Product Details

• Actors: Sunrise Adams, Ginger Lynn Allen, Brianna Banks, Belladonna, Seymore Butts
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 13, 2006
• Run Time: 59 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BNXD50
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,797 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > HBO Documentary

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
First things first: Yes, Thinking XXX features adult film stars. No, the HBO production is not a porno. Nor does it include any clips. The documentary instead offers an introduction to the biggest names in the business, like Gina Lynn and Lukas Ridgeston. For his book, XXX - 30 Porn-Star Portraits, celebrity photographer Timothy Greenfield-Saunders shot the stars both clothed and unclothed. In the film, they talk about their work while getting their hair and make-up done, posing for pictures, playing with their pets, etc. They're presented as real people rather than actors (which just may destroy the fantasy for some fans). In the print edition, 15 writers, including author Nancy Friday, musician Lou Reed, and filmmaker John Waters, contribute their thoughts on pornography. They also appear on screen (fully clothed, of course). Some are quite critical. The biggest revelation isn't the nude bodies, readily available via videos and calendars, but what they have to say. Unlike Star 80 or Inside Deep Throat, there are no horror stories about physical or verbal abuse, but the talk is still frank and uncensored. Sean Michaels, for instance, opens up about race, while Chad Hunt discusses homosexuality. Interestingly, cover model Jenna Jameson doesn’t utter a single word, possibly because she has already told her life story in the bestselling autobiography How to Make Love Like a Porn Star. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description
Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 06/13/2006 Rating: R

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is it an industry?, September 13, 2006

By	Ian "Ian P" (Footscray, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

I guess the interviews on the DVD prove it is and that sex for the majority of the participants in the industry is a job to be performed well. I actually felt sorry for the men - envious of their 'size', but sorry for them in their chosen profession as they seem so poorly remunerated.

There are naked bodies all over the place, but no sex and that makes this particular DVD all the more authentic. The theme of a photographer creating a book of nudes and essays is not new, the sheer number of naked bodies scanned in detail by the movie cameras make this a good piece of entertainment as well as informative. The bonus bits and pieces make the few dollars well worth spending.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's about time someone spotlighted the positive side., August 1, 2007

By	Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Thinking XXX (Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, 2004)

I've been stepping up my watching of documentaries these past few years. Sort of a combination of feeling like too much of the time I spend in front of a screen is wasted and wanting to find out more about subjects that I know nothing, or little, about. It's not that much of a sacrifice when you've got stuff like this out there waiting to be seen. Celebrated photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, while taking the photos for his book XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits, decided to film the process as well. The result is a fascinating look at the people behind the porn, as it were.

One (or, at least, I) always expects porn stars to be nice, bubbly, somewhat vacuous. I know, prejudice is a horrible thing, but there it is. And to be fair, a few of the folks who get camera time here come off exactly that way. But the majority are quite another thing entirely. Everyone, by now, knows the Jenna Jameson story, how she went from being "just another porn star" to being one of the biggest movers and shakers in the adult entertainment industry. (One of the interviewees notes that the E! True Hollywood Story episode on Jenna Jameson was the series' most watched episode of all time.) that sort of drive, intelligence, and ambition is very well represented here, and by many more stars than Jameson. Yeah, there are a lot of naked bodies to look at, and they're aesthetically pleasing, but the flesh on display is not the only attraction here; these people, and the other commentators Greenfield-Sanders ropes in to give their opinions (among them Gore Vidal, Nancy Friday, Karen Finley, and John Waters), really have interesting stuff to say about the business, about their lives, about the cultural mystique that allows such an industry to become the billion-dollar juggernaut it is. These is good people, these is! (And I had no idea Nina Hartley was still making movies-- I remember her from almost a quarter-century ago. More power to her!)

As well as all that, there's what (I assume) Greenfield-Sanders originally set out to document, the art of composing the pictures themselves. He works on antique equipment, so this isn't just a documentary about point-and-shoot camera technology. Even if it were, his idea here-- portraits of the stars clothed, then nude, in the same positions-- required a lot of forethought, a lot of retakes, and, no doubt, a lot of patience from everyone involved. Ever wonder what goes into one of those big coffee-table books of photography? I have little doubt that what Greenfield-Sanders shows us is no more than the tip of the iceberg, but it's enough to get a person wondering.

Rent this, send the kids to bed, and watch it. Prurient interests aside, I think you'll learn something. This one was definitely not filed in the "wasted time" folder in my head. ****

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A revealing look at Adult Artist, June 26, 2006

By	A. Weiss - See all my reviews

What happens when you have a knockout body, you are a narcissistic exhibitionist who requires all the attention on yourself, you most likely become an Adult Artist and make adult movies, doing the nasty for all the world to see. This HBO made for tv movie gives you some insight to how the Adult superstars think, act and relate their life experiences candidly to the viewer. If you are an art student, the nudity probably won't offend you, but if you don't like nudity, don't watch, because there is plenty of it in this dvd, male & female. The bonus section is very good too. If you are curious about the adult film industry, this makes for good watching.