User reviews

The documentary "Rocco" opens with a close up of Rocco Siffredi's penis. It's an obvious place to start, but it also serves as a summation the entire documentary. No matter how many opportunities directors Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai give the aging porn star to bare his soul, he usually ends up just showing his d--- instead, metaphorically if not always literally.

But Rocco's penis has served him well. His IMDb page lists over 500 "acting credits," dating back to 1986, including a few legit gigs, such as Catherine Breillat's "Anatomy of Hell" and the Italian comedy "Matrimonia a Parigi" ("Rocco" the documentary makes no mention of these forays into "real" movies). It's afforded him fame and fortune, far more than most performers in the adult industry can claim, and for far longer, too. Only Ron Jeremy's career is (ahem) longer, dating back to the late '70s. Yet Rocco, in much better shape in his 50s than Jeremy was in his 30s, thinks it's time to retire from performing. He cites concerns for his teen-age sons, who know what their father does for a living but are, as presented in the documentary, shielded from seeing their father in action. (Their mother, Rosa Caracciolo, was also once a porn star, another detail this documentary makes no mention of.) Mostly, though, he's just tired. To hear him tell it, having a generous endowment and hyperactive sex drive is as much a curse as a blessing. In fact, Rocco pretty much portrays himself as a sex addict, barely able to interact with women outside of sex. Even when grieving the death of his beloved mother Rocco is unable to keep his desires in check: he tells of an encounter with a friend of his mother after his mother's funeral, when he takes out his moneymaker and coerces the woman--a senior citizen, mind you--to fellate him. The story is simultaneously outrageous (it sounds like a scene out of an '70s-era French sex comedy) and unsettling. He's telling the story to illustrate how he's a helpless slave to sex, blithely ignoring that, as he's told it, he forced an old woman to give him a BJ.

There are more graphic examples of Rocco's uneasy relations with women in the industry. At his Budapest-based porn production company, he's charming and even fatherly when chatting with his female performers before putting them in an uncomfortably rough group-sex scene, the kind that leaves women with rug burns on their backsides. (The only sex shown in this movie is of the rough variety.) He's equally charming in Los Angeles when meeting scene partner Abella Danger, then takes her up on an offer to demonstrate her ability to swallow his entire hand. Danger may not be doing anything against her will, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch her, gagging and with tears streaming down her face, as Rocco pushes his entire hand into her mouth.

The co-star Rocco chooses for his final scene is English porn star Kelly Stafford, much to the dismay of his hot-headed cousin and business partner, director Gabriel "Gabby" Galetta, who makes his dislike of the outspoken Stafford plain. One gets the idea that the fact that Stafford speaks at all is an issue in Galetta's eyes. Stafford is a handful, but I liked her for being a confident woman who won't do anything with which she'd be uncomfortable. In other words, she's not the type to let a man shove his hand down her throat just to prove she's compliant.

Though "Rocco" has its moments of levity, like a shot of naked male performers standing outside for a smoke break between takes, or the perplexed faces of crew members at Kink.com's studios, where Rocco's supposed final scene is being shot, as they listen to Galetta's confusing directions, they are overshadowed by the more depressing aspects of porn the documentary inadvertently exposes. Turns out enacting people's sexual fantasies is as dehumanizing and grueling as working on a factory assembly line. As for Rocco himself, he's personable if a little self-absorbed, not nearly as introspective or sensitive as he'd like us to believe, and his treatment of women is just a tad bit rape-y. Mostly, though, he's a guy who has a big penis.

"Rocco" opens with porn actor Rocco Siffredi talking about a "devil between his legs," his dark side that is permanently threatening to destroy his life. It's too bad that the filmmakers never make any effort to expose this devil and instead seem give their subject complete control over their project. The result is definitely interesting, and sporadically very funny, but unfortunately shies away from Rocco's darkest fears and the low-points of his life.

For those unaware, Rocco is a porn actor known for very rough scenes, though apparently (judging from this movie, at least) the work atmosphere on his sets is quite friendly and supportive of the women he works with. You could obviously question if the team is always this nice to the actresses, even when they are not being filmed by outsiders or the women decide in the last minute they don't want to do the really hard stuff, and since the directors rarely interview the porn stars without Rocco present, that element of the film doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. We just have to believe the movie that Rocco is always a nice guy to every girl he has sex in front of a camera with, and your willingness to sympathize with the main character in his more emotional scenes will likely depend on wether you go along with that or not.

Speaking of emotional scenes, there are a couple in which Siffredi talks about his family life growing up, or his family life now, and in these moments he seems honest and open about his feelings. However, once more the film suffers from a lack of outside perspective from people who might give a more critical account of our star's private behaviour. The scenes with his sons in particular are awkward to watch, and you can clearly see how uncomfortable they are with being filmed while their dad talks to them about porn.

Most of the movie is centered around Rocco with very few outsiders commenting on the man or his work. One is his wife, though we only get a few lines from her about how great a guy her husband is. Another is his cousin and co-worker Gabby, though he serves more as comedic relief (the disappointed look on his face after Siffredi simplifies a set piece he thought of is hilarious and sad at the same time) than he does provide a different viewpoint on the hardcore scenes he films. The only person who manages to take the spotlight away from Rocco and affect the way we see him is fellow porn actress Kelly Stafford, who stole the movie for me. Not only does she offer a female opinion on porn of Rocco's caliber, her friendship with the man, which ostensibly goes much deeper than a mere business relationship, is also very believable and heartwarming.

Overall, if you're interested in how porn scenes are filmed, this film might be of interest to you. Just don't expect it to be very critical of its subject.

I watched a couple of Rocco Siffredi porn videos many, many years ago and was always put off by his "nasty" streak. In fact, he likes the word "nasty". I hated his bullying attitude, disguised as a love of women. This is an interesting documentary regarding his decision to pack it all up. It's a shame he didn't take that decision long ago. I felt sorry for the poor, degraded victims of his particular brand of punishment. They probably have their reasons for participating. I only hope they'll learn a lesson and move on.

I don't know why he carries his idiot relative around with him to do the photography. They obviously dislike each other and he's incapable of doing a professional job. Why not hire a proper photographer? It only makes sense in the context of his being Family. A distinctly Italian thing.

So he loves his Mama, hates his partner in crime, and seems to be ignored by his kids (sensible pair of boys). What his ex-porn wife sees in him, God only knows. After watching this I felt primarily sad for his victims.

An interesting watch, as long as you read between the lines.

An excuse to show porn as a documentary and it wasn't even very interesting. I forward wound after the first five minutes to see if it got better and the answer was no!

Many of the reviewers here were apparently expecting an hour and 45 minute long vlog by Rocco going about his daily life, which this is not about. Nor is it another sub-par "I use to do porn but now I am an advocate against it" type documentary.

Its an artistic film about Rocco's past and present with a behind the scenes look into some of the scenes and how he feels about it all. How he began to dislike what he did when his family came along and his sons began to grow up.

You also get to meet Kelly Stafford, a true unknowing victim of modern feminism, who basically needs to be choked and spit on during sex because she cannot meet a manly man in her real life. She aches for masculinity and dominance so she can succumb to her born-biological female need to be feminine and submissive.

The scenes may come across as "degrading" to some, but with masculinity so lacking in this day and age, its what these performers and the female viewers truly want and you get a first hand look into that.

This film digs deep into masculinity and femininity with a little background on the man so legendary for putting those very two things onto tape.

With all that in mind, enjoy.

Sexuality cursed by restlessness and blessed by pleasure. Sexuality is necessary for the complete well-being of body and spirit. Because it is precisely the spirit that seeks the accompaniment of physical pleasure: a search that starts first of all from a rhythmic drive of the mind and of the conscience. From the first shots of the erotic and provocative force of Stroheim cinema to Rocco Siffredi.

An interesting documentary, causes repulsion and excitement, beautiful scenes of submission and subjugation disgusting, sexual and seductive... Interesting to know about life, childhood, the difficulties faced by theft in his profession, however what impressed me the most was the speech of one of the actresses who plays with him, Kelly "if a woman is 50 she is a B****, if a man is 50 he is a stallion" unfortunately a sad reality woman of a sexist and patriarchal society, an interesting documentary, causes revulsion and excitement, interesting, curious, about the family and children, and their opinions about it...

Let me start off by saying I'm the furthest thing from a prude. Like most men, I've seen my fair share of porn and then some. I've lived through porn's "golden era", (i.e., pre-videotape and pre-internet).

Porn used to be very expensive to buy. It also wasn't very high-def either. This so-called documentary almost goes out of its way to be as blurry as those old VHS tapes were. The documentary is structured as if you just came in the middle of something, and no background or context is provided.

It takes a hardcore subject, and illustrates gang bangs and other raw activities in such a way that it already puts into question the morality or lawfulness of what they are doing.

Most documentaries about porn or its actors often tend to portray the negative side,casting its participants as hapless unfortunates drawn together for the sake of a quick buck or infamy. The girls have Daddy issues and the guys have big dicks and unmatched libidos.

To an outsider (i.e., those who haven't seen much porn), it almost always comes as a shock. You only get to see one side of the game. It all seems like chaos and indulgence. Rocco's duality, between his sex drive and his pious Italian upbringing appears to the reason why he's left feeling empty inside. Religion has a long tradition of treating sex as sinful and vile. But Rocco made his decision early in life to satisfy his earthly needs, and deal with the morals and ethics down the road. It's all an empty gesture to claim sorrow over choosing a life of porn, screwing every single fantasy woman imaginable.

To me, it's all "first world problems". I have zero sympathy for his internal demons. Men in his position could have handled their super libidos in many different ways. To start crying the blues now just seems pathetic and dumb. There are millions of men who suffer every single day NOT having sex, or living with ED. Rocco's over-abundance doesn't move me to tears.

Just about everything in this documentary is designed to confuse, misdirect and prop up the man as a tragic character. I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. Boo hoo, boo hoo... poor old me. I'm washed up as a porn actor, and I've suffered for my craft. Sure buddy. Whatever. The way Italian men think of their mamma's as saints makes me puke, especially for those that are in the mob or make a living porking the babes. It all seems a bit hypocritical, in my eyes.

Rashida Jones' series on the porn industry is ten times better than this load of horse crap.

This movie apparently was done by Rocco financially. Since there is nothing about Rocco's real life and tried to idealize a porn star. First of all, we could not learn how his career started. the movie never informs us, that Rocco's wife used to be a porn actress herself.Instead, she draws a conservative wife. Why Siffredi shoots abroad and decided to be based in Budapest? At least that 2 points could be explained by Rocco. Shortly do not waste your time, choose another documentary if you should watch.

I want to believe that people, who venture out creatively and do the things that they do to make something, are complex and interesting. This expo leaves only my imagination to fill in the blanks of many questions I have regarding the life and times of Rocco Siffredi. I am left to wonder that all Rocco has to say, after 90 minutes, is that there is a sexual void in his life, and nothing can fill it? Rocco is tortured emotionally by the death of his brother at a young age and his Mother much later in life. His Mom, in the interim, has shaped whom we know as Rocco the porn star today. The films ambiguity makes it confusing to watch, however, as a surveyor of pornographic material, it compels this viewer to wonder, is there anything more I need to ask about Rocco? On the surface I find a man too manly to admit that he may need some type of treatment to deal with what may be a disorder of his mind. He subjects the viewer to his tormented state, and surrounds himself with enablers who validate his "God" only gift, Rocco's sexuality. It is literally a "Passion Play". On the bright side I did find the filming of it beautiful, equivalent too watching a porn without the close ups of naughty bits plugged into each other. I do empathize with reviewers' observations about the mistreatment of women in the porn industry, and for that the film supplies us with porn actress, Kelly Stafford, to dispel that notion and ground the viewer with a feminist point of view. In closing I ask myself is Rocco as interesting as I would like to think someone in his situation would be? The answer is a resounding no, and this disappoints me. Maybe on the surface most people who do pornography are merely normal with heightened sexual prowess and that is all. It's not a disparaging thing to say and maybe had Rocco been a pioneer of pornography; this look into his life could have worked. Again I am not slamming the documentary, I'm left with stones unturned. Instead of honesty from Rocco, I only have his disturbed void and the fact that he may never fill whatever it is.

So he's a porn star who is obsessed with his own Mother but gets off on hurting and humiliating girls he is attracted too...... Hmm? Norman Bates anyone? He said his mother was protective and would defend him and she would go after people using various things as weapons. Who were these people and why did he need protection from Mama? To be honest my opinion of the porn industry wasn't changed by this effort. I just see damaged goods who are making a living from letting us see them mating.

Beautifully shot and sensitively treated, this documentary follows Rocco Tano, a.k.a. Rocco Siffredi as he counts down to the swan song of his on-screen pornographic career - a final scene with long time collaborators... nay! Co-conspirators, Kelly Stafford, director Jon Stagliano, and Rocco's cousin, director of photography and often co-director, Gabriele Galetta.

Although the documentary filmmakers access pornographic sets where sex scenes are taking place, the images always register to me as artistic, intimate, and honest. The closeups, long lenses and shallow focus aren't simply there to avoid a more explicit framing - in fact, you still see penis, vulva, bruised and scratched skin after intense butt slapping, and there's even semen on performers' faces that made it on the final edit.

What it is is an up close and personal interaction with the people who perform these acts in order to make a living. You're bright up there with them through physical strain, exertion, and of course, presumably, pleasure.

This is not a documentary that leers at the sexual act. There is no trace of lechery from the filmmakers. However, neither is it one that takes the contrarian position that "it's just work and porn performers feel nothing. It's all business".

Of course it's a business, but it isn't just that. Rocco Siffredi has a lot of feelz man.

For him, a self confessed sex addict, it is a complex struggle between his natural physical gifts and prowess, this being the only thing he knows how to do, the guilt he suffers with having been a pornographic performer and filmmaker whilst being married and having two sons. On top of all that, add in being Catholic and being intensely loving of his dearly departed mother.

It's also quite clear that he likes intimacy with his co-stars. There is a post-scene interaction between Rocco, Abella Danger, and Veruca James where it's hard to see anything else but post-coital honesty. Their banter is far removed from performers rushing off to clean up and shower after the scene is wrapped. Instead, there they are, sitting around soaking in their sweat, other bodily fluids, and ruined makeup, just talking.

With Hollywood undergoing some much needed reckoning, there is a certain irony with how Rocco, a performer who specializes in the rough sex genre, in fact has surprising bedside manners*. Here is a man who plays at being abusive on-screen but is in fact quite kind. Whilst on the other hand, you have Hollywood and other mainstream entertainment types who put up a kind and caring public persona, but are in fact monsters.

There is a scene captured on camera where the actress taps out and Rocco tells his guys (he wasn't the one preforming, but rather producing/directing) to "leave her alone for a while, she needs a break". Cut to Rocco and the actress alone, cuddling (he is a pornographer, after all), him telling her everything will be ok, just be sure to avoid burning out.

In another scene, a pre-game talk is captured where he makes sure to outline boundaries on what's ok, what's not. What can he direct his stars to do to each other, what he can do to them.

Since his reputation precedes him, people almost always expect him to be rough. In California, Abella Danger takes Rocco's hand and shoves it in her own mouth. Rocco seems to push the boundaries, but then they make out as though that's what Abella wanted all along.

It's this kind of nuance that makes this documentary really engaging. No way to get around it: He's not just a big dick and pretty face. This is a very complex man.

Then there's Kelly Stafford.

She is so amazing. The things peshe says, the life philosophy she lives by, and the appetites she possesses and the sheer power and control she exudes. I now want to see a documentary about her! That would be interesting.

All in all, a must see.

___________________

* = There is a scene with James Deen and if you don't know anything about him, a lot of his co-stars and ex girlfriend(s) have accused him of rape. So there's that. Glad the filmmakers didn't give him a voice in this movie.

Pornstar Rocco Siffredi retires from porn and looks back on his career and why he quit.

Not sure what I was expecting out of this and watched out of curiosity more than anything else. Mostly, I figured it might be interesting to see what motivates people to do porn, and keep doing it, and then, looking back, what they think of the whole experience.

This documentary doesn't really shed a light on this. It tries to, but there are no profound take-aways. The reasons for quitting seem kind of phony, as if Rocco Siffredi is trying to get us to sympathise with him for being a pornstar. The introspectives just seem staged for the camera, with him saying what he thinks we want to hear.

This makes the whole thing seem quite self-indulgent, like him saying "Look at me, look at what a sensitive guy I am".

Woven through the whole thing are behind-the-scenes clips from the making of some of his movies. This jars with his "Porn is bad, I'm a family man" vibe. I guess that was the idea but the way these scenes make them gratuitous, rather than a demonstration of why he is turning his back on the industry.

Quite pointless in the end. The only thing I learned is that Rocco's cameraman is a dufus...

It is interesting enough to watch it. But after about an hour it becomes painfully obvious what the documentary is trying to show. Have they fired the first producer and brought in a second one to to wrap it up from the existing footage?

I was looking forward seeing this movie.. And it started well (stop your dirty minds... I don't mean the penis scene, but the first few minutes...).. But later it turned into a long uninteresting dialogues about who feels how.. and even more boring "behind the scenes" where the actors were discussing how they arrange the scene... In the meantime Rocco was explaining what's going on in his head.. By the end, there was some escalation.. but I was already too bored by then.. Little interesting is to see a bit about how it works in porn industry.. but that is pretty much it...

Hey, this film is just an attempt to justify that a lucky guy who works having sex with the most beautiful girls in the world is suffering and deals with his own personal demons. He turned out to be a prude/conservative! He hid the fact that his wife is Rosa Caracciolo (the filmmakers even changed her name to Rosza, her Hungarian real name), a porn actress who only shot sex scenes with him, while he banged the whole cast of females of the porn flick.

We don't see how he starts doing porn. We just find him wishing to shoot his last scene with Kelly, I guess his first co-star, who was a great British performer and decides to come out of retirement to shoot yet more hardcore with him.

Actually the best and most entertaining scenes are the discussions Rocco has with his cousin/camera man Gabriel, a guy who wishes to be in Rocco's shoes but, according to him, doesn't have the guts to be in front of the camera.

Rocco seems to be a sex addict who suffers from guilt related to the death of his mother and his brother Claudio. If that's the case, he should have looked for professional help and not being part of this pseudo-freudian study.

Gosh, the girls are so beautiful and sexy... he's so lucky, it's hard to understand he's going through hell.

Up until last night, I'd never heard of Rocco Siffredi. Maybe that's because I don't watch pornography, Italian porn in particular. Last night, after re-watching the final episode of the 3rd season of Peaky Blinders, then deciding not to begin season 4, I browsed netflix for something different. It took at least 15 minutes of indecisiveness before coming across Rocco. The "jacket" is him, standing nude, somewhat like the photo above, but full body, excluding genitalia. Reading the blurb, it says Rocco is, "showcased in this documentary that shadows the legendary performer during his final year in front of the camera." I thought what the heck, this is New Year's Eve, I'm having a few drinks instead of going out and risking car accidents and drunk driving charges, and there should be a fun element to the evening - how do these sound for rationalizations to give myself permission to watch it - so I clicked "play".

The film globe-trots between porn sets in Italy and in parts of California. It is very matter-of-fact about the porn industry, where it appears to want to portray all of the females as happy, well-adjusted, and just jumping for the chance to be pounded in every orifice, slapped around, etc. Likewise the porn producers are all gentlemen, would never think of sampling the merchandise, and have noble ideals when it comes to plot lines, etc. That's a conversation for another day. To watch Rocco, those thoughts must be suspended, like when you watch a Star Wars movie.

The star of the film, and not just because he's hung like a horse, is Rocco. It must be stated here that there are literally only 2 or 3 shots of Rocco's substantial package. Along with globe-trotting porn sets, it intersperses business with the human being behind the legend. Rocco the husband, the father, the son. His remembrances from childhood that certainly contributed to the career line he chose for himself and has continued until recently. What is impossible to ignore is the humanity behind the appendage. Rocco's personality is what makes him the star that he is.

The latter part of the documentary focuses on Rocco's decision to stop making porn movies and who he wants starring with him in his final film. Kelly Stafford, from England, is the chosen one. There's a very interesting discussion that takes place on the road trip with Rocco, his cousin, Gabriele Galeta, who is Rocco's cousin/best friend/director/cameraman, and Kelly on the way to the studio about dominance, submissiveness, etc.

There isn't a lot of nudity in Rocco. There are tastefully edited scenes around the porn itself, and I don't remember much, if any, swearing. You might say why watch a movie about a porn star if none of these things are in it? Why? Because Rocco is in almost every shot and Rocco is a God. Or, if not a God, at minimum he's a fallen angel.

Rocco is a bare boned (sorry!) doc on porn superstar Rocco Siffredi who has reached the end of his career. Ultimately an uneven tale is told focusing on the last shoots he orchestrates w/his cameraman cousin who deserves a doc of his own. Herein lies the problem w/this story, how did Rocco get into this business? He mentions his obsession w/women & his mother's disappointment but how did this Neopolitan neophyte find his calling? A more rounded examination from Nick Broomfield or Errol Morris might've succeeded but as it stands, all the sex & foreplay is merely titillating w/nothing substantive gained in the end (sorry again!).