Because the sex was mechanically more authentic. It was pretty much the same kind of sex real people were having in real life. Same pace, same places (more beds), same positions, with slight allowances for open to camera. Today things are more athletic and high intensity and high speed, with the guys pounding away at 200 strokes per minute, and the girls feverishly trying to keep up. Lots of uncomfortable positions, especially the couch scenes. It's hard to look like you're having fun when you're working so hard, under uncomfortable conditions.
Add to that....the camerawork today is Piss Poor in most porn. In the 70's and 80's it was alot more comfortable to watch, depite it being quite possibly boring to many viewers today.
Producer, Director, HBO/Cinemax, International Award Winner. 75 Posts 2/10
Posted - Feb 11 2010 : 8:09PM
Good observations. My experience having shot countless scenes over the years is that the newer generation of performers are more business savy. They're not necessarily in it for the craft so-to-speak. The larger percentage of new performers now are out for the quick dollar and many have unwarranted attitudes in tow. Many of the new hot ones take on an "I'm entitled" attitude even though they haven't really earned it. The sex performed now feels forced and for the most part is nothing close to erotic. It may as well be an athletic event. But to be fair, that's what mainstream TV has become as well right? It's kind of a plague hanging over our times. I watched the original "Talk Dirty To Me" recently (1982ish) It was a riot, practically softcore by today's standards but completely entertaining. I'm being very general, there are of course exceptions, but those exceptions don't tend to sell as many units.
Gravity as Curved Space: Bootymeister's Theory of General Relativity 1589 Posts 11/08
Posted - Feb 11 2010 : 8:42PM
The porn of the 70s and 80s seemed to be more like a B movie with sex instead of action and violence. Today's porn does not seem to be about sex. It seems to be about nasty acts and fetish. Sex on film was an accurate way, in the 70s and 80s, to describe to a new porn actress what she would be required to do. Nasty acts on video is the current description. Won't get nasty? It's one and done.
you mean aside from the fact that the average porno shoot today involves shoving a huge dick up the girls ass---choking her half to death---slapping her in the face--and then stepping on her face?? yeah--i too wonder why these girls look uncomfortable.. jeesus.
Still wanking after all these years. 8082 Posts 10/00
Posted - Feb 13 2010 : 5:21AM
Timing too, most people don't fuck feverishly for 45 minutes or more... Many sex scenes in classic porn movies are relatively short, like in real life.
Boy, do we disagree on this. One of the things I dislike most about the porn I've seen from the 70s and most of the 80s was the camerawork during sex. The stuff I've seen from that era about half the shots you couldn't even tell if there was real penetration (and in some cases there probably wasn't). I'm not saying I need to see extreme closeups of genitals but I tend to like actually seeing the penetration happening. I think the biggest difference between then and now is back then it was more about the camera capturing people having sex. Now it's about performing for the camera. Both styles are legit and have their positives and negatives. I think sex scenes should have a bit of both styles (and sometimes some do). If I had to choose one extreme over the other I'd have to go with the modern performace style because in many cases if you simply capture people having normal (non-performance) sex it can end up being fairly boring.
Hi Draxxx, There is no doubt that today's camerawork captures alot more detail and such.....but what bothers me is the amount of movement. The hand held definately has its advantages but too many camera operators are rough with their movements. There is so much shaking, tilting, quick zooming back and forth...or just plain non stop movement. Some movies are reasonable but many are very uncomfortable to watch. The new generation are most likely used to this ( MTV, etc.) so they don't really notice it, as much. I guess my point is that it doesn't have to be so wild. People enjoy Mike Quasar's vids immensely and his camerawork is quite smooth, compared to most. Everything can be captured comfortably....let the action take centre stage.
couldn't be more true....sadist part is all the female talent that puts up with this shit. I know, I know, they really like it (wink -- Wink)
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NewRomancer Deactivated User
under THEIR avatar 738 Posts 7/08
Posted - Feb 13 2010 : 10:47AM
But it's 'piracy' that 'killing' the porn industry.... Ya, right. The saddest thing is that people who expect others to PAY for the porn that's out there will ignore a thread like this... and just keep cranking out the same old junk.
In respect to both points NewRomancer brought up, I think it would be the industry's best bet to make their stuff suitable to the widest audience possible. If only one out of every ten movies watched is also bought, they need to make a living off those 10% honest customers. (Numbers from my anus.) Now considering the average person out there will be more alienated the further 'out there' the material the industry shoots is, they should really adopt to shooting some rather mainstream compatible stuff (meaning more 'normal' sex). Edited by - posthum on 2/13/2010 11:05:18 AM
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Clam Digger Deactivated User
Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good. 2268 Posts 1/05
Posted - Feb 13 2010 : 12:32PM
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with your entire post, but referring to sex as being mechanical, doesn't really support your argument. Mechanical sex does not strike me as hot or erotic.
Lol, I'm pretty sure what he meant was, the mechanics of the sex, as in, what was accomplished physically during the scene, was more true to life. Porn today is far more athletic than normal, plain-ole-dick-in-vag that most people experience.
My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06
Posted - Feb 13 2010 : 1:25PM
I assumed that was merely a poor choice of words, not a contradiction. Maybe functionally instead of mechanically or possibly "...performed more authentically." is a clearer way of putting it. However it is phrased, I agree that the majority of sex scenes in 1970 - 1980 porn films were significantly more erotic (yet believable) than the "assault with a large weapon on young women" scenes that seem to be the norm in todays offerings. It really raises the question, in my mind - what are they (directors/editors/producers) thinking.
@trivers77, Robert: Yes, that's how I meant it. I couldn't think of the right word (logistically, ergonomically, physically?) and still can't. "Functionally" is a pretty good suggestion. I guess the perfect solution would be to rework the sentence so as to eliminate the word. Anyway, thanks both for the assist.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 5:14AM
Unfortunately, if a scene today was shot like in the 70s and early 80s most porn fans would revolt. They've been conditioned to the gonzo style of shooting a sex scene, which has it advantages and disadvantages. Too bad cable never developed an 'HBO of porn.' You know, porn for those more interested in porn willing to do things differently. At least on the web you have sites like AbbyWinters and IfeelMyself and Kink that are at least a part of what modern pornography could and should be.
Just another bare bum in the shiower 1739 Posts 12/04
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 6:20AM
I just watched the old John Holmes feature "Prisoner of Paradise". It was one of the most entertaining porn films that I have watched in ages. The sex was short but pretty good and I didn't have to touch the fast forward button once.
Still wanking after all these years. 8082 Posts 10/00
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 7:10AM
Was the video quality decent? What spoils it for me with classic porn is that the image is so bad... Most Blue Ones DVDs have superior video quality but pretty much everything else I've seen is just dismal in that regard.
I've not seen any porn from the 70's and 80's, but I was wondering if any of you guy's have seen The art of sex by Viv Thomas? It's what I'd describe as real sex and not too disimilar to what I like to do in the bedroom! I prefer this type of movie to anything else I've seen and wish I could find more stuff like this. edit: the cheesy music they play in the trailer, isn't in the movie, it's just "live" audio! Edited by - bobcat on 2/14/2010 7:32:48 AM
Seen it and love it. Sad thing is whenever this topic comes up that very movie is pretty much the only one people reffer to for normal sex. There needs to be more of that kind. Someone said a while ago that Viv will be doing more of this style in 2010.
^ Doghouse Digital did a series called "Real Naughty Couples", which is very similar, it only runs to three volumes though. There was also a series in the UK called "UK Student House", this runs to 13 volumes, I have then all. Some very real sex in these too.
Still wanking after all these years. 8082 Posts 10/00
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 10:57AM
Speaking of Viv Thomas, his 2003 movie "Sex Wives and Videotape" is excellent, the most intelligent porn feature I have seen recently outside of John B. Root's opus ("Une nuit au bordel", "Ludivine", "Montre-moi du rose", etc...).
I think the biggest difference with some features back then as opposed to now isn't the sex so much but the writing. The few features I seen from today have plots I have no interest in, try too hard to be "serious" and are usually just plain boring. I agree that the sex scenes in those older movies were too short but back then porn seemed to be more about telling a story with sex in it.
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Clam Digger Deactivated User
Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good. 2268 Posts 1/05
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 11:41AM
I'm not into porn features, as they seem so phony and staged. For that reason, I do prefer "gonzo" style scenes, when real chemistry and eroticism is presented. I'm not so sure that 70's or 80's porn is better, by definition, to that of today. I do miss, however, the "Swedish Erotica", vignette style that featured a very light, if any, story line, with some very hot women. But I do suppose, that some of my fondness for the period, is due to the fact that my first introduction to porn was back then. The porn industry, as well as myself, at the time, were less jaded and cynical.
^ I agree with you for the most part. The main thing I like from that/those eras of porn is some of the women. I'd much prefer seeing those women in a "best of" compilation than fast fowarding through the feature to get to the good stuff. I'm quite happy with a few minutes of "up" to help along the senario then right to the sex. The other thing I like about features over most gonzo is seeing the girls in more than one sex scene and seeing them in real clothes more often. Although I sometimes rather see a walking around in sexy garments.
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Clam Digger Deactivated User
Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good. 2268 Posts 1/05
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 1:22PM
^From the little that I've seen of JAV porn, which is more or less gonzo in nature, is that the sex scenes are longer and the DVD's seem to feature one female (obviously not counting B/GG or GG). I do have other problems with Japanese porn (to much rape & none of the performers ever treat sex as fun). The advertising world knows that if they get someone young to buy a particular brand of beer, for example, those consumers tend to stay with it through out their lives. I think for older "raincoaters", like me, porn is that way. Our memories of 70's & 80's porn stay with us, though probably in a more idealized form then they actually were.
Hmmm... first couple porn films I've seen were from the early 90s or late 80s. Even today I still hate everything with a saxophone or a keyboard playing in the background.
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Clam Digger Deactivated User
Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good. 2268 Posts 1/05
Used to, you could take pride in being a pornstar. No, really. There were scripts, acting, and a LOT more money, girls drove Jags. Now, you're just a naked ass. Also, the industry is quick to cut each other down. It's like a snake eating itself. Everybody hates everybody. Not good for a porn "star." Also, there are always changing faces, because everybody gets fed up and leaves or gets cut. It is NOT the same. I can't believe the way the internet KILLED porn stars! Hollywood in general is suffering, but porn is being hit the hardest. It's really not worth doing anymore. And I'm sure all of the producers and talked and talked about what to do. What can they do? No one is going to buy their movies, when they can get it for free. It's a horrible paycut.
As a matter of fact for the first time last month I ordered my first ever JAV movies. There were two big bust women I was interested in seeing and the senarios sounded interesting. Yes, they all mostly seem to star one girl and the guys seem interchangable and they really don't show much of the guys faces. The thing I liked was the breast play was fantasic. The best I've ever seen. The "ups" were kinda interesting and different than American porn. I wouldn't call it "rape" but in some of the scenes the guys just take advantage of the girl but the girl goes along with it after a bit and never really puts up a fight(at least in the movies I have). One girl (my fav of the two and the prettiet) doesn't seem to enjoy the sex that much, even in the scenes where she's supposed to. It doesn't seem like she's forced or anything she just seems like she just goes along with it. The other girl seems to be more into it. She's in an IR movie that has her in several with different black men and she smiles and enjoyed kissing them. The performances aren't as intense as American stuff and there's no real passion (at least with the movies I have from these 2 girls) but I thought in was an interesting change of pace. I would buy more movies with those girls in it or another one I liked but wouldn't buy more JAV stuff otherwise. Things I like about what they do, things I don't. Oh yeah...and it's pixelated. You can make stuff out but do it enough just to annoying not show detail. Vaginas and penises are pixeled but not butt holes or semen or squirting. It's kinda strange.I think that's true with most things. That's why there's so much of the "the older stuff was better" attitude online on most messageboards. People saying the old mainstream movies were better than the new stuff. The "classic rock" crowd saying that music was the best and not giving modern music a chance...which is kinda funny because from what I understand many of those "classic" tunes only got as much play as they did back then because of payola and because DJs played certain songs because they were long enough to give them a bathroom break not because they were so great or people wanted to hear them. With the old porn it seems most people tend to forget the bad stuff and only remember what they liked. From what I've seen the 70s and 80s had lots of bad stuff that anyone mentions. It'll be the same with current porn years from now.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Feb 14 2010 : 10:35PM
Yes the image quality back then was actually much better than video, I would say that today's best-shot digital gonzo is close but still not better than the shot-on-film material back then. The poor quality of so many classic releases on DVD is because they were using video as the master rather than the original negative or at least a film print. If you look at Alpha France or the more recent releases by Video X Pix and Cal Vista you can see the great quality of the shot-on-film period, at least in terms of image.
Just another bare bum in the shiower 1739 Posts 12/04
Posted - Feb 15 2010 : 6:05AM
It wasn't bad, actually. I never have high expectations for the quality of classic movies, but this one was definitely watchable. I mainly got it to watch Seka having sex in a Nazi uniform - a guilty pleasure.
Just another bare bum in the shiower 1739 Posts 12/04
Posted - Feb 15 2010 : 6:10AM
Oh yeah, that bloody reverse cowgirl position! I hate it. I know it is uncomfortable for the girl and it makes me uncomfortable to watch it. I only like watching reverse cowgirl when the girl is petite and is being fully supported, and 'spun', by the male.
Still wanking after all these years. 8082 Posts 10/00
Posted - Feb 15 2010 : 8:04AM
Thank you for your comments! Are there some recent titles from Video X Pix and Cal Vista that you would recommend? Not an absolute requirement but anything with Serena or Annette Haven would be most tempting... Edited by - Joey Starr on 2/15/2010 8:08:05 AM
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Feb 17 2010 : 3:50AM
Joey, I'd say you'd like the Deep Inside Annie Sprinkle special edition that Video X Pix just put out, and their special edition of Maraschino Cherry is also very nice looking and has Annette Haven in it. I know that the French company Wildside has also started putting out several US classics, including a beautiful looking print of Coed Fever starring Annette Haven as well. VCX/Cal Vista's releases are more hit and miss and are often bugged, but I've heard good things about their releases of Angel Above, Devil Below and Johnny Wadd.
Still wanking after all these years. 8082 Posts 10/00
Posted - Feb 17 2010 : 4:14AM
^ Yes, plus Annie Sprinkle gives me wood! I think I only saw her once on film, many years ago in "Satisfiers of Alpha Blue" but everytime I see her picture I'm turned on... [:P)]
Rachel Rampage: 2026 Porn Crush Media Day Interview
Posted - Feb 11 2010 : 3:17PM
