Finding Planet Porno: The Wild Journey of American Cinema's First Outlaw
Rebel, outlaw, porn pioneer: Director Howard Ziehm made Mona the Virgin Nymph, the first explicit feature film to receive US theatrical distribution in 1970—at a time when pornography was still illegal. Later, he made the cult science fiction sex parody Flesh Gordon, the production of which became a long battle against the law, acute lack of money, and other problems. The documentary Finding Planet Porno approaches Howard’s story on a personal level, and through his eyes and those of his companions, it paints a portrait of an unusual, perceptive cinematic outsider—and depicts an era of great social upheaval. But what is left of all that?
Cast
- --
- Joe Rubin
- --
- Colm Gallagher
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- Earl Miller
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- Bjo Trimble
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- Steve Grumette
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- Humphry Knipe
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- Suze Randall
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- Carter Stevens
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- William Dennis Hunt
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- Jason Williams
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- Fran Spector
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- Serena --
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- William Lustig
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- Mick Garris
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- Howard Ziehm
Finding Planet Porno: The Wild Journey of American Cinema's First Outlaw
Christian Genzel
- Documentary
- Production Country / Year
- Austria 2024
- Language
- engl. OF m. dt. UT
- Format
- DCP, Color, 103min
1.85:1, Discrete 5.1
Director & Crew
Christian Genzel
Born in 1978 in Kassel, lives in Salzburg/Austria. Studied Anglistics and American Studies in Salzburg. Active as a director, writer, film journalist, conference speaker, and podcaster.
Filmography
| 2006 | Schlaflos | Kurzfilm | |
| 2008 | Tutmosis | Kurzfilm | |
| 2011 | Die Muse | Spielfilm | |
| 2015 | Blank | Kurzfilm | |
| 2017 | Cinema dell' oscurità | Kurzfilm | |
| 2022 | No way to make a living: a look back at 'the frighteners' | Spieldokumentation | |
| 2024 | Finding planet porno: the wild journey of american cinema's first outlaw | Dokumentarfilm | 2024 |
“A porn director who has been married for 50 years. Sex films that constantly take aim at the 70s zeitgeist. Films with a counterculture attitude behind their explicit depictions in which the depiction of sexuality functions as an act of rebellion. The more I learned about Howard Ziehm and his films, the more I had the feeling that this story absolutely had to be told. As I kept saying, its topic, pornography, is almost mere chance: I was interested in Howard Ziehm as a person, his ideas, his time. I wanted to open a window into this other era, into these other lifestyles—and also capture the wit that characterizes Howard as a person and an artist.”
Christian Genzel
- Writer
- René Hoffmann
- Christian Genzel
- Director of Photography
- Paul Sprinz
- Editor
- René Hoffmann
- Sound
- Ken Rischard
- Sound Designer
- Fabian Hainzl
- Music Composer
- Dominik Wallner
- Jakob Widerin
- Producer
- Christian Genzel