In 1972, a cheaply made pornographic film named "Deep Throat" shook up the United States. It featured the then-unknown Linda Lovelace giving oral sex to Harry Reems so she could pleasure herself. The film clocked in at 62 minutes and was the first of its kind to be marketed at couples rather than shady old men in trench coats.
"Deep Throat" supposedly made $600 million at the box office and was produced for only $25,000, making it the most profitable movie of all time. The money to make the film came from the Columbo crime family in New Jersey and those ties made it even more notorious.
Now we have "Inside Deep Throat," a sharp, stimulating documentary that explores the making of the "Deep Throat," its effects on society and the implementation of obscenity laws in United States.
Co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, whose last film was "Party Monster," take viewers back to a time when porn could be seen only at seedy downtown theaters. They present us with interviews from numerous unattractive people in their 50s and older who experienced the events first hand. The interviewees range from trivial talk-show hosts to the man who prosecuted Harry Reems.
Through this series of interviews and porn clips, a slightly one-sided narrative develops that makes the moral-seeking right look more flawed than the film's supporters. The film would have been better with a little more balance.
The audience is first introduced to "Deep Throat" director Gerard Damiano, a hairdresser-turned-filmmaker who believed hardcore porn would slowly integrate into mainstream cinema. He is presented as a regular guy who took chances in the newly developing pornographic film industry and cared more about art than profits.
After delving into the film's problematic production in Florida, "Inside" shifts its focus to the film's success and persecution by the government. The government picked the highly popular "Deep Throat" as its example in a larger battle against obscenity. The publicity, however, only fueled more demand.
The film was narrated by Dennis Hopper and produced by Brian Grazer, who has credits including "8 Mile" and "Friday Night Lights" to his name. This should give you the idea that isn't an average, boring documentary. "Inside" takes an entertaining MTV-like approach to the important subjects of censorship and government intercession and, surprisingly, pulls it off.
Although I wish the film had dug even deeper into the personal lives of Lovelace and Reems, it is a perfect length, 92 minutes. This is more than just a dirty documentary; it's a short history lesson for those who weren't alive in the 1970s and a reminder of how little the social climate concerning sex has changed in 30 years.
"Deep Throat" supposedly made $600 million at the box office and was produced for only $25,000, making it the most profitable movie of all time. The money to make the film came from the Columbo crime family in New Jersey and those ties made it even more notorious.
Now we have "Inside Deep Throat," a sharp, stimulating documentary that explores the making of the "Deep Throat," its effects on society and the implementation of obscenity laws in United States.
Co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, whose last film was "Party Monster," take viewers back to a time when porn could be seen only at seedy downtown theaters. They present us with interviews from numerous unattractive people in their 50s and older who experienced the events first hand. The interviewees range from trivial talk-show hosts to the man who prosecuted Harry Reems.
Through this series of interviews and porn clips, a slightly one-sided narrative develops that makes the moral-seeking right look more flawed than the film's supporters. The film would have been better with a little more balance.
The audience is first introduced to "Deep Throat" director Gerard Damiano, a hairdresser-turned-filmmaker who believed hardcore porn would slowly integrate into mainstream cinema. He is presented as a regular guy who took chances in the newly developing pornographic film industry and cared more about art than profits.
After delving into the film's problematic production in Florida, "Inside" shifts its focus to the film's success and persecution by the government. The government picked the highly popular "Deep Throat" as its example in a larger battle against obscenity. The publicity, however, only fueled more demand.
The film was narrated by Dennis Hopper and produced by Brian Grazer, who has credits including "8 Mile" and "Friday Night Lights" to his name. This should give you the idea that isn't an average, boring documentary. "Inside" takes an entertaining MTV-like approach to the important subjects of censorship and government intercession and, surprisingly, pulls it off.
Although I wish the film had dug even deeper into the personal lives of Lovelace and Reems, it is a perfect length, 92 minutes. This is more than just a dirty documentary; it's a short history lesson for those who weren't alive in the 1970s and a reminder of how little the social climate concerning sex has changed in 30 years.