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knives wrote:If it does come to have no future would the implication toward the BBFC by the end of banning and maybe even reformation of the R18?

MichaelB wrote:This seems by far the best place to highlight a recent court case whose outcome has far-reaching implications for the future of the Obscene Publications Act, or indeed whether it has one at all.

MichaelB wrote: The problem has always been with the way it's been implemented, whereby R18 films can only be sold over the counter in licensed premises. As I said in this very thread, unless you actually own the licensed premises in question or have a very strong business interest in them, this makes it essentially impossible to make money off R18 titles - which is why, although several people had wide-eyed plans to get into that market (as Duncan says above, there's one hell of a lot of titles up for grabs), they quickly backed out when they realised the challenges.

McCrutchy wrote:The BFI's description is somewhat intriguing, but I have to say, this is not to my orientation, if you get my meaning. Would I still find it something worth getting if I have some interest in classic erotica?

colinr0380 wrote:Michael, is this the same David McGillivray who wrote horror films for Norman Warren and Pete Walker, and also wrote that highly amusing book (later turned into a one hour programme shown in the BBC's Forbidden Weekend back in 1995), Doing Rude Things: The History of the British Sex Film?

The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome

In the late 1960s and early 1970s British-born New Yorker and unsung hero of gay underground filmmaking Peter de Rome produced a number of explicit, painstakingly crafted Super 8 films each of which took the viewer on an immersive sexual journey. In 1973, eight of these films were brought together as The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome producing one of the finest cinematic examples of the intersection of artistry and eroticism, in the tradition of Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger. Now released on DVD for the first time, these extraordinary films are accompanied by a new BFI documentary, additional short films and a comprehensive booklet with new essays and film credits.

Peter de Rome started shooting 8mm films in 1965 for his own amusement, putting on screenings primarily for friends. When pioneering producer Jack Deveau saw one of them, he persuaded de Rome to collect eight together, blow them up to 16mm, and release them commercially as The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome.

The films in the collection – Double Exposure (1969), Hot Pants (1971), The Second Coming (1970), Daydreams from a Crosstown Bus (1972), Mumbo Jumbo (1972), Green Thoughts (1970/71), Underground (1972), and Prometheus (1972) – take the viewer on a kaleidoscopic sexual expedition designed to do more than titillate. By turns humorous and sardonic, romantic and sadistic, the films push the boundaries as de Rome creates surreal and imaginative scenarios in a range of exotic and everyday locations.

Peter de Rome is now in his 80s and divides his time between Manhattan and Kent.

Special features
• Fully uncut and uncensored presentations of all films
• Fragments: the Incomplete Films of Peter de Rome (Ethan Reid, 2011, 43 mins): revealing new documentary in which de Rome discusses his career and unfinished films;
• Scopo (Peter de Rome, 1966, 6 mins): when a young man arrives at an empty apartment, he is unaware that a stranger is watching him;
• The Fire Island Kids (Peter de Rome, 1970, 14 mins): two men spend a lazy day in each other’s company after one rescues the other from drowning;
• Moulage (Peter de Rome, 1971, 13 mins): short film about erotic body casting;
• Brown Study (Peter de Rome, 1979, 9 mins): an ethnographic study with a difference;
• Abracadaver! (Nathan Schiff, 2008, 10 mins): a gruesome tale of magic and mutilation from producer David McGillivray, starring Peter de Rome;
• New scores for The Fire Island Kids and Brown Study by Stephen Thrower (Cyclobe), and Scopo by Steve Moore (Zombi);
• 44-page illustrated booklet with new essays, film credits and diary extracts.

Release date 26 March 2012
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD876 / Cert 18
USA / 1969-1972 / colour / English language / 90 mins / Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / DVD9

The Erotic Films of Peter De Rome is a collection of eight short films that date from the early 1970s, some of which feature strong scenes of real sex. The work as a whole has artistic, cultural and historical merit and, in tone and treatment, is distinguishable from a sex work.

MichaelB wrote:A screening at the BFI earlier this week has produced a five-star Amazon review - which might give a better idea of what the films are like to watch.

Too strange and artsy to be considered porn loops but too graphic for the mainstream arthouse crowd at the time, they certainly play better now for a public more accustomed to the likes of 9 Songs and Shortbus. Surely the most extreme release ever passed with an 18 certificate by the BBFC, it's definitely not for the prudish but remains a vital record of outer fringes '70s filmmaking.

A fascinating look at the life and work of legendary gay porn pioneer Peter de Rome.

Legendary gay porn pioneer Peter de Rome is revealed in a new film coinciding with the BFI DVD release of The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome. Using a super 8 camera in the 1960s in New York he developed his own style of playful erotica inspired by classic Hollywood and the artful surrealism of Cocteau. The film explores some of the unfinished works which have never before been seen by an audience.

Visual pleasures abound in this special event celebrating a pioneer.

Visual pleasures abound in this special event presented in association with Little Joe magazine, to mark the release of a special BFI DVD of The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome. Following the screening of Fragments: The Incomplete Films of Peter de Rome, join Festival delegates, audience members and Peter de Rome himself in the Blue Room for a three screen projection of his most famous works, plus unseen films from his own collection, accompanied by a live DJ set. New high definition transfers from the original super 8s will reveal these great works of early gay cinema as never before. Since our last revelatory de Rome screening at the LLGFF 2007 we have dreamed of bringing his films to a wider audience. We are delighted to be celebrating the DVD release of these key works with this unique event; a celebration of a pioneer.

This event contains sexually explicit material. Over 18s only.

In their justification for passing this film with an 18 certificate, the BBFC stated that the film is,”in tone and treatment, is distinguishable from a sex work”. It’s a frankly ridiculous claim, and perhaps shows up the nonsensical situation that the British censors have dug themselves into with their facile distinction between ‘sex works’ (erotic films they disapprove of) and ‘non-sex works’ (erotic films they do approve of). Because, as Peter de Rome himself cheerfully admits in the excellent documentary included here, his films are porn, made with the express intention of being masturbatory material – the very definition the BBFC use to declare a film to be a ‘sex work’ and so banished to the sex-shop-only R18 category if it contains real, explicit sex – which this does, extensively. The Board also claim that the film has “artistic, cultural and historical merit”, which is true – but moreso than, say The Opening of Misty Beethoven, passed R18 several years ago? I don’t think so.