Strange New World: Sex Films of the 1970s Paperback – August 7, 2015

This is a well-researched book on an interesting subject, and I generally enjoyed reading it. I have only a couple complaints. The back cover says the author is "opinionated", but frankly he is SO opinionated it often becomes a liability. He comes off as such an intellectual snob that he can't seem to enjoy any of the trashy films Swedish sex goddess Christina Lindberg appeared in, for instance, but then he turns and plays the philistine when discussing acclaimed French author/film director Alain Robbe-Grillet, one of the 70's sex filmmakers who genuinely IS considered an artist by many people. He claims Robbe-Grillet is "pretentious" simply because HE doesn't understand him and doesn't find his films particularly erotic, and he makes the sweeping generalization that Robbe-Grillet's fans only watch his films for the sex. (Well, gee, why did I watch "Last Year at Marienbad" and read several of the author's sex-free novels?) Of course, it's alright I he has strong opinions, but there is a difference between writing a good, thorough film reference book and trying to pick a fight on the IMDB message boards, and author Jon Abbot too often writes like he's trying to do the latter. And why write a book on 70's sex films in the first place if you're so contemptuous of so may of the most famous ones?Abbott also goes into the more recent porn films for no real reason, which really distracts from his subject of SEVENTIES sex films, and is a different and HUGE topic he can't really hope to cover. For a guy who refers to so many of the 70's filmmakers as "self indulgent", I'd say this is pretty self-indulgent and I think his editor should have reeled him a little in here.Still this is GREAT idea for a book and Abbott genuinely does an admirable job (he even has a whole chapter on Gloria Guida and Italian sex comedies!). If I sound a little critical, it's only because its flaws were completely avoidable and they too often sour the generally enjoyable experience of reading this book . This would be truly wonderful book if the author were a little more focused in places and would bite-back his harsh personal opinions just a little bit.

I received my voluminous tome (some 700 pages) about a week ago and haven't been able to put it down since. Jon Abbott obviously has a real passion for the same movies genre that I am also obsessed with and he writes of the films in a very informative , knowledgeable and easy read way.Any criticism of him being opinionated is unjustified and other reviewers appear to not have read his Preface which gives great explanation of his writing/reviewing style.I am a little (well maybe more than a little) older than Jon and have fond memories of a number of the films reviewed. There are also a number of apparent gems that I am yet to view but am doing my best to catch some of these on Youtube. We didn't get many foreign movies in New Zealand in the 70's but I do remember a lot of the British and American fare.I too had hoped for an A-Z listing of the reviews but now having the book in my hands I am more than happy with the way the book is written and the reviewing style.This book will be a valued addition to my collection of books on "Ploitation" movies and you won't be sorry for the financial outlay.

Mr. Abbott tackles the herculean task of reviewing somewhere between 500 and 1000 films, most of which are some variety of crap, and manages to write something interesting about each one. His viewpoint is from England in the 1970's, and he rarely mentions truly X-rated stuff, so those are the reasons why this is a four star review instead of five stars. Otherwise, he does a pretty exemplary job of giving a world-wide survey of sex films, with the curious exception of Australia. I agree with most but not all of his reviews, but with so many films that is to be expected. There are a plethora of witty remarks on hand, and Mr. Abbott is especially adept at insulting English sexploitation films from the decade in question.Being from America, I naturally have a different perspective, although we are close in age. More shockingly, I have seen at least half the films presented here, which perhaps does not speak well of myself. Again, I found that most of the time I was in general agreement with his reviews, although my opinion of 'Flash Gordon' is much higher than his. As an overview of an immense body of work spanning more than a decade, this is an excellent primer. Perhaps he strives a little too hard to have a fun quip about every bad film he sees, but it does keep the tone light and enjoyable. There are many illustrations in the book and the chapters are organized in a relatively intelligent way.The bottom line: I learned something from the book and enjoyed reading it. It's not quite an encyclopedia, and there are some omissions, but it is very impressive overall. Just not perfect, like the movies that are detailed within.

I haven't read the book yet, just browsed it. But while the book looks like an enjoyable read, all the pictures inside are black and white, and it diminishes the overall quality and "look" of the book. The cover and back of the book are in color and vibrant visually, and all the photos inside are gray, old xerox newspaper-like? It makes for a less pleasant browse-- especially when exploring the colorful world of the 1970s.

This is a terrible book.Why mention Carry On films.No mention of John Lindsay the British maker of sex films,though these were 8mm shorts.Author not particularly informed about the period.American films tended to be ignored.Photo's appear to be off videocassette cases and poorly printed(washed out).Then the ultimate insult as it is padded out with a biography of Elvis Presley!!!!There is a History of Seventies Sex Films waiting to be written.This is not it.!!

An interesting read from someone who clearly knows his stuff.

Excellent