Messalina: orgasmo imperiale

The only copy of this ultra obscure film I could find is in such a precary condition that it is almost unwatchable.

Shot in late 1981, it is considered the third part of Joe D'Amato's Roman Trilogy, preceeded by "Caligola: La Storia Mai Raccontata" and "Una Vergine Per L'Impero Romano", all of them sharing the same sets and costumes (if we can use these terms). The difference is that while "Caligola..." is a "normal" film that included some XXX footage in its uncut version, the other two are just porn.

Just as he did in his version of the life of Caligula, here D'Amato created a totally fictional story that has nothing of historical, except for the fact that Messalina is married to Emperor Claudius. All the rest is pure fantasy, and it wouldn't be a problem wasn't for the stupidity of what is narrated here. Basically, the Empress (played by Nadine Roussial) is intrigued by her black slave's massage skills. He tells her that he learned them in a massage class exclusively for men, taught by a certain Milde (Pauline Teutscher). Determined to discover her rival's secrets, Messalina disguises herself as a slave and is accepted as the first woman to attend Milde's classes. Soon, a centurion called Silvio (Paolo Gramignano), also interested in the legendary massage techniques of Milde, starts to attend the classes too. When Messalina sees Silvio, it is love at first sight and she decides to have him at all cost.

I won't tell the rest to avoid giving "spoilers", but the only thing I can say is that the script is beyond ridiculous. To makes things worse, D'Amato directs the whole thing in the lazyness mode, shooting the narrative parts with a static medium shot, with very few cuts to show alternative angles or closer shots of the actors. This technical approach became kind of a norm during his porn made in the 1990s and contributes to a deep sense of boringness.

In terms of sex, the film offers one of the first sodomy scenes of the Italian porn industry, performed by Pauline Teutscher, an actress whose face would fit better with the role of Messalina, I guess. As a fan of D'Amato, the only thing I found really interesting here was seeing the director himself in a cameo playing one of the senators who get scandalized with the Empress' depraved lifestyle. He is dubbed, but I had the impression of hearing his voice dubbing another character.

The copy I saw starts with a text that claims that Aristide Massaccesi directed 17 films in 1981! According to the filmography I established, taking in consideration the date of shooting, he shot 14 titles that year, most of them porn productions signed as Alexandre Borsky. For "Messalina... Orgasmo Imperiale", he signed the direction as O. J. Clarke and the cinematography as Dirk Frey.

Due to problems with the censors, the movie had to wait until 1983 to get a theatrical release. Some abrupt transitions of scenes makes one suspect there is footage missing, but, as long as I know, this is the only print available on the web so far.