Inside Deep Throat (2005) - (Book 1, Disc 2)
Everyone knows Deep Throat. People who've never, and would never watch porn, know what Deep Throat is. But not many people know the real story of how a $25,000 porn film ended up making almost a billion dollars, almost none of which went to the people who made it.
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's fascinating documentary is an in-depth look at how the movie was made and the huge controversy it engendered. We get the full, sometimes contrasting stories of how the film came to be from director Gerald Damiano, star Harry Reems, and several other people involved with the shooting. Earning the NC-17 rating slapped on the film, we get to briefly see the act that gives the film its infamy. And we get to see a lot of glorious '70's TV footage of people coming out of the film talking about it; the rise of "porno chic", and many celebrities recalling their own viewing experience with the film. (Funniest among them is Dick Cavett, telling the filmmakers he's never seen it and asking if he'll get to see it now.) We watch as censors try to harass the film out of theaters, and some spectacular ignorance of human sexuality on the part of prosecutors trying the film.
Eventually, though, we see how Damiano's somewhat naive dealings with the mob end up costing him and enhancing their own wallets to the tune of nearly $500 million (in extremely efficient fashion). We watch the personal toll the film takes on Harry Reems (railroaded into jail time for being the male star of the film) and Linda Lovelace, who goes from celebrated girl of the moment to feminist poster child to eventual obscurity. (When L and I went to Chiller in April of '01, she was there signing DVD copies of the movie.) And we see how porn mainstreams into what it is today, with Damiano lamenting the fact that anyone can make a porn film nowadays and an amusing visit to the AVN awards and the Adult Video Expo in which several starlets mention how they've never seen the movie.
In the end, Inside Deep Throat is a fascinating tribute to a time before the internet; before VHS and DVD; and as Dick Cavett points out, before oral sex wasn't considered real sex.
Universal's DVD features a nice sheaf of extra interviews and stories of other prosecutions of the film. You'll definitely walk away knowing more about the industry then you've ever known.
Highest recommendation, particularly if you're a film geek like me.
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's fascinating documentary is an in-depth look at how the movie was made and the huge controversy it engendered. We get the full, sometimes contrasting stories of how the film came to be from director Gerald Damiano, star Harry Reems, and several other people involved with the shooting. Earning the NC-17 rating slapped on the film, we get to briefly see the act that gives the film its infamy. And we get to see a lot of glorious '70's TV footage of people coming out of the film talking about it; the rise of "porno chic", and many celebrities recalling their own viewing experience with the film. (Funniest among them is Dick Cavett, telling the filmmakers he's never seen it and asking if he'll get to see it now.) We watch as censors try to harass the film out of theaters, and some spectacular ignorance of human sexuality on the part of prosecutors trying the film.
Eventually, though, we see how Damiano's somewhat naive dealings with the mob end up costing him and enhancing their own wallets to the tune of nearly $500 million (in extremely efficient fashion). We watch the personal toll the film takes on Harry Reems (railroaded into jail time for being the male star of the film) and Linda Lovelace, who goes from celebrated girl of the moment to feminist poster child to eventual obscurity. (When L and I went to Chiller in April of '01, she was there signing DVD copies of the movie.) And we see how porn mainstreams into what it is today, with Damiano lamenting the fact that anyone can make a porn film nowadays and an amusing visit to the AVN awards and the Adult Video Expo in which several starlets mention how they've never seen the movie.
In the end, Inside Deep Throat is a fascinating tribute to a time before the internet; before VHS and DVD; and as Dick Cavett points out, before oral sex wasn't considered real sex.
Universal's DVD features a nice sheaf of extra interviews and stories of other prosecutions of the film. You'll definitely walk away knowing more about the industry then you've ever known.
Highest recommendation, particularly if you're a film geek like me.