Behind the Green Door DVD

Comments about Babeland Behind the Green Door DVD:

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how the AIDS outbreak might have setback the honest portrayal of sexuality in media. There was once a time when Linda Lovelace was earnestly quoted as saying that she believed some day soon the porn industry and the mainstream film industry would merge. It would be acceptable to see real sex in mainstream movies. Today, with the MPAA slapping X-ratings on films left and right for something as simple as a scene - without nudity - in which a female orgasm carries on "too long" (i.e. Blue Valentine), that seems like a bygone fantasy. Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, the public flocked to the theaters to see adult films, the New York Times and other reputable press wrote lengthy porn reviews, and drive-in movie theaters took out full-page ads heralding their newest adult flick. These movies were not just titillating, they were well acted, thought provoking, and creative. Then, in 1981, the CDC reported some of the first cases of AIDS, and the sexual revolution fell under immediate scrutiny. Behind the Green Door was part of a triumvirate of films (including Deep Throat and The Devil in Mrs. Jones) that launched this short lived "porno chic" era. While at times the inventive scenario and artful photography of Green Door causes more awe than arousal, this film still stands out today for its complex exploration of taboo fantasy, genuine acting, and diversity.

The film opens with two truck drivers in a cafe, where the cook asks one of the drivers to tell his friend the story of the green door. The trucker proceeds to recount the kidnapping of a young woman, Gloria, who appears to have strayed out on her own for the first time and is taken to a theater where she is placed on a stage and forced to submit to various sexual partners as a masked audience looks on. Marilyn Chambers, best know for her maternal appearance as a model for Ivory Snow soap before Green Door, plays Gloria. Her background as a model for a cleaning agent that projected an image of purity and whiteness undoubtedly boosted the controversy, and thus the popularity, of the film. The tagline,"the all-American girl," spotlights Chambers' performance. Without saying a word through the entire film, she portrays a girl-next-door type who initially fears her abduction, resists enjoyment, and eventually revels in her own submission.

Simultaneously, we see the trucker's excursion into the theater, the audience members' enjoyment, and the eventual progression into an orgy, a scene that likely influenced Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut. This combination is unique and clever in its exploration of submission, exhibitionism, and voyeurism; rarely does porn today contain more than one story line (if that). The diversity of body types, races, and sexualities in the orgy is thrilling simply for the veritable celebration of sex that it portrays.

From the genital-enhancing costumery, to three cocks on trapezes, to a seven minute-long, slow-motion money shot photographed like something from a nature documentary, this porn is more jaw-dropping in its ability to show sex in a way you've never seen it before than it is arousing. The wealth of pubic hair, diversity of real bodies, and lack of penetration shots may cause the modern porn viewer some shock, but alas, it was the '70s and this is porno chic. Watch Behind the Green Door as a celebration of sex, and perhaps the joy it brings you will be all the arousal you need.

Comments about Babeland Behind the Green Door DVD:

My erectile tissue was throbbing with delight. This film is a "boner"-fide classic, believe you me!

Comments about Babeland Behind the Green Door DVD:

Porn made in the 70's was very seductive and appealing yet tastefully decadent. This classic is like a fine wine; it just ages with time.

Comments about Babeland Behind the Green Door DVD:

How come nobody told me that seventies porn could be so freakin' hot? I saw this movie and was blown away by how arousing it was. It's a refreshing breather from porn we see made today. We see lots of faces, real bodies, and a focus on pleasure, not parts. Who wouldn't want several girls rubbing you down all at once?