Ganja and Hess
by Bill Gunn
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Betty Barney, Bill Gunn, Enrico Fales, Marlene Clark, Tara FieldsDirector: Bill Gunn
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-07-22
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Ganja and Hess
Movie Review: Literary, Smart, Divinely Executed
Summary: 5 Stars
Ganja and Hess is one of those movies that, if you have heard about, you have heard it discussed in the terms used by all the reviewers thus far. Throw all of that away. What this is... is art. The story is masterful, the acting nuanced and subtle, the over-arching story intriguing and the "twist" unexpected enough to leave your jaw hanging open as you understand what you just watched.
Many people call this film "confusing" -- however, it isn't confusing at all. It demands that the viewer make the same leap of faith we make when we read a text and simply "ingest" the action, the characters, and the narrative which is not immediately transparent. You are gonna have to work for it. Wait for it. Keep your eyes and ears open and really pay attention.
This movie does display some of the motifs of this era so there is full frontal male nudity, there are boobies of all body types, there is some stark reality, but this is one of those movies I would have loved to have watched as a young kid... but it is, perhaps, not for the youngun's.
James S. Hinton passed not too long ago and so it is really a joy to watch his cinematography... because it is true, this is an ESPECIALLY beautiful movie.
If you have watched too much Hollywood pap and have lost all sense of imagination, creativity... you should probably pass this one by because it is not giving itself to you the way in which you are used (i.e. it is not spoon-feeding you as much as leading you along a path, beckoning you to enter). However, if you remember and like some story with your entertainment, some meat with your movie, treasure thinking about the ways things happen: Watch this movie. You'll never thank yourself enough.
Summary of Ganja and Hess
A landmark in the history of African American cinema and one of the most important films of the 1970s, Ganja & Hess suffered a tortured fate that nearly resulted in its extinction. Briefly released in New York City in 1973, it was originally intended to be a "blaxploitation" horror thriller, but actor-director Bill Gunn (who died in 1989) created something much more complex and artistically expressive: a vampire film starring the late Duane Jones (earlier immortalized as the hero of Night of the Living Dead) that never mentions the word "vampire," addressing interwoven themes of addiction, passion, class distinction, faith, and the place of blacks in a dominant white society. Unfolding on a sensual level that is better experienced than explained, the film is equal parts dream, nightmare, and existential odyssey.Not surprisingly, a film that so daringly defied convention was hard to market, and after its failed release it was drastically re-edited and eventually released to video under no fewer than seven different titles. Fortunately, a single print of Gunn's original version survived at New York's Museum of Modern Art, its reputation rising through revival screenings until Ganja & Hess achieved cult status as a "lost" milestone of its decade. The DVD release preserves Gunn's original cut in superb condition (considering the film's turbulent history) and includes engaging commentary by surviving cast and crew and an insightful essay reprinted from Video Watchdog magazine. And while Ganja & Hess is certainly not for all tastes, there's no denying that its fully restored release on DVD represents an historic occasion that any cinephile should celebrate. --Jeff Shannon
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