Is there any special reason for using 1986 as a cutoff point? There's plenty of plot-based Euro-porn made after that, you know.

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The earliest European features were made in Denmark and Sweden, but the best were from France, after the legalization of pornography in 1975. There is no point in detailing a lot of titles for readers here that they won't find anywhere, so I will limit myself to two films I would recommend from this period that are available on DVD.

The first is Le Sexe qui Parle (Pussy Talk) , which is often called the first French hardcore classic. Not quite, perhaps (Exhibition was), but this film holds up pretty well to this day. Made by the Lansac/LeRoi partnership, it is paired on DVD with a later Lansac film, Le femme Objet , on one DVD. I have not seen the DVD print on this (Blue One), so I cannot tell anyone about the quality, etc. I doubt there are any cuts from the original. There may be other editions of this title on DVD as well (?)

I have also noticed the Caballero has released a new DVD version of Education of a Baroness (Indecencies 1930 aka Parties Fines) , which is probably the best hardcore film of Bridgitte Lahaie's career (and one of the earliest). It dates from about 1977. Blue One has also released an edition of this one, and for me, I would be inclined towards the European import version--US companies are suspect in their treatment of DVD transfers on the old classics, and often edit them as well (and let's not forget the terrible dubbing). The Blue One edition is region-free PAL, the Cab. is NTSC. This film, by Gerard Kikoine, is for many old fans a model of the French style in hardcore: intelligent, humorous, fetishistic, and polished.

Most women would enjoy these films, I think, despite the obviously sexist theme of Indecencies 1930 . The only irritating thing for many contemporary viewers might be the editing in of insert close-up footage--a habit in old porn that gets old rather fast. That caveat aside, these are both worth seeing. I know they are available at Orgazmik to buy; you might shop a bit at other retailers if you find Orgazmik a bit pricey (I do). Also, I recommend www.egafd.com as an excellent resource for info about classic Euro porn.

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Despite the historical significance of Le Sexe Quie Parle , I suspect the best selling titles in the Alpha France catalogue are those featuring Brigitte Lahaie. My initial exposure to Ms Lahaie was via her performances in a couple of Jean Rollin's vampire movies and I've subsequently found her hardcore work to be a bit of a mixed bag. My favourite is La Maison Des Phantasmes /Clarisse /Soumission , a movie with quite a serious tone. This one has quite a libertine feel to it and works well as a dramatic movie - highly recommended. It's available on double-sided disk and paired with Couple Cherche Esclaves Sexuels which is only recommended for those suffering from insomnia.
Another classic film featuring Ms Lahaie (and, like Soumission , also directed by Claude Bernard-Aubert albeit under a pseudonym) is Fievres Nocturnes . Here, one of Brigitte's neighbours (understandably) becomes fixated on her. The film is well made, enjoyable from start to finish and has a couple of nice dream-sequences.
Finally, in terms of recommendations, is Les Petites Ecolieres from 1980. This is an enjoyable if inconsequential movie directed by Claude Mulot. I believe it was also one of Brigitte's last hardcore performances. Here she runs a school in which young girls are tutored in the erotic arts.

Of the other European films I've seen from this period, only three are currently available on disk: Auto-Stopeuses En Chaleur , the first French hardcore I saw, is entirely unremarkable. Parties Fines is well made but didn't do a lot for me. Je Suis Un Prendre , by Francis Leroi, is a very stylish film but isn't currently available in English.

Finally, a word on the quality of these disks. Be warned that the English dubbing (all disks mentioned above have English soundtracks unless otherwise noted) is pretty poor. However, the visual quality of the Alpha France disks is excellent. All the movies are presented widescreen (I assume in their original aspect ratio's) and look fabulous. There is actually a documentary on the restoration of La Femme Objet included on that disk. If only the relevant US companies took such care (and pride) when releasing their classic movies. All of the disks I've mentioned are PAL and most are 'region free' but, a couple are apparently region two encoded. They can all be purchased from Xploited cinema.

Enjoy!

SDC

Edited by - sdc on 10/12/2003 9:09:51 AM

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I was interested to read sdc's opinions on the Lahaie films available from Blue One; I did not detail any other than Parties Fines in my original post, as most of her other features depend rather heavily (for me) on whether you find Lahaie herself exotic and appealing, given her amount of on-screen time in most of them. I personally find her very beautiful, but generally a wooden, mechanical sex performer. I think I once told someone she was the European Shauna Grant; too harsh, I think now, and I must also confess a relative indifference to Aubert (alas Burd Tranbaree) as a director. I did like Soumission , however. My favorite of her other films is Je Suis un Prendre .

There are many other interesting and remarkable European porn films made during the classic era, most of which desperately need the sort of definitive re-mastering that has been given to the Lahaie catalogue. Lasse Braun's Sensations needs a DVD version from source material. Max Pecas' Les Milles et une Perversions de Felicia needs a uncut hardcore edition on DVD. And so on.

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