The films of Jean Daniel Cadinot

Born in Paris in 1944, Jean Daniel Cadinot was a French photographer, director and producer of gay pornographic films.
Cadinot studied at École des Arts et Métiers and at the National School of Photography. He then began his professional career at Valois Studios, where he directed mainstream films.
Cadinot had a passion for photography, he specialised in nude portraits – notable portraits included writer Yves Navarre and singer Patrick Juvet.
Cadinot’s erotic photographs appeared in the first edition of Gai Pied. He began to sell nude photographs, and these became incredibly popular. By the late-70s, Cadinot had published 17 photo albums, with total sales of over 170,000 copies.
Cadinot began directing erotic films in 1978. He established a production company – French Art – and shot on 16mm film.
Characteristic of Cadinot’s films was an emphasis on plot, much more so than in typical porn films. His plots were often based originally on incidents from his own life, but he was known for adjusting the plot during filming to incorporate experiences of his actors.
They also usually involve a journey, either literally, as in Sex Bazaar (1982) and Sex Oasis (1984), which feature young Frenchmen in North Africa; or figuratively, as in Tough and Tender (1989), which chronicles the search for love in a boys’ reformatory. In Sex Drive (1985), the journey is imaginary. There the protagonist is supposedly running away from home, but in the end it turns out to be a dream. Of course, all the journeys involve lots of sexual adventures.
Another characteristic of Cadinot’s films is that they feature young men in their late teens or early twenties. They’re not the pumped up, well-endowed, men that we generally see in American gay porn. Although they often interact with older and larger men – frequently of non-European background – the protagonists tend to be youthful and slim, and sexually versatile.
Cadinot insisted on realism in his films, especially in sex scenes.
By 1998, he had directed fifty-four films, some under the pseudonym Tony Dark.
Cadinot died in 2008, and is buried in the Montmartre Cemetery.
Pierre Buisson
Pierre Buisson was one of the stars of the films of Cadinot.
Buisson is probably best remembered for his appearance in the Aime Comme Minet – All Of Me – a Cadinot film that was released in 1982.
Aime Comme Minet gives us four separate scenes, different sexual encounters that Pierre is recalling from his memories.
Episode 1 takes place in a large bakery where two men (Frederic Lemaire and Ducko Vuckovich) work beneath large Pavallier ovens. A twinkish young man (Pierre Buisson) is employed to scrub out large vats where the baker’s dough is mixed. Buisson is provocatively dressed, wearing the shortest of shorts. Lemaire and Vuckovich grab Pierre and fuck him.
Episode 2 gives us Pierre and Luigi di Como as two football teammates. They have sex on the stairs near the apartments where they live.
Episode 3 takes place at the Sacre Couer Cathedral in Paris. Loic Le Gallec sitting on a bench on the pathway down to the mens toilets. This is obviously a cruising hotspot – Le Gallec sits in short shorts that display his ball-sac to passersby. Jogging past is Pierre, who jogs back to join Le Gallec and the two get it on.
Episode 4 was filmed later, and seems to have been added to this release to extend the running time.
Chaleurs
Chaleurs – the English title is Sex Oasis – is a film by Cadinot that was released in 1987. It’s the follow-up to Harem, an earlier film by Cadinot.
In Chaleurs, Cadinot continues with the Arabic theme, this time taking place in the exotic desert, complete with camels, tents, and donkeys. A boy traveling from his home in Germany to Tunisia becomes lost in the burning desert when his car breaks down. Luckily he is discovered by a young shepherd while guiding his sheep and goats back home. The Arab boy takes an immediate liking to the mysterious stranger and takes him to his hut to recover. Of course, in classic Cadinot style, the unconscious white boy is gang-raped by the boy’s two older brothers, while he is out getting water. Jealousy and the shepherd’s protective nature over his new friend lead to violence and romance. When the German boy is well enough, he writes a letter to his friend back home, who gets on the next plane, and later the nearest camel – after paying the guide with sex. Later the two Germans return to their homeland, and bring with them the shepherd boy and another older Arab, who they treat like objects and laugh at with their wealthy friends.
As always, this is ambitious film-making from Cadinot. Chaleurs is much more than just a fuck film – he’s giving us the full fantasy.
You can find scenes from Chaleurs on the free tube sites, but best to get the best quality version that you can from somewhere like TLA Video.
Pension Complète
Pension Complète is one of the best films from Jean-Daniel Cadinot.
In English, it’s often titled as A Summer of Sex. It was first released in 1988.
The story of Pension Complète is a student study break to Bavaria, where the guest house is run by three sexed-up brothers.
The brothers are hosting four students – one from England, one from Egypt, and two friends from France.
The group is kept occupied with a range of excursions and activities – a visit to a local chateau, a bike ride, and a swim in the lake.
Most of these activities end up one way or another with the boys having sex.
Unused to the chilly Bavarian weather, the Egyptian student catches a heavy cold and the local doctor is called. It turns out the Bavarian style of medicine is very hands on.
The cast includes: Daniel Laruso, Nicolas Taieb, Djemel Dixy, De Marcy, Jean-francois Chambon, Michael Martin, Tony Abrantes, Robert Roten, Elyes Ardini, Joel Duvernay, and De Rives.
This is a sex-filled summer film from Cadinot that’s definitely worth watching.