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Bill Osco | |
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| Born | 1947 (age 75–76) |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer, director, actor |
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) [1] is an American film producer and director.
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film Mona , one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film Blue Movie , to receive a national theatrical release in the United States. [2] The release of Mona is considered to be one of the watershed events that helped inaugurate the Golden Age of Porn in the United States. [3]
That same year, Osco directed the documentary Hollywood Blue with Michael Benveniste (as Mike Lite) and Howard Ziehm. In 1971, Osco produced another adult film, Harlot , followed by the 1974 sci-fi spoof of Flash Gordon, Flesh Gordon , and the 1976 erotic musical comedy film, Alice in Wonderland . The film grossed over $90 million globally. [4] Produced as a softcore film, Osco later re-edited it into a hardcore pornographic version, utilizing footage of himself and Kristine de Bell not filmed during the original production. [5] Jason Williams, who co-produced and acted in the film, criticised Osco's involvement in the film. He claims he was never paid for his involvement and that Osco overstated his involvement in the creative direction of the film. [6]
Osco produced three films by writer/director Jackie Kong in the 1980s, starting with 1983's The Being , which also starred Osco in the lead role under the pseudonym Rexx Coltrane. This was followed by Kong's Night Patrol in 1984 and The Underachievers in 1987, both of which featured Osco in minor roles. Starting in 1987, Osco began his own directorial career with the comedy special The Unknown Comedy Show, a vehicle for stand-up comic Murray Langston, also known as The Unknown Comic.
In 2007, an Off-Broadway musical based on Osco's version of Alice in Wonderland was staged at the Kirk Theatre in New York City, to which Osco was credited with writing the book. [7] Set in a trailer park in Weehawken, New Jersey, the show was entitled Alice in Wonderland: An Adult Musical Comedy and flyers advertising it were designated "For Mature Audiences Only."
He was also the owner of a pornography bookstore, Niks and Naks, in Garden City, Idaho, and of the Desert Skies Motel, also in Garden City. He bought his Malibu, California home in 1986. [8]
The style of Osco's erotic movies has been described as awful in the sense that the dialogues are plain, the costumes of poor confection, and the sex scenes disturbingly uninspired. Vincent Canby describes Osco's style as "consistent vulgarity". [9]
An X rating is a film rating that indicates that the film contains content that is considered to be suitable only for adults. Films with an X rating may have scenes of graphic violence or explicit sex that may be disturbing or offensive to some viewers. The X rating is used in different ways by different countries, and it may have legal or commercial implications for the distribution and exhibition of such films. For example, some countries may ban or restrict the sale or rental of X-rated films, while others may allow them only in specific theaters or with special taxes. Some countries may also have different criteria or definitions for what constitutes an X-rated film, and some may consider the artistic merit of the film as a factor in classification. The X rating has been replaced or renamed by other ratings in some countries over time.
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, 18+ films, or also known as blue movie or blue film are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse, fascinate, or satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotically stimulating material such as nudity (softcore) and sexual intercourse (hardcore). A distinction is sometimes made between "erotic" and "pornographic" films on the basis that the latter category contains more explicit sexuality, and focuses more on arousal than storytelling; the distinction is highly subjective.
The Devil in Miss Jones is a 1973 pornographic film, written, directed and produced by Gerard Damiano and starring Georgina Spelvin and Harry Reems. It is widely regarded as a classic adult film, released during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). After his 1972 success with Deep Throat, Damiano shot the film in a converted apple-packing plant in Milanville, Pennsylvania. Along with Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door, the film is associated with a time in American culture known as "porno chic", in which adult erotic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities and taken seriously by film critics. The film's plot was inspired by the 1944 play No Exit by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The Devil in Miss Jones went on to spawn numerous remakes and sequels.
The Opening of Misty Beethoven is an American pornographic comedy film released in 1976. It was produced with a relatively high budget and filmed on elaborate locations in Paris, New York City and Rome with a musical score, and owes much to its director Radley Metzger. According to author Toni Bentley, The Opening of Misty Beethoven is considered the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984).
Kristine DeBell is an American film actress.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1976 American erotic musical comedy film loosely based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The film expands the original story to include sex and broad adult humor, as well as original songs. The film was directed by Bud Townsend, produced by William Osco, and written by Bucky Searles, based on a concept by Jason Williams.
Flesh Gordon is a 1974 American sex comedy feature film serving as a spoof of Universal Pictures's first Flash Gordon serial films from the 1930s. The film was produced by Walter R. Cichy, Bill Osco, and Howard Ziehm. It was co-directed by Ziehm and Michael Benveniste, who also wrote the screenplay. The cast includes Jason Williams, Suzanne Fields, John Hoyt and William Dennis Hunt. It was distributed by Mammoth Films.
A golden age is a period considered the peak in the history of a country or people, a time period when the greatest achievements were made. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets, who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure.
Blue Movie is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is regarded as a seminal film in the Golden Age of Porn (1969-1984), which, before the legalization of pornography in Denmark on July 1, 1969, started on June 12, 1969 with the release of Blue Movie at the Elgin Theater, and later, the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, in New York City. Blue Movie helped inaugurate the "porno chic" phenomenon, in which porn was publicly discussed by celebrities and taken seriously by film critics, in modern American culture, and shortly thereafter, in many other countries throughout the world. According to Warhol, Blue Movie was a major influence in the making of Last Tango in Paris, an internationally controversial erotic drama film starring Marlon Brando and released a few years after Blue Movie was made. Viva and Louis Waldon, playing themselves, starred in Blue Movie.
The Lickerish Quartet is a 1970 erotic drama film produced and directed by Radley Metzger. It was filmed in Italian and later dubbed into English. The film was written by Metzger and Michael DeForrest.
The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American pornography, in which sexually explicit films experienced positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the general public. This American period, which had subsequently spread internationally, and that began before the legalization of pornography in Denmark on July 1, 1969, started on June 12, 1969, with the theatrical release of the film Blue Movie directed by Andy Warhol, and, somewhat later, with the release of the 1970 film Mona produced by Bill Osco. These films were the first adult erotic films depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States. Both influenced the making of films such as 1972's Deep Throat starring Linda Lovelace and directed by Gerard Damiano, Behind the Green Door starring Marilyn Chambers and directed by the Mitchell brothers, 1973's The Devil in Miss Jones also by Damiano, and 1976's The Opening of Misty Beethoven by Radley Metzger. According to Warhol, Blue Movie was a major influence in the making of Last Tango in Paris, an internationally controversial erotic drama film, starring Marlon Brando, and released a few years after Blue Movie was shown in theaters.
Mona is a 1970 American pornographic film directed by Michael Benveniste and Howard Ziehm, produced by Bill Osco, and starring Judy Angel, Gerard Broulard, Orrin North, Susan Stewart and Fifi Watson. The film was screened without credits due to legal concerns. It is regarded as the second sexually explicit film to receive a general theatrical release in the United States, after Andy Warhol's Blue Movie (1969). However, unlike Blue Movie, Mona had a plot, though there was more emphasis on the action.
Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religious groups or have been banned or censored by governments, although attitudes have changed much along the years and a more permissive social environment has developed in certain parts of the world, notably in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In countries with a film rating system, films which contain explicit sex scenes typically receive a restricted classification. Nudity in film may be regarded as sexual or as non-sexual.
Jerry Douglas was an American film director and screenwriter, notably of gay pornographic films, as well as a novelist, playwright, and theatre director. He wrote and directed the play Tubstrip, which appeared on Broadway in 1974, starring Casey Donovan. His cinematic work won numerous adult film industry awards, and he was inducted into the Grabby Awards Hall of Fame and the GayVN Awards Hall of Fame.
Naked Came the Stranger is an American adult erotic film released in 1975. The film was directed by Radley Metzger and filmed in several elaborate locations in New York City.
Howard Ziehm is a retired American director, director of photography, producer and writer of adult movies.
The World of Henry Paris is a 1981 American compilation film documentary of the 1970s erotic films directed by Radley Metzger, working under the alias name of "Henry Paris".
The Sins of Ilsa is a 1985 American adult erotic film, based on a novel by Iris Murdoch, that was filmed in New York City and, for exteriors, in Paris. The film is notable as the last film directed by Radley Metzger and, as of November 2019, has not yet been released publicly.
Terri Hall was an American erotic actress in adult films from 1974 to 1984, during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). Notable films include: Alice In Wonderland (1976), The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1975), The Story of Joanna (1975), Through the Looking Glass (1976) and The World of Henry Paris (1981). Hall worked with several notable adult film directors, including Gerard Damiano, Radley Metzger and Bill Osco. She was a former ballet dancer and, as well, served as a model for photographers, such as Robert Mapplethorpe, and artists, such as Sir Alex Schloss and Gloria Schloss. Hall was featured in several US magazines, including Playboy and Sir!. Her work as a model has been displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The erotic art film with a plot that received a national theatrical release in the United States is generally considered to be Mona
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