Golden Age of Porn

Golden Age of Porn

Part of the sexual revolution
The film Deep Throat helped inaugurate the Golden Age of Porn.
Date	1969–1984
Location	United States
Participants	Porn producers, critics, porn fans, and celebrities
Outcome	Box office success of porn Critical appreciation of porn Return to low-budget porn

The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American pornography, in which sexually explicit films experienced positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the general public.^[1][2] This American period, which had subsequently spread internationally,^[3] and that began before the legalization of pornography in Denmark on July 1, 1969,^[4] started on June 12, 1969,^[5] with the theatrical release of the film Blue Movie directed by Andy Warhol,^[6][7][8] and, somewhat later, with the release of the 1970 film Mona produced by Bill Osco.^[9][10] These films were the first adult erotic films depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States.^[6][7][8][9] Both influenced the making of films such as 1972's Deep Throat starring Linda Lovelace and directed by Gerard Damiano,^[11] Behind the Green Door starring Marilyn Chambers and directed by the Mitchell brothers,^[12] 1973's The Devil in Miss Jones also by Damiano, and 1976's The Opening of Misty Beethoven by Radley Metzger, the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age, according to award-winning author Toni Bentley.^[13][14] According to Andy Warhol, his Blue Movie film was a major influence in the making of Last Tango in Paris, an internationally controversial erotic drama film, starring Marlon Brando, and released in 1972, three years after Blue Movie was shown in theaters.^[8]

Following mentions by Johnny Carson on his popular Tonight Show and Bob Hope on TV as well,^[10] Deep Throat achieved major box-office success, despite being rudimentary by mainstream standards. In 1973, the more accomplished, but still low-budget, film The Devil in Miss Jones was the seventh most successful film of the year, and was well received by major media, including a favorable review by film critic Roger Ebert.^[15] The phenomenon of porn being publicly discussed by celebrities, and taken seriously by critics, a development referred to, by Ralph Blumenthal of The New York Times, as "porno chic", began for the first time in modern American culture.^[10][16] It became obvious that box-office returns of very low-budget adult erotic films could fund further advances in the technical and production values of porn, allowing it to compete with Hollywood films. There was concern that, left unchecked, the vast profitability of such films would lead to Hollywood being influenced by pornography.^[17][18]

Prior to this, thousands of U.S. state and municipal anti-obscenity laws and ordinances held that participating in the creation, distribution, or consumption of obscene films constituted criminal action. Multi-jurisdictional interpretations of obscenity made such films susceptible to prosecution and criminal liability for obscenity, thereby restricting their distribution and profit potential. Freedom in creative license, higher movie budgets and payouts, and a "Hollywood mindset" all contributed to this period.

However, with the increasing availability of videocassette recorders for private viewing in the 1980s, video supplanted film as the preferred distribution medium for pornography, which quickly reverted to being low-budget and openly gratuitous, ending this "Golden Age".^[19]