Retro porn enthusiasts will drool over The Wakefield Poole Collection, a two-disc DVD set that features the '71 classic Boys in the Sand and its '86 sequel. Star Casey Donovan became a massive cult star within the gay community after starring in the early film; Poole directs the beachfront sex scene with a beautiful simplicity, the men onscreen seeming to actually enjoy each other. Does such authenticity exist in porn anymore? I also got a kick out of the sweetly naïve touches of magic, whereby people appear suddenly and then disappear at the beginning and end of the sex act.

What gets to me is the way this straightforward and beautiful depiction of sex manages to convey the hope the gay liberation movement felt at the time of its filming. A clear reaction (both in title and demeanour) to that notorious orgy of self-pity, Boys in the Band, Sand is a stunning poke at the idea that gay people couldn't have life-affirming, stimulating sex. Also included in this set is Bijou, a film Screw editor Al Goldstein once called "the gay masterpiece of masterpieces."

» Matthew Hays