INSIDE DEEP THROAT
Directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato
Certificate 18

NOW that the real Deep Throat has been unmasked (the insider who helped reporters take down President Nixon during the Watergate scandal), the famous film after which he was named gets a good look-see by those nice people who made Party Monster, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.
This documentary on the sex film that marked an era doesn’t go for the gross anatomical parts of Linda Lovelace’s now infamous character.
In 1972, this film crossed over, making $600 million from an extremely small budget.
Narrated by Dennis Hopper, newbies will learn just how the film fitted into the decade and why people were so upset by it. For instance, we learn that it was made with mobster money and a filmmaker who really thought he was making a piece of art.
Lovelace herself is painted as an ambitious woman who would do anything for fame. Happily and wisely from the filmmakers’ point of view, we are told by those left behind – people who were actually there – what it was like, including an interview with the famous porn star Harry Reams.
We learn how important the film is in the sexual revolution; how it challenged the laws of obscenity; how the feminists reacted and also how different the porn industry is today. Although a little light on getting the social background right, Inside Deep Throat is refreshingly light on preaching.
Plus, it is a genuine historical reminder of how far we’ve come in adult entertainment, censorship and gender rights – as well as how far we’ve fallen from the ideal.