Gay Porn 101: Jean-Daniel Cadinot

>Mike's last Frenchy post reminded me of the tres magnifique French director Jean-Daniel Cadinot. I was introduced to his oeuvre when a trick left a copy of Le Coursier at my house. Little French boys plowing each other with giant dildos ... I immediately became a fan.

Cadinot's has had an extremely long career in gay porn. He published his first book of nudes in 1975 under the name "Masculin", and started making blue movies ten years later. Since, he's produced some really terrific titles. At times the quality can be a tad inconsistent, and art direction is all over the map, but overall, his titles really get me off, especially his military ode Service Actif, Sex Bazaar (an early 80s romp in a Turkish bath considered by some to be his best) and the utterly quaint La Maison Bleue.

Due perhaps to poor distribution in the States, I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. It's really a shame, since his stuff is definitely worth checking out. He tends to cast with an eye to the twink. But he also consistently finds some diverse exotic beauties; young Turks, mocha-skinned Moroccans, and adorable Arab men (worth crossing the desert for) all routinely end up in front of Cadinot's camera.

One of the things that makes his films so appealing is he seems to work with mostly unknowns (unknown to me, at least) with one major exception (but more on that in a second). Also, they all have really charming French names like "Jean-Jacques" "Giles" and "Benoit."

Browsing around Cadinot's site, I came across this free image gallery of Ramzes Kairoff, who bears a curiously striking resemblance to one Michael Lucas, despite the fact that Ramzes seems not to be making Lucas' trademark pout.

I've since lost my copy of Le Coursier. I actually left it at a different trick's house (karma can be a bitch). But for now I'm looking forward to checking out the ten films he has on Naked Sword.

Also, Marco Tazzio, from Service Actif, looks like a swarthy version of my friend, Chrisafer.

-- Jack