Lasse Braun (born Alberto Ferro; 11 January 1936 – 16 February 2015) was an Italian pornographer, film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and researcher.
He initially produced so-called loops, ten-minute
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
movies that he sold to
Reuben Sturman
Reuben Sturman (August 16, 1924 – October 27, 1997), sometimes referred as the "Walt Disney of Porn", was an American pornographer and businessman from Ohio, who co-founded sex toys company Doc Johnson. He was featured as a subject in Eric Sch ...
, who distributed them to 60,000 American
peep show
A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot.
Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...
booths. In the 1970s, Braun produced and directed several lavish pornographic movies. He also wrote erotic novels and thrillers.
Lasse Braun is the father of American pornographer
Axel Braun
Axel Braun (born Alessandro Re) is an Italian-American adult film producer and director known for his productions of pornographic parodies.
The son of Lasse Braun, he is an AVN Hall of Fame, XRCO Hall of Fame and NightMoves Hall of Fame inductee ...
.
Life
Braun was born into a wealthy, aristocratic Italian family as Alberto Ferro, and was destined to become a
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
, following in his father's footsteps. He passed all of his
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
exams at the State University of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
(1956–63), and while preparing the defense of his
doctoral dissertation
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
entitled ''Judiciary Censorship in the Western World'', its contents and underlying radical ideas provoked so much controversy that it was promptly dismissed.
A
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
from
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
translated the thesis into
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
; and the translation laid the foundation for the legalisation of
pornography in Denmark
The first country in the world to legitimize pornography was Denmark in 1967. That year, the country legalized pornographic literature. Subsequently, on July 1, 1969, Denmark became the first nation in the world to legalize pictorial and audiovisu ...
on 4 June 1969.
Braun placed himself firmly in the tradition of 18th century pornographers such as
Rétif de la Bretonne
Nicolas Restif de la Bretonne, born Nicolas-Edme Rétif or Nicolas-Edme Restif (; 23 October 1734 – 3 February 1806), also known as Rétif, was a French novelist. The term '' retifism'' for shoe fetishism was named after him (an early nov ...
, who was the first author to coin the word "pornography" in his plea for the institutionalisation of
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
s in ''Le Pornographe'' (1769) and to describe a comprehensive range of sexual variations in ''L'Anti-Justine ou les Délices de l'Amour'' (1798).
Another source of inspiration for Braun consisted of the
Priapistic rituals and orgiastic festivals of the
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
cult, as well as ceremonies in veneration of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
(Porne), the
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
of lust and patroness of courtesans. According to Braun,
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
itself is obscene, and the suppression of sexual desire by the political and religious establishment over the centuries has only led to psychological damage and frustration.
In the early 1960s, Braun started to use his father's ''Corps Diplomatique'' number-plates to smuggle pornographic magazine into Italy, first from Monaco and then from Brussels.
In 1966 he began to shoot his own short pornographic films on
8mm and distributed them all over Europe. When the Italian authorities came after him, he moved to Sweden; he was eventually sentenced in absentia to 2.5 years in prison.
Beginning in 1972, he sold his loops to
Reuben Sturman
Reuben Sturman (August 16, 1924 – October 27, 1997), sometimes referred as the "Walt Disney of Porn", was an American pornographer and businessman from Ohio, who co-founded sex toys company Doc Johnson. He was featured as a subject in Eric Sch ...
in the US.
In the early 1970s, Braun moved to the Netherlands and began to make several full-length pornographic films.
Having withdrawn from the world of pornography out of disappointment with the purely commercial approach of American distributors and the resulting inferiority of
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
productions, Braun dedicated himself to writing scientific works on
sexology
Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism.
Sexologists app ...
(''L'impeto di Venere'', dealing with the
G-spot
The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot (for German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg), is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female ejac ...
) and on
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, erotic historical
novels
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
, erotic thrillers, a study of
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
, and his
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
. In his 740-page novel ''Lady Caligula'', Braun goes against the grain by portraying Caligula as a brilliant character, instead of the deranged
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
described in
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...
's ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' and in
I, Claudius
''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roma ...
.
Braun died from complications of
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
on February 16, 2015 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy at the age of 78.
Movie career
In 1972, Braun moved to the Dutch town of
Breda
Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
, where he bought an old meat factory, to be renovated as his headquarters. Using women he had become acquainted with in European bars and discothèques, Braun produced his longer movies starring the Brigitte Maier, Nathalie Morin and
Catherine Ringer
Catherine Ringer (, born 18 October 1957 in Suresnes, France) is a French singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, choreographer, actress, and co-founder of the pop rock group Les Rita Mitsouko. She is also the daughter of ...
.
In the U.S., Sturman was prosecuted for obscenity over Braun's 1972 movie ''Cake Orgy,'' but was acquitted. Three of Braun's films, ''Penetration'' (1972), ''Sensations'' (1975) and ''Body Love'' (1977), (the latter featuring a
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
composed by
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Cosmic Jokers ...
) were shown during the
Cannes film festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.
Braun's movies differ markedly from the traditional so-called stag films made from 1916 onwards; storylines featuring
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
invasions,
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
spoofs, and exotic locales such as
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
islands, the Dutch
Groeneveld Castle Groeneveld ("green field" in the Dutch language) may refer to:
* Groeneveld, Netherlands, a former municipality
* Groeneveld (elm hybrid)
* Groeneveld (estate), a former Dutch colonial estate in Jakarta.
* Groeneveld (surname)
* 1674 Groeneveld, an ...
and an
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
, not to mention props such as chocolate cake, champagne and bananas contributed to a more playful and relaxed atmosphere than commonly seen in this inherently limited genre.
![AmsterdamLasseBraun1977](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/AmsterdamLasseBraun1977.jpg)
After his ''French Blue'' had been shown at the Amsterdam cinema of ''City 2'' from June until December 1977, Braun was offered a five-year contract to extend its run along with ''Sensations'', but the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
Dries van Agt
Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; born 2 February 1931) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of t ...
terminated the public showing of pornographic movies by reintroducing an 1880 Law concerning fire hazard at public theatres that happened to contain more than fifty seats. Disillusioned, Braun decamped to Italy, where he made a number of softporn movies. Facing several lawsuits on charges of obscenity, Braun countered by arguing that recording the licit act of consensual sex on film could not be condemned as illicit. His only known son,
Axel Braun
Axel Braun (born Alessandro Re) is an Italian-American adult film producer and director known for his productions of pornographic parodies.
The son of Lasse Braun, he is an AVN Hall of Fame, XRCO Hall of Fame and NightMoves Hall of Fame inductee ...
, continued the family trade in the United States of America, after obtaining a doctorate in Psychology.
In 1980, Lasse Braun's former wife burnt his entire photo and movie archive out of fear for an impending police raid, but Braun managed to retrieve three major movies and thirty short films with the help of collectors, and re-mastered the collection on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
. He appeared in the
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
series ''Pornography: A Secret History of Civilisation'' (1999) and in a documentary about himself, ''I, the King of Porn ... the Adventurous Life of Lasse Braun'' (2001).
In 1999, Lasse Braun became the first European movie director to have been inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame by
Adult Video News
''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. ''The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what '' Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...
. His son,
Axel Braun
Axel Braun (born Alessandro Re) is an Italian-American adult film producer and director known for his productions of pornographic parodies.
The son of Lasse Braun, he is an AVN Hall of Fame, XRCO Hall of Fame and NightMoves Hall of Fame inductee ...
, followed in his footsteps becoming the only other European movie director to have been inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame by
Adult Video News
''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. ''The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what '' Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...
in 2011. His grandson, Rikki Braun, made his directing debut in 2017 with the feature ''Exposed'', which earned him seven AVN Award nominations including Best Director.
In 2019 Lasse Braun was awarded a posthumous AVN Best Screenplay Award for the movie ''The Possession of Mrs. Hyde'', which he co-wrote with his son Axel Braun and his grandson Rikki Braun. The movie took home a total of five AVN awards, including Movie of the Year.
Partial filmography
*''Intrigue'' (1999)
*''Possession'' (1998)
*''Night and Day'' (1998)
*''Diamonds Are for Pleasure'' (1996)
*''Tender Blue Eyes'' (1992)
*''Un Folle Amore'' (1989)
*''American Desire'' (1981)
*''Sex Maniacs'' (1977)
*''Body Love'' (1977)
*''Love Inferno'' (1977)
*''Satin Party'' (1977)
*''Sensations'' (1975)
*''French Blue'' (1974, originally named ''Penetration'')
*''Close-Up'' (1973)
*''Cake Orgy'' (1972)
Books by Lasse Braun
* ''Lady Caligula'' (1999) - erotic historic novel
* ''L'impeto di Venere -'' study of female orgasm and the G-spot
* ''Le notti di Palermo'' (2008) - mystery
* ''Lo scialle giallo'' (2004) - a history of prostitution
* ''Senza Tregua'' (2010) - autobiography
References
External links
*
*
*The Rialto Report (2015)
Lasse Braun Interview – Part 1: The Early Years of a TrailblazerLasse Braun Interview – Part 2:The American Years
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Lasse
1936 births
2015 deaths
Deaths from diabetes
Italian film directors
Italian pornographic film directors
Italian pornographic film producers
20th-century Italian novelists