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I really envy Massaccesi,
aka Joe D'Amato.
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00:01:51,194 --> 00:01:57,409
RED INFERNO
JOE D'AMATO ON THE ROAD OF EXCESS
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00:02:37,574 --> 00:02:42,204
At the Cinémathéque Francaise,
we showed Joe D'Amato's films
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00:02:42,371 --> 00:02:47,125
during a special event
dedicated to him
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00:02:47,709 --> 00:02:49,795
in 2006, I think.
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00:02:51,046 --> 00:02:56,593
We ran restored copies of
BLACK SEX and ANTHROPOPHAGUS.
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00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:01,306
Joe D'Amato's films
are the product of an era
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00:03:01,473 --> 00:03:05,310
when viewers
wanted to see on screen
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00:03:05,477 --> 00:03:07,938
what had been forbidden
for years.
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00:03:08,105 --> 00:03:11,483
It's sort of a project,
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00:03:11,650 --> 00:03:17,489
presented to an audience,
an overall picture of things.
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00:03:17,656 --> 00:03:22,744
That's what eroticism is: seeing things
that were hidden for years.
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00:03:22,911 --> 00:03:26,665
You see naked bodies, and skin,
which is very important
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00:03:26,832 --> 00:03:30,585
and essential in Joe D'Amato's films.
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00:03:30,752 --> 00:03:34,548
The skin of Laura Gemser,
we almost have the desire to touch it,
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00:03:34,715 --> 00:03:38,427
and she is often naked
for most of the film.
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00:03:38,593 --> 00:03:42,514
Basically, the element of skin,
the epidermis, is essential.
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00:03:42,681 --> 00:03:45,976
But what is under the skin,
is equally important,
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00:03:46,143 --> 00:03:47,686
and this is gore.
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00:03:47,853 --> 00:03:53,608
It captures our gaze
and takes it beyond the skin.
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00:03:53,775 --> 00:03:57,696
Taking it beneath the skin,
so to speak.
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00:03:57,863 --> 00:04:01,032
In essence, under the surface.
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00:04:01,908 --> 00:04:05,537
In my opinion,
this is what defines D'Amato's films:
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00:04:05,704 --> 00:04:09,374
his capacity to create a link,
in a rather logical way,
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00:04:09,541 --> 00:04:12,586
between the erotic and horror.
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00:04:30,645 --> 00:04:33,690
- Can I smoke?
- Sure.
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00:04:37,944 --> 00:04:42,991
I come from a family
that lived and breathed cinema.
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00:04:43,158 --> 00:04:46,244
Even nowadays, people say,
"Wow, you come from a cinematic family!"
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00:04:47,788 --> 00:04:49,206
But it's normal for me,
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00:04:49,372 --> 00:04:52,459
because my grandpa had
a storehouse
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00:04:52,626 --> 00:04:55,003
with tons of cinema equipment:
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00:04:55,170 --> 00:04:59,633
cameras, those huge old spotlights,
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00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,803
film reels, and film cans.
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00:05:02,969 --> 00:05:07,057
My father obviously worked in the biz,
and so did his brothers.
37
00:05:07,224 --> 00:05:11,394
Uncle Nando and Uncle Mario,
also worked in cinema.
38
00:05:11,561 --> 00:05:17,359
For me, ever since I was a child,
the world of cinema was a given.
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00:05:22,531 --> 00:05:28,745
In this photo, my dad was really young
and worked with De Sica.
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00:05:29,454 --> 00:05:33,917
I got involved in the biz
when I was very young
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00:05:34,084 --> 00:05:38,296
because my father worked in cinema
as a technical director.
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00:05:38,463 --> 00:05:43,635
After school in the afternoons,
I did some odd jobs,
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00:05:43,802 --> 00:05:46,596
just to learn, more than anything.
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00:05:46,763 --> 00:05:52,853
Then one day, they asked me
to assist the cameraman,
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00:05:53,019 --> 00:05:57,148
to be the camera assistant
for Mole Richardson.
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00:05:57,315 --> 00:06:00,193
After that, I worked
as cameraman, camera assistant,
47
00:06:00,318 --> 00:06:03,321
camera operator,
cinematographer, director,
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00:06:03,530 --> 00:06:06,992
distributor, and
producer, right up to today.
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00:06:07,158 --> 00:06:13,081
Our mother was 100% present,
because our father was never around.
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00:06:13,248 --> 00:06:16,960
Except for holidays like Christmas
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00:06:17,127 --> 00:06:20,505
and August 15th,
he was never home.
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00:06:20,672 --> 00:06:25,135
For him, cinema was...
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00:06:25,343 --> 00:06:28,263
I won't say it was more important,
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00:06:28,430 --> 00:06:32,601
but it was very important.
That's why he was rarely home.
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00:06:32,767 --> 00:06:37,564
The first thing that strikes you
about Joe D'Amato's career
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00:06:37,731 --> 00:06:43,820
is the sheer number of films he made,
almost 200 total.
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00:06:43,987 --> 00:06:47,073
This in itself is an interesting fact.
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00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:53,371
A director who makes that many films
must be interesting.
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00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:59,002
Consider Jess Franco,
or even Woody Allen,
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00:06:59,169 --> 00:07:03,548
who made a film a year,
if not more.
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00:07:03,715 --> 00:07:10,055
It takes interesting people
to make more than one film a year,
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00:07:10,221 --> 00:07:14,351
and Joe D'Amato at times
made 5 or 6 a year.
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00:07:14,517 --> 00:07:19,272
Cinema becomes your life.
For you, filming is like breathing.
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00:07:45,548 --> 00:07:50,345
Aristide Massaccesi was a sought-out
cinematographer in those days
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00:07:50,512 --> 00:07:56,601
because not only was he skilled,
he was fast, too.
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00:07:56,768 --> 00:08:01,398
Aristide was brilliant,
but he got less than he deserved.
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00:08:02,315 --> 00:08:03,942
He did it all,
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00:08:04,109 --> 00:08:08,613
even hand-held camera operator.
We did lots of crazy things.
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00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:12,450
Skilled, quick,
much like Tonino Delli Colli.
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00:08:12,659 --> 00:08:17,205
He was superior.
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00:08:17,372 --> 00:08:20,291
Once he had himself tied
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00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:23,586
to a speeding stagecoach
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00:08:23,753 --> 00:08:29,050
so that he could film
the wheels and horse hooves.
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00:08:29,217 --> 00:08:32,929
I said, "You're nuts.
If anything happens, you're dead!"
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00:08:33,096 --> 00:08:37,892
My father was a very good
cinematographer,
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00:08:38,059 --> 00:08:44,107
and my mom always scolded
him for not sticking to it.
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She said that if he'd continued,
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00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:52,782
he would have become much more famous.
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00:08:54,325 --> 00:08:56,953
But sticking with
one thing is boring.
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It wasn't his nature;
he needed to keep changing.
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00:09:01,916 --> 00:09:04,836
And so becoming a director,
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00:09:05,003 --> 00:09:11,134
I think, was part of his constant search
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00:09:11,301 --> 00:09:13,470
for something new.
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00:09:13,636 --> 00:09:18,391
I made my first movie just for fun.
85
00:09:18,516 --> 00:09:21,227
It was TRINITY IN EL DORADO.
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00:09:21,728 --> 00:09:27,525
I used stock footage
for that movie, but in Italy
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00:09:27,734 --> 00:09:33,531
it wasn't held in high regard,
to be honest.
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00:09:33,740 --> 00:09:38,161
But I think it was rather avant-garde.
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00:09:38,328 --> 00:09:42,832
We created a horse that looked like
a motorcycle with headlights
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00:09:42,999 --> 00:09:48,546
and handlebars as reins,
but the movie was a flop in Italy.
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00:09:48,755 --> 00:09:53,259
During the Western era,
400 movies a year were made in Italy.
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00:09:53,426 --> 00:09:59,432
Aristide was very sought-after,
so in order to please everyone,
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00:09:59,557 --> 00:10:02,560
we made one film by day, one by night.
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00:10:02,769 --> 00:10:05,230
Different actors,
same settings,
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00:10:05,396 --> 00:10:07,649
and different stories.
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00:10:07,816 --> 00:10:12,904
We only slept 4 hours
and worked 20 hours a day!
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00:10:13,071 --> 00:10:14,864
We earned a lot.
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00:10:15,031 --> 00:10:20,578
Back then, Boccaccio-esque
movies were big,
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00:10:20,787 --> 00:10:23,289
like THE DECAMERON,
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00:10:27,836 --> 00:10:31,339
and so we jumped on
that bandwagon, too.
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00:10:31,506 --> 00:10:36,678
Aristide came to me with an idea
for a movie of that genre
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00:10:36,845 --> 00:10:42,183
and asked me to work with him.
I wasn't sure if it would work,
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00:10:42,350 --> 00:10:44,853
but he said it would be a blockbuster.
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00:10:47,188 --> 00:10:49,983
AN EROTICALLY AMUSING MOVIE
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00:10:53,111 --> 00:10:55,196
AMUSING, ENTERTAINING
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00:10:55,363 --> 00:10:56,489
BOCCACCIO-ESQUE
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00:10:56,614 --> 00:10:59,284
IT WILL MAKE YOU
LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH
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00:11:09,085 --> 00:11:13,298
The movie was
MORE SEXY CANTERBURY TALES.
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00:11:13,464 --> 00:11:17,010
Pasolini had made his trilogy:
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00:11:17,177 --> 00:11:21,723
THE CANTERBURY TALES,
THE DECAMERON, and
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00:11:21,890 --> 00:11:27,187
ARABIAN NIGHTS.
We lumped them all together
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00:11:27,353 --> 00:11:31,274
with MORE SEXY CANTERBURY TALES.
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00:11:31,441 --> 00:11:37,614
Like many prolific and
active directors in circles
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00:11:37,780 --> 00:11:42,577
where the screenwriter
and artistic derivation
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00:11:42,744 --> 00:11:47,290
were not important,
he used many pseudonyms.
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00:11:47,457 --> 00:11:53,796
Some of his aliases were
David Hills, Kevin Mancuso, and others.
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00:11:53,963 --> 00:11:58,092
But it's worth asking ourselves why
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00:11:58,259 --> 00:12:00,887
he felt the need to have
SO many pseudonyms.
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00:12:01,054 --> 00:12:03,681
I think there are two reasons.
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00:12:03,848 --> 00:12:09,312
First, he made so many films
it would've seemed scarcely believable.
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00:12:09,479 --> 00:12:14,275
Also because clearly
he wanted to trick the audience
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00:12:14,442 --> 00:12:20,615
into thinking they were seeing a film
by an American or Anglo-Saxon.
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00:12:20,782 --> 00:12:25,536
That's why he used
so many Anglo-Saxon pseudonyms
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00:12:25,703 --> 00:12:30,708
like David Hills, or Steven Benson,
the alias he used
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00:12:30,875 --> 00:12:33,920
for some of his early '80s films.
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00:12:34,087 --> 00:12:38,967
The use of pseudonyms
is very typical of Joe D'Amato.
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00:12:51,646 --> 00:12:55,441
It was the era of Brian De Palma,
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00:12:55,608 --> 00:13:01,739
and directors like Scorsese,
all Italian-Americans.
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00:13:02,615 --> 00:13:07,078
Back then, Donatella Donati's father,
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00:13:07,245 --> 00:13:10,540
who was the head of Coralta Film,
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00:13:10,707 --> 00:13:16,921
was looking for a name that sounded
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00:13:17,839 --> 00:13:19,924
Italian-American.
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00:13:20,216 --> 00:13:25,305
One day, he saw a calendar
that said "D'Amato Press"
134
00:13:25,471 --> 00:13:30,476
and he decided Joe D'Amato
would be an intriguing name.
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00:13:30,643 --> 00:13:33,313
That's where Joe D'Amato came from.
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00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:38,109
When my father
talked about himself,
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00:13:38,276 --> 00:13:41,029
he called himself
a "craftsman,"
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00:13:41,195 --> 00:13:44,490
but he knew he was talented.
139
00:13:44,782 --> 00:13:50,038
He was a great craftsman
in the best sense of the word.
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00:13:50,204 --> 00:13:54,500
If someone can make me
a beautifully-made chair,
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00:13:54,667 --> 00:13:56,878
I bow down to him.
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00:13:57,045 --> 00:14:00,465
That's what Massaccesi was like:
he could do everything.
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00:14:00,631 --> 00:14:05,178
I recall when my dad was interviewed
on TV with Tinto Brass.
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00:14:05,345 --> 00:14:11,559
Tinto Brass was wearing a suit, and
Dad was wearing a black turtleneck.
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00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:17,273
Labels didn't exist. He didn't feel
he had to prove himself.
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00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,777
"This is me,
I know what I'm worth."
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00:14:20,943 --> 00:14:27,116
He was very friendly,
smart, and bright.
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00:14:27,283 --> 00:14:30,119
His problem, and mine,
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00:14:30,286 --> 00:14:34,415
was we didn't always have the equipment,
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00:14:34,582 --> 00:14:37,543
the crew, or the actors we wanted
151
00:14:37,710 --> 00:14:39,587
because they cost too much.
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00:14:39,754 --> 00:14:44,467
He realized that to make
a high-grossing, decent movie,
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00:14:44,634 --> 00:14:50,598
all it took was
a skeleton crew and a decent story
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00:14:50,765 --> 00:14:55,395
that didn't call for
too many scenes.
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00:14:55,561 --> 00:14:59,440
That's how he could make
a movie that could be sold.
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00:14:59,607 --> 00:15:05,738
So he started to collaborate
with producers
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00:15:05,863 --> 00:15:12,078
who made these types of movies,
but then at a certain point
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00:15:12,245 --> 00:15:15,957
he veered toward erotic movies.
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00:15:17,542 --> 00:15:23,339
Here with editor Vincenzo Tomasi,
we have Joe D'Amato, the director.
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00:15:23,506 --> 00:15:26,968
Let's ask Joe:
What is this movie made of?
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00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:32,306
Many things,
including a swarm of gorgeous girls.
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00:15:32,473 --> 00:15:35,560
They can explain better than me.
163
00:15:38,479 --> 00:15:42,108
Hello, I'm Laura Gemser,
your Black Emanuelle.
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00:15:42,275 --> 00:15:46,654
I'm here again to show you
a shocking movie.
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00:15:46,821 --> 00:15:49,157
BLACK EMANUELLE came out
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00:15:49,323 --> 00:15:53,411
and I went to see it with Aristide.
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00:15:53,578 --> 00:15:57,874
It was well-made,
and there was this girl
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00:15:58,082 --> 00:16:01,502
who was incredibly
beautiful, full of charm,
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00:16:01,794 --> 00:16:04,922
with an intense sensual energy.
170
00:16:06,591 --> 00:16:11,471
We quickly got on a flight
from Rome to Bruges
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00:16:11,637 --> 00:16:18,060
and searched the whole hotel
until we found her.
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00:16:18,227 --> 00:16:22,023
- I was expecting a man.
- I'm a woman. Disappointed?
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00:16:22,190 --> 00:16:24,484
No, not at all.
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00:16:25,234 --> 00:16:28,613
We told her we wanted
to make a movie with her.
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00:16:29,572 --> 00:16:32,742
She told us she had made that movie
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00:16:32,909 --> 00:16:38,915
but had no intention
of making any other sexy movies.
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00:16:39,081 --> 00:16:41,501
No problem.
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00:16:43,544 --> 00:16:45,755
No problem.
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00:16:45,922 --> 00:16:50,676
Right then and there, before leaving,
we drew up a contract
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00:16:50,843 --> 00:16:55,431
for three movies with her.
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00:16:55,598 --> 00:17:01,479
About a week later
we got a call from Amati,
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00:17:01,646 --> 00:17:04,273
who distributed
BLACK EMANUELLE.
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00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,068
He'd spoken to Laura Gemser
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00:17:07,235 --> 00:17:13,407
and wanted to use her again,
but heard she was under contract with us.
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00:17:13,574 --> 00:17:18,412
We confirmed this and asked
what the movie in question was.
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00:17:18,579 --> 00:17:22,458
He said, "Another Emanuelle movie."
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00:17:22,625 --> 00:17:28,256
Folks, your dear Laura
will always be an incurable optimist.
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00:17:29,215 --> 00:17:33,135
Raise your glasses and shout out...
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00:17:34,512 --> 00:17:37,181
"Hooray for life!”
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00:17:38,891 --> 00:17:42,019
And that's how
the Black Emanuelle series began.
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00:18:44,081 --> 00:18:49,086
EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS
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00:18:55,092 --> 00:19:00,389
LAURA GEMSER
the real Black Emanuelle
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00:20:07,998 --> 00:20:11,752
Confused? Why?
194
00:20:11,919 --> 00:20:14,171
It's no surprise!
195
00:20:14,338 --> 00:20:20,177
The protest has even made its way
into nightclubs, so no more fakes.
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00:20:20,344 --> 00:20:24,932
Truth above all.
Performances...
197
00:20:25,099 --> 00:20:28,561
Performances need to be
alternative and realistic.
198
00:20:28,728 --> 00:20:32,481
Joe D'Amato's eroticism
is violent.
199
00:20:32,648 --> 00:20:35,151
If we compare
Black Emanuelle
200
00:20:35,317 --> 00:20:39,947
with French Emmanuelle,
we can spot the differences.
201
00:20:40,156 --> 00:20:44,285
French Emmanuelle
portrays a woman in search of pleasure
202
00:20:44,452 --> 00:20:46,787
which she finds in Thailand,
203
00:20:46,954 --> 00:20:50,958
but it's rather hedonistic;
it sings the praises of hedonism.
204
00:20:51,125 --> 00:20:54,712
In Black Emanuelle,
the sex is violent and threatening.
205
00:20:54,879 --> 00:20:58,632
Sexual violence is a motif.
There are rape scenes,
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00:20:58,799 --> 00:21:02,094
as well as white-slave trade,
prostitution.
207
00:21:02,219 --> 00:21:06,682
D'Amato loves to shock,
and his pursuit of shock
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00:21:06,849 --> 00:21:10,978
is translated into this mixture
of sex and violence.
209
00:21:20,905 --> 00:21:25,576
We knew about these snuff movies
they made on 8mm
210
00:21:25,743 --> 00:21:30,414
with real torture scenes
and even real murders,
211
00:21:30,581 --> 00:21:35,044
and so we wanted
to recreate that atmosphere
212
00:21:35,211 --> 00:21:37,880
to shock the audience.
213
00:21:38,923 --> 00:21:43,219
But the whole crew,
about 40 people,
214
00:21:43,385 --> 00:21:48,182
were sued by one of the actresses
whose breast was cut off.
215
00:21:48,349 --> 00:21:51,268
Not for real, of course.
216
00:21:51,435 --> 00:21:57,608
The make-up artist Giannetto de Rossi
made a breast that looked real.
217
00:21:57,775 --> 00:22:03,656
She pressed charges against
the whole crew
218
00:22:03,823 --> 00:22:09,995
because the scene was so realistic
that it traumatized her.
219
00:22:10,162 --> 00:22:12,873
She wanted to be compensated.
220
00:22:13,499 --> 00:22:17,086
Because of that
we all ended up in court.
221
00:22:17,253 --> 00:22:20,756
The charges were
222
00:22:20,923 --> 00:22:25,636
negligence,
gross indecency,
223
00:22:25,803 --> 00:22:29,849
and another serious one I can't recall.
224
00:22:30,891 --> 00:22:33,936
They called me to court
225
00:22:35,688 --> 00:22:38,023
for this
226
00:22:38,190 --> 00:22:40,693
and I said,
227
00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:43,988
"Did you check
if she still has her breast?
228
00:22:44,947 --> 00:22:48,284
Yes? Then why'd you summon me?"
229
00:22:48,450 --> 00:22:53,205
When Aristide filmed,
he had no limits.
230
00:22:53,330 --> 00:22:58,836
He filmed whatever came to mind,
the way he wanted,
231
00:22:59,003 --> 00:23:04,341
with rather hard scenes,
232
00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:09,138
because he believed in
those kinds of movies.
233
00:23:09,305 --> 00:23:13,142
When I'd look at the dailies,
234
00:23:13,309 --> 00:23:18,856
I'd point out that the movie
would never get past censorship.
235
00:23:19,023 --> 00:23:24,278
In the early '70s, the grip of censorship
was weakening everywhere.
236
00:23:24,445 --> 00:23:28,866
The success of Bertolucci's
LAST TANGO IN PARIS
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00:23:29,033 --> 00:23:33,871
raised the limits on how eroticism
was portrayed on screen,
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00:23:34,038 --> 00:23:39,877
even though exploitation movies
already introduced some erotic nuances.
239
00:23:40,044 --> 00:23:45,591
D'Amato dives into this world
and starts making,
240
00:23:45,758 --> 00:23:51,972
one after another, erotic films,
which at first were soft core,
241
00:23:52,806 --> 00:23:55,768
then they slowly became more hardcore.
242
00:23:55,935 --> 00:23:59,063
In any case, his main trait
became erotic cinema,
243
00:23:59,229 --> 00:24:02,942
as this genre exploded in the '70s.
244
00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:05,819
It was the era
of birth control,
245
00:24:05,986 --> 00:24:07,655
sexual freedom,
246
00:24:07,821 --> 00:24:12,660
protests, occupied
universities, hippies.
247
00:24:12,826 --> 00:24:18,040
There was a wave
of sexual liberation
248
00:24:18,207 --> 00:24:23,712
that penetrated every social sphere.
249
00:24:23,879 --> 00:24:28,300
Actually, it started with a little breeze,
to quote Rossini,
250
00:24:28,425 --> 00:24:34,682
even amongst the middle classes,
251
00:24:35,182 --> 00:24:40,521
because they could go see
an erotic, titillating movie
252
00:24:40,688 --> 00:24:45,401
and feel liberated and involved
253
00:24:45,567 --> 00:24:51,532
in a global movement
that wanted to wipe out taboos.
254
00:24:51,699 --> 00:24:56,578
My father was taken to court
many times in the '70s.
255
00:24:56,745 --> 00:25:02,042
They were only erotic movies,
but society was still too prudish.
256
00:25:02,209 --> 00:25:05,295
Abortion still wasn't legal.
257
00:25:05,462 --> 00:25:11,468
My father's eroticism was lovely
and rather clean.
258
00:25:11,635 --> 00:25:14,763
He managed to accentuate sensuality,
259
00:25:14,930 --> 00:25:17,891
which is important
in those kinds of erotic movies,
260
00:25:18,058 --> 00:25:23,063
the sensuality of the actress
or of the scene.
261
00:25:23,605 --> 00:25:28,110
These erotic films were marketable
in France and other countries.
262
00:25:28,277 --> 00:25:32,614
They wanted more intense scenes
263
00:25:32,781 --> 00:25:37,327
or even hardcore scenes,
for their movie theaters.
264
00:25:37,494 --> 00:25:40,914
Back then, they were only shown
in theaters, not on TV.
265
00:25:41,081 --> 00:25:46,462
It was a commercial demand in some
countries to better sell the movie,
266
00:25:46,628 --> 00:25:50,841
so we had to add scenes
without Laura Gemser.
267
00:25:51,008 --> 00:25:54,219
Like in EMANUELLE IN AMERICA
with Marina Frajese,
268
00:25:54,386 --> 00:25:58,140
who was making this kind
of movie for the first time.
269
00:25:59,016 --> 00:26:01,685
Nowadays,
270
00:26:01,852 --> 00:26:03,395
striptease isn't enough.
271
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:07,024
When artists want to fulfill themselves,
272
00:26:07,191 --> 00:26:10,527
meaning to exert their violence
on an audience,
273
00:26:10,736 --> 00:26:14,656
they need more sophisticated ways
to use the oldest lever:
274
00:26:14,823 --> 00:26:16,450
sex.
275
00:26:16,617 --> 00:26:20,204
In Italian cinema
of the '70s,
276
00:26:20,370 --> 00:26:22,498
a thriving genre
277
00:26:22,664 --> 00:26:28,003
was the so-called
"erotic-comedy." But then slowly,
278
00:26:28,170 --> 00:26:34,093
our local distributors
started asking for more,
279
00:26:34,259 --> 00:26:37,137
saying people wanted to see more.
280
00:26:58,033 --> 00:27:02,746
We decided to make
four movies in Haiti.
281
00:27:02,913 --> 00:27:09,086
They set off on this adventure
and made four movies:
282
00:27:09,253 --> 00:27:14,550
PORNO ESOTIC LOVE, PORNO HOLOCAUST,
HARD SENSATION,
283
00:27:14,716 --> 00:27:16,593
and EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD.
284
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:22,933
These movies were funded by BNL bank.
285
00:27:23,725 --> 00:27:28,397
Those were sexy movies,
286
00:27:28,564 --> 00:27:31,775
but when Aristide came back,
he'd filmed some hard scenes.
287
00:27:31,942 --> 00:27:38,115
Getting a bank to fund a sexy film
is tricky, forget about a hardcore film.
288
00:27:38,282 --> 00:27:45,080
There was no hope at all,
so the idea was to make sexy films.
289
00:27:45,247 --> 00:27:49,126
But when he came back he said,
290
00:27:49,293 --> 00:27:53,964
"I did some other things,
and this is the vision I have."
291
00:27:54,631 --> 00:27:59,094
After the screening, I said,
"Okay, that's the vision you have,
292
00:27:59,261 --> 00:28:04,433
but what'll I do with this stuff?
What'll I show the bank?"
293
00:28:04,641 --> 00:28:10,230
He had invited me to Santo Domingo
to make a series of films.
294
00:28:12,024 --> 00:28:18,030
We shot various films at once.
We'd shoot one film's scenes,
295
00:28:18,197 --> 00:28:21,950
get changed, and then I'd go
from good guy to bad guy.
296
00:28:22,117 --> 00:28:26,288
We shot different scenes
using the same settings, of course.
297
00:28:26,455 --> 00:28:32,628
Back then,
I was a casino addict,
298
00:28:32,794 --> 00:28:38,884
and I blew all of
my per diem and my entire pay
299
00:28:39,051 --> 00:28:41,929
during the first week.
300
00:28:42,095 --> 00:28:49,269
Since I had no money
and Aristide wouldn't give me an advance,
301
00:28:49,436 --> 00:28:55,609
I managed to persuade him
to shoot his own film.
302
00:28:55,776 --> 00:28:58,612
He had the actors and location.
303
00:28:58,779 --> 00:29:01,615
If he came up with another story,
304
00:29:01,823 --> 00:29:06,662
he could come away with
his own film.
305
00:29:06,828 --> 00:29:09,539
He just needed
to provide the film stock.
306
00:29:09,706 --> 00:29:14,711
I told him I would write
the story for him.
307
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:21,093
We agreed on a sum, and in three days,
I wrote BLACK SEX,
308
00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:23,804
which made a lot of money.
309
00:29:23,971 --> 00:29:26,890
The first porn movie made
310
00:29:27,724 --> 00:29:31,812
by Italians for the Italian
market was BLACK SEX
311
00:29:31,979 --> 00:29:34,606
featuring Mark Shannon.
312
00:29:34,731 --> 00:29:39,403
I'm Manlio Cersosimo, aka Mark Shannon.
We're about to watch BLACK SEX.
313
00:29:49,538 --> 00:29:55,168
The tombeur de femmes
was Manlio Cersosimo.
314
00:29:55,335 --> 00:30:01,550
He loved making these films.
He put his heart and soul into them.
315
00:30:02,092 --> 00:30:05,262
In those scenes,
he gave the best of himself.
316
00:30:23,071 --> 00:30:27,534
People liked this movie,
and it's one of my favorites.
317
00:30:28,076 --> 00:30:31,663
It's the one I felt
most connected to,
318
00:30:31,788 --> 00:30:35,167
the one in which
I expressed myself best.
319
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:49,681
By chance, it was a hit
because it had Italian actors.
320
00:30:49,806 --> 00:30:53,018
After that, Aristide and I
started a side business,
321
00:30:54,019 --> 00:30:58,774
and we produced some
movies together, inventing
322
00:30:58,940 --> 00:31:01,526
Italian style porn: "spaghetti porn.”
323
00:31:26,843 --> 00:31:29,388
I don't recall how I met Joe D'Amato.
324
00:31:30,222 --> 00:31:33,809
In my mind, I have
a picture of him in his office:
325
00:31:33,975 --> 00:31:38,438
a smiling, warm person
326
00:31:38,605 --> 00:31:41,858
who was laid-back
on set,
327
00:31:42,067 --> 00:31:45,070
making movies in four days, or a week,
328
00:31:45,445 --> 00:31:47,280
one after another.
329
00:31:47,447 --> 00:31:53,620
I asked about the porn movies he made,
but he said that wasn't a genre for me.
330
00:31:53,787 --> 00:31:59,960
But I was intrigued by that world
and I told him I was interested.
331
00:32:00,127 --> 00:32:02,462
I liked anything new.
332
00:32:02,629 --> 00:32:05,757
Back then, body art was a new trend.
333
00:32:05,882 --> 00:32:11,430
I've always been a fan
of contemporary art.
334
00:32:11,596 --> 00:32:17,811
With body art, people got naked
and put brains on boobs or dicks
335
00:32:18,186 --> 00:32:21,815
in these super-intellectual
art galleries.
336
00:32:21,982 --> 00:32:26,736
So I had associated porn
with the world of body art.
337
00:32:26,903 --> 00:32:33,743
He told me it had nothing to do with that
and suggested I go see.
338
00:32:33,910 --> 00:32:39,291
So, laughing, he took me on set
and I saw a couple in bed,
339
00:32:39,458 --> 00:32:44,796
doing what they had to do,
and he asked what I thought about it.
340
00:32:44,921 --> 00:32:49,551
When I told him
it had no real effect on me,
341
00:32:49,718 --> 00:32:52,220
he suggested
I shoot the next movie for him
342
00:32:52,387 --> 00:32:56,433
because he was tired
of seeing actresses do those things.
343
00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,187
I took his word for it,
344
00:33:00,353 --> 00:33:03,106
and three days later
I was shooting his movie.
345
00:33:03,857 --> 00:33:08,945
Here I am, perfectly on time.
Were you eagerly awaiting me?
346
00:33:09,112 --> 00:33:13,909
I was eager, too, my loves.
Here I am, all yours.
347
00:33:14,075 --> 00:33:19,748
As always.
Come closer, don't be shy.
348
00:33:19,915 --> 00:33:22,542
Come with me. It'll be wonderful.
349
00:33:23,251 --> 00:33:28,298
Relax, I'll lead you
to the realm of oblivion,
350
00:33:28,465 --> 00:33:31,968
the realm of boundless impulses
of pleasure.
351
00:33:32,177 --> 00:33:35,680
The defining feature
352
00:33:36,765 --> 00:33:40,185
of erotic cinema and porn
is that it is built around
353
00:33:40,352 --> 00:33:42,354
the frustration
of viewers,
354
00:33:42,521 --> 00:33:46,566
sitting alone in the theater,
contemplating
355
00:33:46,733 --> 00:33:52,155
actions, things, pleasures,
which for the moment are impossible
356
00:33:52,322 --> 00:33:54,241
or very distant.
357
00:33:54,407 --> 00:33:58,745
The best example of this
is EMANUELLE AND FRANCOISE,
358
00:33:58,912 --> 00:34:05,001
where one of the male characters
is chained up by a woman
359
00:34:05,210 --> 00:34:10,423
and is forced to observe sexual acts
360
00:34:10,590 --> 00:34:15,595
such as lesbian sex, orgies,
swingers, until he goes mad.
361
00:34:15,762 --> 00:34:20,350
This portrayal of frustration
perfectly sums up
362
00:34:20,517 --> 00:34:23,228
Joe D'Amato's films.
363
00:34:33,738 --> 00:34:39,286
When Italian porn first appeared,
364
00:34:39,452 --> 00:34:45,625
judges were banning all the movies,
both foreign and Italian,
365
00:34:45,792 --> 00:34:49,921
and accused us
of criminal association
366
00:34:50,046 --> 00:34:53,133
aimed at pornography.
367
00:34:53,300 --> 00:34:58,680
I was sentenced to two months
imprisonment for each movie,
368
00:34:58,847 --> 00:35:04,144
but I always managed to get off
thanks to probation.
369
00:35:04,311 --> 00:35:06,271
Probation goes up to 24 months.
370
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,941
You're under arrest. Come with us.
371
00:35:10,066 --> 00:35:14,070
Since I was sentenced for 10 movies,
two months per movie,
372
00:35:14,237 --> 00:35:18,325
I'd reached a total of 20 months.
373
00:35:18,491 --> 00:35:24,456
If I had been sentenced
for two more movies,
374
00:35:24,623 --> 00:35:28,752
I would've reached 24 months
and would've been jailed,
375
00:35:28,918 --> 00:35:31,546
so I stopped making porn.
376
00:35:31,713 --> 00:35:34,549
No! No!
377
00:35:37,594 --> 00:35:43,266
Joe D'Amato decided to try his hand
at a late '70s trend
378
00:35:43,433 --> 00:35:49,272
that boomed with the works of
Lucio Fulci, Romero, and so on:
379
00:35:49,439 --> 00:35:51,024
gore.
380
00:35:51,191 --> 00:35:55,445
We suddenly witness, so to speak,
an explosion of blood.
381
00:35:55,612 --> 00:36:01,576
We see slaughtering, gutting,
disemboweling on screen.
382
00:36:01,743 --> 00:36:06,289
Everything is exposed
in a rapture of violence.
383
00:36:06,456 --> 00:36:11,961
Once, my father organized
a private screening.
384
00:36:12,128 --> 00:36:17,342
It was for ABSURD,
and I passed out during the movie
385
00:36:17,884 --> 00:36:22,555
because the scene where he sticks
her head in a hot oven
386
00:36:22,722 --> 00:36:27,894
gave me so much anxiety
that I fainted.
387
00:36:28,061 --> 00:36:32,899
But he never worried about
shocking his kids.
388
00:36:33,066 --> 00:36:37,737
If anything, he was happy
about the effect it generated.
389
00:37:41,176 --> 00:37:44,304
BEYOND THE DARKNESS
was a great film,
390
00:37:44,471 --> 00:37:47,724
a mix of romanticism
and gore.
391
00:37:47,891 --> 00:37:52,896
A truly sick film,
in perfect D'Amato style.
392
00:37:53,062 --> 00:37:57,358
Everyone thinks I shot real autopsies.
393
00:37:57,984 --> 00:38:03,490
There was no need to,
because the film is entirely fake.
394
00:38:03,656 --> 00:38:09,329
We bought a ton of entrails
from a local butcher and used them.
395
00:38:09,496 --> 00:38:15,668
For the scenes with skin being cut,
we used pigskin.
396
00:38:15,835 --> 00:38:21,883
We placed it on top
and then sliced it with a scalpel,
397
00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:28,264
which created a very realistic effect.
398
00:38:28,431 --> 00:38:34,062
Then we filled it with entrails:
399
00:38:34,229 --> 00:38:37,482
livers, hearts, intestines.
400
00:38:37,649 --> 00:38:41,903
And the actor would keep pulling
this stuff out. The end.
401
00:39:13,309 --> 00:39:18,439
In 1980, my father created
Filmirage production company
402
00:39:18,606 --> 00:39:24,028
on Viale delle Milizie in Rome,
and began producing films
403
00:39:24,195 --> 00:39:29,284
that were made thanks
to pre-sales abroad.
404
00:39:29,450 --> 00:39:31,619
The first was ANTHROPOPHAGUS.
405
00:39:41,337 --> 00:39:45,258
COMING SOON
406
00:39:45,592 --> 00:39:51,598
There's the scene with the fetus,
where Montefiori pulls out
407
00:39:51,764 --> 00:39:54,601
this embryo and eats it.
408
00:39:54,767 --> 00:40:00,857
Everyone had crazy ideas about it,
but it was just a rabbit
409
00:40:01,024 --> 00:40:06,321
we bought at the local butcher
and we made to look like a fetus.
410
00:40:06,487 --> 00:40:10,158
Montefiori was just eating
a dead rabbit.
411
00:40:49,405 --> 00:40:54,786
At Rome's Metropolitan theater, there were
only four people at the first screening.
412
00:40:54,953 --> 00:41:00,625
Two people sat up front quietly,
but then they started fidgeting.
413
00:41:00,792 --> 00:41:06,923
They were watching the film,
but when they saw the scene
414
00:41:07,090 --> 00:41:11,886
with the rabbit being pulled out
of the womb,
415
00:41:12,053 --> 00:41:14,722
they left in disgust.
416
00:41:14,889 --> 00:41:18,685
I can't recall what they said,
but they left.
417
00:41:19,310 --> 00:41:21,980
The movie only lasted two days
in the theater.
418
00:41:22,146 --> 00:41:25,400
Well, considering what it was...
419
00:41:25,566 --> 00:41:31,030
The film didn't do well in Italy;
it was slammed by critics.
420
00:41:31,197 --> 00:41:37,412
Like all my films, actually,
not a single one was appreciated.
421
00:41:39,163 --> 00:41:42,834
But it was a hit abroad
422
00:41:43,001 --> 00:41:46,045
and people still talk about it.
423
00:42:02,353 --> 00:42:05,606
Being a clever opportunist,
Joe D'Amato followed trends,
424
00:42:05,773 --> 00:42:09,027
especially the trends that came about
425
00:42:09,193 --> 00:42:11,738
with the end of Italian genre films.
426
00:42:11,904 --> 00:42:16,492
So he made films
along the lines of MAD MAX
427
00:42:16,701 --> 00:42:21,956
and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK,
428
00:42:22,123 --> 00:42:24,625
John Carpenter's
American box office hit.
429
00:42:24,792 --> 00:42:28,921
He also made films similar to
CONAN THE BARBARIAN,
430
00:42:29,088 --> 00:42:33,926
namely the "Ator" series. They were
made for the international market
431
00:42:34,093 --> 00:42:37,680
which greatly appreciated
Joe D'Amato's work.
432
00:42:37,847 --> 00:42:39,348
This genre,
433
00:42:39,515 --> 00:42:44,020
because others made
these sorts of films, too,
434
00:42:44,187 --> 00:42:48,775
perfectly embodied
the downfall
435
00:42:48,941 --> 00:42:51,319
of Italian genre films.
436
00:42:51,486 --> 00:42:54,030
The undoing of a type of cinema
437
00:42:54,197 --> 00:42:59,202
where everything happened,
but all that is left is ruins now.
438
00:42:59,368 --> 00:43:05,541
We can say it's ancient cinema,
that belongs to a previous era.
439
00:43:05,708 --> 00:43:11,005
And so what is almost moving
in these films
440
00:43:11,172 --> 00:43:15,301
is observing that Italian genre cinema
441
00:43:15,468 --> 00:43:19,555
has filmed its own downfall,
its own ruin,
442
00:43:19,764 --> 00:43:23,684
by telling stories
about post-apocalyptic motorcyclists
443
00:43:23,851 --> 00:43:28,189
in movies like BRONX FINAL BATTLE,
444
00:43:28,356 --> 00:43:32,944
which is better known
by the title ENDGAME.
445
00:43:33,111 --> 00:43:36,697
ENDGAME came from
INTERCEPTOR aka MAD MAX.
446
00:43:36,864 --> 00:43:40,952
All of the American and Australian
box office hits
447
00:43:41,744 --> 00:43:46,457
were adapted by Filmirage.
448
00:43:46,582 --> 00:43:51,254
ENDGAME was a blockbuster
shot in three weeks.
449
00:43:51,420 --> 00:43:57,135
An intense production.
Lots of extras, lots of make-up,
450
00:43:57,301 --> 00:44:03,474
special effects, explosives,
MAD MAX-style vehicles.
451
00:44:03,599 --> 00:44:06,978
It wasn't an easy film.
452
00:44:07,353 --> 00:44:12,817
The best part was doing things
that people said were impossible.
453
00:44:12,984 --> 00:44:15,361
We'd look at them and say,
"It's doable."
454
00:45:43,824 --> 00:45:49,997
It was raining, and I'd gone
to bed late the night before.
455
00:45:50,164 --> 00:45:55,419
I was still asleep at noon, and
the phone in my room rang.
456
00:45:55,586 --> 00:45:59,257
It was an old Bakelite phone.
457
00:45:59,423 --> 00:46:05,221
It was Aristide calling to ask me
to direct a movie.
458
00:46:06,722 --> 00:46:12,186
"What?"
"Yes, come to my office."
459
00:46:12,353 --> 00:46:18,276
I got up, and like a zombie,
I managed to get to his office,
460
00:46:18,442 --> 00:46:23,531
and there he asked me to direct
a horror movie, a genre I liked.
461
00:46:23,698 --> 00:46:29,203
That's how STAGE FRIGHT came about.
It was just a 35-page treatment,
462
00:46:29,370 --> 00:46:31,247
but I could already picture it.
463
00:46:31,414 --> 00:46:36,711
I liked Michele's film,
STAGE FRIGHT, right away.
464
00:46:36,877 --> 00:46:40,423
It was made with a modest,
but not too small budget,
465
00:46:40,589 --> 00:46:43,551
because Aristide
adored Michele
466
00:46:43,718 --> 00:46:46,762
and gave him more money
than he gave himself.
467
00:46:46,929 --> 00:46:52,351
Apart from what people think
about B movies
468
00:46:52,518 --> 00:46:57,898
or C, D, Z movies,
porn, soft-porn, or whatever,
469
00:46:58,065 --> 00:47:01,652
Aristide appreciated young talents
470
00:47:01,777 --> 00:47:03,779
and loved working with young people.
471
00:47:03,988 --> 00:47:06,782
Partly because he could pay them less,
472
00:47:08,784 --> 00:47:13,414
but he would only work
with truly talented people.
473
00:47:13,581 --> 00:47:17,043
He gave young people
like me opportunities,
474
00:47:17,209 --> 00:47:19,795
but he was always
present.
475
00:47:20,004 --> 00:47:23,799
He watched and knew
476
00:47:24,008 --> 00:47:28,220
right away if you were
capable or not.
477
00:47:28,888 --> 00:47:33,392
The organogram of Filmirage
was like this:
478
00:47:33,559 --> 00:47:39,106
Aristide was the heart of it all,
479
00:47:39,273 --> 00:47:43,652
the production side
was handled by Donatella Donati,
480
00:47:43,819 --> 00:47:49,241
his business partner
and associate.
481
00:47:49,408 --> 00:47:54,038
She was a true cinema expert,
because her father
482
00:47:54,205 --> 00:47:57,416
was a famous movie producer.
483
00:47:57,583 --> 00:48:03,130
He had his camera operators,
a small group of people
484
00:48:03,297 --> 00:48:09,178
that he took around with him.
They all had various roles.
485
00:48:11,180 --> 00:48:14,308
He was producer,
486
00:48:14,475 --> 00:48:17,269
director, and cinematographer.
487
00:48:17,436 --> 00:48:19,980
He was a jack-of-all-trades.
488
00:48:20,147 --> 00:48:25,861
I consider him the Italian
Roger Corman.
489
00:48:26,028 --> 00:48:31,283
He had created, bit by bit,
a sort of factory
490
00:48:32,076 --> 00:48:34,495
for creative minds.
491
00:48:34,703 --> 00:48:38,165
He was commissioned
492
00:48:38,332 --> 00:48:43,504
by American or Italian producers
who focused on foreign markets,
493
00:48:43,671 --> 00:48:49,510
and there was a period of time
when these films were popular.
494
00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:56,642
They were once a big slice
of the American market.
495
00:48:56,809 --> 00:49:00,020
At the American Film Market,
films like STRIKE COMMANDO
496
00:49:00,187 --> 00:49:03,607
sold really well.
497
00:49:04,275 --> 00:49:07,611
Guess how he pre-sold movies?
With the poster.
498
00:49:07,778 --> 00:49:13,909
If your poster was made by Casaro,
who was number one back then,
499
00:49:14,118 --> 00:49:15,661
the film sold.
500
00:49:16,287 --> 00:49:21,125
He said all it took was drawing
two bastard American faces.
501
00:49:21,917 --> 00:49:25,087
So all the films started off
with the same potential
502
00:49:25,254 --> 00:49:31,051
but, in the end,
some came out better than others.
503
00:49:39,935 --> 00:49:44,899
My relationship with Aristide,
Donatella, and Filmirage
504
00:49:45,065 --> 00:49:47,860
entailed us giving them
a minimum guarantee
505
00:49:48,027 --> 00:49:49,487
for foreign sales,
506
00:49:49,653 --> 00:49:51,822
otherwise we would've become partners.
507
00:49:51,947 --> 00:49:55,659
We made about ten films
508
00:49:55,868 --> 00:49:59,371
in the United States
with Aristide and Donatella.
509
00:49:59,538 --> 00:50:05,628
He tried to go to
the USA with a truck
510
00:50:05,794 --> 00:50:08,756
containing some wood
planks and lights
511
00:50:08,923 --> 00:50:11,675
and had his first experience there.
512
00:50:11,842 --> 00:50:16,889
And so he realized
that if he filmed in rural America,
513
00:50:17,056 --> 00:50:21,185
the parts where unions didn't exist,
514
00:50:21,352 --> 00:50:26,398
he could create something
like a low budget American film.
515
00:50:27,066 --> 00:50:30,778
So he decided that was the right path
516
00:50:30,945 --> 00:50:34,073
to sell these films
on the international market.
517
00:50:42,957 --> 00:50:46,210
The film that
rewarded us most,
518
00:50:46,377 --> 00:50:49,338
and which was not bad at all,
519
00:50:49,505 --> 00:50:51,715
was WITCHCRAFT,
520
00:50:52,550 --> 00:50:56,929
made for American home video.
521
00:50:57,096 --> 00:50:59,431
It features Linda Blair,
522
00:50:59,598 --> 00:51:04,186
who, after THE EXORCIST,
523
00:51:04,353 --> 00:51:08,857
made her horror comeback
alongside a decent cast.
524
00:51:09,358 --> 00:51:12,027
It was directed by Fabrizio Laurenti,
525
00:51:12,236 --> 00:51:16,991
who was hired at the last minute.
It was his first film.
526
00:51:17,157 --> 00:51:23,038
Di Girolamo,
our foreign sales agent
527
00:51:23,205 --> 00:51:25,040
who'd already made
the deal,
528
00:51:25,207 --> 00:51:29,044
had developed
his own method
529
00:51:29,587 --> 00:51:32,131
to gauge if a film would work or not.
530
00:51:32,298 --> 00:51:34,508
He'd thoroughly studied this
531
00:51:34,675 --> 00:51:39,013
and was absolutely convinced
and proud of it.
532
00:51:39,805 --> 00:51:45,019
Every script that the two of them
worked on together,
533
00:51:45,185 --> 00:51:48,897
with Aristide producing
and him distributing and selling,
534
00:51:49,064 --> 00:51:53,068
had to pass the "up and down test,"
as Aristide called it.
535
00:51:53,277 --> 00:52:00,284
It's not a euphemism for masturbation,
even if Aristide said it was.
536
00:52:00,451 --> 00:52:06,540
Essentially, every scene in the script
was given a score.
537
00:52:06,707 --> 00:52:08,751
Opening credits, 3 points.
538
00:52:08,917 --> 00:52:15,591
A throat-slitting scene, 7 points
because there's blood.
539
00:52:15,758 --> 00:52:20,971
Sentimental dialogue, 3 points.
540
00:52:21,722 --> 00:52:27,227
If you connected all the points,
the line went up and down.
541
00:52:27,394 --> 00:52:32,441
The film's quality went up, down,
then it stopped.
542
00:52:32,608 --> 00:52:36,070
If it went too far down,
that meant there was an issue.
543
00:52:39,365 --> 00:52:43,911
Aristide, who was head
of the factory, said,
544
00:52:44,078 --> 00:52:48,540
"Don't worry about that.
Just go shoot it. The story is fine."
545
00:52:48,707 --> 00:52:53,837
Our American distributor
had asked us
546
00:52:54,004 --> 00:52:58,050
to cast higher-level actors.
547
00:52:58,634 --> 00:53:03,722
It was an impressive cast,
with David Hasselhoff and Linda Blair,
548
00:53:03,889 --> 00:53:08,435
so the film cost quite a bit more.
549
00:53:08,852 --> 00:53:12,606
The film was rather rewarding
550
00:53:12,773 --> 00:53:16,485
in terms of return
and in terms of earnings,
551
00:53:16,652 --> 00:53:18,946
but the difference was substantial.
552
00:53:19,113 --> 00:53:23,450
With lower budget films,
553
00:53:23,617 --> 00:53:25,661
we could earn more,
554
00:53:25,828 --> 00:53:30,833
but with the other films,
we broke even and made less.
555
00:53:35,587 --> 00:53:40,175
So Aristide and I
decided to take some time off,
556
00:53:40,384 --> 00:53:44,638
and we stopped for a few months.
557
00:53:44,805 --> 00:53:47,391
That had never happened before.
558
00:53:47,558 --> 00:53:52,396
For Aristide, three months
of not working was a lifetime.
559
00:53:52,604 --> 00:53:56,316
Then he found another company
560
00:53:56,734 --> 00:54:00,320
that partially funded
his films,
561
00:54:00,487 --> 00:54:03,657
while he put in the rest
of the money.
562
00:54:03,866 --> 00:54:06,118
Unfortunately, this
put him in dire straits.
563
00:54:06,285 --> 00:54:11,623
At this point, they couldn't
pre-sell films anymore.
564
00:54:11,790 --> 00:54:15,335
The money came
from BNL bank,
565
00:54:15,502 --> 00:54:18,005
which demanded guarantees.
566
00:54:18,756 --> 00:54:24,553
So, bit by bit,
due to his passion for cinema,
567
00:54:24,720 --> 00:54:28,849
my father used our homes
as collateral.
568
00:54:29,016 --> 00:54:34,313
Instead of thinking about his family
and keeping a roof over our heads,
569
00:54:34,480 --> 00:54:37,691
he decided to gamble it all.
570
00:54:37,858 --> 00:54:40,861
Most likely,
he wasn't behind this,
571
00:54:41,028 --> 00:54:46,617
because Donatella Donati
was in charge of the finances.
572
00:54:47,618 --> 00:54:52,539
He kept making movie after movie.
573
00:54:52,706 --> 00:54:58,879
But it seems he made one too many
without the proper backing.
574
00:54:59,046 --> 00:55:04,176
The market had changed.
575
00:55:04,343 --> 00:55:09,932
It was no longer the era
of WITCHCRAFT, so to speak.
576
00:55:10,098 --> 00:55:16,271
When Filmirage went belly up
and the banks started demanding money,
577
00:55:16,438 --> 00:55:20,275
it was a mortal blow for my father.
578
00:55:20,484 --> 00:55:26,657
We needed cash, a lot of it,
because Dad had several employees
579
00:55:26,824 --> 00:55:29,827
and he wanted to pay their wages.
580
00:55:29,993 --> 00:55:33,914
He had editors, secretaries, etc.
581
00:55:34,081 --> 00:55:40,671
So he did what he could to earn
while spending as little as possible.
582
00:55:40,838 --> 00:55:45,008
He started doing
what he never wanted to do again.
583
00:55:45,175 --> 00:55:49,179
He felt that he'd evolved
584
00:55:49,304 --> 00:55:53,016
and never wanted to do porn again,
585
00:55:53,851 --> 00:55:59,106
but it was the only genre
that allowed him to make a profit,
586
00:55:59,273 --> 00:56:03,694
quickly, in cash,
while spending very little.
587
00:56:08,866 --> 00:56:12,744
Then they come in here
and get naked.
588
00:56:24,590 --> 00:56:28,719
Aristide Massaccesi hated porn.
589
00:56:28,886 --> 00:56:33,348
He only made these
movies to make money
590
00:56:33,557 --> 00:56:37,853
which he then spent
to produce non-porn movies.
591
00:56:38,020 --> 00:56:44,192
He produced
Michele Soavi's first movie, a thriller.
592
00:56:44,359 --> 00:56:50,365
It drained all his money,
and when he finished shooting,
593
00:56:50,532 --> 00:56:52,910
he came back to me,
saying he was broke.
594
00:56:53,076 --> 00:56:57,956
I said, "You put in your work,
film stock, and the cameras,
595
00:56:58,123 --> 00:57:02,002
and we'll do a movie
with Rocco Siffredi."
596
00:57:02,169 --> 00:57:08,342
THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO
was the first major porn film
597
00:57:08,508 --> 00:57:12,638
that was a period piece,
and we made it together.
598
00:57:12,804 --> 00:57:18,644
That changed everything. We realized
it could be a huge business,
599
00:57:18,810 --> 00:57:24,775
and in no time, we became
the masters of these productions.
600
00:57:47,255 --> 00:57:48,799
Fuck, I forgot.
601
00:58:20,580 --> 00:58:25,127
All of us who make hardcore porn
focus on the asshole.
602
00:58:25,293 --> 00:58:30,674
There's no other way
603
00:58:31,967 --> 00:58:34,636
to define what we do.
604
00:58:34,803 --> 00:58:39,599
We focus on the asshole
and whatever goes in it or comes out.
605
00:58:44,730 --> 00:58:48,025
Softcore? That's for churchgoers.
We should send it to
606
00:58:49,693 --> 00:58:52,237
the monks, the Benedictines.
607
00:58:52,404 --> 00:58:57,576
When genre films
stopped doing well in theaters,
608
00:58:57,743 --> 00:59:03,623
D'Amato continued
to indulge
609
00:59:03,790 --> 00:59:08,628
his need to film as if it was
as vital as his need to breathe,
610
00:59:08,962 --> 00:59:13,717
making a vast number of
porn films for home video.
611
00:59:13,884 --> 00:59:19,389
Porn films were making their way
from movie theaters
612
00:59:19,514 --> 00:59:25,395
to video, for home enjoyment,
thanks to videotapes.
613
00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:30,067
So Joe D'Amato followed this route.
614
00:59:30,233 --> 00:59:35,238
In this era,
the perception of porn
615
00:59:35,405 --> 00:59:38,533
was in between one repressive phase
and another.
616
00:59:38,742 --> 00:59:43,997
At first, pornographic cinema
was repressed, condemned.
617
00:59:44,164 --> 00:59:48,543
Then it reached a euphoric phase
and was seen as an element
618
00:59:48,710 --> 00:59:52,089
that was part
of contemporary pop culture.
619
01:00:13,110 --> 01:00:18,323
For me, porn was like
a sexual revolution.
620
01:00:18,490 --> 01:00:23,954
I felt the same as Schicchi;
we did it with passion.
621
01:00:24,121 --> 01:00:30,168
I wasn't ashamed, but Aristide
did it for money and was ashamed.
622
01:00:30,335 --> 01:00:35,757
He always pointed out
that he mainly worked on other films.
623
01:00:35,924 --> 01:00:41,138
At first, erotic films had value.
They had a storyline,
624
01:00:41,304 --> 01:00:44,850
a script, lighting.
625
01:00:45,016 --> 01:00:49,187
His last porn movies
were hell for him, red-light hell.
626
01:01:19,759 --> 01:01:25,932
I think his decision
to start doing hardcore porn
627
01:01:26,099 --> 01:01:30,228
was a mistake.
In fact, he paid the price,
628
01:01:30,395 --> 01:01:34,441
because then he was
pigeonholed for that.
629
01:01:34,608 --> 01:01:39,404
He had some very
interesting ideas for TV,
630
01:01:39,571 --> 01:01:44,075
but was turned down instantly
because he made porn.
631
01:02:45,553 --> 01:02:50,517
I make hardcore porn
for a practical reason:
632
01:02:50,684 --> 01:02:56,022
for income, to pull myself
out of the deep shit I was in.
633
01:02:56,189 --> 01:02:59,609
I only do them for monetary reasons.
634
01:02:59,734 --> 01:03:03,280
I don't like making them.
635
01:04:04,341 --> 01:04:08,511
I told him that
he should've stuck to producing only.
636
01:04:08,678 --> 01:04:15,226
He had great interpersonal skills.
He was likeable and trustworthy.
637
01:04:23,777 --> 01:04:27,447
He didn't want to become influential;
he didn't believe in that.
638
01:04:27,614 --> 01:04:31,368
He couldn't stand people
who were rich and influential.
639
01:04:31,910 --> 01:04:35,955
I admit I'm a bit pompous.
640
01:04:36,122 --> 01:04:39,084
I realize I can be like that.
641
01:04:39,250 --> 01:04:41,252
I pompously wanted
642
01:04:41,419 --> 01:04:49,010
to make things
that don't work out well in the end.
643
01:04:49,177 --> 01:04:53,473
I pompously think I know everything,
644
01:04:53,640 --> 01:04:56,518
even if I don't know shit
most of the time.
645
01:04:57,102 --> 01:05:00,438
He gained people's love.
Everyone loved him.
646
01:05:01,439 --> 01:05:07,070
I have one regret:
I was supposed to go see him,
647
01:05:07,237 --> 01:05:13,535
but as often happens,
I put it off and shouldn't have.
648
01:05:13,701 --> 01:05:17,705
I was rather busy
working on INCANTESIMO
649
01:05:17,872 --> 01:05:20,125
and barely had time to breathe,
650
01:05:20,291 --> 01:05:24,087
but sometimes,
we have to make the time.
651
01:05:24,254 --> 01:05:29,134
Now I regret not having seen him
a few more times.
652
01:05:29,300 --> 01:05:32,178
Mainly to delight in his laughter,
653
01:05:32,345 --> 01:05:39,102
because if there's one thing
I recall with great emotion.
654
01:05:51,990 --> 01:05:53,199
Sorry.
655
01:05:57,787 --> 01:06:00,081
On the day of my father's funeral,
656
01:06:00,373 --> 01:06:04,627
something disappointed me a bit.
657
01:06:04,794 --> 01:06:09,424
Schicchi was there with his wife,
a porn actress,
658
01:06:10,592 --> 01:06:14,679
and people were pointing at her,
659
01:06:14,846 --> 01:06:19,184
as if to accentuate the fact
that he made porn movies.
660
01:06:19,350 --> 01:06:25,565
Many of his friends should have come,
but they didn't.
661
01:06:27,108 --> 01:06:33,281
Many people turned their backs on him.
Friends he trusted
662
01:06:33,448 --> 01:06:36,451
turned their backs on him.
663
01:06:40,121 --> 01:06:42,123
HOT D'OR AWARD CEREMONY
664
01:06:48,505 --> 01:06:50,673
Goodbye to one of the last directors
665
01:06:50,840 --> 01:06:53,134
who still shot on 35mm.
666
01:06:53,551 --> 01:06:58,473
He left behind his masterpieces
and a void in his field.
667
01:06:58,640 --> 01:07:03,186
A few images to remember
Mr. Joe D'Amato.
668
01:07:15,281 --> 01:07:18,117
The headlines were:
669
01:07:18,284 --> 01:07:21,996
"The king of porn has died!"
670
01:07:25,917 --> 01:07:28,002
But that's not what he was.
671
01:07:30,880 --> 01:07:35,760
He would've never accepted
or wanted something like that.
672
01:07:36,844 --> 01:07:42,141
Aristide isn't the king of porn,
but the king of the masters of cinema.
673
01:07:42,308 --> 01:07:46,396
I've never met anyone
with the knowledge he had,
674
01:07:46,563 --> 01:07:50,984
not even those famous directors,
who I won't name.
675
01:07:51,150 --> 01:07:56,573
For me, he's the greatest master
of life and cinema.
676
01:07:57,323 --> 01:07:58,866
Porn movies don't exist.
677
01:08:35,903 --> 01:08:41,701
After the death of my father,
I opened his briefcase
678
01:08:41,868 --> 01:08:48,082
and there was a note he wrote:
"In the end, I'll show them who I am."
679
01:08:48,499 --> 01:08:54,714
I think after Filmirage closed down,
680
01:08:55,423 --> 01:09:00,803
going back to hardcore
and those characters he no longer liked
681
01:09:00,970 --> 01:09:04,557
somehow killed him inside a bit.
682
01:09:04,724 --> 01:09:09,437
He no longer considered himself
an artist, a master, a craftsman,
683
01:09:09,604 --> 01:09:15,860
even if he still had that flame inside
that spoke the truth.
684
01:10:48,619 --> 01:10:54,208
Why do you think there are so many
Joe D'Amato fans in the world?
685
01:10:55,960 --> 01:11:00,715
I ask myself the same thing.
I have no idea!
686
01:11:00,882 --> 01:11:02,675
I have no idea.
687
01:11:03,217 --> 01:11:07,305
Do you consider yourself
a better director or cinematographer?
688
01:11:07,472 --> 01:11:09,515
Cinematographer.
689
01:11:09,682 --> 01:11:13,227
As a director, do you feel
you're a master of eroticism or horror?
690
01:11:13,394 --> 01:11:18,024
As a director, I consider myself
691
01:11:18,191 --> 01:11:19,817
a professional
692
01:11:20,943 --> 01:11:22,528
craftsman.
693
01:11:24,030 --> 01:11:27,325
Are you cynical about yourself?
694
01:11:27,492 --> 01:11:29,243
No.
695
01:11:29,410 --> 01:11:30,953
I am...
696
01:11:33,498 --> 01:11:35,500
Your greatest asset?
697
01:11:39,128 --> 01:11:40,880
Modesty, maybe.
698
01:11:42,048 --> 01:11:44,175
Your greatest flaw?
699
01:11:44,342 --> 01:11:46,260
Modesty.
700
01:12:30,388 --> 01:12:32,932
Subtitles:
Laser S. Film s.r.I. - Rome
54946
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