Inside Deep Throat (2005)

An examination of the infamous pornographic film Deep Throat (1972), covering aspects from the film's creation to its cultural impact.

Directors:

Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato

Writers:

Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato

Stars:

Linda Lovelace, Harry Reems, Dennis Hopper

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Hopper	...	Narrator (voice)
Gerard Damiano	...	Himself - Director, Deep Throat
John Waters	...	Himself - Filmmaker
Larry Flynt	...	Himself - Publisher, Hustler Magazine
Erica Jong	...	Herself - Author, Fear of Flying
Ruth Westheimer	...	Herself (as Dr. Ruth Westheimer)
Dick Cavett	...	Himself
Camille Paglia	...	Herself - Author, Sexual Personae
Linda Lovelace	...	Herself - Linda Lovelace (archive footage)
Harry Reems	...	Himself / Dr. Young / Dr. Schmock
Hugh Hefner	...	Himself
Bill Maher	...	Himself
Norman Mailer	...	Himself
Charles Keating	...	Himself
Alan M. Dershowitz	...	Himself - Harvard Law Professor (as Alan Dershowitz)

Storyline

In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel, "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star. In short, the combined events would redefine the popular appeal of pornography, even as more cynical developments would lead it down other paths.

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Plot Keywords:

deep throat | clitoris | porn industry | oral sex | fellatio | 

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Taglines:

Go deeper inside the movie the government didn't want you to see.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active. [United States] Official distributor's page for the film. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 2005 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Inside Deep Throat

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$88,709, 13 February 2005

Gross USA:

$691,880

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$709,832

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, HBO Documentary Films, World of Wonder

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (archive footage: news broadcasts) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film discusses how Deep Throat (1972) was actually distributed to theaters. Prints would be hand-delivered and employees would count heads of moviegoers and then collect the cash profits from the theaters. This process was known as sending "checkers and sweepers."

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Goofs

Early in the film, a person is shown transporting the film with "Deep Throat" painted one the film case. The case he carries holds only two reels or 40 minutes of film. When the case is opened in the projection room it has grown to a 3 reel case and when the police seize the film a few minutes later, the case is a 4 reel size, the correct size for this film.

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Quotes

Lindsey Boreman: [Linda Lovelace's daughter] This is a picture of my Mom at work in an office... When they found out about LL, they fired her.

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Crazy Credits

1987 Video Rental Income Surpasses Movie Theatre Ticket Sales

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Connections

Features The Devil in Miss Jones (1973)

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Soundtracks

Keep It Coming Love
Performed by KC & The Sunshine Band (as K.C. & The Sunshine Band)
Written by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Interesting but incredibly tedious

If it's possible for a movie to be intriguing and tedious at the same time, Inside Deep Throat has mastered the art of it. Having a famous porn film that cost $25,000 to make and went on to make over $600 million as your subject could make any movie intriguing. But the intrigue wears off about a half hour into the movie. It's clear that the film-maker knew he had a good idea for a documentary but as time went on, he found that there was not nearly enough interesting material to last over 45 minutes. It would have been just the perfect amount of time to fill an hour of E True Hollywood Story, but the NC-17 rating would make that hard.

The best thing about the movie is the vivid creation of the sexual revolution that spun through the US during the time of the film's original release. The life of the main character was also interesting. But these two things don't drive the movie. The rest of the movie may be fascinating, but the story telling is not fascinating. The script is scattered and choppy. The interviews are hardly believable also. Who actually believes that a bunch of porn movie makers who made a porn with such a stupid subject matter actually did it to try and change how Americans thought about sex? They were making a porn! They wanted money, among other things. Nobody sat down and thought about changing America with Deep Throat.

In the end, the movie is something you won't forget, but even a few hours after seeing it I can't remember why I found it interesting anyway.