Radley Metzger

(January 21, 1929 – March 31, 2017) was an American filmmaker and film distributor, most noted for popular artistic pornographic films, including Thérèse and Isabelle (1968), Camille 2000 (1969), The Lickerish Quartet (1970), Score (1974), The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974), The Image (1975), The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) and Barbara Broadcast (1977). According to one film reviewer, Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle". Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

Early life

Radley Henry Metzger was born on January 21, 1929, on the Grand Concourse in The Bronx, New York City, and was the second son of Jewish parents, Julius and Anne. He said he found relief from his allergies in movie theaters, especially at the Audubon Ballroom theatre, while growing up. Later, Metzger received a B.A. in dramatic arts from City College of New York, and was a member of Local 771 of the IATSE. Jean-Luc Godard and others. In 1959, he edited the film The Gangster Story starring Walter Matthau and, in 1960, Metzger was a presenter for the Japanese film The Warped Ones.

Later, in 1961, along with film distributor Ava Leighton, Metzger founded Audubon Films. The company was named after the Audubon Ballroom theatre, one of his favorite movie theaters while growing up.

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Metzger's second directorial effort, The Dirty Girls (shot in 1963 and released in 1965), marked his emergence as a major auteur in the pornographic film genre. His subsequent films were often shot in Europe and adapted from novels or other literary sources, including Carmen (by Prosper Mérimée), La Dame aux Camélias (by Alexandre Dumas), L'image (by Catherine Robbe-Grillet), Naked Came the Stranger (by Penelope Ashe), Pygmalion (by George Bernard Shaw), Six Characters in Search of an Author (by Luigi Pirandello), He cites John Farrow, Claude Lelouch, and Orson Welles as influencing his work. In 1972, Metzger directed the film Score, based on an erotic off-Broadway play that included Sylvester Stallone. Films directed by Metzger included musical scores composed by Georges Auric, Stelvio Cipriani, Georges Delerue, and Piero Piccioni. had developed into being "a Euro-centric combination of stylish decadence, wealth and the aristocratic". in which pornographic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities (like Johnny Carson and Bob Hope) and taken seriously by film critics (like Roger Ebert). Metzger's films are typified by high production values, especially The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1975) Some historians assess The Opening of Misty Beethoven, based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (and its derivative, My Fair Lady), as attaining a mainstream level in storyline and sets and is considered, by award-winning author Toni Bentley, the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn. have also been presented in softcore versions.

With his 1978 feature The Cat and the Canary, another one based on the book The Surrender by Toni Bentley, and a third one based on his own original script, using Shakespearean dialogue, tentatively titled The Heat of the Midnight Sun. However, all of these film projects were ultimately left unfinished.

According to film reviewer Adam Schartoff of Filmmaker Magazine in April 2017, Metzger was a "truly unique and exquisitely talented director", his films had "strong visuals and narratives ... whimsical, funny, intelligent and always ambitious stories", his treatment of female characters were "way beyond his time". Schartoff and a producing partner, Judith Mizrachy, considered making a documentary overview about Metzger and his films, but the project currently is unfinished.

Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

Death

Metzger died of undisclosed causes in New York City on Friday, March 31, 2017, at the age of 88.

Awards (selected)

In 1977, Metzger's film The Opening of Misty Beethoven was the recipient of the first Adult Film Association of America awards for Best Direction (as Henry Paris), Best Film, and Best Actor (Jamie Gillis) and, as well, won the X-Caliber award for Best Direction (as Henry Paris).

In 2010, Metzger was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oldenburg International Film Festival, where he served as a judge in 2011.

In 2011, Metzger's film work was the subject of a retrospective at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

In 2014, Metzger's film work was the subject of a retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Dictionary of Sex (1964)
The Dirty Girls (1965)
The Alley Cats (1966)
Carmen, Baby (1967)
Thérèse and Isabelle (1968)
Camille 2000 (1969)
The Lickerish Quartet (1970)
Little Mother (1973) (a.k.a. Mother)
Score (1974)
The World of Henry Paris (1981) (as Henry Paris)
Aphrodesia's Diary (1983) (uncredited)

Notes

References

External links

Image: Radley Metzger and Andy Warhol (October 1970) (archive:1;2)
Image: Radley Metzger, Andy Warhol and Ava Leighton (October 1970) (archive:1;2)
Radley Metzger at MUBI (related to The Criterion Collection)
Henry Paris at the Adult Film Database
Radley Metzger – Archives at The Rialto Report (2013 to present)
Radley Metzger – Thoughts and Reviews by Gary Morris (1998).
Radley Metzger – The Films by Nathaniel Thompson (2007)

Radley Metzger – Tribute (videos: 01:16; 01:10) (2017)
Radley Metzger – Selected Film Trailers:

::Barbara Broadcast (04:09); Camille 2000 (02:23); Lickerish Quartet (02:45); Misty Beethoven (03:01); Pamela Mann (02:55); Score (03:38); The Image (11:07)

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