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
- --
- Howard Ziehm
- --
- Mick Garris
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- William Lustig
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- Serena --
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- Fran Spector
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- Jason Williams
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- William Dennis Hunt
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- Carter Stevens
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- Suze Randall
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- Humphry Knipe
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- Joe Rubin
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- Steve Grumette
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- Bjo Trimble
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- Earl Miller
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- Colm Gallagher
Finding Planet Porno: The Wild Journey of American Cinema's First Outlaw
Christian Genzel
- Documentary
- Production Country / Year
- Austria 2024
- Language
- en. OF mit de. 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 HOF 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 and 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
- Christian Genzel
- René Hoffmann
- Director of Photography
- Paul Sprinz
- Editor
- René Hoffmann
- Sound
- Ken Rischard
- Sound Designer
- Fabian Hainzl
- Music Composer
- Jakob Widerin
- Dominik Wallner
- Producer
- Christian Genzel