This film looks at the 1950's muscle men's magazines and the representative industry that were popular supposedly as health and fitness magazines, but were in reality primarily being ... See full summary »
Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.
If your account is linked with Facebook and you have turned on sharing, this will show up in your activity feed. If not, you can turn on sharing
here
.
This film looks at the 1950's muscle men's magazines and the representative industry that were popular supposedly as health and fitness magazines, but were in reality primarily being purchased by the still underground homosexual community. Chief among the purveyors of this literature was Bob Mizer, who maintained a magazine and developed sexually inexplicit men's films for over 40 years. Aided by his mother, the two maintained a stable of not so innocent studs. At the end, the film moves into a court room drama as Mizer is tried for running a male-prostitute ring in the early 60's. Clips of Mizer's actual films starring individuals, such as Jack LaLanne and Joe Dallesandro, are included. Written by
John Sacksteder <jsackste@bellsouth.net>
Bob Mizer:
Sun, schmun. This scoundrel's on some kind of a drug trip.
[Looks at David]
Bob Mizer:
You. I warned you. We do not slap wrists here at AMG. I want you to take your weed-head friend here, and I want you to scram. I mean it!
[David picks up his friend]
Bob Mizer:
And don't come back! Ever!
[looks down at their naked behinds as they walk out]
Bob Mizer:
Not until you've learned your lesson!
See more »
Watching a doco about male physique models whilst eating a bag a chips makes you think twice. That aside, this is a reasonably interesting film that blends original archive footage, interviews and places them along side recreations of events of the AMG Studios, set up by Bob Mizer to capture the male physic. The recreations are okay to a limit, there is too much flipping between black and white and colour and some of the actors playing the models have less than defined bodies which goes against all the images we are bombarded with that show strong ripped muscular bodies. Some of the acting is also heading to Hamsville. There are some clever scenes where they have melded archive footage with new scenes and this works very well.
There are some interesting, if brief, interviews with some of the people that came through AMG: models including Joe Dallesandro, as well as other photographers and fans. Then there is a vast array of archive footage of models-and yes there is plenty of flesh on display-and it does have a sense of beauty to it, because despite the obvious homoerotic nature of some of the photos and films made and the fact that these were taken for publications that were really the beginnings of pornography, there is an innocence to some of it and perhaps that was the 40/50/60's backdrop which was an all together different time.
The film wins on its old footage and the telling the story of an age gone by, but is let down by trying to have too many ideas at once. Now I have to go do some sit ups.
More of my reviews at my site iheartfilms.weebly.com
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
Watching a doco about male physique models whilst eating a bag a chips makes you think twice. That aside, this is a reasonably interesting film that blends original archive footage, interviews and places them along side recreations of events of the AMG Studios, set up by Bob Mizer to capture the male physic. The recreations are okay to a limit, there is too much flipping between black and white and colour and some of the actors playing the models have less than defined bodies which goes against all the images we are bombarded with that show strong ripped muscular bodies. Some of the acting is also heading to Hamsville. There are some clever scenes where they have melded archive footage with new scenes and this works very well.
There are some interesting, if brief, interviews with some of the people that came through AMG: models including Joe Dallesandro, as well as other photographers and fans. Then there is a vast array of archive footage of models-and yes there is plenty of flesh on display-and it does have a sense of beauty to it, because despite the obvious homoerotic nature of some of the photos and films made and the fact that these were taken for publications that were really the beginnings of pornography, there is an innocence to some of it and perhaps that was the 40/50/60's backdrop which was an all together different time.
The film wins on its old footage and the telling the story of an age gone by, but is let down by trying to have too many ideas at once. Now I have to go do some sit ups.
More of my reviews at my site iheartfilms.weebly.com