click for trailer

Raw 3: Special Set

Evil Angel/Manuel Ferrara Productions

Genre: Gonzo

Director: Manuel Ferrara

Cast: Asa Akira, Manuel Ferrara, Lorelei Lee, Shana Spirit, Bobbi Starr, Andy San Dimas, Toni Ribas
Non-sex roles: Jake Malone and Juan Cuba

Length: 281:08 minutes (142:25 minutes & 138:43 minutes)

Asa Akira

Date of Production: 2009

Extras: The extras were minimal and limited to the second disc of the set, amounting to four photogalleries, six trailers, a helpful cast list, some filmographies, and a popshot recap on the two discs.

Condoms: None

Lorelei Lee with Manuel Ferrara

Audio/Video Quality: Raw 3: Special Set was presented in a nice 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen color as shot by director Manuel Ferrara for Evil Angel using the MPEG-2 codec for the standard definition release with 480p resolution. The colors were accurate in most cases but the footage was shot by Manuel himself (sometimes in POV while other times by setting the camera on a table), giving it a home movie look at times but serving to elevate the chemistry between the couples on display, no one else getting in the way to weaken the bonds. So while there was grain, weird camera work and angles at times, and perhaps lots of opportunities to polish up the raw footage, the title speaks volumes as to what was supposed to happen here and I have to respect the dynamic as advertised. The video bitrate hovered on the low end, often in the 4.3 Mbps area or so, the show pretty solid considering the circumstance. The audio was presented in the usual 2.0 Dolby Digital English using the 192 Kbps and 48 kHz sampling rate; sounding average compared to the video as all the gals could be heard (though the lack of separation and limited dynamic range could also be worked on).

Shana Spirit

Body of Review: Raw 2 was an unexpected hit for us at Xcritic last year, the movie amounting to the top of the gonzo offerings thanks to the chemistry woven by director Manuel Ferrara for Evil Angel. Say what you will about lack of quality extras or technical values, the man delivered in spades the kind of heated fuck flick most of his peers can only dream about offering, the sheer quantity also helping to push it over the proverbial edge. With that, I approached reviewing Raw 3: Special Set with the concern that it couldn't possibly be as good, Manuel opening up his private vaults to showcase some of his most precious memories with attractive ladies of all sorts, ladies that were dripping wet to hook up with the guy. Each was given the camera to play with for awhile, getting all juiced up before encountering Manuel, the build up tease and solo footage enhancing the final outcome. The company website described the flick like this: "Monsieur Ferrara is the 2010 AVN Award Winning Male Performer of the Year. Raw 3 shows us why. For this volume, Manuel invites us into his private world... the real intimate place that exposes how four of porn's most famous starlets fall apart and lose it all when faced with the force that is Manuel: the accent, the undeniable charm and of course the huge cock. Freshly showered Asa Akira reveals her shaved pussy... such a clean girl and yet so filthy! She vibrates her pussy with a big magic wand massager before enlisting some human help... soon she's lifting Manuel's balls and tongue bathing his asshole. She obviously likes those balls because she sucks and gags on his cock until she's balls-deep and the whole thing has disappeared down her throat! Before long her tight Asian ass is split open for a deep Manuel anal probe. Her final reward is a mouthful of cum that she spits onto his stomach and then hungrily laps up as if we needed proof! Bootyful blonde Lorelei Lee won't be outdone by anyone. Her encounter starts with a blowjob in Manuel's car and ends with a powerful cum-blast at point blank range that lacquers her whole face and almost seals her eyes shut... and she loves it! The delectable Shana Spirit, in a scene shot in Paris, looks like the ultimate French Maid with her thigh high black stockings. She wears them while sitting on Manuel for an anal cowgirl ride. You see his cock buried in her ass while he shoves his feet in her mouth and makes her suck his toes while sliding up and down for her butt ramming fuck session. The finale includes a visit to a porn set where gorgeous brunette Andy San Dimas and Bobbi Starr are the ladies modeling some latex kink wear for photographer Jake Malone and treating Spanish stud Toni Ribas to a blowjob that merely serves as background for the real action which is Bobbi and Manuel's planned escape to a hotel room for a private off-set encounter. Bobbi's room service tryst with Manuel includes a kinky foot jack-off (yes, Bobbi's bare feet actually jerk him off) before Manuel works his way up those long legs to her brown curly bush and her willing asshole that literally sucks his cock in and massages it right before your very eyes! Manuel grabs a handful of Ms. Starr's silky hair while he pushes her face into the pillow, plows her ass doggie style and treats us all to her squeals of ecstasy. This intimate scene perfectly illustrates the difference between the professional porn that we enjoy from Manuel and the real life passion that is usually off-limits to the camera. Only Manuel Ferrara would dare to show you the other side... his personal life... the real sex, served raw." Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Bobbi Starr and Andy San Dimas

Scene One: Asa Akira, the sexy Asian hotty so many people have been talking about, was up first as she explained her desire to work with Manuel Ferrara, the gal having shot three scenes before getting on a plane to New York. Asa gave many glimpses of her fine body, even putting on a solo show sans audio in the shower before returning to Los Angeles to lotion her body up and finally jump Manuel's bones. Personally, I found this portion of the scene(s) to be a lot of strokable fun, especially as a fan of the ladies, even though her ability to work the camera was modest at best. Asa rubbed out a second orgasm and was soon up close & personal with Manuel, meeting at 1 PM in a Woodland Hills hotel room to consummate the arrangement. He was looking scruffy in a purple shirt and blue jeans, his ball cap turned backwards like kids used to wear 15 years ago. The camera was set down on the table and pointed towards the bed, Asa wearing a loose fitting brown dress and black thong as she jumped all over him. They kissed and caressed, Manuel going down on her at length. Asa then gave him a prolonged hummer, savoring the experience as she wrapped her sweet lips around his pecker and slobbed his knob. Her eye contact was superb and she provided a skilled blowjob while diddling herself, soon impaling herself on his cock actively in various positions. In return, he choked her, pulled her hair, and otherwise sexed her up, the couple making it clear that they appreciated every permutation of the sex acts they engaged in that day. It was a powerful bout of boning and included some foot fetish action for the perverts out there, her oral skills tested several times as she tossed his salad and bathed his balls in saliva. Heck, she even did anal on that massive dick better than most do him vaginally, her moans appearing to be genuine and the ending mouth pop of genetic juice looking sweet. The scene lasted around 75 minutes all by itself, Asa fans absolutely needing to consider this a "must have" work.

Scene Two: Lorelei Lee, a blond anal queen who admires Manuel Ferrara, was up next on Ventura boulevard when he picked her up at the Best Western Hotel. She was wearing blue jean shorts and a skimpy black top, telling him that she now resides in New York but wanted to see him. Flattered, Manuel drove around while dividing his attention at her flirtations, the couple stopping in a parking garage for her to blow him. Like most car sex, it was a bit clumsy but the raw energy was present in droves, her pink pantied ass high in the air as he fingered her ass. They then completed the deed in the hotel room, Lorelei actively taking his pecker inside her mouth, pussy, and ass. As usual, she cared less about how she look than how she interacted with him, serving herself up in any way he wanted her for them to consummate the relationship further. It was another extremely powerful session of screwing with some roughness included as well as dabs of fetish (like foot work) to give the marginal types something to talk about. The chemistry-filled scene was complete with the unleashing of his population pudding on her face, the gal swallowing what she could gain access too.

Scene Three: Shana Spirit, an average looking blond in Paris wearing black lingerie in bed, was up next with Manuel Ferrara, the scene being the first one on the second disc. He was on her like white on rice, playing with her ass and soon going down on her in bed, her moans coming across as real pleasure. His oral tribute to the lady then switched around for her to blow him, the pair eventually pounding away like crazy in vaginal and anal positions. Manuel did not take it easy on her at any time, though he did seek to accommodate her abilities a tad, slowing down when initially deep inside of her ass but making up for it when she was ready. She did a lot of taste testing between positions and enjoyed his hands around her neck during the choking, the rough nature of the scene providing raw enthusiastic passion even if not technical excellence. The scene ended when she milked his seed from his dick orally, jerking the wealth of spew all over her face, smiling at the result of her efforts before the screen went black.

Scene Four: Bobbi Starr, Andy San Dimas, Toni Ribas, and Manuel Ferrara were up last as the director went to a large house where the ladies were sitting around waiting for Jake Malone. Juan Cuba was present and welcomed him to the location, the ladies joking with Manuel as they put on their fetish outfits. Jake shot a lot of footage of the ladies going at it but they wanted cock, Andy and Bobbi sharing him in between whatever lesbian flick was being primarily shot that day. It was a lot of fun but Bobbi soon snuck out to suck off Manuel in a nearby motel bed, her talented lips showing him a great time as they serviced his dick and ass, Manuel going down on her just as heatedly before choking her during their initial vaginal screwing. Her pubic bush was thick and that seemed to turn him on, her positive attitude making it even better as she offered her ass up to him. Bobbi loved his cock in her ass and she gave him a lot of oral in between positions, working out his eventual load of sperm using her hands and feet to be rewarded with her facial.

Summary: Raw 3: Special Set by director Manuel Ferrara for Evil Angel might not have been quite as solid as the last volume in the series but I had no doubt that people sick & tired of formulaic porn would appreciate this for the quality and quantity all the same. Further, the raw energy and passion exhibited by all the players here (none were on auto pilot) gave it great replay value and strokability, the fun factor higher than ever to earn a rating of Xcritic Pick. In short then, Raw 3: Special Set, like Raw 2 before it, was a tribute to just how well some ladies respond to the strongest current male performer in the porn industry, the ladies singing his praises as they earned accolades themselves. Good work!