- Brent Blue, Mannet.com-
Behind the Curtain, the Making of Moscow is an interesting, erotic look at how Moscow, the Power of Submission was put together.
The expose is divided conveniently into four segments, each dealing with one scene. Interspersed through behind-the-scenes footage of how it was done are questions posed to the models, all of which they answer in their own style. The first scene of Moscow is a four-way with soldiers that suck and rim and fuck in position after position. The Bear certainly directs thoroughly. His eyes dart about making sure every detail is in place. He'll stop a fucking section to show a guy how to turn his shoulder, which seems only about a half an inch from where it was. Of course, he also tells us that each scene takes four days to film, so there is plenty of opportunity for perfectionism.
The second scene in Moscow is an interesting three-way that introduces the viewer to the star of the video, Slava, who is far and away one of the most perfect men on the entire planet. However, Slava isn't interviewed during this part. Only his co-stars, Boris Vladimirovich and Pyotr Chernov talk to the camera. The latter is something of a grouch, although he does cheekily admit that the reason he did this video is because he likes to be watched having sex.
This scene seemed an absolute pleasure to film. Slava is game, Boris and Pyotr seem into all the action, and The Bear doesn't have to step in as much. But, he does take a moment to tell someone "it takes a while to film. I know it's different than what you're used to." It's a very astute comment and I'm glad it survived the editing here because it's the very reason why a behind-the-scenes look at a video like this, by a director who doesn't mindlessly shoot guys having sex, is so interesting. In this scene, instead of learning the minutiae of The Bear's directions, you see him lay out the personality of a scene.
By the time we get to the third scene, we know pretty much how things work in terms of how Moscow is being put together. This scene was a super sexy one where a blindfolded soldier was used by a mysterious man for sex. The star of the scene is Kirill Veronkov, a stunning model with a fun attitude who is interviewed with an omnipresent bottle of beer.
The scene starts off with the filming of the outdoor lead-in, where it was apparently brutally cold. The Bear then halts the filming of the beginning of the scene so someone can produce a razor and trim off a few stray hairs on a model's dick. Kirill admits to the camera that it's very hard work, but he seems up to the challenge. The other interviewed performer, a cute brunet named Dima Chichay, flatly admits to like fucking on film.
Cum is a big deal for The Bear. If you watch Moscow, most of the cum-shots are up close and handless. He makes sure to capture the guys at the right moment. He even chastises a model who didn't give him enough notice because it takes "about five seconds" to get the camera in place. We see the gestation of every cum-shot in the video, and the humorous one here of plopping one on the lens of the camera. The Bear continues to direct the action even though all the viewer can see is a whole bunch of splooge and some hazy figures behind it. Dima unbelievably chews gum as he's giving someone a blowjob, and then right after there, well, 17 takes after that, Dima is partly responsible for a missed cum-shot, or one that one shot just perfectly.
The fourth scene is the big romantic scene between Alexander and Slava. It's a beauty. It also seems to run like clockwork. The only hitch seems to be a moment where Alexander has to have Slava stop fucking him because it hurts. Now that's one of those details that is often ignored in the making of porn. Slava, who is interviewed here, is a dream of an interview. With his cutesy smile, he says that the best thing about being in a video is learning that he could act. Of course, Alexander likes the fact that he is able to get erections quickly and cum on time. Alexander first had sex while he was exercising in the park and was picked up. Slava? His first time with a man was on video, and the video was so bad that he wasn't impressed at all. These two bubbly personalities spill into the scene's filming, where everything goes very smoothly.
There isn't much purpose in an entire making-of documentary if the people involved aren't interesting. This movie looked like it had a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and why shouldn't we see it all? That's what it takes to put together something as monumental as Moscow. The star here is The Bear, and he's a fantastic director -- and he gives it his all. Behind the Curtain, the Making of Moscow is fascinating look behind a master pornographer's magic curtain.
*** Highly Recommended ***
- -Brad Jansen, AVN -
This highly watchable entry is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Sarava's hit feature Moscow: The Power of Submission, which won the GayVN Award for Best Foreign Release this past year. Fans of porn will be educated and entertained, but will also have to be careful that they don't let the mystique surrounding their favorite fantasies get shattered.
You see, as director The Bear will show, making good sex is hard work. So watching agonizing take after agonizing take just to get one four-man fuck session just right may fray the nerves of even the most ardent porn watchers. It's a miracle how these models stay hard (one of the many behind-the-scenes areas addressed here) - and how they don't strangle their director.
What makes this documentary even more fascinating is the added dimension of the language barrier, which makes communication and patience all the more difficult as an American director uses a translator (and demonstrations) to get the best from his Russian studs. This documentary doesn't shy away from the trials of making porn - The Bear is constantly heard (politely) yelling at the stars to do certain things (getting their hands out of the way is a recurring problem, and pity the poor young fellow who doesn't provide an adequate cumshot warning!). Even some of the stars get mad at each other.
And it's the little tidbits - shooting in unfavorable weather, watching out for unflattering shadows, taking care of unsightly body hair - that really make this a must-see. There's also plenty of light moments, too, like watching a young hottie yawn between takes, even with two hot dicks in front of his face. The feature is broken down by the shooting of five different scenes, with short interviews with some of the stars serving as fillers. While these Russian studs appear apprehensive, some of their answers provide an enlightening - and sometimes sad - look at their lives.
Rating AAAA