Pornography: The Musical (2003)

A sideways peep at the British porn industry and the women who work in it.

Kelly Cooke, a forty-something retired porn star, gives the low down on the sleazy mechanics of the industry. During the course of the film, Kelly finds herself unable to pay her rent and comes out of retirement for ‘one last job’.

We also meet web-cam porn star Karina Currie, ‘bukkake’ specialist Faye Rampton and the youthful pub-stripper Rebekkah Jordan.

Porn industry documentaries have become a stale staple of late-night television, but this film is different in that it’s a musical, with lyrics about the pain and pleasures of porn stardom.

With porn culture and overtly sexual attitudes becoming pervasive in society, this film takes an oblique, pop-cultural look at the more unpleasant aspects of the industry.

A Century Films production for Channel Four

1 x 50 minutes

LyricsSimon ArmitageComposerSimon BoswellCameraTony ColdwellMichael TimneySoundIan MaclaganMarc HatchResearcherLaura WilsonEditorStuart BriggsAssistant producerChris KellyProducerKatie BailiffDirectorBrian Hill

Awards/Reviews

"The overriding strength of the film is the opportunity to see ‘the industry’ from the perspectives of the women involved. Here, there are no stereotypes or pigeon-holes."The Times

"The whole notion of creating a ‘musical’ from such contentious and intimate recollections sounds utterly crass. But Simon Armitages’s lyrics, Simon Boswell’s music and inspired production techniques all bring a fresh poignancy and meaning to these experiences."The Guardian