Dad Made Dirty Movies is a 2011 Bulgarian-German documentary film by Jordan Todorov following Stephen C. Apostolof's life and career. The film premiered at Visions du Réel International Film Festival , East European Picks at Visions du Réel in April 2011 and consists of archive footage as well as interviews with Apostolof's family, friends and associates.
The film also includes never before seen archive footage from making of Orgy of the Dead – Apostolof's most well known film. The title Dad Made Dirty Movies comes from a quote by Polly Apostolof, one of Apostolof's daughters.
Synopsis Dad Made Dirty Movies chronicles Stephen C. Apostolof's rise, from the story of his escape as a refugee from the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, to producer and director of sexploitation films in the 1960s and 1970s, his turbulent relationship with infamous Ed Wood and his downfall in the late 1970s with advent of hardcore pornography.
Production The documentary is produced by Bulgarian company AGITPROP in association with Filmtank (Hamburg), ZDF and Arte. Pre-production phase took about five years. Principal photography began in New York City in December 2009, and continued in California, Nevada and Arizona in May 2010.
Dad Made Dirty Movies features interviews with Apostolof's children and his third wife Shelley, stars from his films, cult filmmakers, film critics and film historians. The film uses first-person unreliable narrator based on authentic interviews with Apostolof, drawing heavily on his peculiar manner of speaking full of colloquialisms, puns and self irony.
Release The film showed at the Franco-German television Arte on 17 February 2011 and had its official premiere on 10 April 2011 at Visions du Réel International Film Festival. , A. C. Stephen - Der König der Schmuddelfilme In all, Dad Made Dirty Movies was an official selection of over thirty international film festivals including Transilvania International Film Festival, Planet Doc Review Festival, Sydney Underground Film Festival, Kansas International Film Festival, Trieste Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival etc. , 10th Transilvania Fest to Open in Cluj and Sibiuhttp://planetedocff.pl/index.php?page=film&i=162&lang=en, http://planetedocff.pl/index.php?page=film&i=162&lang=en , Dad Made Dirty Movies?! Free tickets!!.. Not to the dirty movies , http://www.kansasfilm.com/festival/guide.php , 13th Mumbai Film Fest to open with Brad Pitt's MONEYBALL
The film often played as a double bill along with Orgy of the Dead - Apostolof's most popular film. Dad Made Dirty Movies was also aired on various TV channels as Arte, SBS One (Australia), Canvas (Belgium), Yle Teema (Finland) and it is going to be released on DVD in 2012 by Mindjazz Pictures (Germany). Dad Made Dirty Movies aired on HBO Central Europe in October 2012.
Critical reception The film received favorable reviews by critics. Boyd Van Hoeij of Variety called it a "shoo-in for midnight screenings," going on to describe its tone as "generally upbeat, funny and interesting, with a good eye and ear for the times.", Van Hoeij, Boyd (2011-06-29). "Review: Dad Made Dirty Movies. variety.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20. Other reviewers also played up the zeitgeist angle of the film, including Screen Dailys Mark Adams who said that Dad Made Dirty Movies "does a great job in capturing the feel of the era," adding that "fans of cult exploitation films of the late 1960s and early 1970s will relish this engagingly balanced delve into the work of Stephen C. Apostolof.", Adams, Mark (2011-06-23). "Review: Dad Made Dirty Movies. screendaily.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20. Tim Elliott of The Age wrote that "Stephen C. Apostolof's life is one of the great postwar American stories, a rollicking tale of rebellion, adventure and female breasts" concluding that "this zesty tribute explores Apostolof's life with suitable scepticism and humour.", Elliott, Tim (2011-09-09). "Review: Dad Made Dirty Movies. smh.com.au. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
Cast (in order of appearance) Susan Apostolof as herself Polly Apostolof as herself Steve Apostolof as himself Christopher D. Apostolof as himself Shelley Apostolof as herself Harvey Shane as himself Greg Goodsell as himself Rudolph Grey as himself Ted V. Mikels as himself Nadejda Klein as herself David Ward as himself Ed Wood as himself (archive footage) Kathleen O'Hara as herself (archive footage) The Amazing Criswell as himself (archive footage) Tor Johnson as himself (archive footage) Marsha Jordan as herself (archive footage) James E. Myers as himself (archive footage) Rene Bond as herself (archive footage) Pat Barrington as herself (archive footage) Billy Graham as himself (archive footage) Lyndon Johnson as himself (archive footage) David F. Friedman as himself (archive footage) Patricia J. Rudl as herself (archive footage) Tim Burton as himself (archive footage) Johnny Depp as himself (archive footage) Kate Moss as herself (archive footage) Lisa Marie as herself (archive footage) Martin Landau as himself (archive footage) Sarah Jessica Parker as herself (archive footage)
Movies referenced A list of movies referenced within Dad Made Dirty Movies.
Journey to Freedom, 1957 Orgy of the Dead, 1965 Suburbia Confidential, 1966 The Bachelor's Dreams, 1967 College Girls, 1968 Motel Confidential, 1969 Lady Godiva Rides, 1969 The Divorcee, 1969 Class Reunion, 1972 The Snow Bunnies, 1972 The Beach Bunnies, 1976 Hot Ice, 1978 Love Is a Four Letter Word, 1966 Plan 9 from Outer Space, 1958 Glen or Glenda, 1953 The Trip, 1967 American Fever, 1979 Record City, 1978 Midwest Holiday, 1952 In the Suburbs, 1957 Topkapi, 1964 Tom Jones, 1963 Deep Throat, 1972 The Devil in Miss Jones, 1973 The Green Slime, 1968 Heaven with a Gun, 1969 Ed Wood, 1994
Awards 3rd Bulgarian Film Academy Awards 2012 Best Television Documentary Sofia International Film Festival 2012 The Young Jury Award for Best Documentary Film
Nominations Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 2011 Silver Eye Award for Best Mid-length Documentary Film The London Archive Film Festival 2014 FOCAL Award for Best Use of Footage in a Feature Length Documentary
References
External links
Official trailer at Vimeo "Variety" review of Dad Made Dirty Movies "Screen Daily" review of Dad Made Dirty Movies