Andrew Blake--Reactions...?

Author	Post
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 7:41PM Hello all. I thought about putting something like this on my website, but decided it might be more interesting to discuss it (if anyone would want to... ). I may put some variation of it on my site later, but maybe I could compile the opinions of others and write a more comprehensive piece... I've been going through a fair amount of Andrew Blake's work of late. Some of it I've had an established liking for and have seen before (a.k.a. Night Trips II, Secrets) and some of it was all new to me until recently (a.k.a. Girlfriends, Exhibitionists, High Heels, Adriana etc.). I know this has probably been discussed before, but I find my reaction to his work very complex and interesting--mostly because it is so far outside of the norm of what my everyday hardcore porn is these days. I just thought I'd talk about my reactions a bit and see if anyone else had anything to say about it. First of all, I guess I feel that despite his softer approach, and extremely well produced stuff (complete with 5.1 sound and anamorphic widescreen), I think his stuff is largely geared toward the male market. I showed parts of Girlfriends to my wife one night. She is one of those who not only appreciates hot women, but is aroused by them. That said though, she admitted to being transfixed by what she was seeing, making it very hard for her to look away or even do her crocheting at the same time, but she was not aroused or sexually interested in the slightest. Perhaps this was a function of the overall production coming together so well, but the actual content not being sexual in her eyes. I can't speak to my wife's reaction more than that, but I can speak to mine. Some of Blake's more recent offerings I found less interesting than others. Blake's latest, Adriana, for example I really didn't see much interest in at all, whereas Girlfriends had moments that blew me away. It's hard for me to explain why I've liked some and not others, and I'm positive that those who like Blake have their own favorites and non-favorites that will be completely different from mine. I've talked with Bono-ONE and Aybesea about this a bit in private conversation. One of my very favorite moments in Blake's more recent fair is "Justine's Leg Solo" in Girlfriends. At first glance, things can't get much more soft core or simplified than this. It's one woman (a fantastically beautiful woman at that), basically showing off her body for us in multiple positions for a few minutes--with a backdrop of very interesting music and exquisitely filmed visual elements. The first time I watched it, as it started, I suppose I felt much like my wife. I was very interested in it... even transfixed but I didn't feel arousal. As the scene started to progress though, I started to feel much differently. I was still fascinated but along with that immersion in visual fascination I started to develop an excitemnet in my stomach... a very definite sexual excitement that was indeed much different than what I feel watching most of today's hardcore porn. By the end of it these feelings had developed as far as erection and my mind was wandering all over the place while still being squarely centered on the visual stimulous I was seeing in front of me. It really was a fascinating experience, and again, it was different than the experience I have watching your average Rocco feature. Ultimately, as the movie progressed I found it was definite, very real and exceptionally exciting masturbation material. And now, having watched it more than once, when I go back to that particular scene and others that have similar effects on me, that pit-of-my-stomach excitement reappears on the very first frame of the scene, with Justine walking down the stairs.... A sort of Pavlov's dogs conditioning thing I suppose. Justine in Girlfriends Now as to what about it that I found so compelling... I don't know. I think part (but certainly not all) of sexual arousal and attraction (especially as it relates to the voyeuristic pursuit of watching porn) has to do as much with what we are not allowed to have as what we are--and the accompanying idea that we are going to get it anyway, despite its "forbidden" nature. This can apply in the sense of wanting to boff that beautiful girl you see at lunch everyday and knowing that the situation may conspire against allowing you to have that, but when you finally do, it's the anticipation that has made it worth the wait and effort. It can also apply in porn. The reason why it's so compelling to watch Jeannie Rivers' first anal scene is that we have seen so many scenes where she hasn't done it. By the same token, this principal certainly applies for me in Andrew Blake's later work--but more akin to the girl at lunch example than in the Jeannie Rivers example. For me, it was arousing to dial back the hardcore aspects of most of the porn I watch, and just sit back and appreciate a beautiful woman. What things about seeing a person like this is inherently arousing to men? What is it about seeing Justine manipulate her legs in this particular way that inspires my sexual urges? What is it about the music and the cinematography that contributes to my reaction? In one way, Blake's work can be cold... and almost antiseptic in terms of any human emotion... but in another sense, for me, his work can be far MORE in touch with inherently basic human elements than most of the porn out there. I think it really has to do with what's in your head when you watch it. Some people will have much more hardcore desires and expectations in their head, and in that sense most of Blake's work will leave them bored and frustrated. I am able to adopt a mindset that allows my mind to turn on, and use Blake's imagery as a starting point. For me, this is extremely fulfilling. Again, I don't like all of his work all the time. It just depends, but I really am curious what other people think about Blake's work. What is your reaction to it? Is your reaction and your experience different than that which you have with more conventional porn? Would you classify Blake as an artist, or maybe as just a skilled craftsman, or maybe just a waste of time. Why? Finally, is there any appeal of Blake's work to women? Is there any purely aesthetic prouction that women would respond to if it was out there--or does there always have to have a seemingly emotional connection somehow? What's more... I wonder, by showing largely placid, beautiful, and perfectly made up women, does Blake's work (and stuff like it) do harm to the idea that women are active sexual creatures who have their own needs and desires? I'm curious to know what you all think. You're welcome to bash Blake if you like, but keep it polite and more importantly please explain WHY you don't like him. That's what I'm most interested in. [Edited to make Justine's vid-cap a link instead of an image] Mike L. Edited by - MLyons on Mar 10 2003 [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 8:17PM Mike, I just received my first Andrew Blake title in a shipment today. Yup, you heard it right. After I view it, I'll try and get back with some comments. DenverDon [Link]
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 8:21PM Which one is it DD? Mike L. [Link]
Flash Golden Age Classic 11017 Posts 5/01	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 8:23PM I've only seen one piece of Andrew Blake's work, and it was a compilation. Years ago I saw a tape called Andrew Blake's Favorite Scenes (which I believe was also released under the name The Best of Andrew Blake). I found the scenes featured beautiful to watch and even the ones that didn't do anything for me (due to the fetishes involved) were still pleasant to watch. I have always wanted to see the films that the scenes were from in entirety, but the town I watched this tape in didn't have much for a good adult film selection and didn't have anything else from him. And now I remember so little about the scenes that unless I actually saw the scene I wouldn't recognize it. All of the scenes were designed with beauty in mind. I can see how some would call the films sterile due to how the scenes were filmed, but at the same time they had a voyeuristic feel to them. They were very detached from the action. A scene that still sticks out in my mind from that tape, which was my favorite, featured a woman watching an orgy through a telescope. The scene showed the telescope scene first and then went back to the woman watching the scene and there was a scene with her. [Link]
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 8:27PM Flash, the scene you describe with the telescope is from Secrets. The woman is Zara Whites and she has sex with Rocco while looking through a telescope looking at a group scene with a few women and Randy West I think. That is one of my favorite Andrew Blake scenes. You can get Secrets cheap now a days, but the DVD is from Caballero and the disc authoring is beyond horrid. Blake's new stuff with Studio A is totally different from his early scenes with Caballero. I'd be interested in your reaction to some of those, and hearing more of your reactions to the stuff you have seen. Mike L. [Link]

Flash Golden Age Classic 11017 Posts 5/01	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 9:17PM Horrid DVD mastering or not, I'm going to have to pick up that title because that is the scene I'm talking about. As for the other scenes from that tape, my memory isn't so good. There was a scene with some Arabs and money that I wasn't very taken with. The visuals used in the scene didn't work for me. There was a lesbian scene involving a black high heeled shoe, which although nice to watch, didn't due to much for me either (I think there was a latex/domaneering theme to it - if my memory works right). There was a scene at the end of the tape that I liked, which I believe had Rocco and two women, a nice scene I think he came on a shoe if I remember. That's all I can remember of the tape. It was about 2 hrs long so there were more scenes. The only reason the one from Secrets is so vivid in my memory is because I liked it so much, I must have seen this tape 9 or 10 years ago. [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 9:22PM Pin-Ups 2, Mike DenverDon [Link]
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 9:22PM Flash, besides the telescope scene in Secrets, there is also a fantastic scene between Rocco and Ashlyn Gere at the very beginning of the movie. Mmm-mmm good. :) There's also a cool strap on scene with Jeanna Fine as well as a lesbian scene between Zara Whites and Ashlyn that does it for me for some inexplicable reason. The arabs with the money is also in Secrets and it wasn't my favorite scene, but there are plenty of good ones in that one. I would highly recommend it. I think you can pick it up at XrentDVD for something like $12.50. The other scene with Rocco and two girls where he comes on a high heeled shoe is from House of Dreams if I remember correctly. That also had Zara Whites, but wasn't near as good as either Secrets or both of the Night Trips movies... but that's just my opinion. Anyway, back to the matter at hand.... Anyone else? :) Mike L. [Link]
Hardware All-Star Member Your other left 14594 Posts 3/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 9:51PM I would classify Blake as an artist in the medium of erotica. I don't consider his goal to be to put hot people together and let them burn up the screen. I think he's in the camp that Private has moved into, which I think of as, 'doesn't this look beautiful?' Having said that, Secrets and House of Dreams are the only two films by Blake that I've seen. While I enjoyed Zara White's scene with Rocco in Secrets, it was mostly because of my interest in Zara. I'm not good at expressing this stuff, but I guess if you put what I like in the middle of the curve then RLD's 'sex show' type scenes are at one end and Blake's 'beautiful sex' type scenes are at the other. While I may watch a film from either one in pursuit of a favorite actress, they aren't going to make my A list. My personal preference is to see an actress that I like getting into what she's doing. I'm not interested in decoding whether her interest is 'genuine.' It's all acting as far as I'm concerned and a convincing performance 'is' reality in that case. In regards to 'isn't this beautiful,' hey, I'm already there. You know, I think Blake's work would actually be more effective in solo scenes, because there wouldn't be the expectation that the focus would be on the heat two performers have for each other. [Link]
skronker Notable Legendary Icon Scopophiliac 9780 Posts 9/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 9:59PM Though I'm not totally on with Blake, I always remember that scene from House of Dreams where Rocco's cumshot drips off of Raven's (?) high heel into the waiting mouth of Zara (?). To me, at that early stage of my porn viewing, that rocked. That, and Jenna Fine's strap-on face dildo. Sheesh. Good shit. [Link]
jay911 Member CO 41 Posts 12/99	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 10:08PM I've been a Blake fan since his work first came out at Caballero in the late 80's,early 90's. I think the man is a genius with the locations, the furniture, the women. I enjoy hardcore as much as anyone, but nothing is as visually captivating as his work. I still think it's a shame he has relagated B/G scenes as minor parts of his film, becuase he is quite good at them. He also got out of that phase of to much editing, there was a couple of titles that every scene seemed to be a collage of the whole film, drove me nuts. But you can't go wrong with Kyla Cole and Aria in anamorphic widescreen. [Link]
aybesea Senior Member Caroline Cage - Hungarian Hottie! 1485 Posts 5/02	Posted - Mar 8 2003 : 11:08PM I don't pull my Blake DVDs out all that often. But when I'm in the mood for Blake, NOTHING else will do! He can make a woman look more beautiful and alluring than all of the other directors and make-up artists put together. Blake is an absolute genious. [Link]
Goldmember Member 518 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 12:47AM Andrew Blake first grabed my attention when he released "Hidden Obsessions" and introduced the world to Janine. There was nothing ever remotly like it at the time. It was in another dimension as for as production values. I soon found some of his other early works like "Night Trips". (watching Tori Wells grind away on Peter North was a sight) I have to admit I do wish he would indulge us with some work that comes a little closer to hardcore these days. His ability to capture the beauty od the femal form is simply unrivaled! I still have an enormous appreciation for his new stuff, man does he know what he is doing behind a camera. Blake makes films for Blake these days, and often work for me. I particullarly liked this line from MLyons "In one way, Blake's work can be cold... and almost antiseptic in terms of any human emotion... but in another sense, for me, his work can be far MORE in touch with inherently basic human elements than most of the porn out there." I think that statement really rings true when it comes to Blake's work. [Link]
David X Member 128 Posts 5/02	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 11:33AM My reaction to Blake is much like yours, MLyons, and I am similarly at a loss to explain it (beyond your own impressionistic account). The peculiar mind-set his movies induce in me seems in my case to go back to my juvenile days of gazing at Penthouse pictorials and merely dreaming of seeing the girls in motion. One has become a bit jaded over the years, but Blake brings back a former intensity of incredibly erotic adulation and longing. The appetite is only occasional for me but quite necessary. I am disappointed to hear that "Adriana" is perhaps not as good as I've been hoping (ever since that delicious girl took my advice and went back to Studio A instead of Anabolic). That movie is on its way to me. [Link]
Ramsey Senior Member Trina Michaels fan 10332 Posts 10/02	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 12:09PM I don't like Andrew Blake movies because I can't jerk off while watching it, it's a simple as that because the action is too soft. I'm more into raincoater-porn. [Link]

MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 12:31PM Hardware wrote: I would classify Blake as an artist in the medium of erotica. I don't consider his goal to be to put hot people together and let them burn up the screen. I think he's in the camp that Private has moved into, which I think of as, 'doesn't this look beautiful?' Click to expand Yeah, I can certainly get behind that. He's definitely not after "burning up the screen" in the sense that most hardcore porn is. And the "doesn't this look beautiful?" idea is definitely what Blake is going for--especially as he's devloped his style at Studio A. What I find interesting also, though, is that Blake's later stuff is much more interesting to me than Private's. Private is still following the hardcore line with B/G, anal, facials and all those things that these days seem to be the basic requirements of hardcore porn. Blake's latest stuff hardly ever displays elements like this anymore. Still, despite the hardcore aspects of private, and the fact that both Private AND Blake are shooting "pure beauty" porn, I see much more passion and interest in Blake's work--perhaps not from the girls ON the screen, but definitely from the men behind the camera. I appreciate that, as Gold Member said, Blake shoots for Blake, and I think for the most part Private is shooting for money. I think this comes across on the screen in a big way. That's not to invalidate anyone's love for Private's work. And I'll be the first to admit that true hard core sex is nothing to shake a stick at. :) It's just to say that when I see Justine staring at the camera in her leg solo in Girlfriends, _I_ find that there's much more purpose and vision behind that moment than there is behind Rita Foltoyano's camera stares as she takes a facial in Private Galdiator. Having said that, Secrets and House of Dreams are the only two films by Blake that I've seen. While I enjoyed Zara White's scene with Rocco in Secrets, it was mostly because of my interest in Zara. I'm not good at expressing this stuff, but I guess if you put what I like in the middle of the curve then RLD's 'sex show' type scenes are at one end and Blake's 'beautiful sex' type scenes are at the other. While I may watch a film from either one in pursuit of a favorite actress, they aren't going to make my A list. My personal preference is to see an actress that I like getting into what she's doing. I'm not interested in decoding whether her interest is 'genuine.' It's all acting as far as I'm concerned and a convincing performance 'is' reality in that case. In regards to 'isn't this beautiful,' hey, I'm already there. Click to expand So Hardware...and everyone else. I'm curious. I find that I have a great capacity for suspension of disbelief--perhaps more so than many other people. Suspension of disbelief is the function by which we can accept what we see on the screen as reality--only for the purposes of enjoying a narrative construction. I think that people have this ability to varying degrees, depending on the medium and the context, and porn is an especially complicated medium with regard to this process. Many of us want what we see in porn to be REAL. We want REAL emotion, and authentic excitement, and for some people it's very important that we believe that what is going on on the screen reflects the true state of mind of the performers as they were doing it. The fact is that most of the sex in porn simply isn't authentic. Some productions do an excellent job of capturing the odd authentic moment while framing it into a simple vignette context (like Mason's or Joey Silvera's work for example), and some productions have very few authentic moments in actuality, but do an excellent job of fooling us into thinking it's authentic and the viewer's suspension of disbelief is completely engaged (like much of Anabolic or Red Light District's work). Some porn, however, like that of Antonio Adamo or Andrew Blake absolutely RELIES on your ability to immerse yourself in the context of the narrative or visual stimulous--as it does very little on it's own to convince you that what you are seeing is real. This kind of porn is heavily produced with a careful emphasis on the beauty versus emotion, and it largely relies on US to assign the emotion to it. The reason that I watch a great variety of porn depending on my mood, is that I have a great ability to adapt to these different approaches as a viewer. While Joey Silvera's work is absolutely amazing with regard to giving me real moments, and hardcore sex, and leaving nothing for my brain to take up the slack with, Andrew Blake is on the opposite end of the spectrum--leaving a lot left unexplained, and un developed. I can except the elements that are there, and do my part to suspend my disbelief... and enjoy it for what it is and also for what my mind makes it out to be. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? You know, I think Blake's work would actually be more effective in solo scenes, because there wouldn't be the expectation that the focus would be on the heat two performers have for each other. Click to expand I think this is a very interesting point--for sure. I'll have to look through the Blake stuff I have and see if I'm more engaged during the solo scenes... I think you may be on to something for those that can't get past the lack of genuine enthusiasm displayed between performers. jay911 said: I've been a Blake fan since his work first came out at Caballero in the late 80's,early 90's. I think the man is a genius with the locations, the furniture, the women. I enjoy hardcore as much as anyone, but nothing is as visually captivating as his work. I still think it's a shame he has relagated B/G scenes as minor parts of his film, becuase he is quite good at them. Click to expand Now this is another phenomenon that I find interesting. I agree with you about his talent for shooting B/G scenes... and his early work with Caballero is outstanding in this regard. On the other hand, I remember watching one of the featurette's on Exhibitionists that featured a blonde woman named Michelle-Marie and some faceless unnamed guy. There was a little bit of hardcore sex there and at first I was pretty excited that there was a guy at all. However, as the scene progressed I was fascinated to find that the guy, while being extremely attractive, uglied up the scene for me, and I wished he wasn't there. This reaction is just so out of character for me, and I was surprised at myself. I ended up wishing it was just a solo scene because the guy's presence just completely destroyed the visual picture. Michelle-Marie and... company... jay911 said: He also got out of that phase of to much editing, there was a couple of titles that every scene seemed to be a collage of the whole film, drove me nuts. Click to expand Now this I completely agree with. One film I saw recently was High Heels, which was plagued with this collage phenomenon. I liked everything about it except the way it was edited and constructed--which to me was frustrating and almost unwatchable at times. In his later work, like you say, he seems to have gotten away from this style, and I'm very grateful. Anybody else have thoughts about Blake, or further ideas about the idea of "beauty porn" versus "emotional porn" or "chemistry porn"? [Edited to Make Michelle-Marie Vid-Cap a link rather than an image] Mike L. Edited by - MLyons on 3/10/2003 2:16:00 PM [Link]
Diesel Member 516 Posts 3/00	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 3:37PM Well, I've been a Blake fan ever since I first saw the mesmerizing trailer to NIGHT TRIPS in an old Caballero video (SPLENDOR IN THE ASS with Rachel Ryan to be exact). Although some people may find his work pretentious, slow, or overly artsy, I think that his superbly made film productions are a welcome alternative to all the cheap and cheesy video stuff that are regularly churned out by other studios. Also, now that Cameron Grant and his other imitators seemed to have stopped making movies, he's really the only one out there trying to turn porn into art. Diesel Here is an interview we conducted in 2002. He acknowledges that all the quick-cut editing of his former Studio A work probably reduced their overall erotic value, and has since made clips which are longer in duration. An updated follow-up will be posted soon on Adult DVD Empire. Edited by - Diesel on 3/9/2003 3:38:01 PM Edited by - Diesel on 3/9/2003 3:39:08 PM Edited by - Diesel on 3/9/2003 3:39:36 PM [Link]
Gabriel Nine Senior Member Firecracker 1273 Posts 8/01	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 6:25PM Well, I've been enjoying reading this thread even if I can't comment properly myself. I've only seen one Andrew Blake movie, Decadence, but I thought it was excellent. It's purely by chance and varying priorities that I've failed to pick up any more (recommendations will be noted!). The depiction of Anita Blonde's beauty was of the highest order. I also liked the music / sound mix, kind of ambient vibes. It was certainly done at a whole other level to bog-standard porn, that's for sure. The intercutting is something that usually annoys me but this movie did it well. I'd tend to classify it as a "cigar and cognac" movie, something you could sit back and relish rather than work up a lather about. If you follow! On that score, I'd agree with Hardware's opening comment, but I doubt that Blake and Private's current direction make comfortable bedfellows! [Link]
skronker Notable Legendary Icon Scopophiliac 9780 Posts 9/02	Posted - Mar 9 2003 : 8:23PM I am looking forward ot your article Mike. I had a lot of fun with Blake's Zara/Ashlyn period movies, and they were very couples-friendly, which meant I had even more fun ;--) But I'm clueless about anything current. Would love to see some recommendations, I did find the experience of watching "Justine" recently to be remarkably resensitizing even though it's barely even porn! I like a porn world where you can have both Blake and "Dirty Trixxx," even though my tastes run strongly toward the latter, I do get aroused by the mere sight of "pretty girls" in swanky lingerie. [Link]
Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 12:54AM I saw "Justine" recently, and really liked it. The visual style Blake is using now - long, lingering, tantalizing shots, instead of the annoying fast cuts and repetitive shots he was using a few years back -- makes for a much more compelling and watchable movie. I also thought the low-key, unobtrusive musical score was particularly well-suited to the visual elements. [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 9:53AM Mike, finished viewing Pin Ups 2. Why did I choose this title? It was a whim. I was building up an order, decided it was time to get a Blake movie, and in going through the Studio A offerings it was the cast that caught my eye. Anita Blonde (yum yum), Temptress, and Inari Vachs in one film, portrayed by a person that has a reputation of shooting erotica very well? I simply added it to my shopping cart. The film, unfortunately, fell into the category that Jay911 described: there was a couple of titles that every scene seemed to be a collage of the whole film Click to expand I have watched something from pretty much the full spectrum of genres that porn has to offer, and Blake was one of the few gaps left. He is definitely at one end of the spectrum, but he is unique in how well he fills that particular niche. I haven’t seen anyone else yet, that fulfills what David X wrote: days of gazing at Penthouse pictorials and merely dreaming of seeing the girls in motion. Click to expand Seeing Anita Blonde in motion, but up to the excellent standards of a magazine photo shoot is fantastic. Blake seems to be a master at being able to do it. It’s hard to describe, especially as well as you have already. It’s not what you’d pull off the shelf everyday, but when that particular mood strikes you, I haven’t seen anything else yet that would fit the bill better. The recommendations made by you and others in this thread are being noted, and of particular note is the fact that his later stuff doesn’t have that ‘collage’ effect and there is more lingering by the camera in the scenes. Then I would be able to get my whole chin wet drooling before the camera/editing moves on. I’m sorry I can’t offer more of what you asked for in this thread, since it’s the only one I have viewed, but even with the ‘collage’ effect it is still more than enough to make me want to seek out more of his movies. DenverDon [Link]
Mitchum22 Member 21 Posts 10/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 11:23AM Hi, Mike. I'm a big fan of your reviews and this analysis of Blake's work is very interesting. I've been hooked -- or perhaps I should say I was once hooked -- by Blake since that opening scene from "Secrets". First time I'd seen Ashlyn Gere or Rocco Siffredi, and my tongue hit the floor. Everything was so chic and so hot. It truly was the beginning of Designer Porn. Then I realized that in fact I had seen Blake's work before: on the Playboy Channel. Under the name of Paul Nevitt, he was the man behind the Playboy series "Fantasies,", a series with much the same approach -- though completely soft, of course -- as "Secrets" and "House of Dreams". One 3-minute "Fantasies" segment of Blake's belongs in any Porn Hall of Fame: it featured the great Nikki Randall looking as silky and golden as anyone has ever looked stripping next to a pool at night, then getting fucked in the pool, and then up at poolside beneath falling showers. The segment was called "Heatwave". Indeed. So I was hooked on Blake, all through the 90s, up until he formed Studio-A. And now I find his stuff unwatchable. Aside from the obvious fact that he's given up on man/woman fucking, his style has now gone beyond self-parody, into some netherworld of sterility and emptiness. All his women look alike(6' tall, legs that go on forever, zero warmth or personality). He uses fifteen cuts when one will do. And his scenes -- even though most of his Studio-A movies run close to 2 hours -- are the same thing every time, in every Studio-A movie: one woman teasing in a dominant position another woman, or two another women, or two women dominating one other woman. On and on and on. No doubt Blake thinks of this stuff as "art". But of course something this repetitive and with a range of expression(emotional, aethetic, thematic) this narrow isn't art at all. Instead, it is the sign of someone who has lost his way and doesn't know what to do expect what he's done a hundred times before. Clearly, Blake has no one he listens to, IMHO, and the porn world has clearly passed him by. There are many other filmmakers now who could be called "Blakeians" -- Michael Raven, Nicholas Steele, Pierre Woodman, Michael Ninn -- whose films look just as lush as Blake's, who's women are just as good-looking(in fact better), and whose movies are a much more interesting, varied and complex erotica than anything Blake has done in years. The guy really needs to start over from scratch. 'Cause now his stuff is the porn equilavent of those old stuffed sofas we see in dreary museums. [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 4:48PM Hi, Early Blake I find highly arousing, especially when watching the films with other people, but the later films, of which I've seen little, leave me a little cold with or without a partner. More of my type of Blakian fantasy soft-core 'artistic' porn is one in which you have two girls doing some heavy petting and light licking while at the same time being intercut with scenes from another woman having fun with herself while she either remembers or imagines the other scene with the two girls, if you see what I mean. I'd rather watch something like Zazel than the new Blake, but then again, I think Zazel is one of the best porn films I've ever seen. (not that I've seen all that many, maybe 100, just for the record.) Speaking of Blake, anybody else seen his movie Venus Descending? It's not really my sort of film, but there's a great scene that takes place in the famous Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis-Brown House in the Hollywood Hills (some of you must know it from Decker's home in Blade Runner) and also a scene with a SS Officer. Nazis in porn? Yikes. New Member [Link]
crenshaw Member 59 Posts 4/00	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 5:24PM I find Blake movies incredibly boring. Even fans of soft porn would probably find them boring. [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 6:53PM Hi MLyons, Quick question, how would you compare your experience of, say, simply going out to a strip club with some friends, having a few drinks and enjoying the views, with that of watching those recent films by Blake? How does enjoying the live female form compare with the filmed, slow-motion beauties of Blake? (tangent thought-how do you feel about slow-motion in general?) I know women who think the early Blake movies are some of the best they've seen. Rocco with his suit and haircut and all that. And those great pool scenes in the Night Trip films. I'd guess early Blake was aimed at couples, mid-Blake, such as Venus Descending was aimed at nobody, and current Blake is aimed at heterosexual men. I wonder if lesbians like his current work? Hard to imagine straight women liking all-female movies, tall skinny bitch and all that, but who knows. I'm new here. Anybody know how many units Blake sales? Does me move a lot of discs? Is that what this thread is partly about, finding out who's buying the stuff? Zell1728: new member and porn novie @100 movies seen. Favorites include The Fashionistas, Serenade, Erotic Visions, Night Trips II, and The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. [Link]

MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 8:46PM First I'd like to say thanks to everyone for making this such an interesting disucssion. I'd love to continue it and maybe hear from some more of you lurkers out there... I feel very similarly to Aybesea (and new Blake discoverer, DenverDon) in that Blake's work is not necessarily my bread and butter porn--and in fact, I can't imagine pulling his stuff out to watch it on a regular basis. On the other hand, when I'm in the mood for scaling back into some serious "resensitization" as skronker put it, Blake is the first place I'll turn. I, for one, can not subsist on the purely visual "beauty" aspects of porn alone. I must have some chemistry most of the time, or at least the convincing illusion of chemistry in order to satisfy my now somewhat jaded perspective on porn. I think most here would agree that Blake simply doesn't deliver this type of emotional interaction--at least with his Studio A work. I would even go farther than that and say that because he doesn't do this, or is not willing to explore it, that his classification as a true erotic "artist" is somewhat in question. On the other hand, I find that Blake's stuff is by and large more RE-watchable than most of the porn I encounter. His earlier work, such as Night Trips II and Secrets, were produced over 13 years ago. I discovered them shortly after they were released and even now, I consider them to be two of the most stimulating movies I've ever seen. I've watched certain parts of them more times than I care to remember, and how many adult movies can I say that I haven't grown weary of over a that long a period of time? Sinfully few, I'm afraid. Similarly, although the character and emphasis of his work has changed dramatically with Studio A's inception, I have a feeling that Girlfriends and other movies like it will worm their way back into my viewing schdule again and again as the years wear on. My regular diet of more intense hardcore not withstanding, and with the possible exception of what is probably my favorite adult film ever made, The Fashionistas, I simply don't see myself watching most of the "assembly line porn" that I own (even with authentic emotional moments) as much as I will a select few of my favorite Blake films. Why is that? Is it because Blake engages my mind on so many levels besides just pure wack off? Is it because I truly am principally a visually oriented person, and I find more stimulous in Blake's complex imagery than I do in the questionably authentic emotion of "chemistry porn?" I think perhaps those are a couple of the reasons, but not all of them. The Fashionistas stimulates me in similar ways, and it adds on top of it that emotional element. Such adult films are so incredibly rare that when one comes along, they practically re-define porn. Ultimately it is probably far easier to do what Blake does than to do what Fashionistas does--which is why, I suppose, it is so rare for me to find a movie that touches the holy grail of real chemistry to the point where I can watch it again and again. Visual imagery is easier to achieve, and therefore for me, many of Blake's movies will be in my collection for years to come. By no means do I mean to speak for anyone else but myself, of course, but let me ask you this. Do you find that you're more apt to keep and watch over and over, movies that have those frustratingly rare instances of REAL emotion, or are you more likely to revisit movies that stimulate your pure audio/visual sensibilities? For most people, I imagine that the idea is to have both. Are there any adult movies out there that achieve both for you (Jules Jordan perhaps? Or John Stagliano? Or ?????) do you tend to gravitate to one over the other? Any other thoughts? David-J wrote: I am disappointed to hear that "Adriana" is perhaps not as good as I've been hoping (ever since that delicious girl took my advice and went back to Studio A instead of Anabolic). That movie is on its way to me. Click to expand No no... now I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. I don't think you should go by what I thought of it at all. I'm not a huge Adriana Sage fan, and that was certainly a part of it. Beyond that, though, the movie principally occupied itself with bondage elements. Normally this type of thing would be right up my alley, but for some reason it didn't work for me here. I remember that Pornmaster Mike, in another thread, said he was working on a review of Adriana and he led me to believe that he found the bondage elements quite interesting. Gabriel Nine wrote: The depiction of Anita Blonde's beauty was of the highest order. I also liked the music / sound mix, kind of ambient vibes. It was certainly done at a whole other level to bog-standard porn, that's for sure. The intercutting is something that usually annoys me but this movie did it well. I'd tend to classify it as a "cigar and cognac" movie, something you could sit back and relish rather than work up a lather about. Click to expand Although I just can't at all relate with the "cigar and cognac" imagery , perhaps this is another reason that I find Blake's movies more satisfying in a way, and re-watchable than most other "get me off--QUICK" porn out there. It offers you the chance to enjoy it in your own way--whether that be masturbation, or just plain appreciation... Maybe? skronker wrote: I like a porn world where you can have both Blake and "Dirty Trixxx," even though my tastes run strongly toward the latter, I do get aroused by the mere sight of "pretty girls" in swanky lingerie. Click to expand Amen brother--I feel exactly the same. I would like to see the porn world move in the direction of blending Blake's mastery of form and audio/visual stimuli AND Dirty Trixxx #2's isolated moments of raw authentic human emotion into the same movie. Is this even possible? DD--I haven't seen Pin-Ups 2, myself, but both Pin-Ups were highly recommended to my by Aybesea. As far as Anita Blonde in a less collage-like framework, I would highly recommend that you pick up Exhibitionists. Same goes for you Gabriel Nine. :) Mitchum22 wrote: All his women look alike(6' tall, legs that go on forever, zero warmth or personality). He uses fifteen cuts when one will do. And his scenes -- even though most of his Studio-A movies run close to 2 hours -- are the same thing every time, in every Studio-A movie: one woman teasing in a dominant position another woman, or two another women, or two women dominating one other woman. On and on and on. Click to expand I'm afraid I can't argue with you here. Adriana does take some baby steps in a different direction, but it all has to do with his exploration of form rather than any movement into the arena of emotion. With his later Studio A work, he does seem to confine himself to, well... too few variables. He uses the same women. And he uses the same setups, and for the most part he uses identical stylistic form (although I believe his editing is more successful in his later efforts). I'm not exactly sure if hardcore is the direction I would want him to go. I think (and I could be wrong) that if he were really interested in becoming a true pornographic artist, that he has to take the next step into marrying his exquisite exploration of audio/visual aesthetics with something far more accessible in terms of feeling. Although completely unrelated to this, your comment did bring to mind another subtlety in my reaction to a part of one of his movies. The movie Girlfriends had a featurette that featured non-other than April Flowers--shot before she really got into the business. I found this exceptionally stimulating for not only the reasons I've already stated, but also the added mental stimulous of knowing that April has since burned up the hardcore screen. Somehow that enhanced my enjoyment of just sitting back and admiring her body--something we hardly ever get to do in the world of true hardcore porn these days. I wish Blake would not be afraid to take some more of the less model-like but still frighteningly attractive hardcore performers of today (like Rita Faltoyano, or even women like Taylor Rain) and bring them into his world so we can see just how fabulously beautiful these women can be--and in doing so, also add allusions to their more hardcore work. This in tandem with my memories of past scenes could be very exciting for me. crenshaw wrote: I find Blake movies incredibly boring. Even fans of soft porn would probably find them boring. Click to expand Although I can't despute that you find Blake's films boring--a perfectly valid opinion (albeit an unproductive one), I would take issue with your claim that "Even fans of soft porn would probably find them boring." Judging by many of the responses in this thread alone, I can say with some confidence that your inductive reasoning in this case is terribly flawed. :) Are you tired of me yet? Any reactions, or further thoughts? Thanks again to all for such a great thread! Mike L. [Link]
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 8:59PM Zell1728 wrote: Hi MLyons, Quick question, how would you compare your experience of, say, simply going out to a strip club with some friends, having a few drinks and enjoying the views, with that of watching those recent films by Blake? How does enjoying the live female form compare with the filmed, slow-motion beauties of Blake? Click to expand I, personally can't answer this question yet. I've never been to a strip club. It's one of those things that I have got to try one day. Unfortunately I don't currently live in the ideal location. Maybe next year when I go to Vegas. :) I think this is a very interesting and very valid question though, and I'd like to hear from some people who can answer it.... Anyone? Anybody know how many units Blake sales? Does me move a lot of discs? Is that what this thread is partly about, finding out who's buying the stuff? Click to expand I have no ulterior motive in this thread. I'm merely a fan who is unconnected with the industry and find that exploring the why's and how's of what _I_ persaonlly feel very intersting. In finding out how others feel as well, I hope to learn more about myself--and maybe we can positively influence the industry while we're at it... ::shrug:: It's a dream, but you never know. . I really don't know anything about Blake's sales. I hear that he's very popular overseas... but I really don't know. BTW, Zell1728--welcome to the forum. Please post often and don't be a stranger around here! Mike L. [Link]
rt Member 42 Posts 12/01	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 9:03PM I am a fan of Blake's. When I want to see attractive women in a film that shows just how beautiful they are, I'll watch a Blake film. What I also like is that Blake lets me fantasize- he doesn't show every orifice filled every way possible way. My imagination can take me where no film director/editor can. Sometimes his cuts and edits leave me dissappointed but I have not seen a movie, porn or other, that I would not have done something different. My complaint with Blake is where are the non-white Euro women? How about some Asians and Africans? [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 9:46PM Mike, Thanks for the information on Exhibitionsts. Anita Blonde is one of my favorites (as abyesea already knows) and to have her alluringly presented to me with consummate skill that Blake seems to have ... well it is now on my list. The collage thing was a little disappointing, but as I said before there was plenty there to make me want to seek out more of his work. DenverDon [Link]
aybesea Senior Member Caroline Cage - Hungarian Hottie! 1485 Posts 5/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 9:50PM Don, Knowing you and your tastes (at least I think I do), you're gonna end up buying all of these (just like I have). [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 10:40PM Darn you ayb. I'm still working on the Dorcel stuff. Oh!! My wallet, my wallet. DenverDon [Link]
Walter Burns Legendary Quoter IAFD, supporters of beastiality. Just say no. 7564 Posts 11/02	Posted - Mar 10 2003 : 11:49PM DenverDon wrote: Darn you ayb. I'm still working on the Dorcel stuff. Oh!! My wallet, my wallet. DenverDon Click to expand Then why not combine the two. Pick up Paris Chic , an Andrew Blake flick with cast right out of a Dorcel flick: Lea Martini, Coralie, Anita Blond, Eva Falk and Tania Larivière. Of course, you might want to object to the presence of this American chick ... what's her name again ... ah, yes, Taylor St. Claire. [Link]
aybesea Senior Member Caroline Cage - Hungarian Hottie! 1485 Posts 5/02	Posted - Mar 11 2003 : 12:17AM Walter's got a point here! [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 11 2003 : 12:18AM Walter, Very funny you should mention that. Placed an order this afternoon, and that is in the order Are you looking over my shoulder? DenverDon [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 11 2003 : 8:15AM Hi MLyons, (or should I call you Mike-you can call me Zell and skip the number) Sometimes when I'm watching those solo girls on the Blake films (and I haven't seen many just to be clear) I think, man, this would be so much hotter if the girl were right in front of me. Not that I go to many nude shows, and I haven't been in years. Give it a go some day and then write in about how that feeling compared with what you're going through when you watch Blake. ;-) Hope I didn't sound like I thought you had some kind of under-handed motive for starting this . What I badly expressed was your (and my) interested in just how popular those soft-core arty mostly all girl Blake movies are. Hey, here's a comparison for you Mike, how does the solo girl action in the Blake films compare with Belladonna's tease scene in The Fashionistas, of which I know you are a great fan? How did the memory of hardcore sex scenes before that dance, and the assurance that there would be hard core sex after the tease, influence your viewing experience? I haven't had a chance to compare the two, but I guess that I was much more turned on (and I was really turned on) by Belladonna's dance than by the solo scenes in Blake's films. Any thoughts on this? We're touching upon my feeling that soft core sex is more powerful, at least for my viewing, when it's presented in a hard core context and not only in a soft zone. Zell1728: Porno tyro with @100 movies seen. Favorites include Zazel, The Fashionistas, Serenade, White Lightning, Erotic Visions, Night Trips II, and The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. [Link]

dumblonde Senior Member 2352 Posts 7/00	Posted - Mar 12 2003 : 10:15AM I can't add too much to the discussion because I've only seen Night Trips II. Even though it was erotic at times, I'm a heterosexual female, so it didn't do a lot for me. If I recall correctly, it was almost like looking at a Playboy Magazine - airbrushed, vacuous females that posed more than had sex. I like some man-meat [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 12 2003 : 3:02PM Ha, you sound just like the woman I watch these films with! I remember watching what I thought was a somewhat lame scene with one girl and maybe two or three guys and I wanted to fast forward the thing and she said something to the effect of "don't you dare. I like looking at men's bodies. I don't even care if they are having less than hot sex." She, for one, is very feed-up with the many all-female scenes in the movies we watch and would prefer all-male/female films. Me, well, what can I say, I'm a guy, I like watching women. ;-) I wonder if my lady friend would like gay porn? Personally, I don't get anything out of it, but if it made her happy, I'd be willing to give it a shot, kind of making up for all the female-only scenes she's sat through. Any recommendations? [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 12 2003 : 3:16PM MOD note: Zell1728, I know Mike Lyons appreciates responses to his thread. You have made a good statement in your last posting that could beg some good responses, however I would suggest that you open a new thread with your question so others can respond rather than derail and clutter up Mike's thread. Thanks. Edited by - DenverDon on 3/12/2003 3:59:12 PM [Link]
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 12:32AM I don't want this thread to overstay it's welcome, but I'm really enjoying it, and I thought I'd add a few more thoughts to the mix before I let it lie. :) In fact, I'm enjoying it so much that I might start another one on another specific (but very different) director whose work I find very interesting. Would anyone be interested in my continued inane and uneducated ramblings in this vein? One thing about Blake's work that hasn't been touched on to a great degree as of yet is his incorporation of music into his work. As someone who has an academic and professional design/tech oriented theatrical background, and also someone who has some rudimentary musical training and performance experience, I find Blake's use of this medium extremely interesting--albeit not always effective. Now I should admit that I don't have a HUGE amount of experience with all of Blake's work. I haven't seen his work with Penthouse, or much of his earlier work with Studio A. Given my limited exposure, though, I still think I can give some valid reactions. Although I can't say for certain (and perhaps Walter can help me here), I'm pretty sure all the films that Blake did with Caballero were scored by someone credited as "Rock Hard". It's really not important except to say that the scoring on Blake's early films as opposed to that of his later Studio A stuff, which is done by Raoul Valve, is vastly different. Part of this difference is admittedly the period in which these works are done, but there is more to it than that. Since I am most familiar with it, I'll use Night Trips II as an example. Night Trips II is a feature--a story, albeit a bit fragmented by vignette's disguised as dreams. I think that one of the central elements that ties these vignettes together into a coherent whole is the musical score of the movie. It is congruent throughout, and establishes not only a throughline with recurring musical themes, but also adds tremendously to the natural progression and buildup of the sexual scenarios themselves. I find that the eroticism that Blake presents is not driven by natural sexual responses and chemistry, but rather by a combination of audio/visual juxtapositions that must work together to create the desired response in the viewer. The music is essential in this regard. Although in Night Trips II, the music is admittedly driven by the late 80's techno-rock melieu, it is also extraordinarily effective in actually narrating the action--serving to replace the natural sounds of the performers with what I find to be a somehow equally exciting, purely artificial alternative. Like the elements of any great sex scene, it starts softly, less complicated... slowly, and builds as the scene builds--very carefully paced in tandem with the action on the screen, and yet it is all tied together in a way that helps the movie flow into a narrative whole. Although dated, I think the music in Night Trips II is a fundamental part of it's eroticism for this reason, and I would venture to say that very few other adult directors have been able to incorporate music so fully into the very fabric of an adult film. By contrast Raoul Valve's work as a composer for Blake has a very different feel, and although I'd still say it's purpose is to enhance the actual eroticism of what the viewer is watching, it doesn't work in the same way to achieve this goal. Raoul's work, in contrast to Rock Hard's, does not follow the progressive patterns that mimic a carefully choreographed sex scene. Instead it seems to provide an environment, rather than serve as narration for the action. I find that Raoul's work is a bit hit or miss in this regard, however. For me, in the case of Blake's movie, Aria , I found that the music almost made an otherwise gorgeous movie unwatchable while the sound was on. Admittedly, this was probably due to my bias for more melodic and directional music, and I'm sure others had their own, more positive reactions. Aria was dominated by piano work, and often just a combination of interesting, but dissonant chords. To me, this kind of broken, erratic soundscape clashed terribly with the soft, flowing, Blakian images that were presented on the screen, and I'm sure that I would have loved the movie (which even included a male/female encounter between Vince Voeyour and Adriana Sage--complete with facial climax) were it not for the incongruent musical background. By contrast, Girlfriends was a completely different story. Again, in keeping with Blake's developing style, the music serves to create an environment, and for me it was much more successful doing that in this movie. Part of it, I'm sure had to do with the fact that the music was by-and-large more accessible to me in its structure and more congruent with Blake's flowing visual style. What are your reactions or thoughts about this? Do you think the music in Blake's films play as big a part as I think it does? What are your favorite Blake scenes, and do you remember the music playing a part in your experience of it? Do you take issue with or have further ideas about my comments comparing the function of the music in Blake's early Caballero films versus his newer Studio A work? I'd love to hear your thoughts. rt wrote: What I also like is that Blake lets me fantasize- he doesn't show every orifice filled every way possible way. My imagination can take me where no film director/editor can. Sometimes his cuts and edits leave me dissappointed but I have not seen a movie, porn or other, that I would not have done something different. Click to expand I feel very similarly about Blake's work. Although I feel that way to a lessor extent about his work with Caballero, where he was still presenting definable situations in a loose narrative context. However, I still remember using my imagination to fill in the gaps during portions of Night Trips and Secrets. In his Studio A work, I think one of the differences is that there are more gaps to fill, and for some, like you and I, that can be a good thing, but for others it can be unfulfilling. Anyone disagree? Zell wrote: Hey, here's a comparison for you Mike, how does the solo girl action in the Blake films compare with Belladonna's tease scene in The Fashionistas, of which I know you are a great fan? How did the memory of hardcore sex scenes before that dance, and the assurance that there would be hard core sex after the tease, influence your viewing experience? I haven't had a chance to compare the two, but I guess that I was much more turned on (and I was really turned on) by Belladonna's dance than by the solo scenes in Blake's films. Any thoughts on this? We're touching upon my feeling that soft core sex is more powerful, at least for my viewing, when it's presented in a hard core context and not only in a soft zone. Click to expand I find it difficult to compare the two. I suppose I can say without a doubt that Belladonna's scene in the Fashionistas served to arouse me more. And I think that has to do with a number of different factors. The principal factor though, I think (and I could be wrong) is that fact that Belladonna's scene worked on both an aesthetic and emotional level. Visually, that scene was beautiful--with lighting that worked well in the narrative environment being created, and exquisite camera work that showed off Belladonna's gorgeous body and limber actions extremely well. Beyond that, though, there was an emotional and narrative backdrop that was undeniably powerful. Aside from the obvious bondage action interspersed with the tease itself, there was a feeling of character development and emotional sexual tension that made the scene work on multiple levels. With Blake's work, and I'll take "Justine's Leg Solo" in Girlfriends as an example, this emotional or passionate sexual element simply isn't there. I contend that there are a number of ways to bring that element to the viewer, and traditional narrative "story" is only one of the many ways. As much as I like Justine's solo for it's ability to force my concentration onto a more subconscious level of simple sexual appreciation for a beautiful woman, I still believe that the lack of a believable depiction of human feeling in Blake's work is one of his primary shortcomings. At the same time though, I find it impossible to say how he could incoporporate this element into his work. Incorporating these things is, I think, the real challenge of a true erotic artist--and it's a daunting one at that. SB Wrote: I can't add too much to the discussion because I've only seen Night Trips II. Even though it was erotic at times, I'm a heterosexual female, so it didn't do a lot for me. If I recall correctly, it was almost like looking at a Playboy Magazine - airbrushed, vacuous females that posed more than had sex. I like some man-meat Click to expand So, SB... I'm wondering if, in your porn travels, you've found anything that you enjoy purely on an audio/visual level. Have you found anything that you've watched that you've enjoyed purely for the aesthetic elements that have been presented to you? A male body--the way it looks from a certain angle, or in a certain light... or in front of the camera of a specific director? Does there always need to be an emotional connection with what you watch for you to enjoy it? If you haven't seen such a thing, do you think it's because it doesn't (or can't) exist, or becuase you haven't seen it yet? Ok, enough of me for now. I realize this thread is probably winding down. I know for a fact, though, that DD has some Blake movies coming to him in the mail, and I'd be interested to hear his further reactions when he's had a chance to watch them. That goes for any of you who have any reactions to what I've written--whether you've watched Blake or not. Thanks again, everyone for participating. I for one have found this to be a very interesting and fulfilling discussion--and I hope I haven't bored everyone with my over-analysis of what I admit to be my own psyche as I react to Andrew Blake's work. Thanks again. Mike L. Edited by - MLyons on 3/14/2003 12:40:40 AM [Link]
jay911 Member CO 41 Posts 12/99	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 1:03AM As I've stated, I am a fan. There is an element of his work that I really enjoy, or at least I made up, the fixation I have with these women just imagine them filming in these great locations and teasing,petting other beauitful women has got to get them sexually charged up. So, just carry your imagination along with that. Also, I would highly recommend you check The Villa with Kyla Cole, the women is a pure goddess. The cover alone is worth owning the DVD, plus I like to collect his movie posters for the same reason, sweet. [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 7:52AM Hi Mike, another great post from you. Yeah, I'm a big fan of these sorts of threads and I wish I'd had more time this week to get into the thread and watch some of those old Blake movies I have. And it's been a couple of years since I rented one of his new releases and have only a foggy memory of them, so I don't have much to say on them. On the other hand, I do have a few general comments to make on the music in Blake videos issue. I know that in Night Trips II that the combination of sight and sound helped draw me into the film. I'm not sure, but I think I'm more impressionable/sensitive to music in adult films when I'm watching them with someone, kind of like listening to music of any sort. I usually enjoy music better when I'm experiencing it with someone. Not always, sometime you just want to put the headphones on and be by yourself. But I think when the music is good and is working with the images that it gives an added element for you and the person/people you're watching the film with to get mixed up in, to share the eroticism with. Quick question: does music get eroticised in some adult films and not in others? Not simply does the music fit the scene, but does the music itself, given the visual element of the entire media experience, get suffused with some kind of sensual heat that it wouldn't have if you merely listened to the music itself? I wonder if something like this might not be going on with our pleasure in watching and listening to Blake. Mike talked about how the music becomes a fundamental element to the film, and I think this is true, but how does this happen? For me it's more, I think, I suspect, I must double check soon!, it's a lot like Mike's experience, the choreography of thing, making the music seem more than an background element and putting it right up there in the foreground with the visual element. Much of the porno music I've heard is either annoying or kind of filler. Not so in some of Blake's work. Not so in the Fashionistas (something often commented on) And not so, for me at least, in Serenade. Like Mike, I also wonder how the absence of the sounds of the people in the movies effect us. Some people can't stand the lack of performer sounds, I've heard, and that helps contribute to the 'cold' feeling they get from Blake. Me, I think Blake is out to do something special, something unusual with the music in his films and understands that having sounds coming from the performers would change to total effect of the scene. Correct me if I'm wrong or have missed reading a posting, but is Blake still not ever using the sound from his performers in his new films? I've not watching many lone women scenes; what usually accompanies them? Sounds some them saying "oh baby, you make so hot; my pussy is so wet; ah, ah, ah, oh." That sort of thing? Or is the total sound produced for these scenes usually mainly music? Is Blake simply falling industry standard when he has only music in his lone female shots? I have no idea? Didn't Nin do a Blake like series? Diva I think it was called? I think I have one of those tapes somewhere in my collection. How does it compare with Blake? In that Martin Amis article I mentioned a few days ago, Amis pays a short trip to a Blake shoot, and he makes it sound like Blake is constantly giving intensely detailed instructions to the performers. I have no idea how sound is miked on a set, but perhaps Blake likes to talk a lot during the filming, talk that couldn't be mixed out of the scenes, which could help explain why he doesn't use scene-sound. Or perhaps he talks to so because he knows there's going to be music laid over all the sounds. I wonder if he even records the sound of the shoot. Does he have music in mind before the begins filming? Does he work the the sound people? How much control does he have over the sound? A lot, I guess, considering he runs his own studio! ;-) I wonder if any music is playing while he films? Zell, new guy mouthing off again. Hang onto this thread for a little bit longer, Mike. I know I'm going to have some free time to kill this weekend. I'll break out my old Blake tapes and Venus Descending, and the Nin Diva, and Serenade and try to have a more meaningful post. [Link]
DenverDon Benevolent Firmly Embedded in Depravity 5914 Posts 7/02	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 9:34AM Mike (and Zell), Music in porn all too often is an unexplored (or unused) avenue. It is a major major element in mainstream Hollywood and viewers I think are so accustomed to it and expect it that many times they simply do not sit back and analyze how much it enhances the visual scene playing out before their eyes on the screen. In porn however, for a long time it was too often just thrown in to have some 'noise' there. It did nothing or very little to enhance or even to go along with the scene. Through much of the 70s and 80s for example, if there was music many times it was just loud, guitar clanging twanging and irritated the hell out of you and drowned out (or obscured) sounds from the performers. So when someone like Blake comes along (or a few of the other studios that make the effort to pay attention to the music or sound track) It comes as a very pleasant surprise and make you sit up and take notice. Evil Angel and some Wicked are others that make the attempt and do a pretty good job. Sounds from the performers can also enhance a scene, but it need to be done carefully. Metronome oh oh oh ah doesn't ring true and I sit back and think "oh geez", crank the volume down a bit and sit back and watch. Voice overs have to be done carefully and with a lot of attention to detail if they are trying to mimic the lip movements on screen. (Voice overs can be very helpful if the performers are from a lot of different countries and speak many different languages.) This is more of a general statement Mike, as I'm expecting my shipment to arrive today. DenverDon [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 5:54PM Hi Guys, Oh lord. New Wave Hookers 6 just came in today along with Tanya Hyde's Dreams, and here I am in Andrew Blake assignment land. Pity me. what to watch, what to watch? Okay, back to Blake. I've had a chance to watch a little bit of the two Night Trips films and it's clear to me that the sound is being mixed into the visual elements with the sound person paying close attention to what he/she is doing. Often when the images change (and boy do they change often) there's a in-time change with the music. I think that's one of the things that helps foreground the music and make it such a part of the entire experience, this constant and consistent hand-in-hand alternation with the sound and images. The music by itself I don't find very interesting and it sounds just about all generated by synths. Nor do I hear much dramatic/thematic development throughout the scene. Lot of variations on the same riff, played over and over again on different instruments. What I do hear, however, and I think this is pretty rare, though I could be wrong, is individual parts of different synth instruments/sounds completely dropping in and out of the mix. Here's a horn-like sound for a while, and then, in time with a cut/edit, there it goes, and here comes a new sound to replace it. The soundscape is in constant flux that way. There's also seemed to often by a kind of low level nearly continuous bass-like sound in the music, something for the rest of the instruments to play over, and also something that created a feeling of constancy in the film, a drone that sinks into your skull. David Lynch films are known for this as well. I also noticed that the instrumentation seemed to just about completely change from scene to scene, something else adding variety to the entire film. For me, the lack of performer sounds, and the way the fairly inoffensive music, with all it's variety and receptiveness, is so well timed with the sexual images creates an atmosphere in which the music does become eroticised and an extensive of the sexual images on the screen. Sometimes it's almost as if the instruments are the voices of the performers. (one thing that caught me attention was a bj scene early in night trips when Tori is getting a facial and as the guy is climaxing the sound of relatively low-volume cymbals is brought into the mix. When the orgasm is over, the cymbals drop out, and then the rest of the music starts to wind down.) More later, Ps: this stuff looks positively impossible to jack-off to! Very sensual/sexual/erotic for me. But not jack-off material. Love the lesbian threesome scene in NT2, and is it my imagination of does these women have more pubic hair than is the norm now? Zell, Porno Tyro [Link]
MLyons Senior Member 1617 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 5:59PM Just FYI-- I'll be out of town for the weekend, but I'll be checking in here and there. I won't be able to give a proper reply until later, but I look forward to reading more reactions from everyone if you're so inclined. Have a good weekend all. Mike L. [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 14 2003 : 10:07PM Oh no, Mike's abandoning his post! I should have added that as hard as I think it is to go solo while watching a Blake early film, they are fantastic to watch as a couple. I have from who knows where a four title tape of Blake's films, Secrets, both Night Trips, and House of dreams. It's probably the favorite tape for my girl friend and I to put on and fool around all-night long to. We just put the thing in at the start, break out the drinks, water and stronger stuff sometimes, the pillows and blankets and some assorted exercise equipment that we've figured out how to use for sex (remember the big ball in Blue Movie? got one of those, and don't forget about your stepper either!) the lube and the towels and spent the night altenating from having sex to taking a break, watching a little more of the film that we never stop from playing, screw a little more, take turns having oral sex and descriping to each other what we're seeing on screen. What a blast that is! As a matter of fact, I'l like to write more about this sort of night and how Blake's early films are just about perfect for it, but she's on her way over here right now and I've got to get the house and Buttman's Toy Stories set up. [Link]
Zell1728 Member 42 Posts 3/03	Posted - Mar 15 2003 : 2:38PM Hi forum, quick post, anybody remember the mainstream film Aria from the late 80s? It's been years since I've seen it, have only a vague recollection of it, and saw online that it was recently remastered and was released on DVD last year. Neither of my local video stores has it. The movie was a compilation of ten vignettes/short films from 10 different directors, mainly of sexual nature, if I remember correctly (I should read the reviews!) all with opera arias used as the soundtrack. I wonder if this movie was of any influence on Blake, who also came out with an "Aria" movie or on Ninn, who did Diva 4: Sexual Aria. Connections? [Link]
jay911 Member CO 41 Posts 12/99	Posted - Mar 15 2003 : 6:34PM Zell, I doubt Blakes Aria has anything do with it, his inspiration would be Aria Giovanni, of course what else would you need? Side note, I watched Adrianna last night, pretty wild, more bondage intensive than usual. Not filming in film but with DV is also a bit odd to see from him. [Link]
dumblonde Senior Member 2352 Posts 7/00	Posted - Mar 16 2003 : 3:41PM Mike writes: "So, SB... I'm wondering if, in your porn travels, you've found anything that you enjoy purely on an audio/visual level. Have you found anything that you've watched that you've enjoyed purely for the aesthetic elements that have been presented to you? A male body--the way it looks from a certain angle, or in a certain light... or in front of the camera of a specific director?" Mike, have you seen the guys in straight porn? Seriously, you guys have no idea how good you have it. I'm not saying that they are all unappealing, but very few of them are, and I'm not convinced that it's always unintentional either. The only job requirement seems to be possession of a Giant Sequoia, and if by chance they even show a male's body in a flattering way, it's not for very long, because most male home wankers don't even want to see the dude's face. They say it kills the mood, and since a lot of their mugs could stop a train, I can't disagree. So, to even get an aesthetic appreciation going is difficult, although I personally believe that there IS some truth about females in general not being as visually oriented. There are NO male nude magazines (Playgirl readership is largely gay) or websites that feature this that aren't gay, so this seems to bear this out. It has nothing to do with female 'shame' or 'guilt', despite what people employed by the porn industry would like you to believe. Hello, it's 2003 the last time I checked a calendar. I'm big on audio, but even there, there's little to get excited about. The males never speak, except to say "suck it" "oh yeah" etc. Nothing gets me hotter than to hear a little dirty talking and those little grunts and groans that build, but that's also rare. I'm not saying never, but it's rare. As for the music in porn, most of it gets in the way rather than enchances, in my opinion. Granted my musical tastes are not very sophisticated, but I hate all that synthecized syrupy crap. Give me some AC/DC and I'll be happy. [Link]
Pornmaster Mike Senior Member 32DDD 1462 Posts 8/02	Posted - Mar 20 2003 : 5:09AM i did a review of Adriana - i quite enjoyed it - more than i expected to... you can view it here - Pornmaster Mike www.adultdv-depot.com [Link]