There are so many classic films that came out by these pornographic filmmakers in the 1970s and 1980s. Before the advent of home video, it had become common for people to attend them with their significant others and discuss the films as if they were a form of high art. From Deep Throat, to Debbie Does Dallas, to an entire series devoted to a well endowed detective, Johnny Wadd, these films paved the way for a more liberal sexual revolution in the United States. Filmmakers who devoted their art to making these films did so with great artistic value. Although the majority of films were done in a time span of a few days, they always had a great sense of artistic style to them. The acting and storylines may not have always been the best, but they were definitely watchable, and had some merit to them. From New Wave French edit styles to experimental angles with 35mm and 16mm cameras, there was a dedication to the art of filmmaking in pornography. When videotape came around, however, as discussed in Boogie Nights, the artistic quality seemed to quickly fade away. People were no longer seeing the films in the theater, they were watching them in the privacy of their own homes on VHS. Pacing was no longer an issue as purpose was no longer an issue. For the sake of keeping this blog PG-13, I will simply state that couples were no longer going to the theater, watching the movie beginning to end, and then going home to 'discuss' what they learned. These types of 'discussions' were done while watching the films in the privacy of their own homes while the film was being screened on their own private boudoir television set in their boudoir VCR.
Today, because rights revert back and forth between distributors so quickly with pornography and it is such a disposable format, a lot of the films have been lost, even though it has been less than 40 years since they were made. There is no pornographic film archive. There are video archives that stream the films from time to time on their websites, and institutions like the Library of Congress and UCLA do keep a small number of titles in their collection from time to time. However, in terms of a full preservation, with a new internegative, I doubt very much that this has occurred for a film like Deep Throat.
Deep Throat is definitely a favorite film of mine, but being a homosexual, much less than its concept interests me. Linda Lovelace wants to hear 'bells ringing' during intercourse and cannot. A doctor, through demonstration, tells her the reason is her clitoris is in the back of her throat. That's the premise. The film was a huge smash at the box office and the only reason was because it was also one of the most banned films in the United States. The more people wanted the film to be declared obscene by the government, the more money it pulled in. Soon, celebrities were going. Shirley Maclaine, Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, and when Jackie Onassis was spotted at a screening, everyone wanted to go!
The film does have some points worth discussing in regards to alternate versions. Beyond having a rated R release to appease people who wanted to see the film but without all of the lewd content, the opening of the film has a troubled history. Originally released by Vanguard Films, the original film opened with a text prologue, including a Sigmund Freud quote, and then went to a long track shot of Lovelace walking by a pier and getting into her car before the main titles start. In 1981, the rights of the film were assigned to Arrow Film and Video, another porn distributor. Because Vanguard Films appears both in the prologue and in this opening shot, both were removed from the opening in most releases, and the more common opening is what you see in the clip at the top of this post. The music varies in different releases too. The music used for the opening in the clip above is different than some other copies I've seen. A rock version of Ode To Joy is used instead while Linda drives around Miami, but I've only heard this music in versions that use the longer opening.
The Italian opening of the film is completely different altogether. The text prologue is in Italian with a different font and color, and the theme music used in the clip I posted is laid against stills of Linda Lovelace in different lingerie poses before cutting to the story of the film. No shots of Linda driving are featured in this version. Because the music used in the original Italian version matches the music in the Arrow rerelease, I am unsure what music was used in the original domestic release. If anyone has more info, I'd be happy to hear about it. Beyond purchasing a 16mm print on Ebay for $1300 or buying the soundtrack to the film (yes, the film does have a soundtrack featuring songs written and performed specifically for the film), it would be hard for me to know this.
The other question I have about the film is the aspect ratio. Different sites have insinuated that while the film was shot 1.37, this was an open matte film and would have been projected at 1.85 in theaters. I have a hard time believing this, though, because if one watches the 1.37 DVD, there is no overhead on the image that could get cropped for a 1.85 release. If the film had been cropped, we would lose foreheads, mouths, and even genitalia, God forbid! I have heard of 1.37 open matte films being blown up to 5% on all edges, but the idea of someone doing that with a cheap film like Deep Throat seems a little extraordinary. Another mystery I have always wanted to solve....
Signed,
The Celluloid Avenger
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