Here it is, the U.S. Gold Standard of porn by which all other Golden Age classics shall be held accountable, the finest adult film ever made both by critical consensus as from a fan's point of view. Director Radley Metzger of course had a solid background in mainstream movie-making with tasteful titillation along the lines of CAMILLE 2000 and THERESE AND ISABELLE to his credit before taking the plunge into explicit territory with a mere five high class productions. SCORE and THE PUNISHMENT OF ANNE, both of which contain a limited amount of hardcore footage might be considered borderline cases, and his collaboration on French fornication filmmaker Gérard Kikoïne's stateside endeavors THE TALE OF TIFFANY LUST and APHRODESIA'S DIARY has gone largely uncredited.
THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN rests proudly in the middle of this fabulous five-some, following THE PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN and NAKED CAME THE STRANGER yet preceding BARBARA BROADCAST and MARASCHINO CHERRY. Its charm, style, wit and grace - qualities not commonly associated with porn - remain unparallelled within even what is generally considered this genre's finest hour. Every single aspect of production has been handled with the utmost care, mostly by Metzger's "real world" collaborators hiding behind aliases if credited at all, from its sumptuous cinematography to its lively library soundtrack. Unlike other well-produced fornication fare though, this one also has all the scorching sex to cement its legendary reputation for generations to come. This is the kind of adult film that should sway even the most ardent of naysayers, unless the very thought of explicit eroticism repels them. It was made by and for intelligent people who can also appreciate a good dirty joke.
Borrowing its plot from Shaw's PYGMALION, MISTY finds noted sexologist Dr Seymour Love (porn's bad boy Jamie Gillis cast against type and delivering a career performance) cruising the streets of Paris and running into a coarse streetwalker by name of Misty - formerly Dolores - Beethoven, played to perfection by the all too rarely seen Constance Money who made only a handful of flicks. Never one to resist a challenge and fired up because of a wager with fellow jet-setter Geraldine (radiant one shot Jaqueline Beudant), Seymour invites the girl to come along to his mansion in the States where he will groom her to become the next Goldenrod Girl of naughty magazine publishing tycoon Lawrence Layman (shockingly handsome Ras Kean, star of Armand Weston's extraordinary neo noir EXPOSE ME, LOVELY), a title only bestowed on women who are revered the world over for their exceptional beauty, sensuality and lovemaking skills. On a crash course, Misty's put through her sexual paces, gaining insight and technique as she's presented with a number of "difficult" cases for seduction. All the while, she is falling in love with her mentor who doesn't or merely pretends not to notice
It is absolutely impossible to overpraise this magnificent movie. While other adult flicks made since might conceivably eclipse it in certain areas, there has yet to be one made that surpasses it all across the board. The sheer brilliance of the leads (who share a pleasingly palpable chemistry) is ably supported by a cast filled to the brim with fan favorites, most of whom deliver equally fine performances vertically as well as horizontally. Terri Hall, reuniting with Gillis following their perfect pairing in Gerard Damiano's scorching STORY OF JOANNA, shines as ballerina Tanya who does a sweltering Sapphic number on beautiful Beudant. Gay porn icon Casey Donovan of BOYS IN THE SAND infamy plays the effeminate gallery owner who finds himself at Misty's mercy and also supplies the buttocks for the Ras Kean pegging portion of the legendary three-way involving Misty and Gloria Leonard, the latter then at the start of what was to become a most distinguished career in the adult field.
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THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN rests proudly in the middle of this fabulous five-some, following THE PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN and NAKED CAME THE STRANGER yet preceding BARBARA BROADCAST and MARASCHINO CHERRY. Its charm, style, wit and grace - qualities not commonly associated with porn - remain unparallelled within even what is generally considered this genre's finest hour. Every single aspect of production has been handled with the utmost care, mostly by Metzger's "real world" collaborators hiding behind aliases if credited at all, from its sumptuous cinematography to its lively library soundtrack. Unlike other well-produced fornication fare though, this one also has all the scorching sex to cement its legendary reputation for generations to come. This is the kind of adult film that should sway even the most ardent of naysayers, unless the very thought of explicit eroticism repels them. It was made by and for intelligent people who can also appreciate a good dirty joke.
Borrowing its plot from Shaw's PYGMALION, MISTY finds noted sexologist Dr Seymour Love (porn's bad boy Jamie Gillis cast against type and delivering a career performance) cruising the streets of Paris and running into a coarse streetwalker by name of Misty - formerly Dolores - Beethoven, played to perfection by the all too rarely seen Constance Money who made only a handful of flicks. Never one to resist a challenge and fired up because of a wager with fellow jet-setter Geraldine (radiant one shot Jaqueline Beudant), Seymour invites the girl to come along to his mansion in the States where he will groom her to become the next Goldenrod Girl of naughty magazine publishing tycoon Lawrence Layman (shockingly handsome Ras Kean, star of Armand Weston's extraordinary neo noir EXPOSE ME, LOVELY), a title only bestowed on women who are revered the world over for their exceptional beauty, sensuality and lovemaking skills. On a crash course, Misty's put through her sexual paces, gaining insight and technique as she's presented with a number of "difficult" cases for seduction. All the while, she is falling in love with her mentor who doesn't or merely pretends not to notice
It is absolutely impossible to overpraise this magnificent movie. While other adult flicks made since might conceivably eclipse it in certain areas, there has yet to be one made that surpasses it all across the board. The sheer brilliance of the leads (who share a pleasingly palpable chemistry) is ably supported by a cast filled to the brim with fan favorites, most of whom deliver equally fine performances vertically as well as horizontally. Terri Hall, reuniting with Gillis following their perfect pairing in Gerard Damiano's scorching STORY OF JOANNA, shines as ballerina Tanya who does a sweltering Sapphic number on beautiful Beudant. Gay porn icon Casey Donovan of BOYS IN THE SAND infamy plays the effeminate gallery owner who finds himself at Misty's mercy and also supplies the buttocks for the Ras Kean pegging portion of the legendary three-way involving Misty and Gloria Leonard, the latter then at the start of what was to become a most distinguished career in the adult field.
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