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The Opening of Misty Beethoven

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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]

The Opening of Misty Beethoven
Original film poster
Directed byRadley Metzger
(as "Henry Paris")[1][2]
Written byRadley Metzger
(as "Jake Barnes")
Produced byRadley Metzger
StarringConstance Money
Jamie Gillis
Jacqueline Beudant
Gloria Leonard
Terri Hall
CinematographyPaul Glickman
(as "Robert Rochester")
Edited byBonnie Karrin
Music byGeorge Craig
Gioacchino Rossini
Distributed byCatalyst Productions
Joy Bear Pictures
VCA Pictures[3]
Release date
  • 19 March 1976 (1976-03-19)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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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.

Cast

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Notes

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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]

2012 restoration

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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

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Awards from the Adult Film Association of America:

Other awards

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Music soundtrack

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The Opening Of Misty Beethoven Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various
Released2012
Genre1:10:56
LabelDistribpix Inc.

During the 2012 restoration of the film, a fully annotated CD soundtrack was released.[28]

No.TitleLength
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

Remake

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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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris". Playboy. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris" (PDF). ToniBentley.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  3. ^ "VCA Pictures". Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d West, Ashley (April 7, 2017). "'The Opening of Misty Beethoven' (1976): Jamie Gillis and Constance Money". The Rialto Report. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "Blu-ray Review: THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN, The Porno Pygmalion, Is A Revelation In HD". Screen Anarchy. February 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  6. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (January 21, 1973). "Porno chic; 'Hard-core' grows fashionable-and very profitable". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "Porno Chic (Jahsonic.com)". Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  8. ^ Corliss, Richard (March 29, 2005). "That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic". Time. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 13, 1973). "The Devil In Miss Jones - Film Review". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  10. ^ Ebert, Roger (November 24, 1976). "Alice in Wonderland:An X-Rated Musical Fantasy". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Mathijs, Ernest; Mendik, Xavier (2007). The Cult Film Reader. Open University Press. ISBN 978-0335219230. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Nault, Curran (Summer 2010). "Bend Over Boyfriend to Take It Like a Man: Pegging Pornography and the Queer Representation of Straight Sex". Jump Cut (52). Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  13. ^ Gallagher, Steve (August 7, 2014). ""This is Softcore": The History of Radley Metzger". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  14. ^ Simpson, Claire (October 2, 2013). "Adults Only: 5 Films By Radley Metzger". WhatCulture.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  15. ^ Rist, Ray C. (January 4, 1974). Book - The Pornography Controversy: Changing Moral Standards in American Life. Transaction Publishers. p. 124. ISBN 9781412838467. Retrieved February 29, 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Lehman, Peter (2006). Book - Pornography: Film and Culture. Rutgers University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780813538716. Retrieved February 29, 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Staff (2016). "Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - DadaBase Search Results - Radley Metzger". Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  18. ^ Staff (March 4, 2017). "Obituary Of The Righteous - The Porn Of The Fabulous 60s And 70s Loses One Of Its Pioneers And Masters: Radley Metzger - Photographer Of War, The MOMA Presents A Retrospective: His Erotic Films Made History - Video: 'Score', On The Relationships Of Couples Of The 70s, In An Uncensored Version". DagoSpia.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  19. ^ "The Opening of Misty Beethoven - Blu-Ray | DistribPix". www.distribpix.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  20. ^ The Opening of Misty Beethoven Blu-ray, archived from the original on September 7, 2021, retrieved September 7, 2021
  21. ^ a b Hilton, Thomas H. (August 1, 1977). "The Porn Awards". Adam Film World. Vol. 6, no. 6 (issue=66). pp. 16–17. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  22. ^ a b c Hilton, Thomas H. (December 1, 1977). "The First Annual Erotica Awards". Adam Film World. Vol. 6, no. 8 (issue=68). pp. 18–21. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  23. ^ a b c Staff (March 14, 1984). "AFAA - 8th Annual AFAA Erotic Film Awards - official program". Adult Film Association of America.
  24. ^ Frank Thistle, "The Second Annual Erotica Awards," Adam Film World, January 1979, pp. 24-27, 72.
  25. ^ AFAA, "Seventh Annual Erotica Awards," official program, June 23, 1983.
  26. ^ Staff (January 11, 2002). "Adult Video News Awards - Winner - Best Classic DVD". AVN Award. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  27. ^ Transcript of AVC video, A Night of Legends: First Annual XRCO Adult Film Awards, 1985
  28. ^ The Opening Of Misty Beethoven Motion Picture Soundtrack (2012, CD), archived from the original on September 7, 2021, retrieved September 7, 2021
  29. ^ Staff (2016). "XRCO Award". Memim Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  30. ^ "Best Sex Comedy". Archived from the original on January 18, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.

Further reading

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