Inside Deep Throat

***1/2

The version I rented was the "R" rated version from Blockbuster Online. This movie was released at NC-17.

First, I am happy to report the movie was 88 minutes long not the 60 minutes shown on the envelope and at Blockbuster Online.... I had a huge rant on SG about this being 30 minutes shorter in the edited version. I am very happy this is nearly the full film.

I was shocked to realize this movie grossed $600 million dollars. It also changed the way erotica/pornography was treated in this country. This battle of censorship is the main thrust of the picture.

Since the $25,000 budget of this movie was partnered with mafia money, the stars got almost no money ($1250 for Linda Lovelace and $250 for the male star) and the director got bought out early on. The mob got most of this money, and I think if it was going to be prosecuted it should have been under racketeering not obscenity.

Really well made documentary, excellent special features, all of the shorts are fun to watch, and the commentary seems very good although I have not finished it yet... The main commentary has lots of interview excerpts that didn't make it in the film.

I really do wish that "dirty" pictures and mainstream movies had merged more in the early/mid 70s ... Most of the erotica made today is not in the same class as a "Deep Throat" or a "Devil in Miss Jones 1/2" ... Devil and Miss Jones 2 being my favorite erotic film mainly for the comedy (****1/2) ...

A very good movie, very well directed about one of the biggest censorship battles in American history. I would love to say that censorship is dying in this country, but in the Bush adminstration there are new crackdowns.

America should never forget that the first amendment is the core of the nation.

E. Charles Quinn