Radley Metzger

Radley MetzgerTemplate:Efn (January 21, 1929 – March 31, 2017)<ref name="AVN-20170403">Template:Cite news</ref> was an American filmmaker<ref name="TRR-20170402" /><ref name="FD-20140807">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Unreliable source and film distributor, most noted for popular artistic pornographic films,<ref name="WSJ-20140805">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="FSLC-2014">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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).<ref name="SM-20140806">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="TRR-20170407">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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".<ref name="FM-20140807">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.<ref name="RCR-19740104">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="PL-2006">Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="PB-201406">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20000829">Template:Cite news</ref> He said he found relief from his allergies in movie theaters, especially at the Audubon Ballroom theatre, while growing up.<ref name="TRR-20170406">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later, Metzger received a B.A. in dramatic arts from City College of New York,<ref name="FM-20140807"/> where he studied with filmmakers Hans Richter and Leo Seltzer. He also studied acting privately with director Harold Clurman. During the Korean War, Metzger served in the U. S. Air Force with the 1350th Photographic Group, which interrupted his graduate studies at Columbia University.<ref name="FM-20140807"/> His older brother, now deceased,<ref name="NYT-20000829" /> had become a physician. Metzger later married and had a daughter.<ref name="PB-201406" />

Career

Early in his career, in the 1950s, Metzger worked primarily as a film editor<ref name="MondoArticle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was a member of Local 771 of the IATSE.<ref name="FM-20140807" /> He was employed in editing trailers for Janus Films,<ref name="FDR-20170402" /> a major distributor of foreign art films, especially those of Michelangelo Antonioni,<ref name="FM-20140807" /> Ingmar Bergman,<ref name="WSJ-20140805" /> Federico Fellini,<ref name="TCM-2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jean-Luc Godard<ref name="TCM-2015" /> and François Truffaut.<ref name="NYT-20170404" /> In 1953, Metzger was credited as assistant director to William Kyriakis on the film Guerilla Girl.<ref name="TCM-2015" /> In 1956, he worked on the dubbing of And God Created Woman starring Brigitte Bardot.<ref name="PB-201406" /> His directorial film debut, Dark Odyssey (1961) (co-directed with Kyriakis), was a drama concerning the experiences of a Greek immigrant arriving in New York. The film was favorably reviewed by The New York Times<ref name="NYT-19610626">Template:Cite news</ref> and others.<ref name="IJ-1998">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SC-200009">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="KQEK-2011">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="IMDB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="TRR-20170406" /> The newly founded distribution company specialized in importing international features, some of which were marketed into the gradually expanding erotic film genre. Metzger's skills as an editor were employed in re-cutting and augmenting many of the features Audubon handled, including The Twilight Girls (FR,1957) and, their first runaway success, [[Mac Ahlberg|Mac AhlbergTemplate:'s]] I, a Woman (DN/SW,1965).<ref name="FM-Summer1997">Template:Citation</ref>

File:Andy Warhol by Jack Mitchell.jpg

style }}

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<ref name="mondointerview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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),<ref name="TRR-20170405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Pygmalion (by George Bernard Shaw), Six Characters in Search of an Author (by Luigi Pirandello),<ref name="TCM-2015" /> The Cat and the Canary (by John Willard),<ref name=mondointerview/> and Thérèse et Isabelle (by Violette Leduc).<ref name="TG-20120228">Template:Cite news</ref> He cites John Farrow, Claude Lelouch,<ref name="FSLC-2014" /> Michael Powell, Alain Resnais<ref name="BB-20140819">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Orson Welles as influencing his work.<ref name=mondointerview/> Metzger worked with the French film director Jean Renoir, as well as the American actor Hal Linden.<ref name="FM-20140807" /> Andy Warhol, who helped begin the Golden Age of Porn with his 1969 film Blue Movie, was a fan of Metzger's film work<ref name="FM-20140807" /> and commented that Metzger's 1970 film, The Lickerish Quartet, was “an outrageously kinky masterpiece”.<ref name="FSLC-AndyWarhol">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1972, Metzger directed the film Score,<ref name="CINE-20140108">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> based on an erotic off-Broadway play that included Sylvester Stallone.<ref name="TRR-20170404">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Films directed by Metzger included musical scores composed by Georges Auric, Stelvio Cipriani, Georges Delerue, and Piero Piccioni.<ref name=mondointerview/> Metzger's signature film style of his "elegant erotica"<ref name="NYT-19971121">Template:Cite news</ref> had developed into being "a Euro-centric combination of stylish decadence, wealth and the aristocratic".<ref name="TRR-20170403"/>

Under the pseudonym "Henry Paris", Metzger directed several explicit pornographic features during the mid- to late-1970s. These films were released during the Golden Age of Porn (inaugurated by the 1969 release of Andy WarholTemplate:'s Blue Movie) in the United States, at a time of "porno chic",<ref name="NYT-19730121">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in which pornographic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities (like Johnny Carson and Bob Hope)<ref name="TM-20050329">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and taken seriously by film critics (like Roger Ebert).<ref name="RE-19730613">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="RE-19761124">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Metzger's films are typified by high production values, especially The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1975)<ref name="TRR-20170403" /> and The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976), and are generally critically celebrated.<ref name="NYT-20170404" /><ref name="MD-HenryParis">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="WP-20070719">Template:Cite book</ref> 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<ref name="DN-20070603">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WFTE-20080606">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref> Template:Cite book</ref> and is considered, by award-winning author Toni Bentley, the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn.<ref name="TB-201406" />

Some of the pornographic "Henry Paris" films, including Score (1974),<ref name="BLF-19980401">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="BL-19990801">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> have also been presented in softcore versions.<ref name="FSLC-2014" /> Many of Metzger's films, including Score (1974), The Image (1975), The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) and Barbara Broadcast (1977), as well as his earlier softcore films, Camille 2000 (1969) and The Lickerish Quartet (1970), have been released in Blu-ray versions.<ref name="VP-BluRay">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

With his 1978 feature The Cat and the Canary,<ref name="BB-20140819" /> Metzger distinguished himself as one of the few pornographic directors to direct a mainstream dramatic film. It starred Honor Blackman, Edward Fox, Dame Wendy Hiller and Carol Lynley.<ref name="NYT-20170404" />

Later life

In the 1990s, as a result of the passing of his long-time partner, Ava Leighton, due to cancer, Metzger produced several videos on alternative health care, including one on cancer treatment and a five-part video series on homeopathy with Dr. Andrew Weil. According to Metzger: "I felt that in the 1990s, people needed more information on an intelligent approach to health and disease — that they needed to know about alleviating guilt. That was my emphasis."<ref name="FM-20140807" />

Later in life, Metzger considered several "Henry Paris"-like film projects, including one titled Solarium,<ref name="AVN-20110516">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="TRR-20170409">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="FM-20170405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.<ref name="MoMA-2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Death

Metzger died of undisclosed causes in New York City on Friday, March 31, 2017, at the age of 88.<ref name="TRR-20170402aw" /><ref name="DG-20170304">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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)<ref name="THH-19770801">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="THH-19971201">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="AFAA-19840314">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and, as well, won the X-Caliber award for Best Direction (as Henry Paris).<ref name="IAFD-2016" />

In 2001, Metzger's film work was the subject of a retrospective in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref name="TCM-2015" />

In 2002, Metzger's film The Opening of Misty Beethoven won Best Classic Release on DVD by the Adult Film Association of America.<ref name="AVN-2002">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="OIFF-20101008">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2011, Metzger's film work was the subject of a retrospective at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.<ref name="UCLA-20110602">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="LAT-20110602">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2014, Metzger's film work was the subject of a retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.<ref name="WSJ-20140805" />

Partial filmography (director)

• Dark Odyssey (1961)
• La baie du désir (1964) (a.k.a. The Erotic Touch) (uncredited)<ref name="FA-2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Dictionary of Sex (1964)
• The Dirty Girls (1965)
• The Alley Cats (1966)
• Carmen, Baby (1967)<ref name="BLF-19991101">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NYT-19671011">Template:Cite news</ref>

• Thérèse and Isabelle (1968)
• Camille 2000 (1969)
• The Lickerish Quartet (1970)
• Little Mother (1973) (a.k.a. Mother)
• Score (1974)<ref name="TRR-20170404" />
• The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974) (as Henry Paris)
• Naked Came the Stranger (1975) (as Henry Paris)<ref name="TRR-20170405" />
• The Image (1975) (a.k.a. L'image; The Punishment of Anne)
• The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) (as Henry Paris)
• Barbara Broadcast (1977) (as Henry Paris)
• Maraschino Cherry (1978) (as Henry Paris)
• The Cat and the Canary (1978)
• The Tale of Tiffany Lust (1979) (a.k.a. Body Lust) (uncredited)<ref name="TRR-20170402aw" /><ref name="NYT-2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• The World of Henry Paris (1981) (as Henry Paris)
• Aphrodesia's Diary (1983) (uncredited)<ref name="TRR-20170402aw" />
• The Princess and the Call Girl (1984)
• The Sins of Ilsa (1985) (unreleased)<ref name="TRR-20190623">Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• Andrew Blake
• Helmut Newton
• Michael Ninn
• Philip Mond
• Tinto Brass

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
• Heffernan, Kevin, "A social poetics of pornography", Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Volume 15, Issue 3, December 1994, pp. 77–83. {{#invoke:doi|main}}.
• Lehman, Peter, Pornography: film and culture, Rutgers depth of field series, Rutgers University Press, 2006, Template:ISBN.
• Williams, Linda, Hard core: power, pleasure, and the "frenzy of the visible", University of California Press, 1999, Template:ISBN.

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)
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0582750

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0582750|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0582750/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+Radley+Metzger%0A++++++%7C+Radley+Metzger%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if:  0582750 {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: Radley Metzger
 | Radley Metzger
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0582750{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0582750|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

• Henry Paris at the Adult Film Database
• Template:IAFD name
• 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)