Adam Film World (AFW) and Adam Film World Guide (AFWG) were American magazines about pornographic film, starting in 1966 as The Adam Film Quarterly.
History Knight Publishing Corp. had launched Adam magazine in 1956 as an attempt to follow Playboy's success. Adam Film Quarterly was spun off from that magazine by William Rotsler in 1966 to cover the sexploitation film industry. The first issue's cover price was US$1 and the cover story was about The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill, an erotic movie directed by Peter Stootsberry and produced by Bradford Hallworth."Adam Film Quarterly", The Site of Movie Magazines. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
Originally, like Playboy, the publication also covered mainstream films and included feature stories on stars such as Orson Welles or Judy Garland. However, by 1969 it was renamed Adam Film World and issued monthly."Adam Film World", The Site of Movie Magazines. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
The Internet Adult Film Database owes its start to Peter Van Aarle, who began keeping notes on index cards on adult movies he had seen or were reviewed in Adam Film World starting in 1982.
Adam Film World was called "one of the industry's leading trade publications" in 1994 by the Associated Press.John Horn, Associated Press Writer, "VCRs have made 'adult' films big business," Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star, Dec. 2, 1994, p. B3.
In his 2001 book Pornography and Sexual Representation, Joseph Slade states, "Extremely valuable are the reports, reviews and gossip of Adam Film World and Adult Video Guide, the oldest American monthly devoted to explicit cinema and generally more reliable than similar magazines, though the information on actors and actresses should be approached with caution. Best described as a fan magazine, Adam Film World hypes the careers of performers for a credulous audience, but partly for that reason it is unparalleled as a guide to the mores and customs of the porn subculture."Joseph W. Slade, Pornography and Sexual Representation: A Reference Guide, Volume I, Greenwood Press, 2001. Slade pointed out that the magazine's interviews with performers were, to an extent, similar to celebrity interviews in popular mainstream magazines: "Actors and actresses usually begin by talking about their parents, their adolescence, their own children, lovers, the importance of grooming, then move on to discussions of augmented breasts, relative penis sizes, favorite costars and directors, referred techniques of oral, vaginal, or anal sex, striptease dancing on tour as a sideline and—most important—their fan clubs or their 900-telephone numbers."
The publication is also notable for having issued the first movie awards for excellence in pornographic film, first with the X-Caliber Awards in 1975,Thomas H. Hilton, "Film World's Own Porn Awards", Adam Film World, Vol. 5, No. 12, August 1976, pp. 34-37. then replacing them with the AFWG awards starting in 1981 when its sister publication, Adam Film World Guide, was launched.Adam Film World Guide, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 1981. Today the role of adult film awards has been mostly supplanted by Adult Video News, with its AVN Awards, which launched a decade later.
Adam Film World Guide, in turn, spawned an annual Directory of Adult Films starting in 1984. The annuals were "important directories of...hard-core films and videos of the previous eighteen months, with lists of notable films of the past, capsule reviews that rate eroticism from 'warm' to 'volcanic,' addresses of distributors and retail outlets, brief biographies of actors, directors, and producers and indexes by theme, director, and performer."
Edward S. Sullivan was the first editor of Adam Film World, followed briefly in 1984 by John Zeus, while former pornographic film actor Tim Connelly was editor, under the name Jeremy Stone, from 1985 to 2003. Connelly, as Stone, was inducted into the X-Rated Critics Organization Hall of Fame in the Fifth Estate category in 1998.
Knight Publishing eventually expanded to add several other magazine titles such as Adam Black Video Illustrated, Adam Gay Video, and Cinema X Monthly and several others, but Adam Film World remained the flagship of the group until it was discontinued in the late 1990s in favour of Adam Film World Guide. By 2008, owner Bentley Morriss put the company up for sale. When a buyer was not found, the magazine empire folded.Tod Hunter, "'Adam Film World' Reportedly on Hold Pending Sale ", Xbiz.com, July 2, 2008. (Retrieved Sept. 25, 2012.)
X-Caliber Awards The Adam Film World annual X-Caliber Awards based their selection of winners "largely on the votes of readers who are members of the audiences of the adult theaters."Thomas H. Hilton, "The First Annual Erotica Awards", Adam Film World, December 1977, pp. 18-21. although after the popular vote is counted, "an editorial panel makes the final selections".Frank Thistle, "The Second Annual Erotica Awards," Adam Film World, January 1979, pp. 24-27, 72. The winners were announced annually starting with the August 1976 issue for films released the previous year. By the second year, the Z-Caliber Awards, for the worst movies, were also introduced.Thomas H. Hilton, "The Porn Awards", Adam Film World, Vol. 6, No. 6, August 1977, pp. 16-17.
1976 1977 1978Thomas H. Hilton, "3rd Annual X-Caliber Awards", Adam Film World, Vol. 7, No. 1, October 1978, pp. 24-27.Best Sex-Rated Full-Length Feature Film Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann The Opening of Misty Beethoven Desires Within Young GirlsBest Foreign Sexplicit Film Sensations (Dutch) Diversions (British) Butterflies (German-American)Best Performance by an Adult Film Actress (The Pornelope Award) Annette Haven for China Girl Constance Money for The Opening of Misty Beethoven Jennifer Welles for Little Orphan SammyBest Performance by an Adult Film Actor (The Lucky Pierre Award) John C. Holmes for All Night Long Jamie Gillis for The Opening of Misty Beethoven John C. Holmes for EruptionBest Supporting Actress (The Knockers-Up Award) Sharon Thorpe for Tapestry of Passion Vicki Lyon (actually co-starred) for Portrait of Seduction Jewell Bright for China De SadeBest Supporting Actor (The Gung-Ho Award) Harry Reems for Spikey's Magic Wand Jeffrey Stern (aka Jon Martin) for Portrait of Seduction Seth Wagner for Foxy LadyBest Miscegenation (Interracial) Sex Scene (The Zebra Award) Brigitte Maier for Tongue Kristine DeBell for Alice in Wonderland Valerie Driskill and Seth Wagner for Foxy LadyBest Adult Film Screenplay (The Fantasia Award) The staff of Newsday for Naked Came the Stranger Jake Barnes for The Opening of Misty Beethoven John Ashley for EruptionBest Directed Adult Film (The Canvas Chair Award) Alan Bruce Colberg for All Night Long Henry Paris for The Opening of Misty Beethoven Lin Chao for Oriental BlueBest Sinamatography (The Crotch Zoom Award) Franklin de Ceco for All Night Long Joe Bardo for Alice in Wonderland Robert Michael for V—The Hot OneBest Sexaphonic Soundtrack (The Pussy Platter Award) The Moog synthesizer for Spikey's Magic Wand Bucky Searles for Alice in Wonderland Gino Franconi, composer and conductor, for Sex WishBiggest Penis on Sex Screen (The Hunga Din Award) Dr. Infinity in Every Inch a Lady for autofellatio John C. Holmes for The Autobiography of a Flea John C. Holmes for EruptionMost Hirsute Vagina on the Adult Film Scene (The Bearded Clam Award) Terri Hall in The Story of Joanna Annette Haven in The Autobiography of a Flea Mimi Zuber in The Jade Pussycat (Special extra award to Jennifer Welles for use of hair dye in Little Orphan Sammy)The Dirtiest Old Man Who Can Still Get It Up (The Altekocker Award) Lord Wetherby in Sensations Robert Cole in Portrait of Seduction William Paulson in The Other Side of JulieBest Female Orgasm Scene (The Juicy Lucy Award) Nina Fause in Sexual Ecstasy of the Macumba Amber Hunt in Cry for Cindy Annette Haven for V—The Hot OneMost Cum-Shots in One Film (The Jisming Jerry Award) Marc Stevens for Every Inch a Lady Zepedy Colt for Sex Wish John C. Holmes for EruptionLargest Breasts on the Sex Screen Uschi Digart in The Last Days of Pompeii Rene Bond in Do You Wanna Be Loved? Liz Renay in Deep RootsBest Fellator on the Screen (The Living Doll Award) Georgina Spelvin in Sleepyhead Jennifer Welles in Blonde Velvet Lesllie Bovee in EruptionGreatest Contribution to Sexplicit Flicks (The Ovid Award) Vince Miranda, president of Pussycat Theaters and founder of the Adult Film Association of America, for promoting and legitimizing adult films Linda Lovelace, actress, for pioneering adult films with Deep Throat Ann Myers Perry for promoting and improving adult films as president of the AFAA; Jimmy Johnson, executive vice-president of Pussycat Theaters, for legal efforts and Joel Sussman, for production-still photography.
Z-Caliber Awards 1976 1977 1978Worst All-Around Sexplicit Film Not awarded Playtime Productions for Judgement Day Desperate Living, produced and directed by John WatersWorst Direction (The Empty Director's Chair Award) Not awarded Not announced David Stefans for Strangers When They MateWorst Adult Screenplay (The Empty Pen Award) Not awarded Stanley Woods for Portrait of Seduction ("for one badly written line only") Lou Campa for JailbaitWorst Sexplicit Sinematography (The Glued-on Lenscap Award) Not awarded Judgement Day Cadillac Named DesireWorst Performance (The Burned-Out Projection Bulb Award) Not awarded Mary Monroe in Teenage Hustler Ronnie Fray in The Velvet Hustle
Adam Film World Guide Awards
In 1981, Adam Film World revived its awards with a new name, the Adam Film World Guide Awards, to coincide with the launch of a sister magazine, Adam Film World Guide. Rather than giving single awards in several categories, AFWG had only a few categories — top films, top videos, top sex scenes, best male and female performers and best director — but named the top five or top 10 of each. Then, until 2003, in the annual AFWG Directory of Adult Films it ranked the top three movies of the year, a combination of movies shot on film and those shot on videotape: Year's Best 1st Runner-Up 2nd Runner-Up1981 Insatiable Prisoner of Paradise Talk Dirty to Me1982 Nothing To Hide Nightdreams Blonde Ambition1983 Society Affairs Café Flesh Body Magic1984 Suzie Superstar The Young Like It Hot The Devil In Miss Jones Part II1985 New Wave Hookers Every Woman Has a Fantasy Firestorm1986 Desperate Women She's So Fine Girls on Fire1987 The Devil in Miss Jones Part III-IV The Ecstasy Girls Part II Every Woman Has a Fantasy Part 21988 Baby Face 2 Amanda By Night II Let's Get It On With Amber Lynn1989 The Nicole Stanton Story Part I Portrait of an Affair The Catwoman1990 Night Trips The Big Thrill The Chameleon1991 Pretty Peaches 3 Buttman's Ultimate Workout Nightdreams 21992 Wild Goose Chase Buttman's European Vacation New Wave Hookers 21993 Hidden Obsessions Buttman vs. Buttwoman Anything That Moves1994 Face Dance 1&2 Justine: Nothing to Hide 2 Slave to Love1995 Michael Ninn's Sex Dog Walker Takin' It to the Limit1996 Borderline Latex Kink1997 Sex Freaks Buttman in the Crack Shocking Truth1998 Bad Wives Red Vibe Diaries The Psychosexuals1999 Mobster's Wife The Masseuse 3 Café Flesh 22000 The Awakening Seven Deadly Sins Nothing to Hide 3&42001 Les Vampyres Jekyll & Hyde In the Days of Whore2002 Fade to Black Euphoria Taboo 20012003 The Fashionistas The Ass Collector Big Bottom Sadie
Starting with the 2002 awards, Adam Film World Guide changed the focus of the annual awards. Rather than naming the top 10 films and top 10 videos (which the Directory then condensed into a list of the year's top three movies), AFWG just named one top film, one top video and 51 other awards to movies and individuals for a wide range of categories such as Best Asian Starlet, Best Fetish Vignette Movie, Best Couples Movie, Best Gonzo Comedy, Best Music, Best Box Cover Art and Best All-Girl Orgy Series.