Directed by: Jean-François Davy
Stars: Claudine Beccarie, Benoît Archenoul, Noëlle Louvet, Michel Dauba, Ellen Earl
Language: French | Subtitles: English
Country: France | Imdb Info

Also known as: Exhibition part 1

Description: EXHIBITION may not have been the first porn (star) documentary to hit theaters. That distinction probably belongs to the ill-fated Mitchell Brothers with INSIDE MARILYN CHAMBERS. Presumably, Jean-François Davy’s motivation was a bit more noble than theirs as he really tried to present his subject as a fully rounded human being who just happened to be working in the sex industry. The result was a huge commercial hit in France where it played regular cinemas packed to capacity, before the 1976 “X”-law relegated it to more specialized venues until 1983 when Minister of Culture Jack Lang removed the X-rating which enabled Davy to re-release the film with added footage, again with great success.

Unlike his simultaneously shot LES PORNOCRATES, which took a more general view of the French fuck film industry circa 1975, EXHIBITION is entirely constructed around actress Claudine Beccarie, the first French hardcore superstar who paved the way for the likes of Brigitte Lahaie and Marilyn Jess. Though she didn’t appear in that many good ones (the Italian CALDE LABBRA was one of her more interesting vehicles and I rather enjoyed Claude Pierson’s good-natured FEMMES IMPUDIQUES which teamed her with good friend Ellen Earl, also prominently displayed in EXHIBITION), which may account for her somewhat diminished fandom status nowadays, she certainly deserves to be remembered for breaking down the barriers.