No Sex please we're British is more of a Whitehall farce than a sex comedy surely? The Confessions of series are essentially Carry on movies with cruder gags and full frontal nudity.
Sex comedies Page 2
Didn't David Sullivan of The Sunday Sport fame produce Come Play With Me? And then hype the hell out of it in his various porn mags.
Although these movies have a kitsch appeal, it's a slippery slope to catergorise them as comedy. Before you know it you have to start considering the "comedy" porn serials on Television X and The Fantasy Channel as comedy too.
Quote: chipolata @ February 7 2012, 10:25 AM GMTAlthough these movies have a kitsch appeal, it's a slippery slope to catergorise them as comedy. Before you know it you have to start considering the "comedy" porn serials on Television X and The Fantasy Channel as comedy too.
It is indeed. Very tricky to know where exactly to draw the line, hence my current line of research. The basic criteria is whether the film was produced primarily to amuse and entertain, or to wank to; unfortunately there's so little information about many of these films that I don't know on which side of the line they lie.
I'm pretty sure that anything on 'Television X' would be the latter, however!
Quote: Aaron @ February 7 2012, 3:07 PM GMTor to wank to
Wouldn't they have had to be rated by film board on certain criteria at the time? Or is that too out of date? Mind, someone could always use the 'all 70s porn is hilarious' in a retrospective postmodern way argument
They would indeed have been classified. Unfortunately, whilst it's possible to find out what the original rating was, it's not (freely, anyway) possible to find out why. (And that still doesn't give an indication of the style and intent of the productoin, merely its content.)
Quote: Aaron @ February 5 2012, 2:55 PM GMT(sootyj and your ilk, this means you) need not reply.
Ouch I resent that!
Seriously.
But ok. Back when I was a lad growing up in Bournemouth, there was what one might call a "psuedo porn movie theatre" down the road from me. e.g. it didn't have the special licences required for a dedicated porn cinema.
Rather it showed films featuring nudity which didn't require special registration.
As such it included the art house; A Z and 2 noughts, The Devils etc.
And comedy smut films. Such as Confessions, Eskimo Nell etc.
Basically any film in the '1970s that contained nudity and humour could be considered a sort of soft core, comedy porn film. Some of them were rather disturbing such as Percy.
Of course the problem is with cultural revisionism many of these films have been brought back into respectability. So for example a lot of the Confession films were recently reshown on channel 5, very much as comedy films. And in some circles are considered on a par with Carry On Films.
Basically I'd say if a film contains humour and is English, feature it.
Quote: sootyj @ February 7 2012, 3:25 PM GMTBasically I'd say if a film contains humour and is English, feature it.
Problem with that is that most things contain some humour. Horror films, action, thrillers, crime, romance. Most have elements of humour. Is very complicated.
Oh I see interesting.
Quite: Coronation Street is often cited by soap fans as being very funny, and I often howl with laughter at Top Gear, but clearly neither of those are comedies, they merely have comedic elements as part of the broader entertainment package.
Coronation Street I've seen described as a comedy more than once.
There may not be such a clear definition of pure comedy as you are looking for.
And some British 'comedy' films of the 1970s are not even remotely funny. Last year I watched one called Three For All, in which a lame pop group (of young men) went to Spain to become famous but their girlfriends weren't allowed to accompany them. So the girlfriends coincidentally took a holiday to Spain and got into all sorts of mishaps. The only good points of the film were Arthur Mullard as a gruff tourist and John Le Mesurier playing his trademark primly vague public servant. Edward Woodward showed up at the very end for no reason. It was dire. I don't think there was any nudity or comedy. I suppose it would be classified as comedy, but that would be grossly misleading.
Quote: Aaron @ February 7 2012, 3:07 PM GMTThe basic criteria is whether the film was produced primarily to amuse and entertain, or to wank to; unfortunately there's so little information about many of these films that I don't know on which side of the line they lie.
I'm pretty sure that anything on 'Television X' would be the latter, however!
I am sure most men can perform all three at once!
I think the real difference is frontal nudity.
Any film with nudity was trying for smut.
Thing is back in the day before internet, DVD or video and only 3 channels. Everyone was trying to get into the cinema so filth mongers wanted to seem conventional (hence Confession films). Whilst convnetional films wanted to seem racier (eg Hammer nudey vampire romps and increasingly adult Carry On films).
I think Confession films are certainly a sort of porn film. But it would be ashame to think them unwelcome on the BCG.
Quote: Kenneth @ February 7 2012, 4:53 PM GMTAnd some British 'comedy' films of the 1970s are not even remotely funny. Last year I watched one called Three For All, in which a lame pop group (of young men) went to Spain to become famous but their girlfriends weren't allowed to accompany them. So the girlfriends coincidentally took a holiday to Spain and got into all sorts of mishaps. The only good points of the film were Arthur Mullard as a gruff tourist and John Le Mesurier playing his trademark primly vague public servant. Edward Woodward showed up at the very end for no reason. It was dire. I don't think there was any nudity or comedy. I suppose it would be classified as comedy, but that would be grossly misleading.
Interestingly I'd say the TV of the 1970s was better, and also more sophisticated than the Films of the time in Britain. As a rule of course.
I've watched a few 'Confessions of...' films, however none of them 'inspired' me to engage in onanism - therefore I wouldn't classify them as porn.