Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn Review

Distributor: NakedSword Film Works Edition Details: Standard Streaming Movie Specs: Genres: Documentary, Gay Run Time: 96 minutes Rated: not Release Year: 2014 Director: Ethan Reid Written by: Ethan Reid Cast: Robert Alvarez, Kristen Bjorn, Topher Campbell, Julian Clary, Jake Genesis, Lord Harrison, Wakefield Poole, Brian Robinson, John Russell Taylor, Rupert Smith, Emanuel Xavier (as Emanuele Xavier), Peter de Rome, Robin Sanchez, Carlos Caballero, Peter Gordon Uliano Release Specs: Audio: English Stereo Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn is a documentary by Ethan Reid on classic gay adult filmmaker Peter de Rome. The documentary offers the viewer a look into the life of Peter de Rome, including the time before and after his years as an adult filmmaker.

There is always a question of whether a documentary is more subjective when the subject is involved versus when the subject isn't involved. Personally, this reviewer prefers documentaries where the subject is involved since you hear directly from the subject and not second hand from those who knew the subject.

Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn was made prior to de Rome's death in 2014 and de Rome is extensively involved with the documentary. The only real issue with the documentary is how the movie starts. Not with the footage the documentary starts with as that is de Rome in Sandwich, Kent, United Kingdom, receiving his 2012 Free Speech Coalition Erotic Film Award (through the post). The issue is that the documentary seems to assume that the viewer is already familiar with de Rome.

With the exception of 1986's In Heat, which appears to have been shot well prior to 1986, de Rome didn't make any adult films after the end of the 1970s, so a short introduction to him at the beginning would have been appropriate before the footage of him receiving the award. After the beginning, the documentary goes into his beginnings, how he started in the adult film industry, how the AIDS epidemic ceased his filmmaking, the rebirth of his films, and the BFI preserving his short films. The documentary also works in the story of Trouser Bar, which was never made before his death, and his thoughts on modern gay adult movies.

In addition to covering de Rome's life, Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn also manages to give a good history of gay adult cinema and various gay movements. Some of the sequences in the documentary seem like they are oddly placed and would have worked better at a different point in the movie, however, overall, Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn does a great job of giving de Rome's life story and is well worth watching for all fans of classic adult films.

The edition of Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn screened is the streaming only version available on NakedSword. NakedSword Film Works has done an excellent job with their streaming release of Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn. Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn was shot digitally and contains archival elements that were shot on film and video along with photographs. The movie is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, with some archival material appearing in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1, in 1080p. The video quality of Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn is excellent. The image is sharp and crisp with vibrant colors. There appears to have been a piece of dirt on the top right corner of one of the camera lenses as it comes and goes throughout the movie. The archival material contains print damage, grain, artifacts, and glitches in the video. It looks like the best quality as possible source material was used for the archival material.

Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn is presented with an English Stereo audio track. The audio for the documentary itself sounds excellent. The dialog is clear and easy to understand at all time. Some of the archival material contains pops and hiss in the audio.

NakedSword Film Works hasn't included any extras for this release.

Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn has been released by NakedSword through their NakedSword Film Works (NSFW) division that was launched in 2016 to exhibit gay independent movies that aren't exactly pornographic yet aren't exactly mainstream. Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn is a documentary on gay classic adult filmmaker Peter de Rome, which was made prior to his death. The documentary gives an extensive look at de Rome's life, not just his time spent making adult films, and, for the most part, is well done. NakedSword Film Works has done an excellent job with their streaming only release of Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn.

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