X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Movies of All Time Review

Distributor: Plausible Films / Gravitas Ventures / Kino Lorber Edition Details: Standard Streaming Movie Specs: Genres: Documentary Run Time: 95 minutes Rated: not Release Year: 2015 Director: Eli Cross (as Bryn Pryor) Written by: Eli Cross (as Bryn Pryor), Paul Fishbein Cast: Chanel Preston, Nina Hartley, Skin Diamond, Herschel Savage, David Bertolino, Steven St. Croix, Marilyn Chambers, Johnnie Keyes, Georgina Spelvin, Casey Calvert, Constance Money, Jacky St. James, Gloria Leonard, Sharon Mitchell, Kay Parker, Eric Edwards, Riley Reid, Bonnie Rotten, Kelly Nichols, Veronica Hart, Wesley Emerson (as Cass Paley), Christy Canyon, Stoya, Ron Jeremy, Ash Hollywood, Richard Pacheco, Mitch Spinelli (as Mitchell Spinelli), Julia Ann, Janine Lindemulder, Andrew Blake, Paul Thomas, Raven Touchstone, Mike Horner, Sunset Thomas, Brad Armstrong, Jenna Jameson, Nic Cramer, Shanna McCullough, Ren Savant, Alexandra Silk, Nic Andrews, Evan Stone, John Stagliano, Manuel Ferrara, Savanna Samson, Nick Manning, Kimberly Kane, Ana Foxxx (as Ana Foxx), Jesse Jane, Kylie Ireland, James Deen, Eva Angelina, jessica drake, Kayden Kross, Axel Braun, Allie Haze, Capri Cavanni, Lily LaBeau, Sarah Shevon, Penny Pax, Brittany Andrews, Bobby Astyr, Kandi Barbour, Lesllie Bovee, Asia Carrera, Carol Connors, Gerard Damiano, Jewel De'Nyle, Liza Del Sierra, Jamie Gillis, Shauna Grant, Annette Haven, R. Bolla. C.J. Laing, Dorothy LeMay, John Leslie, Linda Lovelace, Carmen Luvana, Artie Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, Mike Ranger, Harry Reems, Silvia Saint, Seka, Helen Wood, Lysa Thatcher, Bambi Woods Release Specs: Audio: English Stereo Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Films of All-Time is a documentary made for the Showtime cable channel and is hosted by Chanel Preston. The documentary goes through the different periods of adult films from theatrical, to the VCR, to DVD, and finally to the internet. Along that voyage, the documentary explores the 32 greatest films, according to Eli Cross and Paul Fishbein, from 1972 until 2013. This review is not going to go into the subjective question of whether or not the 32 films and movies that are profiled in X-Rated are indeed the best adult films and movies of all time. No matter what list one uses, someone is always going to be upset that their favorite film or movie isn't included on the list.

The documentary starts out with a quick lede with a history of adult entertainment prior to the 70s and then goes into the breakout film Deep Throat. The documentary goes all the way through until The Submission of Emma Marx. X-Rated does present a grouping of adult film and movies that, whether or not you personally like them or not, are culturally significant to the history of straight adult entertainment. While some of the titles seem like poor entries today, or very obvious entries due to their name recognition, all of the titles included within X-Rated helped shape the adult film industry throughout time.

The documentary includes stars from the time talking about the films that they were in, along with stars from today talking about watching the films of yesteryear. However, one aspect that is definitely missing is the true historical look at why all of these films changed the adult film and movie industry. Steven Morowitz, of DistribPix, was listed as a research consultant but his voice is definitely lacking from the production. Since his father Arthur started DistribPix, Steven could have probably added a decent historical aspect to all of the films within the documentary.

Where X-Rated truly excels is at being a nostalgic look at the adult film industry for fans of feature films. As the documentary goes from film to film, long time viewers will be reminded of films that they haven't seen in too long of a time and comes across films that were missed when they came out. Newer viewers will be shown a wealth of films that they will likely be seeking out, possibly even ordering before the documentary has finished.

Plausible Films has released X-Rated through Gravitas Ventures on VOD services such as Amazon and PlayStation. X-Rated is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The presentation for the movie looks good. Some of the interview segments appear to be too bright. The archival footage varies in quality and most of the archival footage is below the quality of the feature movie. Since this is a streaming/download movie, picture quality may vary based on internet connections.

X-Rated is presented with an English audio track. The audio sounds good, the dialog is crisp and clear at all times and can easily be heard.

X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Films of All-Time is a fun look at a series of films and movies that are culturally important to the adult entertainment industry from 1972 until 2013. X-Rated skimps on the historical impact that each of the included films had. However, the documentary is a nostalgic look through some of the best films to ever grace the blue screen. After the documentary is over, if you are a fan of feature films, you will want to rewatch films you had forgotten about and seek out others that you have missed. X-Rated is definitely a fun watch for fans of the feature film genre.

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