All photos courtesy of DDA Press
You might not know his name, but if you've watched porn at some point in the last 30 years, you're probably familiar with Rocco Siffredi's ten-inch-plus schlong. Nicknamed "the Italian Stallion," the 52-year-old has appeared in over 1,500 adult movies and slept with nearly four times as many women, making him a porn icon on par with Ron Jeremy or John Holmes.
Born Rocco Tano in Abruzzo, Italy, the porn star's mother originally wanted him to be a priest. But the altar boy had the "devil between his legs," as he refers to his own penis, and a career in adult entertainment became more-or-less inevitable once he went looking for it. He's fucked through four generations of porn, from starring in 35mm feature-length movies with scripts and plots, to his constant work during the VHS, DVD, and online eras of XXX production. Now, though, Siffredi seems to have had enough of the smut game. He recently announced his retirement, a claim he's made multiple times in the past. But, as the father of two, it remains to be seen if his legendary dick will no longer be in the spotlight.
Yet these biographical facts do not interest French filmmakers Thierry Demaiziere and Alban Teurlai. Their extraordinary documentary Rocco, which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is a portrait of the porn star that tries to make sense of his mind. It's an introspective look at Siffredi, who opens up about the death of his brother, his sexual reaction to his mother's death, his relationship with his wife and two children, and, of course, why he likes performing carnal acts on film so much. Mostly though, the film deals with the porn star's Catholic guilt. Think Boogie Nights if directed by Martin Scorsese.
The film starts in the only way possible: a close up on Siffredi's penis. We then watch as he casts porn actresses for a movie he's directing, taking his time to ensure that the actresses are prepared and ready for the sexual extremes he desires on camera, be it anal close-ups or rough play involving choking. The filmmakers then follow Rocco to Budapest, where his wife Rozsa Tano lives, and then trail him during trips to Italy and Los Angeles. Through their subject, the directors offer bigger-picture insight into the porn industry, detailing, for example, the extremes some performers are willing to go to be successful.
One of the most harrowing scenes involves a woman putting Siffredi's fingers into her mouth, mimicking a blow job, but going so deep throat that tears well up in her eyes. Siffredi is fascinating, celebratory, and depraved all at the same time. We chatted with Rocco Siffredi after the documentary's premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
VICE: Why make this documentary now?
Rocco Siffredi: I was approached a few times to make a documentary, the first by a Polish director when I was 40. At that age, I just didn't think that I had many things to say, even though I had been in the business for 20 years. Then came some Italian filmmakers, but I believed that Italian people wouldn't understand sexuality without prejudice. Then came the French . On the other side, unfortunately, it's completely ruined the business. There's free sex all over the place, so why should you pay?
You got Kelly Stafford to come out of retirement for your final film? Why was that important?
Kelly is the biggest porn star ever for me. She is the porn star. In one way, she is like me as a woman.
Is she more powerful than you because she is a woman?
One hundred percent. There is no doubt. She is very powerful. I am attracted to people who are special. I've always been attracted to special people. When they say, this person is crazy, she is absolutely crazy, that means she must be unbelievable. I don't like average people. I don't like regular people. They are really boring for me.
Do you think you will ever retire, since you keep coming back?
I've said that after this film, I will never answer this again. It means I will never say I'll retire or I'll come back. At the moment it is off, but I will never say that I won't come back.
For more information about 'Rocco' visit the project's site.
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