Deep Throat (Blu-ray) (Intimate) Review

Distributor: Intimate Film Edition Details: Blu-ray/DVD Mediabook Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Comedy Also known as: The Sword Swallower Run Time: 63 minutes (Blu-ray), 60 minutes (DVD) Rated: X Release Year: 1972 Director: Gerard Damiano (as Jerry Gerard) Written by: Gerard Damiano (as Jerry Gerard) Cast: Harry Reems, Helen Wood (as Dolly Sharp), Bill Harrison, William Love, Carol Connors, Bob Phillips, Linda Lovelace, Ted Street, John Byron, John Birch (as Michael Powers), Gerard Damiano (as Al Gork), Ron Wortheim Release Specs: Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (Blu-ray), German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (dubbed) (Blu-ray), English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (DVD), German Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (dubbed) (DVD) Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: PAL Format: Blu-ray/DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray, 1 DVD

Deep Throat is the one adult film that everyone knows the name of, whether or not they have ever seen an adult film. Deep Throat has permeated every part of American culture, even being the pseudonym for Mark Felt, the informant of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during Richard M. Nixon's 1972 Watergate Hotel scandal. Deep Throat was the adult film ushered in porno chic, making adult films acceptable for a brief period. Celebrities, including Jack Nicholson, Johnny Carson, and Frank Sinatra, went to see Deep Throat.

Is Deep Throat worth all the attention that it has received? In one word, no. When compared to other adult films made during the golden age of adult films and other films made by Gerard Damiano, the director of Deep Throat, Deep Throat comes up short, very short. Deep Throat is a lighthearted comedy, with some catchy music, that makes sex on the big screen seem, well, kind of innocent. Deep Throat manages to poke fun at some pop culture at the time while providing some true laughs. However, all Deep Throat ends up being is glossy fluff.

In Deep Throat, for readers who aren't familiar with the plot, Linda Lovelace (Linda Lovelace) goes to see Dr. Young (Harry Reems) because she doesn't hear bells when she has sex. Dr. Young discovers that Linda's vagina is missing her clitoris. Upon further investigation, Dr. Young discovers that Linda's clitoris is located deep in her throat, requiring her to give blowjobs to get off.

The main cast does a good job with their roles. Harry Reems is a natural at comedy, as he has shown many times over since Deep Throat, and does well delivering his material. Linda Lovelace looked like the girl next door, except she gave blowjobs. Carol Connors and Helen Wood do a good job in their supporting roles of Dr. Young's nurse and Helen, Linda's roommate, respectively. The rest of the cast just basically enters for their sex scene or moment on camera to then be forgotten. The sex scenes range from well done to somewhat bizarre but are well shot. In fact, the whole film is well shot, which definitely helps the film. Basically Deep Throat is a slice of life from a time period long past, which may seem dated and antiquated to younger viewers.

In a nutshell, Deep Throat really isn't worth all the attention that it has received over the years. This isn't to say that Deep Throat is a bad film because it isn't. Deep Throat is honestly a cute little piece of fluff that is fun to watch but bear in mind there are much better adult films out there.

Intimate Film's Blu-ray and DVD combination mediabook of Deep Throat is a frustrating release. Deep Throat was shot on 35mm film and Intimate Film has used a high definition scan of the CRI for their release. Deep Throat is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and the Blu-ray shows as being in 1080p and the DVD in 480i. However, it looks like Intimate Film used the existing 720p high definition scan of Deep Throat that was previously used for the High Def Home Entertainment release and didn't create a new 1080p scan for this release; just unconverting the image from 720p to 1080p. As a result, the edge lines look jagged throughout the film. The film contains print damage and artifacts along with grain. The colors in the film look beautiful. The only issue with the release is the poor upconverted image.

Deep Throat is presented with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 monaural audio track on the Blu-ray and with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track on the DVD. The dialog in the film is clear and easy to understand at all times. However, the audio track sounds dull and flat, even for monaural. The Blu-ray also contains a dubbed German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 monaural audio track and the DVD also contains a dubbed German Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track.

The only extra that Intimate Film has included for the release is a booklet with an essay on Deep Throat by Alexander Attimonelli in German only.

Deep Throat is a historically significant film within the adult film industry due to the part the film played in kicking off the porno chic era. That aside, Deep Throat is nowhere near the best film to come out of the golden age of adult films nor was it anywhere near the best film to have been made by Gerard Damiano. Deep Throat is a cute comedy that will give the viewer some laughs and offers some nice looking sex scenes. Deep Throat is worth watching but don't expect anything groundbreaking here. Intimate Film has done a frustrating job with their Blu-ray and DVD combo mediabook release of Deep Throat. The image appears to have been upscaled from 720p poorly to 1080p for the release and the audio sounds very flat.

The screenshots are taken from the Intimate Film DVD release for Deep Throat.

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