Pornstar

Rating:
Summary: Superficial analysis
Review: After reading the other reviews here, I was extremely disappointed in this book. It does not live up to the hype.

This book is not an "inside look" into the lives of porn stars. Just the opposite. It is nothing more than a collection of the author's impressions, mostly first impressions, of the porn industry, and lacks any real insight.

Gittler actually got to know very few porn stars and most of these people he never really interviewed. In fact, he recounts only one in-depth conversation with only one porn star (Jon Dough). By his own admission, he never got close to anyone in the porn industry and severed all ties as soon as his book was completed. He basically told one actress never to call him again.

One gets the impression that he spent less total time with his subjects than the average Playboy interviewer spends for one article. This lack of depth even led me to question not only whether the stars upon whom he builds the book (e.g., Debi Diamond) shared any real angst with him, but if they were even being honest. Once you question the sincerity of the stars' quotes the entire premise of the book falls apart.

And falls flat on its face.

Rating:
Summary: PORNSTAR MERELY TOUCHES THE SURFACE
Review: Anyone who has seen the movie Boogie Nights knows the simple truth...IT'S NOT FUN BEING A PORNSTAR. Ian Gittler makes that point painfully clear in the very early passages of his coffee-table book Pornstar. Unfortunately once we have gained this knowledge there is not much more we can learn from our brief touches with the lives of the stars.

The Good - Gittler does a nice job of interviewing a wide range of stars and starlets. Everyone from Nina Hartley to Sharon Mitchell to Joey Silvera to Jon Dough to Tom Byron to many many more. His pictures are fine...some even haunting. My mind always comes back to a photo of one starlet who is on set and desperately looking through the lights to meet her boyfriends' eyes...even when she still has "business at hand" with an unknown partner.

The Bad - Gittler is still an outsider and just doesn't have enough skill to ask the tough questions or to find the motivation in the lives of the stars. A lot of time was also devoted to Savannah (who the author is obviously enamoured with). I myself was more curious about the pictures of several stars who received no mention in the actual text...people like Victoria Paris, Asia Carerra, or Lisa Lipps who have nice photos but beyond that we learn nothing of their lives both in-and-out of the world of adult cinema. And there are numerous big-name adult stars who don't get so much as a reference.

There is a large percentage of people who are both interested and fascinated by the world of adult movies. Raw Talent by Jerry Butler does a better job of providing some perspective into this field (albeit from one person's point of view). Hopefully in the near future we'll get a book that allows us entry into the lives of the stars...and digs a little deeper than what we can merely see with our eyes.

Rating:
Summary: PORNSTAR MERELY TOUCHES THE SURFACE
Review: Anyone who has seen the movie Boogie Nights knows the simple truth...IT'S NOT FUN BEING A PORNSTAR. Ian Gittler makes that point painfully clear in the very early passages of his coffee-table book Pornstar. Unfortunately once we have gained this knowledge there is not much more we can learn from our brief touches with the lives of the stars.

The Good - Gittler does a nice job of interviewing a wide range of stars and starlets. Everyone from Nina Hartley to Sharon Mitchell to Joey Silvera to Jon Dough to Tom Byron to many many more. His pictures are fine...some even haunting. My mind always comes back to a photo of one starlet who is on set and desperately looking through the lights to meet her boyfriends' eyes...even when she still has "business at hand" with an unknown partner.

The Bad - Gittler is still an outsider and just doesn't have enough skill to ask the tough questions or to find the motivation in the lives of the stars. A lot of time was also devoted to Savannah (who the author is obviously enamoured with). I myself was more curious about the pictures of several stars who received no mention in the actual text...people like Victoria Paris, Asia Carerra, or Lisa Lipps who have nice photos but beyond that we learn nothing of their lives both in-and-out of the world of adult cinema. And there are numerous big-name adult stars who don't get so much as a reference.

There is a large percentage of people who are both interested and fascinated by the world of adult movies. Raw Talent by Jerry Butler does a better job of providing some perspective into this field (albeit from one person's point of view). Hopefully in the near future we'll get a book that allows us entry into the lives of the stars...and digs a little deeper than what we can merely see with our eyes.

Rating:
Summary: Flimsy yet intriguing
Review: First of all, this is not a coffee table book. It is more like an extended disjointed expose (w/somber pictures) by a Details magazine writer. Although I feel that the latter is true, the subject matter is inherently interesting and it is somewhat cool to experience vicariously the forays of an obviously sexually motivated (as opposed to literary or artistically motivated) man into this secluded subculture.

Rating:
Summary: correction to another's review
Review: FYI--Ian Gittler was originally a photographer (not a Details magazine writer) whose work has appeared in several magazines.

Rating:
Summary: great book on a difficult subject
Review: I can't ad much to the other positive reviews here. The photography is real and sober, it takes the hype and other worldly qualities we usually associate with the porn product away. Gittler makes those who work in this industry real people like anyone, If you cut them do they not bleed, if you smite their face do they not shed a tear.Gittler as well stepped back and allowed his subject to speak for itself. I found this one of the most informative books on the industry,and it is rather difficult to step back,and see porn from the inside.Everyone is quick to denounce it,yet the entire advertisement entertainment industry behemoth couldn't exist without peddling their stuff through the female body.

There seem to be untold layers surrounding porn, well protection.And it shares itself with other industries, where a few make the most, and most fall from it without much$$$$, And there never is a shortage of deaths as Savannah, (The Book's Cover),and double dealings. There are probably more people who enjoy porn than you think.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read the Rolling Stone Article if you buy the book
Review: I feel the Rolling Stone article has some of the best parts of the book in it, and kind of felt cheated as I re-read the excerpts in the book. Overall, this book conveys one side of the Porn industry, which the Author illustrates through a scenario of photographs & observations. The observations come with a introspective slant, but you could assume that going in. With that said, I think this is an excellent book with a good balance of photos & manuscript. Perhaps the author will let Gene Simmons publish his next book!

Rating:
Summary: This is a must have book for fans of the porn industry...
Review: I read the preview article in Rolling Stones and I couldn't wait for the book. Ian Gittler captured the world of porn in a way I didn't think possible. The pictures just take you in. I didn't think that porn star (legend) Ron Jeremy was capable of having a good picture taken of him but what do you know...Even his picture is unforgettable. Anybody out there who loves porn (and you know who you are) should own this book.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed more in lack of humanity, than pictures/text
Review: I thought that Gittler's book was extremely well done. A lot of the other reviews(which I read before I purchased) were very negative. It's all a matter of what you expect. First, is the book worth it. Again, in my opinion, yes. Where else is "behind the scenes" material like this, authored by an outsider available? The pictures showed you "the Wizard behind the curtain". I liked the pictures of John Stagliano and Nina Hartley together. I liked the pictures of Savannah and April Rayne. They were thoughtful, artistic and moving. They are a snapshot of time, how those people looked at that moment, not now, not earlier. It is frozen for our voyeurism, at lesiure. The text was a refreshing surprise, Gittler has an honesty about himself, and those around him, and an excellent way of recounting the details. He is not afraid to be percieved as an insensitive butthead, and while being very artsy and "sensitive", he is a butthead. He showed Debbi Diamond, April Rayne and Jon Dough an unwarranted coldness and professional discourtesy. A perfect example is an assumption that he made about Debi Diamond's pearls, and he could have offered her a printed apology for that faux pas, but he let it slip away, like so many other lost opportunities that he had. He met people who wanted to become friends and slapped that mantel of friendship away. Gittler started out with some really great ideas, and by the time the book was over, showed himself to be the scared little boy characterized by his good friend Brett Easton Ellis's sucky books. All show, no go. I feel sorry for Ian Gittler, but I still think that this book is a total must have for the subject material.

Rating:
Summary: Promises More Than It Delivers
Review: I was highly anticipating a quality book on a fascinating subject that hasn't been properly chronicled yet. Unfortunately, it still hasn't been. The paper-thin moralizing of the poorly written text combined with okay-but-nothing-more black & white photograpy results in a book that promises more than it delivers.