L'étalon italien

This film became a part of his legend once "Rocky" made Stallone famous. It was talked about and became mythical in proportion. It may be low-grade filmmaking, but who cares? The point is that most don't bother to see it, they don't have to. Just knowing it exists gives fans something to chew that fat about and makes him all the more of a classic folklore figure of Americana.

All right, this is an historical curiosity because it's Sylvester Stallone's first film. Aside from that, it's a Z-grade porn film celebrating misogyny, drug abuse and, of course, promiscuity. If one had to categorize the "plot", it's a character study of Kitty and Stud's relationship to each other. The director tries to elevate the film to art-house level by inserting overlong montages of Stallone's treks through Manhattan and flashes of a very warm-blooded woman wearing boots, a fur coat and a smile in a snow-covered city park. We watched most of the film on scan...and yes, there are multiple shots of Stallone's genitalia, which have proven to be the only lasting allure this film can boast.

The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970)

* (out of 4)

Kitty (Henrietta Holm) and her lover Stud (Sylvester Stallone) have the greatest sex imaginable even though Stud has a bit of a temper at times. The two of them decide to have some of their friends over for a sex party.

This film would have long been forgotten had it not been for the fact that the producers got lucky and hired someone who six years later would write and star in ROCKY. That's right, this here is the notorious picture that Stallone made for $200 when he was desperate for work, living in the streets and basically just took whatever he could. Over the years the myth surrounding this film has gotten out of control with there being talk of it being a hardcore porn film. Well, that's certainly not the case but you have to give Stallone credit for at least talking about the film since so many actors try and hide things from their past.

This film is out there in a couple different versions including an "alternate" version under the title of Italian STALLION, which was obviously an attempt to cash in on the success of ROCKY and there's even music from that film that has been ripped off and placed here. It's funny to note that there's even a scene early on where Stallone is just running around a park, which, of course, would become a major piece to ROCKY when his character was running around the streets.

So, how is the actual movie? It's quite awful as it appears the director just grabbed a camera and was filming anything they could so that they could get the camera back to the rental place on time. The sex scenes are certainly never erotic and at times you're wondering to yourself what type of dope was being smoked especially during some of the bizarre and hilarious dance sequences. Just check out the circle dance towards the end and you'll see what I mean. The dialogue itself is so incredibly bad that I couldn't help but laugh incredibly hard at times. The awful dialogue pretty much makes the film worth watching.

As far as Stallone goes, well, his performance certainly isn't good but then again it's doubtful he was hired for acting. He basically just rolls around in bed with a few women, dances around naked and flexes in the mirror. Yes, he's got several full frontal nude shots here so I'm sure fans of his will want to see that. What's actually sad is that none of the sex scenes here are as laughable as the one in THE SPECIALIST so perhaps that's why Stallone is willing to freely talk about this thing. Either way, at best, this is just a curio for Stallone fans.

ITALIAN STALLION, the video title, is one of the strangest adult films I've ever seen. I don't know if the version I saw was cut (the box said "Hard R Cable Version"), but overall, pretty unerotic.

Sylvester Stallone (the only real reason why anyone would watch this) turns in a pre-fame role as Stud, an Italian muscleman who has sex with his girlfriend Kitty and has a party at his house where lesbianism, anal sex, and orgies abound. Sly is looking pretty good here, better than he would in later years, and anyone looking for him in full nudity should be pleased here. Otherwise, there isn't much else to recommend. The only other male cast member is an unattractive no-name and none of the women are particularly memorable. There's a black stripper, a lesbian scene (overlong and boring), the 2nd man and his girlfriend have anal sex, and finally, the orgy that lasts FOREVER! This orgy scene only picks up when the camera is on Sly; otherwise, is not very erotic. Other unbelievable scenes: Sly flexes his muscles in a mirror while watching a lesbian scene, a woman flashes Sly in the park, Sly rapes Kitty after she slaps him, and the film ends with Sly slapping Kitty.

Under 60 minutes long, very cheaply done, and not very stimulating outside of Sly's scenes, ITALIAN STALLION is only recommended for those seeking out celebrity porn and no one else.

I heard this was a 'porn' starring Sly Stallone. This stuff is certainly not X-rated, it could probably pass with an R today. No real plot, lots of nudity, but this definitely isn't porn. It's just a bunch of naked bodies rolling around in bed, on the floor, getting high, some spanking, some dancing, all set to a very cheezy disco soundtrack. I cannot even believe how awfully terrible, ridiculous and cheap this movie is. No reason to watch it, unless you just want to see Sly nude and limp. Reportedly, the director tried to blackmail Stallone with this movie for $100,000, and Sly said he wouldn't give them $2. He was right, because it would have been so not worth it, as this film is one of the most uninteresting films ever made.