List of Playboy videos
Playboy Videos are a series of videos released by
Playboy Enterprises, Inc., the publishers of
Playboy magazine. The output of new
Playboy videos has greatly curtailed since 2002, new releases such as
No Boys Allowed 3 contain recycled footage shot for earlier videos. However, the production of the video Playmate calendar, the Playmate of the Year video, and the anniversary video series still continues.
Recently,
Playboy has begun to release collections of the video calendars under the title
Playmate DVD Calendar Collection. Currently, two have been released:
The '90s (which also includes the 1987–1989 video calendars as a "bonus", and the 2000–2005 calendar collection. These collect the video calendars, but do not include the bonus features found in the later DVD calendars.
The first twelve videos, titled
Playboy Video Magazine, were produced during the years 1982–1987. They borrowed the format of the magazine itself and included interviews, essays, feature articles, and pictorials of beautiful women.
In
1987 the magazine format was dropped and replaced by the video
playmate calendar series which focused on the playmates themselves and did not try to imitate the content of the magazine. Although the months assigned to the playmates in the videos are not the same as the months in which they appear in the magazine, all playmates from 1987 have appeared in a playmate video calendar. Playmates of the year have also appeared in a special video profile dedicated just to themselves.
Each video begins with the voice of Neil Ross, the narrator for most of
Playboy's productions, saying:
"Since 1958
Playboy calendars have been prized collector's items. Over the years Playmates have appeared in this favorite form of
pinup art. Now for your home viewing pleasure,
Playboy continues this tradition, as the playmates come alive in this edition of the (year) Playmate video calendar."
With (year) replaced by the year of the calendar.
The video profile of a playmate is shot at the same time that her magazine centerfold and pictorial are photographed. These usually consist of three or four vignettes reflecting the personality and persona of the playmate and an interview is also conducted at the same time to serve as in introduction to her viewers. Two of the vignettes are then chosen to be included as part of her video playmate profile. The very first playmate to appear in a playmate video calendar was
Cherie Witter, Miss January 1987 (having been Miss February 1985 in the magazine).
In the early video Playmate calendars, a significant amount of time was given to each Playmate to introduce herself, two or three minutes were spent on describing her aspirations and goals. This was then followed by a nude profile.
Every year, a Playmate of the Year (PMOY) is chosen by
Playboy magazine. At the same time as the PMOY photo shoot, a video is filmed to commemorate the occasion. The scenes in the video are filmed in the same style as the calendar profiles and include interviews not only with the Playmate herself but also sometimes her family and the photographers who shot the pictorials. In
Karen McDougal's 1998 PMOY video centerfold, a segment was presented in the
Pop-up Video format made popular by
VH1 at the time.
Playboy launched its
Sexy Lingerie series in 1988, featuring Playmates and other models in
lingerie. In the earlier titles of the series, Playmates were shown in static poses which, although artistic, tended to make them appear distant.
Sexy Lingerie II–VI continued where the first video left off. However, in later titles, the
Playmates were allowed to be more fluid, such as showing them walking a cat walk or dancing.
A final video called
Club Lingerie was produced in 1999 which, although not matching in title to other videos in the series, had much of the same content.
The
Wet and Wild series, launched in 1989, features Playmates in various liquid environments, such as
pools,
bathtubs,
hot tubs,
saunas,
fountains,
water beds,
milk,
champagne,
beer,
massage oil,
glycerine,
chocolate syrup, and ersatz
creme de cacao.
Playboy produced a total of ten videos in the
Wet & Wild series.
Although the majority of sequences in the early videos of the series maintained a sense of depicting the
female figure as a works of art, some sequences could be described as appealing to
aquaphiliacs.
Wet and Wild IV showed an unusual development by Playboy. One scene depicts
Tanya Beyer taking part in a simulated sex scene — a departure for Playboy at the time. All videos up to this point only showed activities which were seemingly unrelated to
sexual activity. But even here the scene was relatively tame in comparison to some scenes in mainstream
Hollywood films such as
Showgirls or
Wild Things.
Volumes VI to IX were based loosely on several different themes including the women's
locker room (
Wet and Wild VI), hot holidays (
Wet and Wild VII), women's
buttocks (
Wet and Wild VIII), and finally the season of
summer (
Wet & Wild: Slippery When Wet).
The final video in the series,
Wet and Wild Live! Backstage Pass, was released in 2002.
The following women have been featured in their own celebrity centerfold videos:
*
Pamela Anderson*
Jenny McCarthy*
Dian Parkinson*
Shannon Tweed*
LaToya JacksonThe following playmates have appeared in their own anniversary video profiles:
*
Fawna MacLaren â€" 40th Anniversary
*
Jaime Bergman â€" 45th Anniversary
*
Colleen Shannon â€" 50th Anniversary
|
Pompeo Posar speaking about Jenny McCarthy in an interview on The Best of Jenny McCarthy |
Playboy has produced several
Best of videos. These have collected segments either featuring a specific Playmate (e.g.,
The Best of Jenny McCarthy), from a Playboy TV show (e.g.,
The Best of Night Calls), or from a Playboy video series (e.g.,
The Best of Wet & Wild).
In a rare appearance in front of the camera,
Pompeo Posar, who was a
Playboy photographer for more than 36 years and took more than 75 centerfolds for the magazine, appeared in
The Best of Jenny McCarthy.
A recurring feature in the magazine is "Girls of" (or sometimes "Women of"), where the women involved are chosen according to a theme (often all working for a particular organization). Playboy has also produced several videos following the same idea -- the most recent ones being done in conjunction with the magazine features.
* The Girls of the Cabaret Royale
* Girls of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
* The Girls of Hawaiian Tropic: Naked in Paradise
* Girls of Hedonism, Runaway Bay Jamaica
* Girls of Hooters
* Girls of the Internet
* Girls of Mardi Gras
* Girls of McDonald's
* Girls of Radio: Talk, Rock and Shock
* Girls of Reality TV
* The Girls of Scores
* Girls of South Beach
* Girls of Spring Break
* Women of Color
* Women of Enron
* Women of Fear Factor
* Women of Starbucks
* Women of Wal-Mart
