Like many Brits who grew up in the 80s, my first exposure to gay hardcore was a grainy, third or fourth generation copy of Catalina films, Jeff Stryker’s ‘you like that big cock dontcha?’ ‘fuck that hungry hole’ verbal sessions and a few baseball theme locker room scenes. And they were great! We were grateful for what we could get! Porn was still illegal in the UK.
I then went to live in France for a while and discovered something completely different and uniquely European..
The French had no such censorship laws and they were lucky enough to have a talented director and gay activist who gave up a career as a mainstream director to produce adult gay films of exceptional quality and unique style.
Cadinot’s films can be beautiful, dark, tender, rough and funny. they’re a true celebration of gay sex which entertained and inspired many people, including me.
"An erect phallus is a symbol of life, a cross a symbol of death."
Jean Daniel Cadinot, photographer and film-maker, passed away on the 23rd of April aged 64 following a heart attack.