World Famous Comics: Reefer Madness (Restored Edition)
Reefer Madness (Restored Edition)
Starring: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White Directed By: Louis J. Gasnier Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Restored, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: April 20, 2004 Running Time: 65 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 1936
Amazon.com essential video: Although it was made in 1936, Reefer Madness didn't become a cult hit until 1972 when the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) rescued it from the Library of Congress film archive. Thereafter, it was a mainstay on the midnight movie circuit. And it's easy to see why. The ostensible story involves a group of upstanding young high school students who succumb to the allure of the "killer weed." What follows, as if by natural progression, is a catalog of crimes that includes hit-and-run driving, loose morals, rape, murder, suicide, and my personal favorite, permanent insanity! The action is at times so hysterical, in both senses, that you may forget to inhale. Honors go to the wild-eyed, cackling hophead David O'Brien; his performance reaches a raw intensity that is hard to imagine. One measure of this film's pervasive influence is the extent to which its title continues to be invoked in news stories about decriminalization and medical marijuana. Such posterity for unintentional humor must be rare. A great film to see stoned, man. --Jim Gay
Amazon.com: A propaganda film from 1936 that has become a cult hit because of its dated outlook on marijuana use, Reefer Madness is the height of camp entertainment. Framed as a "documentary," the film is narrated by a high school principal imparting his wisdom and experiences with the demon weed. The bulk of the film focuses on almost slapstick scenes of high school kids smoking pot and quickly going insane, playing "evil" jazz music, being committed, and going on a murder spree. Meant to be an important and affecting cautionary tale, this dated black-and-white film's true value is in its many entertaining moments of unintended hilarity. --Robert Lane
Description: Reefer Madness is a campy cult favorite first released in 1938 as a propaganda film meant to scare America's youth off of drug. In this quintessential classic, innocent teens partake of the "demon weed" only to find that one puff plunges them into a hilarious web of murder, sex, lunacy and jazz music.
good stuff movie came fast and in great condition no problems what so ever
-hollywood
Entertaining propaganda Smoking marijuana will either kill you, drive you insane, turn you into a murderer, drive you to suicide, or at the very least, result in you having a very scary hairstyle. That is the message put forward by "Reefer Madness", an anti-marijuana propaganda movie from the 1930's. The film is heavy-handed to the point of being laughable and you will likely either find it boring, like my mother did (she kept on asking me when it was going to end, even though the running time is only 66 minutes), or so bad that it's funny, as I did.
The plot itself isn't all that bad. It's about a group of nice, clean-cut, high school students who fall in with a bad crowd and includes all sorts of exciting things like hit and run accidents and a court trial. I can see why this film was remade (as "Reefer Madness - the Musical"). However, at the same time I can also see why it was remade as a comedy.
Watch this film with a group of friends and rip it to shreds. After all, that's how this film because a cult classic.
Reefer disappointment The service was great and it was probably my fault for lack of attention to detail among the plethora of DVDs, but I was distressed to discover that this old film has been colorized. It mounts but does not please. I can't even bring myself to look at it. I have a Beta version of the original and may just have to get it converted after all. Buying it seemed cheaper but since it does me no good. . . Color? Blasphemy. Reason for purchase: Years ago, when BetaMovie first came out, one of my sons participated in the making of "Beer Madness" (in BW of course) and I needed to have a matched set that I could keep when I throw out all the old Beta stuff. Back to the drawing board.
Oh, the misery. Reefer Madness (Louis J. Gasnier, 1936)
For some reason, this weekend, there was a treasure trove of old movies I've always wanted to see scattered across our television. I started Sunday night's Depression-era extravaganza with Reefer Madness. Now, I'm fond of saying of bad movies--those with a certain élan, anyway--that they're probably better watched through a haze of smoke that can only be generated by certain controlled substances referenced in the title of this film. This is the exact opposite; while I know it's grown to be a cult favorite among some of my, shall we say, more indulgent friends, I can't imagine a movie being any more of a buzz-kill than Reefer Madness.
It's amazing how much influence Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will had already had a year later; compared to earlier propaganda films, at least, Reefer Madness is a triumph of subtlety and decorum. That said, it would probably have been pulled off a whole lot better (and, ultimately, been a whole lot more dangerous) had the people who put this film together decided to exercise the merest standards in casting for this movie. In a film in which my main outrage should be directed to the absolute idiocy of the "scientific studies" on which the movie's script is supposedly based, I can't find it in myself to get past the quality of these actors. The first scene where we meet Bill Harper (Kenneth Craig) and his girlfriend Mary (Dorothy Short) is so painfully acted that I almost choked. On my water. Uhhhh, yeah, water, that's it.
It only gets worse from there. Honestly, it really is one of those movies so bad you have to see it to believe it. A lot of people seem to think that it's bad enough to tip over the line into that sort of cheesy brilliance one associates with Night of the Lepus, but it didn't catch me that way. Well, at least I can say I've seen it now. *
You've fallen and you can't get up...but somehow you're still higher than a bunch of third graders on Ritalin... Reefer Madness remains a cult favorite to this day. Originally produced to scare parents into keeping their children away from the scourge of marijuana, the film faded into obscurity after a brief while. It was rediscovered during the 1960s when, of course, all types of experimentation and drug use spiked up much higher than ever before. People then found the film to be amusing--and they are right. Reefer Madness was produced with good intentions but quite frankly it's a hoot to watch and sometimes you just can't help but laugh.
This generous DVD offers us both the restored black and white version released in 1936 as well as a colorized version. You can also choose to listen to a commentary during the movie or you can simply watch it straight through on your own. Mike Nelson of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" does a great job with his running commentary. Either way, the film's scare tactics prove to be too lame for today's much more street wise people. If you want to scare kids away from drugs, Reefer Madness won't do the trick. The kids will probably be smart enough to just laugh at all the melodramatic scenes replete with over-the-top campy performances.
Reefer Madness tries its best to tell the story of the dangers of marijuana by showing us a few months in the lives of several high school students. In just this brief period of time they go from being the All-American Boys And Girls Club to being the horrific monsters who actually share intimacy before any wedding plans are announced--and they dance as if they're truly enjoying themselves! Of course, there's the obvious byproduct of playing the piano too fast, which in and of itself must be stamped out. The only truly serious scene in the movie--when someone gets bumped off--is probably the only time you'll experience a sense of sadness at the situation. Reefer Madness also points the finger at organized crime for distributing the drug.
Reefer Madness is best seen in its historical context as an outdated form of scare tactics meant to keep kids away from drugs; and it truly was produced with the best of intentions. However, with the passage of time and with new social mores and norms, the film plot becomes campy and hard to completely believe. The truth is most people laugh at it; and frankly it is pretty humorous, too.
The added short film entitled "Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook" by Evan Keliher is hysterical. Take a close look at that cat's eyes as the cat eats the leaves of the marijuana plant--man, is that cat stoned!
I highly recommend this DVD for fans of cult classic movies and people who want to take a look at how drug abuse was tackled in this country during the 1930s. The movie vacillates between true drama and mostly melodrama; so keep this in mind if you're looking for a truly dramatic flick.
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