Radley Metzger

Radley Metzger was one of the great independent filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1960s, Metzger imported and distributed foreign films for the American market, mostly erotic melodramas. He soon moved into making his own films and produced a series of atmospheric softcore erotic films such as Therese and Isabelle and The Lickerish Quartet. Richard Corliss wrote in 1972, "Metzger -- first as a distributor and then, concurrently, as a director -- did for sex films in the Sixties what Playboy had done for sex magazines in the Fifties. His movies were classier, more literate, better-made, and blessed with women who looked as if they could communicate desire without carrying disease. Although there was less explicit sex per frame in his films than in those of his competitors, they usually had an erotic atmosphere that made a single raised eyebrow more highly charged than an entire William Mishkin gang bang."

In the 1970s, Metzger joined the trend toward more explicit hardcore, yet his films remained remarkably stylish, urbane and witty. The Score presented a dark, bisexual take on the "wife swapping" craze. The Image (1973; aka The Punishment of Anne; based on a novel by Alain Robbe-Grillet) explored the emotional dynamics of a sadomasochistic threesome. Metzger's best-known film, The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976), adapted Pygmalion as erotic farce among the jet set. In recent years, Metzger has undergone a much-deserved revival among both film buffs and porn buffs, and First Run Features is currently reissuing several titles on VHS and DVD in remastered, restored editions.

ARTICLES

Gary Morris reviews the films of Radley Metzger, currently undergoing a much-deserved revival.
Bright Lights Film Journal

Paul Malcolm reviews Radley Metzger's early films, from Dark Odyssey (1957) to Score (1972).
Detour

INFORMATION

Mondo Erotico has extensive information about video and DVD releases of Radley Metzger's films, along with reprints of several classic interviews with Metzger.
Mondo Erotico

Mondo Erotico also features a comprehensive Radley Metzger filmography.
Mondo Erotico

INTERVIEWS

Stephen Gallagher interviews Radley Metzger about his career in independent filmmaking.
filmmag.com

Richard Corliss conducted this lengthy, fascinating interview with Radley Metzger in 1972 for Film Comment, reprinted here by Mondo Erotico across two pages: part one and part two.
Film Comment

Nathaniel Thompson talks with legendary erotic filmmaker Radley Metzger about his career, his influences and the ongoing video/DVD reissues of his 1960s and 1970s films.
Mondo Digital

REVIEWS

Gary Morris reviews several recent DVD reissues of Radley Metzger's classic erotic films.
Images

The Apollo Guide has short reviews of six Radley Metzger titles available on video.
Apollo Guide

Radley Metzger

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