"Desert Train" is one of the all-time greats of gay porn -- right up there with "The Bigger the Better," the Joe Gage Trilogy, "Boys in the Sand" -- that sort of thing. It's director Bruce Cam at his very best: stunning videography, smooth direction and editing, masculine men, and, of course, intense sex. The hallmark of Cam's work (and of "Desert Train") is that it's both sensuous and sensual. It's also very abstract and dreamlike. Since porn is, after all, a fantasy, this approach adds significantly to the eroticism. The early TITAN videos are probably the most visually beautiful porn videos the Emperor has ever seen. Ever. You can hardly go wrong. And "Desert Train" is the best of the batch.
But our subjects want to know about the action (we DO know our realm). Dark, exotic, lean, shirtless Xavier de Paula is roaming the northern California desert. There are a lot of those big windmills around, which provides local color. Mean truck driver Jackson Phillips passes him by; then the karmic tables turn, and his truck breaks down in the middle of the arid desert. Xavier walks up. Evidently frustrated by his inability to fix the engine, Jackson decides to work over Xavier's chassis. He does it in his usual inimitable style: aggressive, rough, almost angry, with lots of kissing, making out and rubbing of bodies. Jackson quickly fucks Xavier, and after pounding him into the ground until he cums, growls, "You want a ride or no?" After more windmills, their lust surfaces anew and they make out in the truck cab parked next to a moving train -- the desert train of the title. Jackson sucks Xavier, and Xavier masturbates to a gushing climax. Jackson offers a typical farewell -- a rough kiss and a shove out the door at a roadside diner. Now, that's what we call a date!
The next day Xavier is walking nude through the dunes next to the speeding desert train. We wonder what the conductor thought when he saw that. It would have been even better if it was the Caltrain instead of a freight train. Anyhow, Xavier finds shelter in a shady, rocky glen, lays down his clothes on the sand, and sensuously whacks off, while another train goes by.
Somewhere else in the desert, muscular Adriano Marquez is exploring rugged rock formations when he bumps into another Latino cutie, Marcello Reeves. They retreat to a cave for another kind of exploration, and we don't mean spelunking -- spunking maybe, but not spelunking. Adriano gives Marcello a blowjob with lots of suction (like all gay boys should -- take note of his technique). All that sucking wore them out, and they retire through a narrow passage in the rocks. Surprise! It's a scenic waterfall. After a refreshing splash, Marcello feasts on Adriano's meaty ass and fucks him doggy and missionary, but these are two restless desert nomads. They can't seem to stay in the same place very long. So they depart the rock formations for a green and shady glen, where Marcello sucks Adriano before returning to fucking. Marcello cums, but not Adriano. By the time they finished, they must have both had blue balls.
Square-jawed Rich Ryan and brown-eyed cutie Michel D'Amours meet by another rock formation, but this one has a waterfall that gushes right out of the rocks. Maybe it's all that water that's washed away the color. Yes, it's in artsy black-and-white. After lots of making out, Rich digs into Michel's puckered asshole for a sensuous tongue and lip massage. Michel cums while munching on Rich's ass, and quite a load it is (better not dehydrate in the desert heat, young man!). Rich lets loose with his own fluids and pees in a mountain stream. Don't let the E.P.A. see that.
Well, it really must have been the water that bleached the color, because when they move to a new locale, it comes back. Just in time for Rich to sit on Michel's dick and promptly shoot a big load. It's a little unexpected that the somewhat more macho Rich bottoms for boyish Michel. But Michel isn't done; he fucks Rich missionary until both shoot additional loads.
Hairy hunk Eduardo and lean, rugged Brian Hansen rendezvous at an oasis. What, you say? There are no oases in northern California? Well, it's scenic walls of rock masonry and shady palm trees in the middle of the desert -- what else would you call it? They start smooching over a bottle of water, which leads to dark-haired, hairy-chested Brian sucking Eduardo's uncut dick. Eduardo chows down on Brian's asshole, and Brian clearly enjoys it. Brian does the same for hairy Eduardo, who also enjoys it -- a lot. He stays hard throughout. Brian even fingers it, and Eduardo's wet, hairy hole looks ready to go. But it's Brian who bottoms, in the shade of the palm trees. They do it doggy and cowboy, with nice close-ups. There's intermitting rubbing and kissing, something too often missing in porn, as Eduardo delivers a long, loving slow fuck. This is one of Eduardo's earlier appearances, and he looks delicious. He squirts on Brian's hairy chest, and then leaves him at the oasis to finish himself off. (Ingrate!) The movie closes as the credits roll and various hunks walk off into the sunset against a background of spinning windmills.
Need we say that the music is as luscious and as lovely as the scenery? And if you needed anything else to sell you on this sensual experience, the DVD comes complete with an Adriano Marquez interview (from the set of the much later "Sea Men: Fallen Angel IV"), a Jackson Phillips solo, a collage of cum-shots, a softcore montage (kind of like a music video), and a still photo gallery set to more moody music, complete with chirping crickets and the wail of passing trains. There are plenty of chapter divisions, as we've come to expect from tech-savvy TITAN.
A DVD Review by The Porn Emperor
Like "Island Guardian," again, this TITAN Video-to-DVD conversion improves with the new technology. The incredibly sexy Adriano Marquez has never looked better -- every ridge of his abs is clearly defined, not to mention those articulated nipples. And if two hot guys ripping off each other's faded jeans and having sex on the side of a deserted road next to a semi doesn't get you hot, then what will? Moody, brilliantly directed by Robert Kirsch and Bruce Cam, "Desert Train" takes you on a road trip that is unforgettable. The wide-screen DVD shot of Adriano Marquez walking shirtless beside a moving train is both symbolic and above average for the gay porn genre -- it's an image that is artistic enough for any big-budget movie. The fact that it precedes the encounter between the two Latino studs in the video, Marquez and, again, Marcello Reeves, only serves to turn up the heat.
Special DVD Features: Digitally remastered for DVD, production notes, stereo sound, chapter index and no regional coding.
A DVD Review by Martin Cox