I got into porn on the back of subscribing to Suze Randall's website. She proved to me that porn was glamour and that one could have an artist legitimising an otherwise underground, disregarded movement.That was when glamour sex was such a novelty to me. Now I'm just obsessed with anal sex. But hey, we all change in fits and spurts.
I noticed while trawling Orgazmik.de that Suze has some discs out, probably full-length scenes from which she extracted her photo stills to form her famous collections. Theoretically, as Don Delillo describes in his novel RUNNING DOG, for porn to be erotic, you need movement. If I adored Suze's photos, then theoretically I should love actual video of her stars all dolled up and fucking. Except nowadays, I'm such a fan of anal, and I remember all sorts of vanilla sex in Suze's shoots, and not much anal.
So - are Suze's movies worthy of her class reputation, or is all glamour and quite dull sex?
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Pocketcomb_Pimp Deactivated User
1921 Posts 7/03
Posted - Jan 10 2005 : 11:24AM
I reviewed Dark Side. I had hoped it was IR, but turns out it was not. It had all the glamour, beauty and style of her photography. It had all of the remnants of classic 80's 90's porn, but it lacked the heat, nastiness, and rawness of todays works. Even though these girls are free agents, this had the stink of contract work all over it.
Her films are actually generally extraordinarily disappointing, given the quality of her photography and the efforts she goes to with her set-ups and aesthetic design. I think the reviews here at ADT confirm this.
I wonder if any feedback ever gets to Suze about this, or whether she or Holly read the reviews. The editing and camera angles are particularly misguided, which is horrifying given the quality of the lighting, picture quality, costumes and make-up.
Nothing says I love you so much as a tongue in the ass. 2884 Posts 1/03
Posted - Jul 4 2006 : 9:03AM
I recently saw Love Between The Cheeks, which disappointed me. I wasn't quite as appalled as Astronight in his review. I think the camera angles are always going to be a problem if a pornographer is trying to reach a wider market and get PPV play. It's one of the things that always hold back features for me. Serving two masters rarely works out. I did find the editing draconian, and that's something that doesn't have to be. Instead of letting the natural heat flow, it gets turned into a pretty highlight reel. I think that if Holly Randall had done the extra work to make a DVD that stands on its own, separate from other venues that the video would be available, it could have been quite good.
Almost sounds like if Suze were to keep doing exactly what she does now, but had someone like Mike Quasar direct/film it, we would have some exquisite porn.
Another possibility is that Suze be the cameraperson for another director. She's too much of her own brand for this to ever happen, I imagine, but can you imagine a Jake Malone directing Suze as his cameralady? Or Holly Randall doing the camerawork for Kylie Ireland? Jeez, the sky would be the limit.
However, this would probably miff too many egos. Shame. There's a saying: 'if it doesn't move, how can it be erotic?' Suze's stills defy that trend, especially in relation to the video work.
Unfortunately for Ms. Randall, being a great still photographer does not confer knowledge about how to be a great movie maker. Aside from some general knowledge about lighting they are two completely different skill sets.
I think part of what appalled me so much with Love Between The Cheeks was the wasted potential (there was also what I thought a horribly misleading cover, which got the overall movie penalized by a full point). There was one heck of a great cast there with Dana Vespoli, Katsumi, Marie Luv, Michelle B., Taylor Rain (I dare anybody to find a weak spot for an anal movie with those five!), and the setups should have worked very nice for a classy gonzo movie. Yes, Suze is known for having stuff a bit more beautiful, but this was put forward as a gonzo anal movie with two of the seven pictures on the back cover being of double penetrations. I doubt I'm alone in having some hope for somebody able to do nastier sex with a bit of class and style. Bringing in somebody like The Quaze for behind the camera and finding somebody who knows how to edit a movie without a blender would be a great idea. Talented people like that would be able to put together a movie with plenty of hardcore and softer shots which would be able to be turned into something for the PPV market as well. As is, with how poorly Love Between the Cheeks was done with the potential in front of the camera, I'm not sure I want to watch another Suze Randall movie. It's going to take either a very positive review from somebody who's I really trust or a fair amount of alcohol to get one of Suze's DVDs into my player again.
"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling
This thread is conflating (at the very least) direction, cinematography, and camera operation. It would be a stretch to add production, gaffing, and editing.
When Holly Randall was doing most of the directing i liked the films a lot, but recently Big Black Onyxx is doing most of the directing and i've been a bit disappointed since.
Also, selecting models for a still shoot and casting performers for sex scene should probably be done differently. There appears to be little consideration of chemistry or compatibility in the casting of Suze's movies, even less so than in most features. It seems that to Suze, it's all about the look, and how each moment on the DVD will look if freeze-framed. Problem with that is each freeze-frame looks posed, which is exactly what I don't want from live-action sex. I'm all for pretty-looking porn, but more than anything, porn should be physically arousing, and Suze's stuff just bores me.
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Jul 4 2006 : 3:12PM
I have to confess that--at least as far as porn goes--I thought these three were pretty much the same.
More often than not they are, with predictable results.
I still remember the first Suze Randall Penthouse spread I whacked too. At the tender age of 19, the idea that a chick has the one shooting was so fucking hot! It was like she was jerking me off! Not so much fun to think of Hank Londoner giving me a blowjob.
I have to also agree that the one disc I've reviewed by BBO also was sub-par, and also suffered from a bait-and-switch cover. Though not so badly as this one seems to be.
Suze Randall @ AEBN
Posted - Jan 10 2005 : 7:54AM