,” but rather to use their exposure in the fuck film to being a featured topless dancer.
I reviewed my first fuck film in 1969 and what I loved about it was that it was like going to a family circle. My uncles and aunts were identifiable and there was a basic humanity that made the fucking a pleasure to watch. The porno actresses of the late 60’s and early 70’s were on a merry-go-round and their sexual antics were heartfelt, and hard-on felt. What distinguished these beautiful creatures and the films they made was that their actions were a political statement. They felt that fucking and making love was a real response to the flag-draped coffins being returned everyday from Vietnam.
The quality was better because the films were shot in 35mm and there were only two or three new releases every week as opposed to today’s smut shot on video with ten new movies released per hour. The directors were men of true ability and included Gerry Damiano, Jack Weston, Radley Metzger and Ron Sullivan. It also included stars of the future like Wes Craven who directed me in ‘It Happened in Hollywood’ and Brian DePalma who went on to make many great films including Scarface.
Gerry Damiano’s first film, Deep Throat was the first that contained a sense of humor and a meaningful plot. On the west coast, hard core broke through mostly through the efforts of DiRenzi’s theater called The Screening Room. It was the first theater in SF to show hardcore.
And we have to applaud the efforts of the Mitchell Brothers, they brought us Behind the Green Door, 120 Days of Sodom and the Resurrection of Eve. They were clearly the outlaws of the business. While the mafia controlled things on the east coast, in SF it was a political statement and artistic integrity and pride mattered. It is no wonder those films are still popular today. Because there was so little product the names of Harry Reems and Jamie Gillis stand out as the pioneers they are. Compared to today where we only have a huge, fat, hairy pig named Ron Jeremy who makes films hourly and is 50 years old.
Today’s films with nameless and faceless actors that no one will remember 10 minutes from now have no drama, no conflict and they are the toilet paper of cinema. Today’s films are a fart in the wind rather than the cinematic or political statements they used to be. The death of 35mm celluoild and the birth of VHS, DVD and now streaming video is like the Buchenwald of entertainment.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Al,
Thanks for the update and the always cool pix. I’m glad your ok and look forward to reading more of your comments. I was thrilled to see your new post this morning. What a relief! Now I can sleep again. Let’s make Midnight stand for making out with our dates or anything but losing you?
Thank God for you - your an Angel of Mercy. There’s no word for glad. Please let us know how we can help you in the future? I would miss you tremendously if anything happened to you. That would be the saddest day in the world. I will comment on the Adult industry later. Al - you should always come first. No exceptions whatsoever…
M
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Al,
Quantity not quality is where the money is. Sad but true.
Eventually people will be jerking it to a poorly lit 2″ cell phone display.
Mitch Haase
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I have an ipod video, believe me watching porno on that thing sucks and it’s difficult to masturbate and hold that ipod in your hand. I can’t imagine what it would be like on a 2′ cell phone.
Even though most porn is easily obtainable via the internet for free most of it sucks, now we discover that the porn business is losing money because of the internet.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
The adult entertainment industry began its decline when the mainstream media stopped taking X-rated and adult movies seriously. Radley Metzger would have continued to make movies under his “Henry Paris” alias had the mainstream critics provided more attention to his movies instead of to the boxoffice blockbusters. Chuck Vincent’s “ROOMMATES” deserved to get more attention than crap like “PORKY’S 2″ or “POLICE ACADEMY” or “NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET”. Had the mainstream media not turned its back on the adult movies perhaps the adult movie industry might have continued to release more shot-on-film features throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
It saddens me that the mainstream media’s fixation on the boxoffice blockbusters–especially all of those special effects extravaganzas– has not only doomed the X-rated movie industry but that fixation has dissuaded the mainstream movie people from producing movies that would carry the NC-17 rating, as well.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:21 am
Thank you, Al. I think you’ve found your voice. And it’s about time. Stick with it. We who live forever dwell in the past. Because the past is timeless and to be cherished when we have seen the best come and go, as the US is sold out and we head towards our falling western world end days.
You can’t compare 24/7 E porn to the epic 40 foot screenic bush of yesteryear any more than you can compare new age American Idol bohemians to The Beatles, Elvis or Sinatra. Time is but a clock ticking for the new, young and hip. Forget toys. The only shame is in an anonymous life and death.
Fear not your old age. You have seen the glory of greatness while fans can only lust vicariously. Your porno life story is immortal. Consciousness and thoughts live forever in the electrical realm of the eternal mind. Nature’s adult life force cannot be destroyed. Neither can porn fame. So rejoice!
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:00 am
You Fucking old Jew! Just retire to Florida (for a second time) before Gena grabs hold of your rotting old carcass and sucks the last bit of life out of you before you die! Remember your old Fire Island home? Nothing but Atlantic ocean views as far as your old cataract eye’s could see. (And then she stole it from you). Maybe Las Vegas would be good for you. Maybe a fucking sex show revival from Cirque Du Soleil could have use for you as a washed up flasher living in a public park.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:34 pm
i agree about the sex show, i’d pay to see al fuck something.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Dear Mr. Goldstein,
Several of my materials were published in Screw Magazine last century. One of them made the cover, it was US genital flag http://www.mipco.com/flag.html
I have read this post and felt that you may be interested in reviving porno video business.
I am looking for your kind advise in finding a company to produce outstanding adult film based on international bestseller Secret Journal 1836-1837 by A. S. Pushkin (SJ) (it was reviewed in Screw Magazine by Michael Perkins).
I am the sole owner of M.I.P. Company that holds all rights for (SJ) http://www.mipco.com/english/pushBiling.html. M.I.P. first published it in 1986 in Russian and then in English.
Now translated into 24 languages, the Secret Journal is placed among the most scandalous works of Russian erotic literature.
The theatrical production the “Secret Journal” was running with great success in the fall of 2006 at Theatre du Marais in Paris.
Please read detailed info on the play at
http://www.mipco.com/Dossier%20de%20presse%20-%20Pouchkine%20Le%20Journal%20Secret%20-.pdf
Observing current trends in adult video industry (big productions to counter free clips on the web) I see SJ as the perfect product to capitalize on. It provides exciting plot, a big number of exquisite adult situations, profound contemplations on marriage, fidelity, love and sex. At the same time SJ gives appealing historical insight on high society of XIX century Russia.
I envision the video based on SJ as the first true chance to bridge the gap between adult video and main stream cinematography and thereby to open a huge new market for adult films (similar to as “Deep Throat” made adult films acceptable to general audience). To accomplish such “bridging” well-known main stream actors should play parts that will have no adult content whereas adult film actors will do intimate scenes. Then two video sections should be edited and merged together so that a viewer has a feeling that genitals in action belong to main stream actors.
To address the important verbal content of the SJ the Pushkin’s voice will speak over the most explicit scenes instead of usual music or moans. His profound and witty comments about copulation will be pronounced over visual copulation what will create emotionally and intellectually explosive blend.
I will be happy to send you a 100 pages text of SJ.
Best regards,
Mikhail
February 24th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Al, tell your home attendant that CVS pharmacies is having a sale on men’s portable urinals and incontinence products. There’s no more need for you leaking on your sneakers.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Al, I suspect that you were referring to either Sam Weston or Armand Weston when you were referring to the noted adult movie director “Jack Weston”. Sam Weston directed movies under the name of Anthony Spinelli. Armand Weston directed such classic X-rated titles as DEFIANCE and TAKE OFF. Nonetheless, you’re right about those enduring classic adult movies. And the current glut of hardcore crap that’s being produced today is perhaps the main reason why INSIDE DEEP THROAT didn’t do well in its domestic theatrical release. After all, the young adults who comprise today’s movie audiences probably can’t imagine that people would actually go to a movie theater to watch a porn movie since porn–regardless of its quality– is so readily available on the internet.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Al, the Mitchell Brothers did produce some great movies. In addition to those titles that you recently mentioned they were also responsible for making AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FLEA, THE GRAFENBERG SPOT, INSIDE MARILYN CHAMBERS, BEYOND DE SADE, NEVER A TENDER MOMENT and BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR–THE SEQUEL. I would love to get my hands on unexpurgated copies of BEYOND DE SADE and NEVER A TENDER MOMENT and even those “ultra core” movies that were made by the Mitchell Brothers.
I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the names of those other New York-based adult movie directors such as Chuck Vincent, Cecil Howard, Kemal Heralu and Sean Costello. Sean Costello used to direct movies under various pseudonyms. Perhaps Cecil Howard has never made his equivalent of BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR but–unlike the Mitchell Brothers–he’s still alive today.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:38 am
I completely disagree with you about Deep Throat. It was a terrible movie when it came out, and it stinks today. And Linda Lovelace is a dog. D - O - G. The chicks in porn today are much, much hotter. Nice n shaved, too.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Al, have you been to the movies lately?
There’s this new film that just won the best pic Oscar…
No Pussy For Old Men
February 25th, 2008 at 10:50 am
“No Pussy For Old Men”
I don’t think it’s that way. I mean, Hefner his fair share. Even the 82’s year old John Doe who invested in a good marriage gets some pussy at his age. It’s just Al really who isn’t getting any.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Hef is a rare exception. As for the ballbuster movie No Pussy For Old Men, it’s AG’s epitaph.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
whatever, i’m just happy al isn’t whining like an old jewish yenta.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Comrades,
It is with great privilege that your humble servant, your teacher, your enlightened one, your father, your leader, tell you about the concert of the century. The New York philharmonic will be performing tomorrow night and your all invited!
Your Servant,
Dear Leader
P.S. Al, do you have Seka’s phone number?
February 26th, 2008 at 4:37 am
Alvin,
Please take a photo of your entire crack from the butthole to the scrotum and put it in your next blog post.
That is the kind of content that will people interested in this place.
Thanks.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Hello Al,
I’m just started with reading youre blog. I am an 18 year old student from holland and i saw Deep Throat last week on dutch telivision. After i searched a bit in the biographie of LL i came acros youre name and wat you said after she died. I also saw a link to this blog. Ik think you have one of the most interesting blogs around, you are truly an acient relic from the past and have a view on porno witch I find very amusing. I think I wil keep reading this blog en i feel pretty damn bad that that stupid cunt Hugh Hefner is stil on top of the world where you have failed misserebly in todays society. Stil you are pretty mutch my hero for being the way you are and never selling out on yourself. Youre like a outlaw porno cowboy trapped in the 21 century.Thumbs up and keep em coming.
Freak Heintz
February 26th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
“I am an 18 year old student from holland and i saw Deep Throat last week on dutch telivision.”
This dude saw Deep Throat on Dutch TV last week, I’m moving to Holland!
February 26th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Yeah and it wasn’t on pay tv or something, holland kicks ass. It was the first porno movie on a non-commercial chanel.They called it a ”porno classic that changed the world’’so they had educationel reasons to show it. It didnt even get that mutch attention only 250.000 people watched the hole thing(there live 17 milj. people in Holland) and before they showed the actual movie they showed a documentary about it; ”inside deep throat”. I thought the documentary was even cooler then deep throat itself and if you have seen al the discusting modern day porn , deep throat wil seem fairly innocent.
Freak Heintz
February 26th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Freak Heintz,
Far out! When I visited Holland I stayed at the AmstelBotel and they had a free porno channel on the TV, but that was cable TV. I would have loved to have seen Deep Throat on regular TV. The closest I managed, is seeing it on VHS cassette. I’m sure Al Goldstein has seen it in the theaters when it first came out, maybe even attended the premiere. It would have been cool to see it in the theaters, sitting in the balcony watching Deep Throat.
Ice
February 27th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Al, when are you gonna plead your case with the judge and courts and have them let you live out your golden years in the Lost Angels land of fruits and nuts? LaLaLand is safe sanctuary for society’s rebels and misfits. Worst you can do out here is get a reality show.
By the way, did you rip show title Midnight Blue off that Melissa Manchester song? And have you ever eaten a pussy hole to 70s AM ear candy pop tune Have You Never Been Mellow? Oldie soft pop makes the best sex music. And Mellow is the national anthem of cunt eating.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:52 am
The original Deep Throat released in 1972 was more than a movie and its stars Linda Lovelace and Harry Reems displayed a wide range of enthusiasm and emotion that is seldom if ever seen today, and for too many reasons to detail here, it will forever remain a charming classic. I maintain that this film will never be dated. I mean the sex in general. Linda and Harry had chemistry if only for a few fleeting moments and it was unbelievable.
Al chose the right film to push the HELL out of and he did. Deep Throat was a once in a lifetime event, if not a media event. This film was worth it 100% even if Jerry did not rate it his best film. Al belongs in the history books alone - just for this fact. He got the film off the ground and did more than the late Dr. Albert Ellis Ph.D did for the sexual revolution! I mean WOW…I can’t think of anything noteworthy before this film (Green Door was close).
I just read on the web that Jamie Gillis is now 65 and retiring. Harry, now 60 and long retired from Adult, was silly and fun and Jamie was very moody and still so much fun to watch. I miss these legends and am sad that their mainstream careers never got off the ground. It’s also too bad that Linda could not get the help she needed as opposed to turning on the Adult Industry. Linda’s story is a very sad story. She was her worst enemy. I never saw such depression as I saw in Linda, I mean in my whole life. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be her (or have her temperment). Linda was a very extreme individual. I mean, how could Linda go from Super High Joy to Depression lower than I can even imagine? I’m not making this up and I don’t know. I know what Al said when she died (53) and I still have compassion for both of them.
A play is being produced about Harry’s life and he’s thrilled. Al may be a part of this? I read this on AVN.
Jerry Damiano will or would be 80 this year and I really enjoyed his films. What a sweet man. The last film he appeared in was Inside Deep Throat and I just wanted to cry because the business is just like night and day.
The cash register cuties you see on the Internet are a far cry from what titles like Deep Throat and Misty - well, they really broke the ice in a 1001 different ways and helped pave the way for what things look like today.
The most positive thing I can see about all these Adult sights whether it be YouPorn or even Booble (or whatever Adult Site comes to your mind)is that it forces you to change and go out and get what you want - an emotionally healthy relationship that includes wild sex too and your other needs as well. I maintain people want the real thing - now more than ever in this new hard wired world we live in and that includes the million distractions that come with it. The web has changed everything and nothing when it comes to sustaining a happy love story. Everything has limitations.
This Adult film/video theme is very subjective but the bottom line in my eyes is that if your watching nothing then you should expect nothing. I’m guessing a handful of people control the business these days and content is all that counts. Adult Porn seduces then destroys you with advertising and related enticements so money is being made and to the consumer remain the spoils (in general regarding the comparison Al wrote about). If you like next to nothing then you should be in heaven right about this time.
Different generations - just like music (for example) reflects what we see on the Internet. Thank God we have so many choices.
Choices! - Al needs to reinvent himself or change. Al is so much more than sex and he may just end up in better shape if his readers remind him of that. More on that shortly. I have an idea…
And, like it or not. The Internet has been with us since 1990 and is not leaving. From an Adult standpoint it has given Al access to the entire world so it’s not all bad but rather very different and Carly Simon once sang “These are the good old days” in the early 70’s and I think she was right.
Ron Jeremy was never Jamie Gillis and looked great in the 70’s. I guess he does not like to exercise. I enjoyed Al’s book more for the reading but Ron really packed his book with pictures. Al’s Blog has been a pay-off in pictures and reveals a more intimate look at the man we thought we knew. Al is a better deal in my book.
Al, a book you may enjoy reading that Tom Peters liked is Whoever Makes The Most Mistakes Wins…
Last - I know I missed a lot but to the comment requesting Sekas number - she’s very easy to reach on the web. Just try her and I’m sure she would love to hear from you. Why bother Al when you can do it yourself?
Older people go without sex is a myth - Please don’t believe this nonsense for a second. Al has a lot to look forward to.
I have to wrap it up. Stay happy and stay strong.
Warmly,
M
February 27th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Jamie Gillis says he is currently living in New York and writing his book. More info on the web.
M
February 27th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Nightmare On Elm Street was based on a true story. Just email Wes and that was a Wes Craven blockbuster that helped a lot of people deal with unspeakable horror and PTSD, etc.
For the record, everything competes with the Adult market. Just look around and think about that. Sex sells everything.
M
February 27th, 2008 at 3:13 am
Mario,
Linda Lovelace did shave and later had two children. I think it reflects poorly on you when you call her a dog. I can’t tell you how many guys lost sleep over Linda (yes, Kate Jackson too) and women did admire what a marvel and dynamo Linda symbolized. Linda Lovelace had passion few had ever seen before and her zest for life (at that moment with Harry Reems) was 100% real all the way. It was a once in a lifetime moment.
I see that in real life but I can’t find it in todays Adult market. Perhaps I have moved on. After the Golden Age (75-81 or close), I was hoping for lost and found and all I have found in 37 years is lost (the passion on film) and I found Al’s Blog.
M
February 27th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Al,
The people who comment here are boring AND stupid. Are these the kind of people you worked with your whole life?
Give us what we want and write a blog post about eating your own shit.
Thanks.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Please give us a request that has not been covered yet and you will receive a deeper reply. Stop wasting Al’s time. Be creative and use your time wisely.
M
February 27th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Deep Throat notes,
I met Jerry Damiano when he was editing a shot on video project for Caballero/Vidco titled “The Perils Of Paula”. I also met his-then second wife and discussed personalities like Jamie Gillis and Marc 10 1/2 Stevens (who had recently passed on). We covered a lot of territory and Jerry felt that Deep Throat was not a very good film. I reminded him of how he changed the way the world looks at sex and said that good sex is never dated (our conversation took place in 1990).
Jerry was thrilled to hear this and was just one of the nicest guys I had ever met. He was very touching in our conversation. Very sensitive. There will never be another time like the Damiano/Goldstein period and I cherish my memories. I saw Deep Throat in the Pussycat Theatres in the 70’s, 80’s and at a Drive In in the mid 70’s. Golden memories. It was like hearing Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones for the first time and I have to say - Al Goldstein brings up so many good memories for me. I’m glad to be here so I can enjoy them to the max.
I’m curious. Everyone has a Deep Throat story. Would anyone care to share?
M
February 27th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Ive found an article about deep throat on dutch television:
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/dutch-public-television-broadcasts-porn-classic-deep-throat-today/
Freak Heintz
February 27th, 2008 at 5:12 am
http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=77014
And another one.
My deep throat story, as stated above isnt that spectaculair. I just watched it on the coach at home whit my girlfriend and that was it.
Greetz Freak Heintz
February 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I rented the movie from a video rental place in 1984. Went home and watched it, I had just broken up with my girlfriend and had just moved into a studio apartment. My former girlfriend was anti-porn and when I was living with her we couldn’t even watch TV shows with a sexually suggestive theme. I consider renting Deep Throat my first act of rebellion!
February 27th, 2008 at 10:45 am
M,
How long was the wait time to see Deep Throat at the Pussycat Theater? I ask because I saw a picture of a long line of people waiting to get in to see the movie. I imagine you couldn’t just sit in the theater and watch it as many times as you wanted? How big was the Pussycat theater? Thanks for answering my questions.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
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