|
|||||||||||||||||||
Reefer Madness: Special Addiction - DVD
Length: 65 min Rated: NR Distributor: Legend Films, 20th Century Fox Release Date: 2004-04-21 Starring: Dorothy Short, Dave O’Brien, Thelma White, Carleton Young, Kenneth Craig, Warren McCullom, Josef Forte
Directed by Louis J. Gasnier
Produced by George Hirlman
Written by Paul Franklin, Arthur Hoerl
Visit the movie's Official Site!
The Movie:  But I digress. Told as a warning to parents by high school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll (Joseph Forte), the movie is the story of several high school teens, all who look too similar and have such basic names (Jimmy, Bill, Mary) that it’s difficult to tell them apart, thus easily confusing their storylines. After they are brought up to an apartment for a party they are all given marihuana to smoke. Convincing them to do this isn’t difficult as all of them smoke, so it’s just a matter of passing them a joint rather then a cigarette. Apparently the difference in taste or smell is non-existent, and none of the kids dislike the effects of their new smoke, so they just keep getting more. Eventually one kid is the driver of a hit-and-run and his sister is killed in a fight over a gun with her former beau being charged for her murder who, since he was high, doesn’t even know he didn’t kill her. Others slowly go insane while high, and of course since the film is presented as a principal talking to parents, it has to talk about the adverse effects on grades. The film was made in 1938, so production values were a bit different than they are now. This is quickly apparent as you watch jump cuts, out of sync dialog, and scene transitions that would even make George Lucas wince. The story slowly plods along with a script that leaves nothing to the imagination. If a character says he’ll write something down we get to watch him write it down, even if it’s the only thing left in a scene. Maybe audiences weren’t as quick on the uptake back then as they are now. Nevertheless, it’s kind of interesting to see just how different films were over sixty years ago. Thankfully movies have made great changes since then, at least the ones not starring Paul Walker. The Disc:  This release of Reefer Madness boasts the movie “restored and in color for the first time”. Personally I don’t care for the colorization of older films. To me it takes away some of the movie’s history. Reefer Madness was created prior to color movies, and the appearance of the film should reflect that. That said, the colorization of the film isn’t too bad and is a bit humorous as the production team made the decision to colorize the marihuana smoke as well. Watch as Jimmy and Mary toke up with magical purple and pink smoke! One odd glitch does appear in the movie though. In the middle of one of the scenes, the picture is interrupted with two text screens reading “20” and “4”. They go by fast enough to almost be subliminal, but for reasons unknown they are still there, most likely left behind from the production team who colorized the film. For those like me who would rather watch the original black and white picture it’s available on the DVD as well as one of the special features and doesn’t include the same text screen problem that interrupts the color version. The highlight of this release is a commentary track by Mike Nelson from Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame. Nelson assures the viewer that he is commenting on the film due to his humorous outlook on movies (particularly bad ones) and not due to any experience with reefer. Nelson’s comments, which range from the colorization of the movie to the eating habits of the characters, are a complete crack up and make the movie worth watching beyond the cult status of the movie. One only wishes Nelson’s partner in MSTK Kevin Murphy also had been around so the two could play off each other in hammering the film. The other special feature included is the short homemade movie Grandpa’s Marijuana Handbook starring “Grandpa Ganja”. The short is full of drug humor explaining the (fictitious) history of marijuana and how to use it (an odd choice of a short film to include with an anti-marijuana propaganda film but to each their own). I guess, as I’m a square who hasn’t smoked pot, I just didn’t get the humor in it. So I showed it to some friends who were more experienced in this area. They didn’t really see much humor in it either. Of course, they weren’t high at the time so maybe that’s the requirement to get it. I have limits as to how far I’ll go in researching for a review and getting high is on the other side of the line, so I can’t really say if the short is humorous under those conditions. Reefer Madness continues to be a cult classic and while the colorization doesn’t add much to the enjoyment of the film the Mike Nelson commentary alone is worth the price for this disk. I can’t imagine watching the film without Nelson’s jibes from now on.
Image Gallery for Reefer Madness: Special Addiction
     Comment on “Reefer Madness: Special Addiction”Note: This website is not meant for use by minors. The views expressed in the comments section below are not our own. This section is intended for discussion of the topic in the post above. Disagreement is encouraged, however comments which attack, insult, or threaten the author in a personal manner won't be published. Similarly, comments that we deem to be poorly worded, or wildly off topic will also not be approved and may be mocked. For free, uncensored, unfettered, and possibly dangerous discussion visit our forum.Subscribe to topic comments Subscribe to topic comments Leave a ReplyMAIN SITE NAVIGATION
HOME l ABOUT US l l SEARCH l MOVIE NEWS l MOVIE REVIEWS l MOVIE PREVIEWS l DVD REVIEWS l DVD NEWS l SOUNDTRACKS l FEATURES DATABASE l TELEVISION l MUSIC l GAMES l CELEBRITY l TECHNOLOGY l RSS 2.0 FEEDS l MESSAGE BOARDS l LIVE CHAT l SYNDICATE US l LINKS | CB STORE | MUNCH MONSTER | GFR This site is operated by Cinema Blend LLC. For advertising inquiries, contact Gorilla Nation. CinemaBlend.com is a private, independently owned website which is intended only as entertainment. The views expressed on this website may or may not reflect those of its owner. Don't take us too seriously. Made in Webta Labs 
|
|
March 2, 2007 at 17:48