Star Rating:

Inside Deep Throat

Actors: Gerard Damiano, Linda Lovelace

Release Date: Monday 30th November -0001

Running time: 92 minutes

Filmed in six days for $25,000 in 1972, Deep Throat went on to gross $600 million, making it the most profitable movie ever made. It was also the first porn movie to go mainstream and the furore it caused still resonates today. Directors Bailey and Barbato have rounded up an impressive array of talking heads to dissect the legacy of Deep Throat that includes Norman Mailer, Larry Flynt, Erica Jong, Camille Paglia, Gore Vidal, John Waters, Carl Bernstein and Hugh Hefner. Their opinions create a contradictory narrative that makes various claims on behalf of the film, which range from pompous pronouncements on free speech to more sobering accusations of exploitation and rape. Linking it all together are contributions from those involved in the making of the film, most pertinent of which is the documentary footage of the star, Linda Lovelace, and interviews with its director, former hairdresser Gerard Damiano. Placing the film in its cultural context, Bailey and Barbato also offer a narrative of how and why Deep Throat was banned in 23 states and the movie's connections with organised crime. While it's difficult to isolate and evaluate each individual's contribution given the conflicting political agendas, some interesting facts do emerge. One, the (male) judge in Deep Throat's first obscenity trial had to halt proceedings in order to enquire what a clitoral orgasm might be. Two, Hollywood produced 467 mainstream films in 2002, while its 'adult' equivalent released 11,000-plus. There's brass in muck, etc.