MovieChat Forums > The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies (2014) Discussion > Decent movie, but whitewashes much of Sa...

Decent movie, but whitewashes much of Sarno's career

posted 9 years ago by gortx
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DIRTY MOVIES is a decently made documentary that touching shows the last days of Sarno's life with his wife in a poignent manner.

But, as history, it seriously whitewashes Sarno's career. Fact is, he made MORE hardcore XXX movies than the softcore ones that you would believe make up the bulk of his filmmography from watching this doc. I'm not saying that they should have dwelled on it, but, the movie makes it seem like he dipped his toe in hardcore and then disappeared from movie-making altogether save for a couple of softcore 70s pictures. The sad fact is that forced to make a living Sarno directed dozens of hardcore pictures for close to 20 years including some pretty major porn pics like INSIDE SEKA and TIGRESSES.

Also curious is that his 2004 Seduction Cinema softcore comeback movie SUBURBAN SECRETS is ignored. I fully understand why the focus should have remained on Sarno's pioneering 60s and early 70s work, but, for a movie entitled A LIFE IN DIRTY MOVIES, for it to ignore the bulk of his output is pretty disengenous.

[–] agentalbert (2298) 4 months ago

I found this a bit of a letdown. I was hoping it would spend more time on the movies he made, not so much about the relationship of Joe and Peggy. Sweet, yes, but not that interesting to me.

The sad fact is that forced to make a living Sarno directed dozens of hardcore pictures for close to 20 years including some pretty major porn pics like INSIDE SEKA and TIGRESSES.

I don't know I'd consider it a sad fact, but I don't look down on porn, hardcore or otherwise. I do like the softcore style Joe favored, though. You could see the INSIDE SEKA dvd on the shelf behind him in his office a few times. But they did "whitewash" that whole part of his career.