I just watched another David Stanley movie - "Before I Wake".
It was so good. Such a great story concept. And the ending made me cry. I could feel myself melting. My chest got tight and my nose tingled and the fat hot tears fell.
Why doesn't this guy make mainstream features? Damn it! His movies are clever and observant and funny and layered and - shit - I think David Stanley is my new crush!
I've watched all the titles that were recommended in an older David Stanley thread. Although I'll eventually end up watching everything - anyone have any David Stanley favorites?
I'm going to assume that I probably responded to the other thread you're talking about (I don't remember), but I'll throw out a few titles. Keep in mind I still have a lot of catching up to do on his Vivid days, so these might not be his best there.
What Are Friends For? (One of my favorites. Comments here.)
Harlequin (one from the more emotional column. Comments here.)
Bare Stage (loved the live theater concept, comments here.)
Pretty Girl (It's been reviewed here. Possibly the definitive Stanley porn/love conflict story.)
Nice Neighbors (just fluff, I guess I like it because I love Gina Ryder)
Good Things (Possibly a better movie than a porno. I liked the theme of it, but the sex wasn't super-necessary to the plot. Would have been a fine short film with no porn in it.)
It's been quite a while since I've watched a Stanley movie, but I agree that he deserves a lot more credit and attention than he seems to get. So far I think Pretty Girl might be my favorite from him.
In my search for an old flick at AdultDVDMarketplace, I came across a bunch of old Stanley Vivid movies for under $3, so in a few days I'll be screening Breathe, Girl of My Dreams, and Moxie. I love a bargain.
Girl of My Dreams in particular sounds like a classic Stanley plot.
ObiBong - thanks for the suggestions and the review links. And yes, you did respond to the older thread also. :)
Saw "Pretty Girl" for the first time this week. I loved it! I watched it 3x in a row. And I was crying *again* (this is getting ridiculous) during the Ashley Blue/Eric Masterson sequence with the "when I look at her" monologue at the end of the film. It was so heartfelt. It killed me.
I've seen "What Are Friends For?" and liked it quite a bit - cute and entertaining. Reading your reviews, "All About Keri" is what I want to watch next. It sounds great and who doesn't want to see the breathtaking Keri Sable, right?
Although I do have this weird thing that when I discover a writer, a musician, a filmmaker - I have to read/listen/watch their work in chronological order. I suppose it allows me to better appreciate their creative evolution. So I want to check out the very first projects he did with Elegant Angel. They seem very different. Not so introspective.
I got excited about the prospect of $3 DVDs, but AdultDVDMarketplace doesn't ship to me. Phooey on them! I look forward to your reviews though.
I'm really surprised that more people didn't respond to this thread. David Stanley is a porn director like no other. I guess that's the problem. Who wants to cry when they watch porn? The "Before I Wake" cry was good. It was a romantic I-can't-hold-my-boyfriend-close-enough cry. The others ("Pretty Girl" and "Strangers When We Meet") were sad people-can-be-so-distant-and-far-away cries. If he were making mainstream films, he would receive more attention and appreciation. David Stanley - he just doesn't fit porn - the square peg in a round hole.
I checked out his myspace page. He's working on a documentary. Says it's his first mainstream project in 15 years (!). Good for him. I say it's long overdue.
Well I hope you like it, but I will admit it hasn't exactly made me cry.She's beautiful in an almost inhuman way. It's moot since she's gone now, and who cares what I think anyway, but she does get a little overly made up. It's like her beauty has had all the edges smoothed off of it -- she's like a pretty stone at the bottom of a stream, perfectly polished.
I saw her pre-makeup in a BTS for a Digital Playground movie, I think, and it was a big difference. Her face had a little more angularity, and I think she even had freckles. I liked it, but I can see why she would think she looks better in polished mode.
Girl of My Dreams: Hey, turns out this is Savanna Samson's first Vivid movie, according to the BTS. It's funny to see her so shy and nervous, being used to her as a confident veteran now.
Anyway, the movie. Almost good. A little bit of a meta plot, with a guy who worships a TV star (Savanna) getting an unexpected chance to meet her, right when she happens to emotionally need some unconditional devotion. They get together, and just when you think Stanley's going to pull some kind of interesting twist on the dynamic of the relationship, we cut to a sex scene between two totally extraneous characters and then ... the movie ends. WTF? Oh well, maybe Moxie will be better.
I really liked his movies when he was at Vivid. He always had some sort of a creative idea and the sex was pretty good. He directed one about a crazy guy that talked to his pants. I think it was Voodoo, It was nice to see low budget features with an idea behind them. For a while vivids so called features were like shity gonzo movies. I recently reviewed a coulple of movies from a new director at vivid who shoots a great feature that reminded me of a Stanly movie with really hard sex.
I know I've followed Savanna Samson less than I should. I guess I could say the same about Kira Kener. Good golly, she's beautiful. She's not as good an actress as Samson, but she's more my type.
Moxie and Breathe are maybe only the second and third Kener movies I've seen. Moxie was kind of bad. It employs two of my least favorite devices: 1) there's porn playing on the TV in the bar, so we'll watch that scene, and 2) Hey, the lead actress has an exact lookalike! What a coincidence!
It does share a thematic element with Breathe and a lot of Stanley movies -- a lot of it takes place in a hospital. In Moxie Kener is in a coma after a car accident; In Breathe she's giving birth, and the whole movie is her inner dialogue cursing her husband in that traditional sitcom way.
But it's not played for laughs, she's really pissed. The movie tells us why in flashbacks, and she's got a pretty good case. The movie hints at different ways it can conclude, and it ends on a Stanley-esque note.
So overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the $11 or so I spent on those three movies. Breathe was best, Girl of My Dreams wasn't bad, Moxie was bad. Bottom line is, I'll put his upcoming Wicked movies at a higher priority than his old Vivid movies, though I'll probably go back for a little more Samson and some Sunrise Adams.
Savanna Samson is beautiful. She reminds me of a Uma Thurman/Britney Spears baby. Weird mix, I know.
Two Stanley movies arrived: "All About Keri" and his latest, "Rapture in Blue". Can't wait to watch them both.
I'll also check out "Breathe". Thanks for the quickie reviews.
Stanley posted a suggestion list of 8 titles on his myspace blog:
1. Lady of the Evening 2. Prettygirl 3. Viewer Discretion 4. Happy? 5. Harlequin 6. Just Like That 7. Rendezvous 8. 1000 Words
I've seen 5 of them. I'm hoping this isn't his top 8 out of all 85 because if it is, then it's all downhill from here. And 6 of them are Wicked titles.
Bought "1000 Words" - I love that one to bits. (well, I love silent movies - see avatar - and it's essentially a silent film.) There's a hospital in that one too. Strange. Was he sick as a child or something?
Has anyone seen "Viewer Discretion"? Sounds interesting and there are sex scenes shot in black and white which is a turn-off for most, but something that I would really like to see.
Interesting list from him. Is it supposed to be in order of recommendation? If so, I'm shocked that Lady of the Evening is up there. It's pretty good, but I can't imagine what would make it seem special to him.
I rented Viewer Discretion when it came out, quite a while back I think, so I don't remember it well. I just wanted to check out Malezia. I think it was just a string of parodies of different tv/film styles, which was interesting and I'm sure was fun for him as a filmmaker, but it didn't leave a big impression on me.
"Rapture in Blue" is "A Christmas Carol" with the wife, Julia Ann, as the Scrooge character - right down to her carrying a candelabra. Instead of the three spirits, a blue teddy bear (with no paws! - human girl hands! ack!) walks her through the past, present and future. She learns how her stinginess with affection and warmth drove her husband, who truly loves and desires her, to infidelity. The teddy bear had a heart-shaped nose exactly like my beloved Harmony Care Bear, so of course I had an immediate giddy affection for the big blue teddy (who did no sexing). This is another Stanley film that I could appreciate the idea behind it, enjoy the little clever bits and pieces, but have mixed feelings about the big picture. The sex scenes felt sleepy, almost lazy, and disjointed which fits in with the overall feel, but never got me very hot. I laughed quite a bit and even got the willies once. "Rapture" is appealing but not entirely satisfying. It's definitely not a starter Stanley flick, but for those who would know what to expect from him.I think it was just whatever came into his head that he thought was good. Not his top 8 of all time. He had mentioned earlier in the blog that he had just watched "Lady of the Evening" so it was fresh in his mind.
Stanley's brief work with Elegant Angel in the late 90s was quite good and often neglected. Just re-watched "Fast Forward" last week. Stephanie Swift, Leanna Hart, Missy, Toni James, Jessica Darlin, etc... Top notch.
^ You know, I often get search terms in my blog stats like "obibong goregoregirl." He made some new movies recently, and I haven't gotten around to watching any of them. I wanted to watch the one about the twins. That looked cool.
