CBC - Legendary Sin Cities (2005)

Unique documentary series of 3 programmes produced by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) that separately profile the spontaneous growth, flowering and decay of Paris, Berlin and Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the period between the first and second world wars, Berlin, Paris and Shanghai were notorious hot spots of sin and vice. Debauchery, brutality and corruption commingled with art, culture and political liberties. Tolerance and freedom were pushed to their limits. This revealing new documentary series is filled with rare, evocative archival film and photos which bring to life an extraordinary cast of musicians, artists, journalists, rogues and sinners, resulting in a richly drawn portrait of an era when these 3 cities pushed the limits of tolerance and freedom and defined the social, political and sexual culture of the 20th Century.

"If you think today's society is the reigning champ at hitting record lows of morality and decadence, think again. Surprisingly, our ancestors in a lot of ways have us beat by miles. The three-part Canadian CBC documentary Sin Cities focuses on the most notoriously decadent cities in modern history: Berlin, Paris and Shanghai during the 1920s and 1930s. And if you think rampant drug use, openly promiscuous behavior, sado-masochism and bizarre fetishes are modern phenomena, you may be surprised of what was going in the early 20th century. What made these notoriously sinful cities flourish was a unique gathering of artists, revolutionary political ideas, highly valued foreign money, and an overwhelming feeling of abandonment which was a direct byproduct of World War I's ending. These variables bred a unique tolerance that allowed and encouraged eroticism, permissiveness and deviant indulgences to openly flourish. This documentary does an excellent job at explaining how these cities rose, why they attracted the brightest and wealthiest, how the cities flourished, their ultimate decline and why their infamous pasts are still an integral part of their modern-day allure."


Part 1: Berlin - Metropolis of Vice
Berlin transformed itself into the Babylon of the world. Degenerate cabarets, bars, and clubs catering to every sexual daydream sprang up like mushrooms. Censorship was all but non-existent.


Part 2: Paris - The Crazy Years
Prostitution was legal, brothels flourished. Petty thieves, drug dealers and street walkers packed the all-night bars of Montmartre where cheap sex and cheap booze drew the tourists. The art students' ball took over the streets in a public orgy of alcohol and sex.


Part 3: Shanghai - Paradise for Adventurers
Nightclubs never closed and hotels supplied heroin with room service. No passport was required. Refugees of war, poverty and politics wandered the streets among the gangsters, prostitutes and cops.