Throat: 12 Years After (Blu-Ray) Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film Also known as: Throat... 12 Years After Run Time: 84 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1984 Director: Gerard Damiano Written by: Gerard Damiano Cast: George Payne, Sharon Mitchell, Eric Edwards, Michelle Maren, Sharon Kane, Jerry Butler, Joey Silvera, Joanna Storm, Annie Sprinkle, Marc Stevens, Gerard Damiano, Margo Dumont (as Margot Dumont), Annette Heinz, Nicole Bernard, Athena Star, Kenny Dee, Spring Taylor (as Spring Taylor-Dee), John Roberts, M. Fujer, David Sandler (as David-Israel Sandler), Baby Doe, Alan Adrian, Bill Landis (as Bobby Spector), Sabrina Vale (as Marissa Montiel), Laurie Smith, Dan Stephens Release Specs: Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono (Blu-ray), English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (DVD) Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: Blu-ray/DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray, 1 DVD

The most unfortunate aspect of Gerard Damiano's 1984 adult feature film Throat: 12 Years After is that the film's titling creates an implied connection to Damiano's 1972 film Deep Throat. Throat: 12 Years After is superior to Deep Throat in every way and even with the film's tagline “A reflection not a sequel,” the mind still can't help making the connection, which could reduce the number of people interested in watching the film, unfortunately.

Throat: 12 Years After tells the story of the very different love lives of two married couples whose lives intertwine with each other. The first couple Walter (George Payne) and Marsha (Michelle Maren) have a mundane and inexperienced sex life. The second couple Andy (Joey Silvera) and Louise (Sharon Kane) are swingers.

The story for Throat: 12 Years After is excellent but where the film really shines is the character development; both the non-sexual and the sexual footage works toward showing the characters making the sex scenes as essential to the story as the non-sexual footage. The cast in the film is exceptional, which is doubtful to come as a shock to anyone given the talent that has been displayed time and time again by these actors and actresses. The sexual scenes are excellent as well. From the opening where Sharon Mitchell teases George Payne — and the viewer — to the end, Damiano keeps the viewer glued to the screen.

The cinematography, by Larry Revene, is beautiful with a nice cinematic look, which isn't likely to be a surprise to any viewer who has seen his work before. The sets and locations are excellent. The ending of the film is a bit of a let down though. This reviewer won't get into the ending so as not to ruin it for the viewer. The issue is after such a good film, the ending seems like a cop-out of sorts and a means to make the title of the film make sense. The ending isn't horrible; the ending isn't likely to ruin the viewing experience; it just honestly felt like a cop-out given how good the rest of the film was.

Forget Deep Throat and keep out of your mind any connection with Deep Throat and do yourself a favor and watch Throat: 12 Years After. The film looks beautiful, has excellent acting and sex scenes, and an enjoyable story.

Vinegar Syndrome has done an excellent job with their Blu-ray/DVD combination package of Throat: 12 Years After. Both the Blu-ray and the DVD contain the same content as each other. Throat: 12 Years After was shot on film and Vinegar Syndrome has used a 2K scan from the 35mm camera negative for this release. Throat: 12 Years After is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p on the Blu-ray and 480p on the DVD. The image on the release looks beautiful! The image is crisp, clear, and clean with grain. The colors look great.

Throat: 12 Years After is presented with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 monaural audio track on the Blu-ray and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track on the DVD. There are no noticeable issues with the audio track. The dialog in the film is clear and easy to understand at all times.

Vinegar Syndrome has included several extras on the release. There is an audio interview with Sharon Kane moderated by Casey Scott that runs for 64 minutes. There is “Making Michelle” a 32-minute piece with Michelle Maven. “Filming Throat” is a 20-minute interview with Larry Revene. And the theatrical trailer is on the release as well.

Throat: 12 Years After is an excellent character-driven drama from director and writer Gerard Damiano. Throat: 12 Years After looks at the love lives of two couples and features an excellent cast and an enjoyable story. Ignore the implied connection to Damiano's earlier film Deep Throat and definitely watch this film; it is worth it. Vinegar Syndrome has done an excellent job with their Blu-ray/DVD combination pack of Throat: 12 Years After with an absolutely beautiful picture and excellent audio quality.

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