Follow Me

A Fake documentary directed by Joe D'Amato. Amanda Lear, playing herself as host introduces each segment as well as sings two songs. The segments are usually just excuses for a woman or sometimes a couple to get naked. Several segments are just dancing and desperately needed a choreographer. There is some simulated sex. One segment includes uninspired & unsimulated oral sex with Marina Hedman who has done porn movies. One segment includes two woman who are supposed to be sexually engaged but seem adverse to even kiss. There is also a magician with his assistant of course getting naked.

Each segment is from a different location, like Las Vegas, Berlin, Japan, etc. The stupid thing is the audience doesn't change. In fact one redhead woman wearing the same red sweater is obvious in several locations! In Japan it's the same European people audience and not a single Asian person. The same J & B Scotch Whiskey bottles also appear in several segments. All examples of not even trying.

This just fails on every level. There are Joe D'Amato films I enjoy. This one was just a disaster.

Story goes, host(ess) Amanda Lear had no idea she was essentially making a porn movie. I get it. Seems to me like this whole thing's a hoax. Amanda bookends the movie with two, uh, "hit" disco numbers (in English), and primarily the rest of the film is dubbed. What is she actually introducing? I guess that's up for debate, unless you can read lips in Italian.

This movie takes you "around the world" (via panning stock footage) for a good deal of naked people dancing to disco in front of a small audience. I can only assume this was all filmed in Italy by smut-meister Joe D'Amato. We go to Japan, where there is no one Japanese. Brazil, no Brazillians. South Africa, where two black dancers perform for a very white audience. You get the idea.

First thing, Lear announces she is rather shy and conservative, then dresses in a very provocative outfit for her opening number. Same goes for her other, uh, "provocative" disco number, where she arrives on a wimpy Honda 250, in a skintight outfit with boots up to her thighs. The ceaseless disco beats really add to the mood of this showcase from around the world! Lots and lots of people (both men and women) get naked and gyrate in front of a small, and always appreciative crowd.

Oh, they throw in some other interesting nuggets (mostly faked, though this IS D'Amato). It gets pretty amusing. There are a few instances where they showcase some (rather fake) magic, my favorite being the vertically challenged magician who pulls everything but the kitchen sink out of his assistant's vagina. The German sadomasocism gets real interesting, that's a highlight. Two ballerinas from Stockholm are introduced, and two women strip and gyrate to disco music. Then the lesbianism. Ah, the lesbianism (faked). Oh, another "magician" is a naked woman, twirling to disco music (naturally), has the ability to levitate objects. What a great sequence. She lifts a toupee off a guy's head, clearly with fishing line, brings a guy on stage, magically drops his pants, and gets a "rise" out of him(!) Then she brings up an elderly man, where, well I guess that one's left to your imagination (guy's real happy, assuming it was a miracle!). Alright, I'm through spoiling this. You must see for yourself, that is, if you like your movies bewildering and sleazy.

I like so much the Rome night with one egiptian and some people that practice the train and the sheep scene too. But the most wonderful scene is the French dwarf magician. Perfect to watch with your friends and laugh

If you've been hankering after a faux mondo documentary about 'the wild, wicked, wonderful world at night' packed with full frontal nudity from both sexes and hosted by a transgender Euro-disco queen, then a) there's not really a lot of choice, and b) have you considered professional help? That said, Joe D'amato's Crazy Nights ticks all of these very particular boxes and is so deliriously loopy that it should prove a reasonable amount of fun if sleazy sexploitation is your bag.

The key thing for me to note is that practically every scene presented by Amanda Lear, the film's manly 'female' host*, involves people taking off all of their clothes - but the naughtiness only starts after the French chanteuse has performed her song 'Follow Me', which was apparently a multi-million-selling chart success in Continental Europe (but not here in the UK - we have a bit more taste than that).

First stop in Ms. Lear's global exploration of all things sexy is Las Vegas, where a group of decadents play a risqué game of chance, the winner of which gets to fornicate with Ruth, the sexy slave girl. The lucky guy whose rope is attached to Ruth's slave collar eagerly drops his trousers as the young woman nips behind a screen and presents her rear through a hole. The curious crowd watch on as the man gets busy, but when the screen is removed, he is shocked to find that he has actually been shagging a sheep. The onlookers applaud and laugh, not appreciating how much psychological damage has been done to the poor sap.

The next sordid segment features a secret society of hooded, robed men who escort a young couple to an altar, where they make love. Meanwhile, the master of ceremonies bends over and forms the front of a man train, the hooded figures linking up behind him in an orgy of sodomy; then they all do a switcheroo, the buggered becoming the buggerers. Thankfully, the ceremonial robes ensure that the action is never explicit - just totally bizarre!

Talking of bizarre, the next scene, which takes place in Tokyo, is completely baffling: a man and a woman, bound hand and foot, use their mouths to remove the strips of newspaper that cover each other's body. When all the paper has gone, they start to lick each other and jump up and down. I'm not sure what D'amato was going for here.

It's off to Brazil next, where a woman performs a dance. And gets naked. Then it's over to Paris, where a man and a woman do a dance. And get naked.

Also in France, a magician invites a man onto stage to assist him with his act. The volunteer and the magician's female assistant get naked (of course) and take part in a trick that sees them swopping lower halves, the man looking down to see a big ol' minge where his tallywhacker once was.

A Berlin hotel provides a meeting place for men with unique vices: a woman stops masturbating to torture a bound man, after which she squeezes lemon juice into his wounds and treats him to a blowjob (D'amato briefly taking his film into XXX territory). Other members of this club include an old man who has his genitals pierced by a big spike (non-graphic), and a couple who like to 'play-act' necrophilia.

In Denmark, a female documentary film-maker interviews husband and wife porn stars, who happily show the woman one of their movies in which the wife sucks and jerks her hubby to completion. The pop shot officially makes Crazy Nights a hardcore film. D'amato so loves his hardcore.

Next up: a couple more magic acts and some more dancing (all with nudity-natch): a witch performs amazing feats of levitation, lifting a statue from a plinth, and causing a bald man's wig to float from his head, before inviting a man on stage, telling him to drop his trousers, and magically giving him a boner; an African couple gyrate to jungle rhythms; a magician pulls objects from his naked assistant's vagina; and a couple of Stockholm ballerinas perform a not-very-classical routine that ends with some lesbian frottering (if they're real ballerinas, I'm Mikhail Baryshnikov).

After all of this globe-trotting, there's just enough time left for Amanda Lear to belt out 'Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)', another of her Euro-chart-toppers (I must stress once more... not in the UK).

*Rumour has it that Lear believed D'amato was making a musical, and was mortified to learn that she had been tricked into presenting a smutty mondo movie.

'Follie di Notte' follows the mysterious and supposed transsexual hostess, Amanda Lear, who believes she has signed on for a musical comedy, only to find herself in the midst of an explicit sex film. This sets the tone for a series of outrageous and often hilarious segments that push the boundaries of good taste.

One of the most memorable scenes involves the stunning Marina Hedman, who, in an intimate close-up, performs oral sex on a man with fervent passion. The camera lingers as she skillfully works, her red-painted lips sliding up and down, before the scene culminates in a burst of ecstasy, with the man's ejaculate painting her face in a lewd display of release. It is moments like these that showcase D'Amato's unabashed approach to sexuality and his penchant for pushing cinematic boundaries.

The film is a visual treat for fans of 70s erotic cinema. D'Amato's imitation of the Cinerama travelogue style adds a layer of kitsch to the already outrageous content. The disco setting and costuming are a feast for the eyes, with enough bellbottoms and sequins to satisfy any lover of the era.

Amanda Lear's performance as the unwitting hostess is a standout, her enigmatic persona adding a layer of intrigue to the film. The adult performers, including Laura Gemser and Marina Hedman, embrace their roles with enthusiasm, ensuring that the film delivers on its erotic promises.

'Follie di Notte' is a time capsule of an era when erotic cinema pushed boundaries and shocked audiences. While it may not be to everyone's taste, with its explicit content and unabashed sense of humor, it is a testament to D'Amato's unique vision.

So, if you're in the mood for a wild and raunchy ride back to the disco era, 'Follie di Notte' will certainly deliver. Just be prepared for a journey that's more sleaze than sparkle!