Mario Salieri has flown just a tad below the radar as one of the few Adult Cinema directors with something to say, not merely a hack cranking out gonzo content or a pretentious "erotic artist" (e.g., Andrew Blake, Michael Ninn). "Vices of the Professor" is presented as a portrayal of a recent real-life Italian criminal case, as part of a video series titled "Cronaca Nera", literally Black Chronicle. In a very odd way this makes Salieri the porn correlative to mainstream directors Francesco Maselli and Marco Bellocchio (latter having stepped over the porno line just once memorably with his Maruschka Detmers erotic classic "Devil in the Flesh".
Story is set in a Milan courtroom with flashbacks, latter providing explicit sex. The prof stands accused of abusing his students, The wonderful actress Selen, of many a Joe D'Amato starring role, participates in an orgy and has a d.p., likely the highlight of the show.
Salieri uses distorting lenses and odd camera angles to stylize the show, ending up in a conviction with real-life prof supposedly sentenced to 6 years in prison in 1993. An unusual approach to pornography, which makes me eager to watch Salieri's more elaborate period drama "C.K.P".
