The Rise & Fall Of The Roman Empress
| The Rise Of The Roman Empress | |
|---|---|
| Director: | Riccardo Schicchi |
| Cinematography: | Thomas Turbato |
| Studio: | VCA |
| Country: | Italy |
| Language: | Italian, English |
| Released: | 1987 |
| Runtime: | 84 mins. |
| Watch The Rise & Fall Of The Roman Empress | |
The Rise Of The Roman Empress is an Italian adult movie starring legendary Hungarian/Italian porn starlet, Cicciolina, and John Holmes. The film is noteworthy on account of the infamous fact that it was one of several films that John Holmes performed despite having been diagnosed with AIDS in the previous year, and that insiders close to Holmes did not alert the Italian producers of the film to his illness, in spite of their clear knowledge of this fact.
Plot Summary
Cicciolina (as herself) has been charged by the authorities in Italy with performing an indecent act. She is allowed to serve her sentence as a "social worker", helping people with their problems. Her first case is John Holmes, who is also in trouble after a youth ran into his penis while he was sunbaking on a beach.
After initially teaming up, first with each other, then assisting Amber Lynn, who was the victim of a perverted husband, they decide to split up so they can spread their help. Both Cicciolina & Holmes serve their sentence, and with Holmes due to depart again for the United States, Cicciolina prepares a farewell party, where all of their patients are invited for an all-out orgy.
Strengths & Weaknesses
The film is well served by an excellent cast, led by Cicciolina & Holmes, and either one features in every single scene in the film, and are supported by a very good supporting cast, particularly Amber Lynn & Tracey Adams.
Cicciolina shows her usual penchant for being open to any many of penetration, and also delivers what must be considered not only the most erotic, but also provactive scene of the entire film in the opening scene, where she performs the act that got her in trouble with the law for the purposes of her lawyer's assistant (Christoph Clark). In the scene, she tongue-kisses a toy lifesize baby, while pleasuring herself with a glass dildo, before blowing the rock-hard assistant until he shoots his load in her mouth.
The final orgy scene is typical of the strong sign-offs usually given to 1980s feature films. During the orgy scene, the still-shy Tracey Adams rejects Jean-Pierre Armand's advances to perform in the orgy (despite being treated by Holmes in a threesome with her husband). She is coaxed out of her shyness by Holmes, who invite the other orgy participants to invite her into the orgy by rubbing their hands all over her body, and slowly taking her clothes off. She goes on to have an very good performance in the final scene, having a threesome, resulting in a strong facial & belly cumshot, and afterwards has her pussy licked by Amber Lynn. During this scene, Holmes & Cicciolina largely perform amongst themselves, apart from a small part of the scene where Amber Lynn assists Cicciolina in sucking Holmes' huge cock.
HIV Controversy
In 1986, John Holmes was diagnosed as being infected with AIDS. Although he officially announced that he was suffering from cancer, many insiders knew he in fact had tested positive to the deadly AIDS virus, to which at the time there was no treatment available that could even prolong life. Financially cripples by no longer being able to work within the United States, Holmes accepted a contract to perform in three Italian films, the first of which was The Rise Of The Roman Empress.
Amazingly, those insiders who knew the true nature of Holmes' illness did not warn the Italian producers, and he went on to perform in two films, the other being The Devil In Mr Holmes.
In The Rise Of The Roman Empress, Holmes went on to perform unprotected sex with his co-star, Cicciolina, on four occasions, as well as with Amber Lynn, Tracey Adams, and other cast members. Holmes practised the withdrawal method in all scenes, which despite hardly being a strong preventative measure against infection against AIDS, somehow managed to be effective during the film, as none of his co-stars were diagnosed when they were later tested, with the studio having learned the true nature of his illness.
In spite of this terminal illness, Holmes himself does not outwardly appear ill in the film, a fact that Cicciolina herself highlighted in the biographical Holmes film, Wadd: The Life & Times Of John C. Holmes.
