ROOM 2: Jean Daniel Cadinot Remembered

In Issue #3 of Eyeball back in 1992, I ran a review by Chris Barber of a gay sex film called Les Minets Sauvages by Jean Daniel Cadinot. Cadinot's films are distinguished by a consistent artistic signature, and his creativity remained undimmed throughout his life. Here then is a commemorative career article on Cadinot which I wrote for the UK magazine Gay Times last year, exactly a year after his death by heart-attack on April 23rd 2008.

Among gay men, the word ‘Cadinot’ is almost certain to create a tingle of recognition and pleasure. Whether scribbled on old video spines in faded felt pen, or neatly printed on deluxe DVDs, it’s a name one could no doubt find inscribed in half the gay households in Britain.

Jean Daniel Cadinot, who died on the 23rd April 2008 at the age of 64, directed more than seventy hardcore gay films between 1978 and 2008. Unusually for a ‘pornographer’, his work is renowned not only for its extraordinary sexiness, but for its style and wit and intelligence. Looking back through his thirty-year career is like peering down a fantastical kaleidoscope of youth, beauty, and virility. Throughout, Cadinot favoured models in their late teens and early twenties: dazzling pretty-boys, furrow-browed rough diamonds, sleek glamourpusses and macho street-lads. Whether cute, rugged or cussedly arrogant, his boys are unstoppable. Watching Cadinot’s young tearaways feverishly jabbing and thrusting at each other, you just know that if the camera broke down the sex would continue, and to hell with the audience!

Cadinot was born in Paris in 1944. He studied photography in evening classes at the École Nationale de la Photographie and went on to work freelance, creating nude portraits of gay novelist Yves Navarre and future disco star Patrick Juvet. Throughout the 1970s he published a series of erotic photo-collections called ‘Masculin’, achieving total sales of over 170,000 copies.

He made the transition to filmmaking in 1978, with Tendres Adolescents. "The still photo became too limiting,” he told Steve Gardiner in 2001, “I quickly reached the boundaries and I had a desire for action and movement. I wanted to go further, create situations, tell stories, our collective stories as gay men.” Cadinot went on to shoot thirty-three movies on 16mm film, the default industry format until the advent of affordable high quality video equipment. Some fans regard the shot-on-film titles as his best, and they certainly have a unique ‘feel’. Celluloid being expensive, Cadinot picked his shots carefully; it simply wasn’t feasible to let sex scenes play out for half-an-hour, as modern producers do. Consequently, the early films sweep you breathlessly along through an ever-changing sexual landscape. If one occasionally wishes that a scene would last longer, it’s not without admiring the director’s dynamism, vigour and skill.

Everyone has their own favourite Cadinot film, but few who’ve seen it would deny that one of the most powerful is Les minets sauvages (1984), a dark, brooding tale which follows the misfortunes of a new boy sent to an isolated borstal facility. It depicts rough, aggressive sex, frequently in groups or threesomes, and unflinchingly explores fantasies of bullying and rape which, although channelled quite clearly through a responsible narrative point of view, are shown without compromise. Like an eroticized version of the classic British film Scum, but with a redemptive ending that sees the bully-boys defeated by a genuine loving couple, it remains, twenty-five years later, a scorching title in the Cadinot catalogue.

"It's true that I have an artistic vision of my work." – Cadinot, to Steven Gardiner

Some people mock the notion of artistry in pornography, but they’re simply not paying attention. In Cadinot the camera is always well-placed, the characters are either plausible and vivid or quirky and ironical, and the composition emphasises whole bodies, not simply their organs and orifices. Cadinot’s ability to film sex without simply staring for minutes on end at a squelching sphincter means that his films never sink into that faintly depressing mode, so common in bad porno, where what you’re seeing resembles abdominal surgery. His camera seeks out performers’ faces for reactions and interactions, and he frequently cuts back to a ‘tableau’ shot in which you can see the performers grasping, holding or kissing each other – instilling an intensely voyeuristic but human-centred eroticism.

As the Eighties progressed, the bacchanalian joys of gay life were threatened by AIDS and Cadinot began to insist on condoms. Francois Orenn, aka ‘Myriam Zadeck’, Cadinot’s long-time music composer and business associate, recalls that, “In the early days of HIV/AIDS, he asked every actor to undertake an HIV test before filming. This turned into a disaster, of course, because many of the boys had never had tests before and some were suddenly confronted with the truth of being HIV positive at the moment of filming. It was this witnessing of young men's despair at discovering their HIV status that led him to make the decision never to shoot without condoms.”

The shift to condoms roughly coincided with the transition from 16mm to video. This was not a disappointment to Cadinot. As Orenn explains, “He very much enjoyed filming on video as he was able to see the results of a shoot instantly without waiting for the film to be developed or having to worry about unforeseen technical problems. It also removed an element of stress as scenes could be re-shot before the actors returned to their homes, which in many cases were in other countries.”

Cadinot’s films are well-known for their racial inclusivity, culminating in his popular Nomades series (2005-2007), featuring numerous black and Arab performers. In 1984, Cadinot went to Morocco to shoot the classic Harem (under the pseudonym ‘Tony Dark’), followed in 1987 by the similarly essential Chaleurs. They feature pretty white French boys pressed into sexual submission by a succession of intensely horny and handsome North African youths. Theorists Maxime Cervulle and Nick Rees-Roberts have criticized these films, accusing Cadinot of "neo-colonial sex and class tourism". However, the Moroccan and Tunisian performers are far too vigorous, lustful and domineering to care whether or not the scenario is a white middle-class fantasy of ‘foreign rough’ – and they certainly don’t need any slumming intellectuals to defend them!

In 1992 Cadinot commenced restoration of a 19th century farmhouse in the Haute Picardie countryside, north of Paris. This would be his custom-made studio for the next sixteen years. It gave him the freedom to shoot whenever he wanted, and provided a place where his young performers, often as many as twelve at a time, could vacation and get to know one another. Cadinot’s working method remained consistent: he would script a scenario, then throw it open to the performers, adapting his ideas to take account of their personal tastes, and allowing them to control the actual sex scenes. In this way he could fuse his own interests, his predilection for certain settings and ambiences, with a level of freedom and participation for the actors. This explains the vibrancy and enthusiasm of the casts – they are doing what they want to do, while playing within an ‘authored’ structure suggested by the director. Francois Orenn elaborates: “He would explain in detail how he wanted people to act in the non-sex scenes. For the sex scenes, he would describe himself as a wildlife photographer, giving cues and goals to his subjects but essentially letting them play out their own fantasies. He would then find the right mix of lighting and camera-work to catch these extraordinary moments.”

Cadinot’s films have only recently become legally available in Great Britain. So if the films were previously hard to obtain, how come so many British gay men recognise his name? Well - nature always finds a way! Cadinot’s films were copied and bootlegged during the video boom of the 1980s, and as European travel became more common, gay men frequently returned from the continent with a few prized Cadinot goodies smuggled among their speedos and tanning lotions. These were then copied among friends, and the copies exchanged in the grey-market stores of Soho, until it seemed that nearly everyone had a murky fourth-generation copy of Service Actif or Sacré Collège stashed away somewhere. Prohibition simply added to the thrill of the forbidden – something Cadinot would surely have understood!

Cadinot’s film legacy continues to enthrall and excite his fans. And, as irreverent, anti-authoritarian, vivid and honest as they are, they’re sure to become beacons of pleasure for future gay viewers too. As writer Chris Barber put it, “Cadinot’s work has an inherently liberating cadence”. A life-long critic of the Christian Church, he remained defiant to the end, and in his final letter to fans, posted on his website just before he died, he signed off with a statement that’s the only possible last word here:

“An erect phallus is a symbol of freedom; the cross is a symbol of death.”

(Many thanks to Francois Orenn and James Coates for discussing Cadinot with me, and for access to their photo archives. Cadinot's work can be bought on DVD from the official website at http://www.cadinot.fr/)

David Durston - Gallery #2

David Durston - Gallery #1

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David Durston, the director of I Drink Your Blood, became a regular correspondent with me during the long process of writing Nightmare USA. Such was the generosity of the man that, when the book was being designed, I found I had far more material than I could use. Here then are a few of the pictures that didn't make it into the finished work. David told me to keep all the pics and clippings he sent me, but I always regretted not having more room to use them in print. I think it's a good time to share them now; I'm much more comfortable celebrating a life than mourning a death, and David's incredibly energetic attitude to everything he did suggests that it's his life he'd have liked us to focus on. We already have I Drink Your Blood, and other great films like Blue Sextet and Stigma, to revel in; so here are a few glimpses of the man himself. The comments are taken from the notes which David attached to each picture.
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DD: "My handsome old man with me, aged two and a half. Well you said send a picture. So here I am barefooted, sucking my thumb. This is one of my favourite shots. Dig that classic car in the background - well it would be today, wouldn't it."
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DD: "My darling Mama, not as beautiful in this shot as she really was... and how do you like that baby-face? Already three years in the Air Force. I was 22 here."
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DD: "I guess this was the peak of my career. Associate Producer of Your Hit Parade, living at Sutton House, married to a New Orleans debutante. A happy period professionally; an unhappy time personally."
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DD: "Hedy [Lamarr], Jack [Damon, Durston's nephew] and I spent weekends at Fire Island, in a shack on the beach. Hedy never wore any make-up."
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DD: [text on picture reads] "For Steve - wishing you the very best success, but beware: Vengeance can be mine! This poor devil was only late! Fondly, David E. Durston"
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DD: "More respect please. That's me on one of those small Brazilian champion race horses - see all the chain medals around his neck for every race he won. And please note I am riding him without a saddle, only a blanket. A moment after this was taken, he took off like the Road-Runner. I stayed on - it's all in a Missouri upbringing."
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DD: "right to left: Joe Mangine (dp, I Drink Your Blood; Blue Sextet), me, Robert Murawski (editor of the Spiderman films, and head of Grindhouse Releasing)"

David Durston: 10th September 1921 - 6th May 2010

I've only just heard the news about David's death. He was a vital spirit, full of impish wit, and made me laugh so much during our correspondence and telephone conversations for Nightmare USA. I feel very sad that he's passed away, but the sadness is tempered with the knowledge that here was a man who really grabbed life with both hands and lived the hell out of it!

Along the way he gave us I DRINK YOUR BLOOD, one of the most exuberant, thrilling and infectiously enjoyable horror films of all time. "As brash and energetic as a vintage Alice Cooper record, and easily as ghoulish," I wrote in Nightmare USA. "Infused with the liberating vitality of the truly tasteless, yet driven by real intelligence, I DRINK YOUR BLOOD is David Durston’s blood-drenched gift to horror fans." I love that movie, and I'm sure that thirty, forty, fifty years from now it'll be a blast for future audiences too.

Goodbye then, to a brilliant and charming and wonderful man.


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For those interested in the many twists and turns of David's career, here's a list of credits I compiled back in 2006:

FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR:

1964 FELICIA (also writer)
1966 THE LOVE STATUE aka THE LOVE DRUG (also writer)
1970 BLUE SEXTET aka LEAP INTO HELL (also writer)
1971 I DRINK YOUR BLOOD aka PHOBIA (also writer)
1972 STIGMA (also writer)
1975 BOYNAPPED

TV PROJECTS:

1947/8 Foxhead 400 Houseparty (live magazine show for ABC, Chicago)
1947/8 Top of the Weather (made for ABC, Chicago)
1947/8 Chicago Splash Party (made for ABC, Chicago)
1948/9 A Hit Is Made (music show made for ABC, Chicago)
1948/9 Street Singer (music show made for ABC, Chicago)
Between 1952-55 Kraft Theater (writer) (made in New York City – episode title unknown)
Between 1952-55 Studio One (writer) (made in New York City – episode title unknown)
Between 1952-55 Rheingold Playhouse (writer) (made in New York City – episode title unknown)
Between 1952-55 Danger (writer) (made in New York City – episode title unknown)
Between 1952-55 Playhouse 90 (writer) (made in New York City – episode title unknown)

1952-53 Tales of Tomorrow (writer) Episodes: "The Glacier Giant" (5 December 1952): "Mr. Fish" aka "The Discovered Heart": (16 January 1953): “Two Faced” (30 January 1953): "The Evil Within" (1 May 1953 - brief appearance by James Dean)
1953 + ‘54 + ‘55 The Tournament of Roses Parade (line producer for live broadcast of three successive New Year’s Day Parades in Pasadena.)
1956-59 Your Hit Parade (associate producer)
1958 Navy Log (writer) Episode: “The Big White Albatross” (26 December 1958). Two more scripts: titles unknown.

OTHER CREDITS:

1971 DRY SUMMER aka SUSUZ YAZ aka I HAD MY BROTHER’S WIFE (dir: Metin Erksan) (directed inserts for US version retitled REFLECTIONS)
1971 THE SEDUCTION OF INGA (dir: Joe Sarno) (re-edited and dubbed US version)
1994 HARD DRIVE (editorial supervisor)

RADIO:

1952-54 Mr. Jolly's Hotel for Pets aka Hotel For Pets (writer of NBC children’s radio show starring Frank McHugh)
1954-55 The Woolworth Hour (music show: creator and producer)

ROOM 2 - DUFFER SCREENING IN LONDON W11

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This Sunday (the 9th of May) I'll be introducing a screening of DUFFER (UK, 1971), directed by Joseph Despins and William Dumaresq, at Cinephilia West, 171 Westbourne Grove, London W11. Some of you may recall that I wrote about DUFFER in the Eyeball Compendium back in 2003; the first time the film had been covered in some thirty years. Since its release in 1971 DUFFER had sunk into undeserved obscurity; I myself only saw it because a friend owned a 16mm print, which had fallen into his hands during a clear-out of unwanted materials at the ICA, way back in the late 1970s! The version I saw was taken from this battered 16mm print, projected on a sitting room wall and then recorded to tape via an early 1980s video camera! The results were, to say the least, primitive... All the more reason why I'm thrilled to reveal that DUFFER has now been taken under the wing of the British Film Institute, with a beautiful new transfer from the original elements lined up for DVD/Blu-Ray release later this year!

Sunday's screening at Cinephilia West will be the first time DUFFER has been shown in public for over thirty-five years. It will astonish anyone who loves the the bizarre and the esoteric, and it provides a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten corner of British cinema. Experimental but accessible, disturbing yet oddly comic, it's an extraordinary one-of-a-kind movie, concerning the troubled sex life of a teenage boy as he swings between the ample pleasures of 'Your Gracie', a middle-aged prostitute, and the cruel games of Louis-Jack, a sadistic older man. Duffer tries to keep the increasingly deranged Louis-Jack happy by acquiescing to his twisted sexual demands; however the situation veers out of control when Louis-Jack decides that he and Duffer should have a baby...

I look forward to seeing anyone who can make it along. Doors open at 7pm.

Website: http://www.cinephilia.co.uk/west/
Email: info@cinephilia.co.uk
Telephone: 0207 792 4433