Bigger Than Life: The History of Gay Porn Cinema from Beefcake to Hardcore [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Escoffier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2009

Hardcore porn—both the straight and gay varieties—entered mainstream American culture in the 1970s as the sexual revolution swept away many of the cultural inhibitions and legal restraints on explicit sexual expression. The first porn movie ever to be reviewed by Variety, the entertainment industry’s leading trade journal, was Wakefield Poole’s Boys in the Sand (1971), a sexually-explicit gay movie shot on Fire Island with a budget of $4000. Moviegoers, celebrities and critics—both gay and straight—flocked to see Boys in the Sand when it opened in mainstream movie theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Within a year, Deep Throat, a heterosexual hardcore feature opened to rave reviews and a huge box office—exceeding that of many mainstream Hollywood features.

Almost all of those involved in making “commercial” gay pornographic movies began as amateurs in a field that had virtually never existed before, either as art or commerce. Many of their “underground” predecessors had repeatedly suffered arrest and other forms of legal harassment. There was no developed gay market and any films made commercially were shown in adult x-rated theaters. After the Stonewall riots and the emergence of the gay liberation movement in 1969, a number of entrepreneurs began to make gay adult movies for the new mail order market. The gay porn film industry grew dramatically during the next thirty years and transformed the way men—gay men in particular—conceived of masculinity and their sexuality. Bigger Than Life tells that story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeffrey Escoffier has written on sexuality, gay history, music, and dance. His most recent book is Sexual Revolution, an anthology of the most important political and critical writing from the 1960s and 70s about sex. Booklist hailed it as “a definitive review of the most influential writing [on sexuality] of the last half-century,” and the Library Journal called it “the definitive anthology on the sexual revolution.” Jeffrey has worked as a developmental editor and a literary agent. He currently works and lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786720107
• ISBN-13: 978-0786720101
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #786,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gay Porn From the Inside, November 6, 2009

By 

Larry Lingle (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bigger Than Life: The History of Gay Porn Cinema from Beefcake to Hardcore (Hardcover)

I had a special interest in Jeffrey Escoffier's book as I fairly much by chance started a gay bookstore in Dallas, Texas, in 1974 and rode the wave of the gay porn business for years. While my wave crashed in 2004, after reading Escoffier perhaps I got out at the right time considering the changed market from selling the product in person as opposed to the internet. All the characters that cross his pages are familiar from names on video boxes to friendships with such interesting persons as Richard Lawrence and Drew Onkon (Al Parker) - one story not in his book was told to me by Drew about selling the masters of his Surge Studio films to a certain "business man" in Las Vegas. If I were to point to any omission it would be from the view of the gay retailer such as myself. How my partner and I had to fly out of state for merchandise because of strict state laws, how we had to travel to San Francisco (a great sacrifice I know) to acquire Falcon 8mm films via Le Salon's then owner, and having to use a friend in the military in southern California to pick up videos from William Higgins. But his book does fill in a lot of blanks (such as who was known as the Black Budda) from my perspective.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Overall History With Some Notable Gaps, January 3, 2010

By 

Ranch Hand "Greg" (Holman, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bigger Than Life (Kindle Edition)

I found this book to give an excellent overview of the gay porn industry from the sixties to the present. It did seem to focus a bit much on certain production companies (AMG in the early days and Falcon in the eighties and nineties), while ignoring or peripherally mentioning others such as Colt Studios and Titan Media. Likewise with certain of the gay subcultures with thug porn getting a separate chapter but absolutely no mention of the bear subculture. This may be due to just the wide range of gay porn out there, or might be a result of too much reliance on Manshots, that may have had its own internal biases, as a primary source of information. All in all though, this is an important history and record of an aspect of gay life whose importance and influence is often overlooked or minimized.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written History of Gay Porn, October 23, 2009

By 

Scott E. Lopriore "scottlop" (Chicopee, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bigger Than Life: The History of Gay Porn Cinema from Beefcake to Hardcore (Hardcover)

Gay Porn is an interesting counter-culture subject. I have read many books about the Gay Porn escapades. Basically the book by Wakefield Poole, bio on Casey Donovan and Al Parker; to the tragic story of Joey Stefano. This book is a perfect work to read.
The author executes subjects in gay porn in perfect timing. From the 60s of Andy Warhol's movies, to Wakefield Poole's classic BOYS IN THE SAND, then on to the development of FALCON and other production companies, gay-for-pay, and directors who process their own style. What got me thinking is how the author explains the difference between GAY PORN SUPERSTAR and GAY PORN STAR. There are many many GAY PORN STARS right now with the increasing demand of porn and internet, BUT there isn't a SUPERSTAR. I would have liked the author to talk about KRISTEN BJORN. Even though he is quoted in the book in certain areas, BJORN has his own style of gay porn which is unique and, I feel, artistic. This is an easy read, not boring at all. Buy this book!