Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy Review

Distributor: Docurama / New Video Edition Details: Uncut and Unrated Version Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Documentary Also known as: The Legend of Ron Jeremy Run Time: 76 minutes Rated: not Release Year: 2001 Director: Scott J. Gill Written by: Scott J. Gill Cast: Ron Jeremy, Al Goldstein, Al Lewis (as Al 'Grandpa' Lewis), Sasha Gabor, William Margold, Jim Holliday, Herschel Savage, Seymore Butts, Alisha Klass, Larry Flynt, Samantha Stylles, Tabitha Stevens, Anita Cannibal, Sharon Mitchell, Aurora Cortez (as Aurora), Chris Cannon, Jenna Jameson, Lexington Steele, Veronica Hart (as Jane Hamilton), Skeeter Kerkove, Bridgette Kerkove, Shanna McCullough, Troy Duffy, Gene Simmons, Adam Rifkin, Jim Enright, Matt Zane, Venice Adrien (as Venice Adrian), Donita, Phoebe Dollar, Susan Yannetti, Kenny Dollar, Lowel Smith, Greg Watkins, Annabel Chong, Rusty Estill, Jimi Flynt, Kathleen Haase, Mike Horner, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Corey Feldman, Heidi Fleiss, Jon Lovitz, Cherie Oteri, Conan O'Brien, Lynn Redgrave, Ice-T, Joey Buttafuoco, Rodney Dangerfield, Ginger Lynn, Nina Hartley, Don Johnson, Kid Rock, Tonya Larson, Ben Affleck, Edward Furlong, Krista Lane, Farrah, Jerry Butler, Seka, Jack Baker, Johann Benét, David Mattey, Horatio Sanz, Dan Snow Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 1 (U.S./Canada) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 5 (SS, SL) Special Features: Audio Commentary, Crew Biographies, Ron Jeremy: Filmography/Pornography, Deleted Scenes, Catalog/Trailers DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
This documentary shows the phenomena that is Ron Jeremy and the different aspects of his life, his goals, where he has been, how he got there and how he grew up.

Audio/Video:
Porn Star is presented with an English 2.0 Stereo track, which works well for the material being presented. The audio that was shot for the documentary is nicely balanced and sounds great. The archive footage audio sounds horrible in some places, but that was probably due to the quality of the source material being used. The archive footage audio is well balanced with the documentary footage. There is also an English 2.0 Commentary track included on the disc. New Video hasn't included any foreign language tracks or any subtitle options for the feature film.

Porn Star is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which is not the aspect ratio of the theatrical prints. For it's theatrical release, the film was presented in a matted widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Due to comments made by the director on the commentary track it sounds like the film was shot to be shown in the full screen aspect ratio though, so this presentation may be how the director intended the film to be seen. The documentary footage looks great with good colors and decent picture definition. As with the audio, some of the archive footage is not in as good a shape, this is probably due to the quality of the source material being used though.

Cut Warning:
There are two versions of Porn Star on the market, the unrated one which runs for a total of 76 minutes and an R-rated version which runs for 75 minutes. The theatrical reviews for the title list the running time at 80 minutes. I'm not sure whether this is a misprint in these reviews or whether four minutes has been shaved off of the unrated DVD release. I'm including this warning just in case the four minutes have been shaved and it wasn't a misprint.

Special Features:
New Video has included several extras on the disc for your added enjoyment. There is a feature length audio commentary with Scott J. Gill and Ron Jeremy where Scott discusses making the film and is often overpowered by Ron talking about the film and the experiences. There are eleven deleted scenes included on the disc, some of which are obvious as to why they were cut and others looked like the could have been included in the film, especially given it's short run time. In “Ron Jeremy: Filmography/Pornography” there is a complete list of Ron's mainstream films and a selected list of his adult films from 1983 to 1997. There are crew biographies for Scott J. Gill, Tim Goldberg, Kirt Eftekhar, and Carvin Knowles, which include a picture and some text information. And last is Catalog/Trailers, which holds the complete Docurama catalog of titles, many with trailers.

Disc Design/Navigation:
The disc design looks good with simplistic non-animated menus that are easy to navigate around. The chapter menu holds twelve chapters, each identified by a scene name and a still video image from that point in the film. There are only twelve chapter stops within the film itself. The chapters nicely break up the film by the different focuses of the documentary. There is a time code for the feature film encoded on the disc.

General Review:
Porn Star reveals the life of Ron Jeremy, one of the two most recognized adult film male actors of all time. This candid look at Ron breaks down the various aspects of his life, past and present, and presents them to the viewer in a very accessible form. Often mainstream projects that deal with adult entertainment show everything in a derogatory form, which can not be said for Porn Star. If anything, it shows everything about Ron's life in an overly positive form. The film shows some of his problems but it doesn't dwell to heavily on them.

There is a short section in the film about Ron's childhood but most of the focus of the film is on his adult work and how he entered the adult industry. There is also a section on the blacklisting of adult stars in mainstream films and Ron's struggle to be accepted into mainstream productions and the lengths that he goes to so that he can be in them. There is also a short part at the end that focuses on Ron's love life.

The portions of the film that were produced for this film are mixed with footage mostly from Ron's early work in adult films and some of his mainstream work. Along with the footage of Ron, there is plenty of footage featuring Ron's co-stars and other adult industry professionals discussing him. There are a few mainstream presences, most notably Alan Rifkin, the director of Detroit Rock City, that also come out to talk about Ron.

The documentary is well made and doesn't hover on any topic long enough for the viewer to lose interest in the film. If anything, the film runs a little short being a little shorter than many of the adult films that Ron has starred in. Although Ron is different than most adult stars this is not only a great film for fans of Ron Jeremy to watch, but it's a great film for fans of adult films to watch as you get a lot of insight into the industry and what adult stars go through on a monthly basis.

Parting Thoughts:
If you are interested in Ron Jeremy, this is a great film for you to watch as it gives a great insight into who he is. Likewise, if you are interested in the industry, this might also make a good watch for you as well as it gives some insight there as well. Viewers will probably want to rent the film over purchasing it as it may be one you'll never want to watch again.

Screenshots:

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