It was banned in 23 states.  The government didn’t want you to see it.  Deep Throat was more than just a titillating curiosity, it was the sexually explicit film that ignited a social and political firestorm.  Inside Deep Throat examines the politics and payoffs, the porn stars and persecution of the cultural phenomenon that remains as highly controversial today.

CRITIQUE

It would be hard for many of us today, especially those of us under a certain age, to understand the level of sexual repression present in society when Deep Throat was released.  Without understanding that, it would be all the more difficult to understand the profound impact the film had on society. 

The film itself is of little importance here.  The focus is on the impact it had.  The firestorm around Deep Throat caused this little stag film, shot for $25,000, to become something much bigger than itself.  According to the best estimates, the film went on to gross $600,000,000, which would make Deep Throat the most successful film in history.

The “story” can be summed up quite easily.  Linda Lovelace, playing herself, is frustrated by the fact that she cannot enjoy sex.  She meets a doctor, played by Harry Reems, who discovers that - get this - her clitoris is in her throat.  Once she learns that, well, the rest is easy.  The clitoris in the throat idea was one so absurd that no one making the film really took it seriously; they were just out to have a good time and make a sex flick.  The most striking thing about Deep Throat is that there is so much humor in the film.  Sex films up to that point were largely educational, droll.  They were still movies of people fucking, but their “educational value” somehow excused the whole thing.  Deep Throat was meant to turn you on and make you laugh.  And that scene... that scene... well, let’s just say that Ms. Lovelace was extremely talented.  She could teach today’s starlets a few things about cocksucking.

Aside from that one shining example, there is very little sex in Inside Deep Throat, which gives one cause for wonder about the film’s NC-17 rating.  The filmmakers wear it as a badge of honor, but whether or not it is deserved is arguable.  Simply talking about sex seems to be enough cause for trouble these days.  As much as Inside Deep Throat is about the 1970s, it says just as much about today.

Inside Deep Throat is populated by a strange cast of characters.  Gerry Damiano, the film’s director, started out as a hairdresser before he got into adult films.  Harry Reems was the production assistant before filling in at the last moment.  There has been some mystery surrounding the men who financed the film, but in all probability they were members of the Colombo crime family, the same men who pocketed the lion’s share of the profits.

At the center of it all was Linda Lovelace and her boyfriend, Chuck Traynor.  Traynor was, by most accounts, a scumbag, and he turned Damiano on to Linda and her unique talent.  (Traynor would later go onto to marry and turn out one Marilyn Chambers.)  The people who knew her say that Linda was all the worse for knowing Traynor, that he led her down a dark road.  Linda herself would later go on to become an outspoken anti-porn crusader, going so far as to say that every time someone watches Deep Throat, they are watching her be raped.

At the time of the film’s release, Linda was a big celebrity.  Deep Throat was hugely successful, invading the pop culture and becoming a full fledged phenomenon.  We see clips from television shows like Laugh-In and Sanford & Son that mention the film, as well as lines around the block, and nightly news footage of people speaking out for and against the film.  Lovelace became very big, and she tried to move beyond porn into more mainstream films, moving to Los Angeles and staying at the Playboy mansion.  Her attempts were ill-fated.  If Linda Lovelace was the world’s first porn star, she was also the first to show that when you make your name in that world, it is virtually impossible to do anything else.

Reems becomes something of a tragic figure himself in the wake of the uproar over Deep Throat.  He was vilified.  We see clips of him on television being browbeaten by the infamous red scare lawyer and McCarthyite Roy Cohn, one of the most vile hypocrites in American history.  Reems was facing five years in prison, and might have gone away if Hollywood had not come to his defense.  He was considered for the role of the coach in Grease before being unceremoniously dumped by Paramount.  Reems began drinking heavily.  He made a few more adult films, eventually reduced to panhandling on the Sunset Boulevard.

One of the most striking things about Inside Deep Throat is the cast of characters that worked against the film, so-called moral crusaders who turned out to be anything but.  The biggest of whom was Richard Nixon.  There was also Charles Keating, who also led the fight against Larry Flynt and Hustler before going to prison for a savings and loan scandal.  One of the more infuriating is Larry Parrish, one of the many district attorneys to prosecute the film.  He does more than look down on people who make adult films, saying that, “they don’t believe there is any law... they are prostitutes and whoremongers.”  Parrish later proves how well he has his priorities in order when he talks about how now the time is ripe for further prosecution, “if only we could get some of these terrorists to go away and stop taking up so much time in the justice department.”  The irony, of course, is that Parrish has seen Deep Throat perhaps more than any other single person.

Inside Deep Throat is a strange mix of styles, somewhere between Paul Thomas Anderson and Errol Morris.  Boogie Nights is an obvious influence here.  (Even using some of that film’s songs.)  Later in the film, when the clouds begin to gather, the style and music shift noticeably to something more akin to The Thin Blue Line, the music more reminiscent of the work Philip Glass did for Morris.  The similarities are glaring.  Barbato and Bailey have made other films together, and one would think they would be able to find their own style.  The two are talented filmmakers, and they make their points well, so seems unnecessary for them to need to borrow so heavily.

The film ends on some sad notes.  At the Adult Video News awards, the porn world’s biggest expo, several starlets are asked about Deep Throat and not one of them knows anything about it.  Dick Cavett makes the best point when he says that the film was so infamous in its day for something that kids today do not even consider sex.

But as Inside Deep Throat shows, sex was never the issue, it was the impetus.  The film became bigger than porn, bigger than sex.  It shined a light on the hypocrisy that dominates much of our social landscape.

THE VIDEO

Inside Deep Throat is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and the picture is sharp.  The archival footage looks great, and the color levels in the new material are expertly rendered. 

THE AUDIO

This DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1.  The audio quality here is superb, from the dialogue to the soundtrack, even the archival audio is crisp.  All channels are clear free of defects.

THE EXTRAS

Commentary With Directors Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey: who better than someone named Randy to make a film about porn?  The two directors talk about the NC-17 rating, sex in cinema, making the film and their intentions.  This is a great track.

Commentary Track: a feature length track that uses clips of interviews cut from the film to further explain the Deep Throat phenomenon.  Camile Paglia, Al Goldstein, retired FBI agents and others comment.

The Binghamton: Cliterally Speaking: A look at the New York town that was the first to put Deep Throat on trial.  We hear from residents who saw the film, as well as some of the attorneys.  (7:18)

Beverly Hills: Holly Gets Wood: a look at the film’s west coast trial, told primarily by the judge, as well as the prosecuting and defense attorneys.  (3:58)

Quincy House: Poison Ivy League: two former Harvard students who ran a cinema club at the Ivy League school talk about their arrests for showing the film.  We also hear from attorney Alan Derschowitz, and two former students who witnessed the event.  (3:36)

Princeton: Throat Deep In the Suburbs: the attempt to prosecute the film in this New Jersey county is told by the prosecuting attorney, who refused to prosecute the film.  He saw the film and enjoyed it, and he guides us on a tour of the theater, now a Pep Boys.  (3:18)

Cut Throat: Where In the World Is Bobby De Salvo: De Salvo was the film’s distributor.  He went to Europe to collect on the film’s profits and disappeared off the face of the Earth.  (2:42)

Harry Reems’ Athletic Club: a look at the founder of the club, a fan club devoted to the star of Deep Throat.  (2:24)

The Tucson Trial: When Gerry Met Annie: a look at the film’s federal prosecution in Arizona and adult star Annie Sprinkle, who was then an usher at the theater showing the film.  (5:16)

The Zen of Deep Throat: Erica Jong, Helen Gurley Brown, and porn actresses of the seventies talk about the art and science of cocksucking.  (3:48)

Linda Does Hollywood: a look at Linda Lovelace’s attempts at moving beyond porn.  (3:40)

Legends of Erotica: Remembering Linda: a look at the current owner of Deep Throat and his Legends of Erotica expo.  (6:17)

Firedance With Me: the daughter of Deep Throat director Gerry Damiano, a firedancer, showing off her routine.  (1:57)

Women Against Pornography: the woman who protested Deep Throat (and porn in general) look back.  “We couldn’t keep up with the demand,” admits one.  (2:03)

Linda’s Exit: What’s the Big Deal?: Linda’s daughter, sister, and friend talk about the effect the film had on her life.  (2:50)

Theatrical Trailer: the original theatrical trailer.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Inside Deep Throat is not flawless, but it tells an interesting story.  The film paints a vivid picture of the recent past, a time that mirrors today.  The bonus material is interesting and expansive; the two commentary tracks are particularly interesting.