Video-X-Pix co-owner company releases three classic titles on DVD each month, says that consumer demand is driving growth in the segment. "Older porn gives consumers an alternative to gonzo and wall-to-wallers," Morowitz explains. "Even though we're fans of the newer stuff, our movies have certain things they don't. They were shot on film, with full scripts and real story lines. You can't find many movies like that today, and the fans really appreciate it."
Morowitz adds that older adult movies also have a level of star power that's missing from many of today's gonzo offerings. Because fewer titles were released in past decades, he says, big-name performers gathered large fan followings, and these fans are eager to own their movies on modern formats.
Old Stars, Old Fans
"In the movies we're releasing, you'll find some of the biggest names to ever be in adult," Morowitz says. "You have the women who are still known by fans today, like Amber Lynn, Gina Carrera and Barbie Dahl. Guys like Joey Silvera, who now directs for Evil Angel, and Paul Thomas, Vivid's most celebrated director. Their scenes, and the movies as a whole, hold up in today's all-sex marketplace."
Video-X-Pix digitally re-masters the original film versions of movies in its library and converts them to DVD and video-on-demand-compatible formats. In the case of DVDs, the company then adds bonus features such as interviews, vignettes and behind the scenes footage.
Mainstream distributor Media Blasters also recently began transferring adult classics from legendary producer Cecil Howard's Command Cinema library to DVD. Command Cinema chose Media Blasters from a long list of potential suitors to distribute the first two titles from its library of 35mm films, "Babylon Pink" and "Neon Nights."
Media Blasters Vice President of Adult Sales Gary Conner tells XBiz that the company isn't just slapping old movies onto discs. "We're taking a Merchant Ivory Criterion Collection approach to these DVDs," Conner says, meaning that Media Blasters takes the 35mm negatives of these adult treasures and supercharges them for the digital age with cast interviews, director's commentaries and other extras.
The goal, Conner says, is to produce a product that stands out from the pack and appeals to both casual fans who may be more comfortable buying a "real movie" and die-hard fans who want to add a few classics to their collections.
