2003 AVN Awards

VCA Interactive

Genre: Awards

Director: Mark Stone

Cast: Jenna Jameson, Briana Banks, Aurora Snow, Chloe, Sydnee Steele, Lexington Steele, Alexa Rae, Jewel De'Nyle, Steven St. Croix, Flick Shagwell, Devon, Jesse Jane, Gino Grego, Rocco Siffredi, Felicia, Taylor St. Claire, Aurora Snow, Jenna Haze, Dale DaBone, Devon Lane, Inari Vachs, Nina Hartley, Brad Armstrong, Dee, Stormy, Tawny Roberts, Summer, Hannah Harper, Wendy Divine, Eric Masterson, Katrina Rosebud, Amber Michaels, Christy Lane, Aria, Layla Jade, Lezley Zen, Taylor Star, Tyler Star, Brittney Foster, Evan Stone, Jessica Drake, Monique Alexander, Dolorian, Sharon Mitchell, Sunset Thomas, Julie Meadows, Dic Tracy, Randy Spears, Vince Neil, Seymore Butts, Chi Chi LaRue, Michael Raven, TT Boy, Dasha, Bob Friedland, Jenna Haze, Paul Fishbein, Ron Jeremy, Stephanie Swift, Bridgette Kerkove, Mason, John Stagliano, Mark Davis, Jeanna Fine, Nikita Denise, Houston, Ed Powers, Tina Tyler, and dozens of others…

Length: 129.5 minutes

Date of Production: 1/2003

Extra's: 50.5 minutes of interviews with a whole bunch of performers, short hall of fame inductees, 4 trailers for past VCA "best DVD" awards at AVN (Unreal, Cashmere, Raw, Shock), a bunch of direct to award chapters, a short film at the beginning telling you how to win an AVN award (per the performers, directors, and others in the industry) that was a cute poke at the multitude of comments so many seem to agree with about payoffs, hookers, sexual gratuities, and the like

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in the typical 1.33:1 ratio full frame color, the industry standard at this time. For the most part, the picture looked great with very little grain except in a few shots of the crowd where the performers would flash the camera. The audio fluctuated a bit with some people being much more readily heard than others but in general, the stereo English track was clear and you could hear it all.

Review: For all the criticism about Adult Video News (AVN) over the years, it's tough to imagine the industry without this longstanding industry icon promoting it. Whether you're interested in the latest titles, the newest stars, or what's happening with legal issues, AVN provides a straight face for the multitude of fans and storeowners around the country to keep reasonably current on topics of concern and interest impacting them. In what has become the premiere award show for the industry, the AVN Award Show now hits it's 20th anniversary show with the release of AVN 2003 Awards by VCA. Hosted by starlet Chloe and a barely known comedian, Doug Stanhope.

The show is set up much like all the other award shows you've seen, from the Oscars, to the People's Choice, to everything else imaginable. The one difference is the clips of the award winners were substantially more interesting than those you'll see on prime time television. Yes, there was sex of various sorts taking place (in the clips, otherwise you get an occasional flash of the breasts and other body parts at the show) and the DVD serves as a great introduction to a host of scenes from various companies in the market. For this, I have to hand it to VCA that they provide clips of Wicked Pictures, Evil Angel, VCA and a number of other's works rather than just focus on their own releases. This adds great value to the real fan that might not have the resources to go to the show in Las Vegas (every January) but wants to see a slice of the industry all decked out in their fashion apparel (rather than leaving it on the floor), will want to check this one out.

Okay, so what do you rate what amounts to a Behind the Scenes look at the industry itself? While some of the performers seemed a bit out of their element, and others at a loss for words, the overall impression I got was that you'd get to see a lot more action watching this disc than if you were present at the show itself. For that alone, I think it's worth rating the DVD as Highly Recommended for that small section of fans, such as myself, that want to see a lot of the industry at their best.

Summary: In future volumes, I'd love to see longer clips from the winning scenes, and maybe even pieces from the other nominees since all of them apparently had enough merit to warrant inclusion on the AVN list. Further, if a DVD-Rom extra that had all the winners, both past and present, could be included, it'd be even better as a reference disc. This one had the main categories covered, and even had some clips from previous shows that were cute to watch, so I think most of us will forgive the host (Doug) having such a bad comedy routine. I'm sure if you drink a dozen beers, he'll seem funnier but in the future, I hope Mr. Fishbein just lets the performers handle the chore of hosting.