Peter De Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn

A case of the Emperor's new clothes...

Peter de Rome is an affable, elderly gentleman...his porn films of the 60s & 70s have recently been 'rediscovered' and celebrated...and, added to the BFI archive (with a fair bit of pomp)...for posterity and longevity.

Is it fair to say that the BFI will shove any old rubbish into their archive?!?

As a 90 year old, Peter de Rome certainly has a few stories to tell...and, he tells them well...with wit, candour and a rather cheeky charm...definitely interesting and thoroughly entertaining.

Unfortunately, these stories are intercut with explicit snippets of de Rome's back catalogue - and, even worse...the musings of some pseudo-intellectual talking heads who do nothing but over-analyse and over-praise (well, they do have a dvd to sell).

Now, let us be truthful: it's just badly filmed porn...nothing more, nothing less.

The film goes on an extraordinary journey - from England to New York - and ends up in a place that should have been left on the editing room's floor...Barcelona, in a pompous pornographer's studio, de Rome flanked by two excited muscle Marys...sadly, he looks nothing more than a dirty old man...all that previous charm...gone. Shame.

Shame...this film could have been more than it is...but, it's not...due to ill-judgment and mismanagement...it could have been a fine (and witty) social document of days gone by from a unique perspective...sadly, an unrealised/wasted opportunity.

Indeed, the Emperor has no new clothes - he's stark bollock naked...not a pretty sight.

Trailer...

Peter de Rome : Grandfather Of Gay Porn : Official Trailer from ethan reid on Vimeo.