Beefcake
by Thom Fitzgerald
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carroll Godsman, Daniel MacIvor, Jack Griffin Mazeika, Jonathan Torrens, Joshua PeaceDirector: Thom Fitzgerald
Writer: Thom Fitzgerald
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-01-23
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Strand Releasing
Movie Reviews of Beefcake
Movie Review: Editorial Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Outstanding. Superior dramatization of the life and works of Bob Mizer. There are not enough accolades to describe this extraordinary look back at the fifties/early sixties. Particularly noteworthy is the actual glimpse of film footage of Dick Dubouis - one of his most incredible models. Surprisingly enough, there are no actual film flashbacks of Ed Fury and Bud Counts who also were some of his more featured models. It is extremely hard to believe that Mr. Mizer did not take advantage of all those opportunities with the many models available on his property 24/7 and only had an encounter with the single model. As illuded to in the film, many models where in need of additional cash. It would probably be factual to believe that higher prices were offered for more revealing shots. In addition, it is curious that other photographers such as Douglas of Detroit, Pat Milo and others of the same era featured many more full frontal shots of their model where as Mizer seemed to favor posing straps. Again, extremely hard to believe that there are not similar photographs available by him. From a collector of vintage beefcake prespective you become aware of this fact as you view other books by various other photographers. Any collector who possesses Mizer frontal photographs is sitting on a gold mine - this treasure trove is out there somewhere and should be shared. Should a collection be gathered and produced for publication it would be impossible to keep in stock due to the enormous demand. This is a must have DVD for any collector of vintage athletic models. Spectacular. A true find!
Summary of Beefcake
"Beefcake," Thom Fitzgerald's (The Hanging Garden) provocative blending of fiction and documentary, tells the story of Bob Mizer, the pioneering founder of the Athletic Model Guild, a company which produced still photographs and short films extolling the beauty and chiseled physiques of men. The fiction story follows photographer and enterprising businessman Mizer, who teamed up with his mother in 1945 to film his beefy star-wannabes around his sun-drenched pool. It is here that Neil, a naive, right-off-the-bus teen is lured into using his handsome looks to become a model. The wide-eyed Neil soon learns about the world of sex and prostitution. But a police raid and ensuing criminal trial soon threaten both of the men's worlds. Interspersed with the story are rare archival footage and interviews with former co-workers, customers and models.Canadian filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald made his name on the gay film scene with his dramatic fantasia The Hanging Garden, but with Beefcake he captures a more lightheartedly dreamy tone: The film takes its lead from Valentine Hooven's lip-smackingly compulsive coffee table tome of the same name. We're offered a teasing, pseudo-history of mid-century pop male photography, featuring quaint muscle-mag shots and nude "studies" of, among others, a hungrily seductive young Joe Dallesandro (before he made his name in underground Andy Warhol flicks like Flesh). Dallesandro's here to talk, along with other "models" who mostly supply commentary on Bob Mizer, the enterprising founder of the Athletic Model Guild. Fitzgerald blends the real-life documentary material into his fictional confection concerning a sexy bumpkin who falls into Mizer's AMG set-up (it produced America's first closeted gay erotica publication, passing itself off as an innocently obsessive guide to health and fitness). The campy original story--the hero's Valley of the Dolls-inspired name is Neil O'Hara--is a bit dumb, actually, mostly because it's not even half as interesting as the real deal. Lots of innocently nude frolicking doesn't hurt, though, and the film engages when it manages to be as naively sweet and erotic as Mizer's bygone magazines. --Steve Wiecking
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