Raw! Uncut! Video!

Decent documentary about Palm Drive Video, which made a name for itself producing fetish content as a self-sex alternative to traditional porn during the AIDS epidemic. The film does a very thorough job of illustrating the various - erm - unique facets of the company's oeuvre, with plenty of clips that may shock even seasoned viewers. It also manages to make a fairly convincing case about the value and importance of pornography as a means for the gay community to speak about and to itself, and the importance of preserving this history.

I wish the film had done a better job actually portraying the two gentlemen behind the company, however - we just get a tiny bit of background about both of them, and, despite being the co-protagonists, neither emerges as a terribly well-developed character. I guess the star of the film is ultimately the videos, but, even at just 79 minutes, things start to drag toward the end, feeling like the film's treading the same territory. Result is a fairly satisfying portrait of an obscure part of smut film history, but would have better staying power if it had taken a bit more time with the surrounding details.