Deep Throat

... that ending left me laughing endlessly, but as a movie, 'Deep Throat' is rather disappointing.

Apparently, this movie was needed in the America in the 70's, so it became something of a 'thing to see', just as we in the Netherlands had the incredible hit 'Blue Movie' (1971).

But when looked upon some 30 years later, one can see 'Deep Throat' is a rather weak attempt to put some sort of story (which involves a woman with her clitoris in her mouth, and the problems (and opportunities) that arise from that) into a porn flick. Rather silly if you'd ask me.

The buzz this movie gets (and it will heighten considering the recent documentary Inside Deep Throat, and a planned re-release of the movie), it certainly does not deserve from the quality of the film. Great songs though! 4/10.

In 1968, the Production Code was abandoned and replaced by the MPAA classification system. Valenti gave producers the option of giving themselves a self-imposed 'X' rather than submit the film for a rating. X was the only one they hadn't registered a trademark. From 1969-1970 there was a glut of soft-core X rated films in the marketplace like "I am Curious, Yellow" and "Inga". However, by 1971, XXX hard-core had established itself in many urban areas and essentially replaced the soft-core X product. "Deep Throat" became a test case regarding the level of pornography that was going to be acceptable in theaters. It was subject to extension litigation and several were brought up on charges including Harry Reems. For a period of time it was declared obscene in New York. I traveled with a group of high school friends to see it in New Jersey circa 1973 and even though we were underage, we got in. Needless to say, with all the hoopla surrounding the picture I was disappointed. It was a typical boring porn notwithstanding Lovelace's ability to control her gag reflex. I've seen better and I've seen worse. The trouble with most porn is that eroticism is both psychological as well as physical. A truly sensual scene requires performance, some motion picture technical finese as well as the mechanics of sex. Few porno actresses had any acting talent beyond faking orgasms and the production value of most XXX features tended to be poor. "Deep Throat" is no exception. Richard W. Haines

I'm in a quandary.

I have list of movies that are must-see movies. There can only be 2 per year.

The "must-see" notion is a combination of best (whatever that means at the time), and most influential. Perhaps if there is a singular advance or adventure, it may qualify.

This surely is one of the most influential movies ever made. It spawned an industry that is larger than movies. That industry literally drove the market for recorded movies and then became the backbone of the web.

It also plays a role — a significant one — in changing attitudes about sex acts, and became a focus for the religious nuts and feminist movement. And there's a side note about the name being used in the greatest political scandal until recent times.

So, surely this has to be on any list of influential movies. But the funny thing is that there is no value in actually watching it. The interaction with it as a movie has no relationship to its importance as a movie.

Rather than recommend watching this, I'd recommend "Inside Deep Throat," except that does a less than stellar job itself.

An amazing thing this: an important film not worth watching.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

The all time classic , the first hardcore porno film to play to sold out mainstream theaters and certainly a very bizzare relic from 1972. A very strange musical movie with campy dialogue , comedic acting , and very weird music including a strange version of the Coke theme in a bizzare scene. The sex is so-so not too erotic and suffers from the extreme closeup syndrome where it tries to zoom in as far as it can til it blurs out repeatally that got annoying but the film itself is a nostaligic funny and campy movie that can be viewed on it's merits as a sex comedy rather than a pornographic movie..definitly the all time cult classic

9/10

Just pick a category…ANY category will do, actually, because "Deep Throat" fits in all of them. It's pure porn, naturally, but also a hard-to-obtain milestone with a cult history like no other movie could ever present. "Deep Throat" made the porn-industry what it is today: a mainstream and very profitable business in which actors and directors get respect and sympathy. And, instead of simply editing a whole lot of boring hardcore sequences together, the makers of this film wanted to tell a story (although a very silly one) with a great sense of humor! Linda Lovelace stars as a poor young woman who can't enjoy physical love no matter what she tries… Along with her doctor (the utterly cool Harry Reems) she discovers that her clitoris is wrongfully placed at the back-end of her throat! The doctor, as well as multiple other volunteers, gladly teaches her a way by which she can enjoy sex after all. This premise alone already is quite comical but humorist value of "Deep Throat" is increased by the playful performances (Reems is having the time of his life), the brilliant music (wait until you hear the title song!) and the implementation of typical but non-pornographic footage that illustrates what kind of pleasure the characters are going through (for example, shots from a rocket-launch when the men are climaxing…). Funny stuff…and Lovelace still looks better than most female porn stars today!