Once upon a time, way back in the 1970's, if one wanted to watch a "dirty movie" at home it was an actual film. No VCR's available for sale at Sears yet, and the Internet was the stuff of science fiction.
Say hello to the Luminavision "Deluxe Quality Movie Viewer." This baby is perfect for viewing color or black & white 8MM or Super 8 films. I like how the ad copy states "complete portability to parties or for sales presentations." Yeah right, on that small screen? More like portability for solo use in basements, closets and bathrooms...
That ad above ran in both gentlemens' magazines and Popular Science.
The days of the Luminavision were numbered, and the vastly superior home video technology soon completely dominates the scene by the early 1980's. Although early on mail-order X-rated movie companies carried both videotapes and film - like in this 1979 ad from Mitchell Brothers' ...
Love the holiday themed ad. Yes, pornography really does make a great Christmas gift. Also check out the prices. A Marilyn Chambers film goes for the top dollar of $129 - adjusted for inflation that's $407.96 in today's dollars! Wow that's so hard to believe when basically any filth your heart desires is only a few clicks away for free nowadays. For the budget minded there's the 8MM "famous Swedish Erotica series" for only $20 ($63.25 adjusted for inflation).
Some companies like Direct Video jumped into mail-order video tapes exclusively...
All those films go for $99.50 ($277.24 adjusted for inflation), and that's still pretty damn pricey. The ad states "VHS recorded on TDK brand tape" which is good to know I guess. I wonder if TDK paid for this endorsement.
Two of those 70's porn films above have extra special meaning for me. When I was in junior high a friend of mine found a video tape in his parents closet with a handwritten label titled "Watergate." This tape was something insanely extincting and irresistible to a small group of hormonally charged young boys - a classic porn double feature. First up was Deep Throat (1972) ("Watergate" get it?), followed by The Devil in Miss Jones (1973). These were the first X-rated films I had ever seen, and it made for a very educational (and vaguely disturbing) afternoon.
A word to those 1980's parents out there, mislabeling your pornographic videotapes is no deterrent for a determined and horny adolescent young boy. The more you know...
