The Opening of Misty Beethoven | |
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Directed by | Radley Metzger (as "Henry Paris") [1] [2] |
Written by | Radley Metzger (as "Jake Barnes") |
Produced by | Radley Metzger |
Starring | Constance Money Jamie Gillis Jacqueline Beudant Gloria Leonard Terri Hall |
Cinematography | Paul Glickman (as "Robert Rochester") |
Edited by | Bonnie Karrin |
Music by | George Craig Gioacchino Rossini |
Distributed by | Catalyst Productions Joy Bear Pictures VCA Pictures [3] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
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 (directing this film as "Henry Paris"). [1] [2] [4] According to author Toni Bentley, The Opening of Misty Beethoven is considered the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). [1] [2]
An adult erotic take on George Bernard Shaw 's 1913 play Pygmalion , and its 1956 musical adaptation My Fair Lady , the film follows a sexologist who tries transforming a low-skilled prostitute into a goddess of passion. Her instruction includes seducing a gay male art dealer (played by gay porn actor Casey Donovan), pleasing three men at once, pegging a man, and similar sexual conquests. [5] Shaw's character of Henry Higgins here becomes the sexologist Dr. Seymour Love, played by Jamie Gillis. [4] Shaw's character of Eliza Doolittle here becomes Dolores "Misty" Beethoven, played by Constance Money. [4] Shaw's Colonel Pickering here becomes Geraldine Rich, played by Jacqueline Beudant. As events unfold, Misty achieves "elevation" better than Love and Rich had hoped, and then cuts them off. Misty returns however, running the "school" and taking over for Dr. Love, leaving him in a very subservient position.
The film was released during the Golden Age of Porn (inaugurated by the 1969 release of Andy Warhol 's Blue Movie ) and the phenomenon of "porno chic" [6] [7] in the United States, in which adult erotic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities (such as Johnny Carson and Bob Hope) [8] and taken seriously by film critics (such as Roger Ebert). [9] [10]
In this Golden Age era, most films of the time were expected to have at least minimal plots. Misty's plot was more elaborate than most; it was based directly on George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion , as well as the Broadway and Hollywood success My Fair Lady . Some historians assess The Opening of Misty Beethoven as attaining a mainstream level in storyline and sets. [11] Author Toni Bentley called the film the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age. [1] [2] The film is also satirical, with many added comic touches and dialogue designed for laughs. It includes Mark Margolis's first role. The Opening of Misty Beethoven has the distinction of being the first widely released porn movie to feature female-on-male pegging. [12]
The Italian Edition by Noctuno is an extended version of Misty Beethoven with footage not seen in the original film. Some of the extra footage was used in Barbara Broadcast (Misty's bondage sequence) and Maraschino Cherry (Misty with the matador). All other cutting room floor footage can be found in the Distribpix Misty Beethoven DVD extras. The film was initially rejected for UK cinema by the BBFC and released in a heavily pre-edited form with an additional 1 min 55 secs of censor cuts in 1983. The fully uncut hardcore print was passed with an R18 rating by the BBFC in 2005. It is rumored that the full uncut version was released in the U.S on Laser Disc by Lorimar Home Video. It was also said the Laser Disc Print runs at 87 minutes and has 1:33 ratio. The cool (softcore) version adds several scenes to pad the running time. They include: the servants celebrating at the Italian villa in cave-person outfits, Lawrence and Barbara watching Kojak on TV, Misty and Geraldine together in a tub and, last but not least, cigar guy's female partner on the plane talking to a dejected Seymour Love.
According to reviewer Steve Gallagher, Radley Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle". [13] Claire Simpson noted that his films were "highly artistic — and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous cinematography". [14] Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. [15] [16] [17] [18]
In 2012, DistribPix oversaw a complete restoration of the film, with the full cooperation of the director. The result had a limited exhibition in theaters, but the main outcome of the project was the first-ever official DVD and Blu-ray releases. [19] [20]
Awards from the Adult Film Association of America:
The Opening Of Misty Beethoven Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Various | |
Released | 2012 |
Genre | 1:10:56 |
Label | Distribpix Inc. |
During the 2012 restoration of the film, a fully annotated CD soundtrack was released. [28]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The Absolute Nadir Of Passion" | 0:25 |
2. | "Mighty Atom" | 2:55 |
3. | "Let's Get You Undressed" | 0:45 |
4. | "Bourbon" | 3:37 |
5. | "New York vs. Rome" | 0:05 |
6. | "William Tell Overture - Finale" | 3:44 |
7. | "Happy Landings" | 0:14 |
8. | "Glass Tubes" | 3:20 |
9. | "Ripe Mango, Take Two" | 0:05 |
10. | "Confunktion" | 4:33 |
11. | "Regarding Aquarians" | 0:11 |
12. | "The Fuzz" | 0:15 |
13. | "Say We Had Fun" | 2:47 |
14. | "Heat Haze" | 2:47 |
15. | "Hyman Mandell" | 0:44 |
16. | "Ippica / Going Great" | 2:28 |
17. | "Jamaican Cigars" | 0:12 |
18. | "Giovane Flirt" | 3:21 |
19. | "That Perilous Journey" | 0:13 |
20. | "Rebel" | 4:11 |
21. | "Stay! You Can Have Caesar!" | 0:11 |
22. | "Teorma / Thin Ice" | 2:04 |
23. | "Is That Your Real Name?" | 0:11 |
24. | "Door To Paradise" | 2:43 |
25. | "Birth Of A Generation" | 2:44 |
26. | "The Big One" | 4:07 |
27. | "Hombre Solo" | 2:04 |
28. | "George Craig Interview" | 20:00 |
In 2004, Misty Beethoven: The Musical! , a musical remake, was released. It featured Sunset Thomas, Randy Spears, Julie Meadows, Asia Carrera, Chloe, Dave Cummings, Mike Horner, Evan Stone and Tyce Bune. It was directed by Veronica Hart. The film won the 2004 XRCO Award for "Best Comedy or Parody" [29] and the 2005 AVN Award for "Best Sex Comedy". [30]
Jane Esther Hamilton is an American former pornographic actress and current adult film director who performed under the stage name Veronica Hart during the 1980s. She is sometimes credited as Jane Hamilton, V. Hart, Veronica Heart, Victoria Holt, Randee Styles or just Veronica. Hart is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame. Director Paul Thomas Anderson has called her "the Meryl Streep of porn."
Radley Metzger was an American pioneering filmmaker and film distributor, most noted for popular artistic, adult-oriented films, including Thérèse and Isabelle (1968), Camille 2000 (1969), The Lickerish Quartet (1970), Score (1974), The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974), The Image (1975), The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) and Barbara Broadcast (1977). According to one film reviewer, Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle". Another reviewer noted that his films were "highly artistic — and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous cinematography". Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
The Image is a 1975 American adult drama that was re-released in an edited version in 1976. The film is also known by two other titles: The Punishment of Anne and The Mistress and the Slave and was directed by Radley Metzger. The film is based upon the classic 1956 sadomasochistic novel L'Image, written by Catherine Robbe-Grillet and published under the pseudonym of "Jean de Berg".
Constance Money is an American former adult film actress. She played the lead role of Misty Beethoven in the 1976 adult classic The Opening of Misty Beethoven.
Jamie Gillis was an American pornographic actor, director and member of the AVN Hall of Fame. He was married to the porn actress Serena.
Score is a 1974 erotic romance film directed by Radley Metzger. One of the first films to explore bisexual relationships, it was part of the brief porn chic fad of the Golden Age of Porn in the early 1970s that also included Behind the Green Door, The Devil in Miss Jones and Deep Throat. The film was based on an off-Broadway stage play that ran for 23 performances at the Martinique Theatre from October 28, 1970, through November 15, 1971 and featured Sylvester Stallone in a brief role. The theatrical version of Score was written by Jerry Douglas, who later became a mainstream screenwriter. It was set in a shabby Queens tenement, while the film was set in an elegant, mythical land and sported a relatively high budget for an independent film of that era.
The Adult Film Association of America (AFAA) was the first American association of pornographic film producers. It fought against censorship laws, attempted to defend the industry against prosecution for obscenity, and held an annual adult film awards ceremony. Founded in 1969, it continued separate operation until 1992 when it merged with Free Speech Legal Defense Fund. The organization was also host to the Erotic Film Awards which were held from 1977 until 1986.
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 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, the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age, according to award-winning author Toni Bentley. According to Andy Warhol, his Blue Movie film was a major influence in the making of Last Tango in Paris, an internationally controversial erotic drama film, starring Marlon Brando, and released in 1972, three years after Blue Movie was shown in theaters.
The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann is a 1974 American hardcore adult film starring Barbara Bourbon and directed by Radley Metzger that is considered one of the classics of the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). It was a step forward in the development of the genre, as it had a plot and good acting. The movie can be seen as a meditation on voyeurism, due to the trope of Mann being spied on by a private detective hired by her husband, and the production of pornography itself, as the detective films her sexual encounters.
Barbara Broadcast is an American adult erotic film released in 1977. The film was directed by Radley Metzger and filmed in several elaborate locations in New York City, including the Olympia ballroom and restaurant in the Royal Manhattan Hotel.
Maraschino Cherry is an American hardcore pornographic film and comedy released in 1978. The film was directed by Radley Metzger and filmed in several locations in New York City; it was his fifth and final hardcore film.
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.
The Tale of Tiffany Lust, also known as Body Lust, is a 1979 American pornographic film. It was directed by Radley Metzger but credited for convenience to French director and occasional Metzger collaborator Gérard Kikoïne, who may have served as an advisor. The film was shot in several locations in New York City. It opened in France on 27 June 1979 under the title Dolly l'initiatrice, but was not released in the U.S. until 1981.
Thérèse and Isabelle is a 1968 erotic drama film directed by Radley Metzger from a screenplay by Jesse Vogel, based on the 1966 novel Thérèse et Isabelle by Violette Leduc.
The Alley Cats is a 1966 American drama, comedy, cult film directed by Radley Metzger. The film stars Anne Arthur, Karen Field, Sabrina Koch, Charlie Hickman, Harald Baerow, and Uta Levka.
The Dirty Girls is a 1965 American erotic drama film directed by Radley Metzger.
The Princess and the Call Girl is a 1984 American erotic comedy drama film directed by Radley Metzger and based on a French story, Frontispiece, by Pierre Serbie, that is similar to Mark Twain's novel The Prince and the Pauper.
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".
Aphrodesia's Diary is an American-French pornographic film shot in 1979 — primarily in New York but also in Paris — and released in 1983. It was directed by French pornographer Gérard Kikoïne and co-produced by Radley Metzger, who may have served as an advisor but is not credited.
The Sins of Ilsa is a 1985 American adult erotic film, based on a novel by Iris Murdoch, 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.
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