A mondo-esque British pseudo-documentary on attitudes towards pornography at the height of the “sexual revolution,” and throughout history.
The seemingly-genuine footage of red-light districts in London and Amsterdam is awesome to behold if you get a kick out of such things. Also intriguing is a series of behind-the-scenes interviews with organizers and guests at Amsterdam’s “Wet Dream Film Festival.” Among those in attendance: Screw publisher Al Goldstein (who comes off as surprisingly articulate and far less slimy than he would later present himself) and, surprisingly, Germaine Greer (who unfortunately doesn’t get much of a chance to speak.)
These relatively sincere elements contrast sharply with a decidedly goofy subplot about a Victorian-era family man who revels in pornography and prostitution when he’s not busy chastising his son for masturbating. These segments devolve fairly quickly into cynical sleaze, eclipsing any educational agenda the filmmakers might have had.
The existence of films like this one is a curious byproduct of the semi-outlaw status of sexually explicit material in this pre-Deep Throat era. One way to get around charges of obscenity was to pretend to be presenting a philosophical position on the sexual revolution.
And, despite the filmmakers’ obvious commercial intentions, there were philosophical points to be made. Although AIDS and Reagan-style puritanism combined to crush the sexual revolution in the 1980s, films like this one remain fascinating relics of a time when porn was a cultural statement. Recommended, though more as a piece of history than for any particular merit.
Give it a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRcTyTFvFjk
Germ Attack 