Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Inside Deep Throat (Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, 2005) is the documentary, narrated by Dennis Hopper, examining the controversy and cultural phenomenon that was the film Deep Throat, released in 1972. Deep Throat, directed by Gerard Damiano, was banned in 23 states, and was the target of obscenity charges by the U.S. government. Shot in 6 days on a budget of $25,000, Deep Throat has since then grossed over $600 million, and is the most profitable movie in film history.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is releasing Inside Deep Throat, from Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer, on DVD on September 20. The DVD (released in both the original NC-17 and R rated versions) also includes bones features such as: Bill Maher, Hugh Hefner and others discussing prevailing attitudes about sex; The Binghamton Trial; a Commentary Track and more.
Harry Reems, one of the stars of Deep Throat, provided an interview to discuss the film and the documentary, which Blogcritics took part in. Our question: “How important do you think pornography has been in shaping modern cinema?” The video clip can be streamed here:
Harry brings an interesting point on how misinterpreted the use of explicit sex scenes is in today’s films. Chances are that a film released with tons of explicit sex will receive lots of media attention, but might not necessarily be a huge moneymaker. Harry points to the real moneymakers of animated, children’s and sports films because these types of films are heterogeneous and crowd-pleasing.
Other clips during the interview include Harry discussing the ups and downs while shooting Deep Throat and what he felt about doing an X-rated film (128k, 300k, 700k), his trepidation about revisiting Deep Throat 30 years later (128k, 300k, 700k), his turnaround from alcoholism and drug abuse to a productive member of society (128k, 300k, 700k) and the “real” reason for his participation in Inside Deep Throat – to help people realize that problems (alcoholism and drug abuse) can be overcome (128k, 300k, 700k).
Trailers for Inside Deep Throat can be seen here (QuickTime): 128k, 300k and 700k.
