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(More customer reviews)Indie Sex is a four-part documentary about the evolution of sex in cinema. Produced by the Independent Film Channel, Indie Sex features John Cameron Mitchell, Dita Von Teese, Rosanna Arquette, Peter Sarsgaard, Tatum O' Neal, and others discussing their thoughts and opinions on everything sexual.
Part one is the segment "Censored," in which filmmakers and critics discuss the necessity of sex in cinema. We also get to see examples of early stag films and see the subtle ways filmmakers would imply sex to get past the Production Code Sensors. "Censored" talks about the introduction of the NC-17 rating (first bestowed upon Henry & June) and how Showgirls (Fully Exposed Edition) ultimately ruined the NC-17 rating's chance of getting a mainstream audience.
"Teens" covers sex in teen films and how it wasn't until the 1960s that this subject was explored. It talks about Hollywood studios seeing profit in teen sex comedies like American Pie - Unrated (Widescreen Collector's Edition). Of course, the impact of Kids on the teen-sex subgenre is discussed in depth, as well as the early `90s starting to explore teenage homosexuality.
"Extremes" talks about pedophilia, S&M, and unsimulated sex in films. Stanley Kubrick's Lolita as well as Adrian Lyne's Lolita are discussed at length. This is also covers fetishism and unsimulated sex in films like 9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version and Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny.
Finally, "Taboos" (a 30-minute segment) covers much of the same ground including the `70s detaching romance from sex...Here the films of John Waters, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg are the main topics.
Much of the same material is discussed in an older and superior documentary called The Celluloid Closet (Special Edition), although that mostly explores homosexuality in cinema rather than just sex, so this is almost an extension of that material. I found Indie Sex to be entertaining, funny, and educational...Some may find it "enlightening," but I already knew much of what was talked about. The bit about stag films was new to me though and rather surprising too.
My biggest problem with Indie Sex is how repetitive it gets. I wasn't a fan of John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus (Unrated Edition) already and it's discussed various times in different segments. This also occurs with Last Tango in Paris, almost like the filmmakers ran out of new ideas and fell back on the old ones.
Beyond that, Indie Sex is a very watchable, not-too-graphic documentary. The commentators provide some very amusing insight and besides some well-known facts scattered in here and the typical "why is sex more controversial than violence?" pep-talk; many will find something new and surprising by watching this. Worth checking out, for sure.
GRADE: B+
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Indie Sex by award-winning filmmakers Lisa Ades and Lesli Klainberg explores how films have provided a forum to discover society’s deepest and darkest sexual fantasies played out on the big screen. Divided into three parts – Indie Sex: Censored, Indie Sex: Teens and Indie Sex: Extremes – the series delves into sex in movies through innovative verite footage, provocative film clips and compelling on-camera interviews with some of the industry’s leading actors, writers and directors.
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