APHRODISIAC! THE SEXUAL SECRET OF MARIJUANA (1972) DVD
LABEL: Impulse Pictures
REGION: All Region
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 76 mins
DIRECTOR: Dennis Van Zak
CAST: Harry J. Anslinger, John Holmes, Fiorello Laguardia, Billy Curtis, Levi Richards
SYNOPSIS: APHRODISIAC! THE SEXUAL SECRET OF MARIJUANA, is a tripped-out, sex-filled documentary “dramatization” about the benefits of using marijuana. Mixed in with the history of harvesting weed, the seedy side of drug trafficking, information on the medical benefits and even a recipe for pot brownies, are titillating sexual scenes sure to make you “high” with excitement. Shot with tongue planted firmly in cheek (and maybe elsewhere, too), this flick even features an early appearance by adult film actor John Holmes as a businessman who gives his secretary a bit of “dick-tation” in his wonderfully wood-paneled office. Heck, even midget Billy Curtis (THE WIZARD OF OZ, HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER) shows up to give his thoughts on pot.
FILM: Can smoking weed turn you from three-pump chump to an everlasting gobstopper of love? Will getting a woman stoned turn a frigid femme into an inhibition free nympho with a predilection for fellatio? This crazed documentary definitely answers yes on all counts and sets out to prove the benefits of the leafy green as a stimulating sexual aid and social lubricant by delivering a ramshackle assortment of hardcore sex vignettes interspersed with man-on-the-street interviews, weird reenactments, skewed factoids and some fantastically dry narration. The interviews are priceless and most will have you choking mid-toke with lines like "Marijuana is the greatest sexual stimulant since the 12" penis ...and easier to find". One of the four porno sequences features the departed genital giant John. C. Holmes while another features two college protesters on a college campus who take a moment to share a spliff. Sure 'nuff the two end up fucking as the woman looks back on her sexual experience with "my first black" and equates him to yummy chocolate and other candy goodies. There's so much to enjoy here, its got a bit of everything from pot brownie recipes to somehow managing to squeeze in footage of Jack Ruby assassinating Lee Harvey Oswald. Could weed have stopped that, too? I'm not sure but seeing the Munchkin City Father himself Billy Curtis get his cheek pinched by what seems like an anonymous passerby during one of the man on the street segments is just the one of many reasons you need to see this film for yourself for none of my meandering word strings can appropriately describe the pure unadulterated awesomeness that awaits you.
DVD: Impulse Pictures (a imprint of Synapse Films) offers the film in it's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with English 2.0 mono audio and is the first time the film has been properly released uncut with all it's naughty explicit bits intact. The look of the print would appear as though it enjoyed a continuous run for several years at the local grindhouse cinema, it's a real warts n' all presentation with all manner of print damage. It's a scratched-up and dirty affair with an equally dismal audio track that snap, crackle and pops like an amplified bowl of rice krispies. No matter, the film benefits from a presentation that emulates a grindhouse screening. No subtitles or supplemental materials or are included.
