John Holmes: The Man, the Myth, the Legend (2004) Online

John Holmes is, without a doubt, the most famous of the male adult film stars. With his good looks, height, and significant member, Holmes made a very comfortable living in the Golden Age of porn. However, the once clean-living Holmes slowly fell into drugs, alcohol, and criminal activity. In the end, he died from AIDS a physically broken man.

John Holmes: The Man, The Myth, The Legend is a fine documentary that details his sordid life from the stories of his fellow actors, his ex-wives, and directors. Clips of his work are shown and insight on what made the man tick are given. Despite all his flaws, you can't help but admire him for what he was. He was someone that made sure he got what he wanted or else. He went from being shy and reserved to upfront and demanding.

While Boogie Nights and Wonderland are great movies that detail his travails, the documentary probably offers the most honest story of his life and is free of the excesses of Hollywood. Worth a look.

John Holmes: The Man, the Myth, the Legend (2004)

*** (out of 4)

Ginger Lynn, Bill Margold, Sharon Mitchell, Mark Novick, Roger Diamond, Bill Amerson and Laurie Holmes are among the people interviewed about the life and career of porn legend John Holmes.

The great thing about this documentary is that everyone interviewed had direct contact with Holmes throughout his career so we get some wonderful stories about the porn star. These stories include countless discussions about his penis size but we also get more stories about what he was like off the set including his non-stop lying. The documentary spends most of its time discussing the good side of Holmes so one might say that the film isn't as hard-hitting as it should have been. The Wonderland murders are briefly discussed as was his decision to make another porn movie after learning he had AIDS.

The interviews are all extremely good and they certainly help give you a better idea of who John Holmes really was. I do wish the film had discussed his films a bit more including what type of box office appeal he had and what impact him being in a movie had in regards to the public wanting to see it.