Pornochanchada is the name given to a genre of soft-core sexploitation films produced in Brazil that was popular during the 1970's dictatorship era. Its name combined pornô (porno) and chanchada (light comedy).
Pornochanchadas were generally in line with "sex comedies" produced in other countries, but also featured some Brazilian peculiarities. Actresses like Sonia Braga, Sandra Brea and Vera Fischer, to name a few, have appeared in many pornochanchadas in it's heyday. After the end of the pornochanchada era, they moved to soap operas and/or more mainstream genres of cinema. Some even became respected actresses!
In spite of strict censorship by the government at the time, since pornochanchadas were not critical of the government and did not depict explicit sex, state-run film company Embrafilme was usually eager to prop them. Producers became increasingly dependent on pornochanchadas to compete with American films and to guarantee immediate returns. With the prevalence of the genre, the term began to be indiscriminately applied to various types of films that focused on sexual relationships. Most Brazilian movies of the time were heavy on nudity and sex scenes, even if not publicized as pornochanchadas. By the mid-1980's, with the availability of hard-core porn through video-cassettes, the genre suffered a considerable decline. After the end of the military government in 1985, repressive measures on cinema were lifted, marking a virtual end for pornochanchada. I picked a few of my favorite posters to show here, but there were too many great ones to choose from, so I decided to do a "4-part series" on the subject. I will do weekly posts and share with "my readers" a little bit of this part of Brazilian culture sadly long gone.
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