爸爸拍的那些肮脏电影 (2011)

Long eclipsed by the inimitable ineptitude of frequent collaborator Ed Wood, Bulgarian-born director Stephen Apostolof posthumously gets some of the attention he craved in docu "Dad Made Dirty Movies." Helmer Jordan Todorov mixes family reminiscences with an exploration of Apostolof's career as a nudie-cutie director, launched in 1965 with the Wood-penned "Orgy of the Dead" and effectively killed with the advent of 1972 hardcore pic "Deep Throat" and homevid. Though barely an hour long, this entertaining nonfiction item is a shoo-in for midnight screenings, especially if followed by "Orgy," as it was at the recent Transylvania Fest.A man of many contradictions, Apostolof (often credited as the less foreign-sounding A.C. Stephens) fled communist Bulgaria in the 1940s and came to Hollywood via France and Canada. Republic Pictures' 1957 anti-communist propaganda film "Journey to Freedom," helmed by Robert C. Dertano, not only marked Apostolof's first foray into cinema (as a screenwriter and producer) but is also, supposedly, an autobiographical account of his escape from the Reds.As Todorov makes clear early on, many the details of Apostolof's early life are unclear: Was he a dentist or a farmer in Ottowa? Did he study political science at the Sorbonne, or did he join the Foreign Legion? The late director's third wife, Shelley Apostolof, and his children, who are all interviewed here, seem not entirely sure, either, which only adds to the story's charm.In imitation of Apostolof's films, the docu features a narrator, D.T. Anderson, who here gives (heavily accented) voice to Apostolof's thoughts and memories from beyond the grave. Period photos, digitally enhanced to introduce some moving elements, illustrate some of these memories, while excerpts from his low-budget and mostly artless films are sprinkled throughout.Rightfully, the main focus is on Apostolof's directorial debut and breakthrough, "Orgy of the Dead." Adapted by Wood from his own novel and starring the psyc