Inside Deep Throat (2005)

Directors:

Fenton Bailey
Randy Barbato

Writers:

Fenton Bailey
Randy Barbato

Release Date:

21 April 2005 (Russia)

Genre:

Documentary | History | Adult

Tagline:

It was filmed in 6 days for 25 thousand dollars. The government didn't want you to see it. It was banned in 23 states. It has grossed over 600 million dollars. And it is the most profitable film in motion picture history.

Plot:

More than 30 years after Deep Throat's provocative debut, this documentary examines the legacy that the most profitable film of all-time left on society.

Plot Keywords:

Deep Throat | Mob | Oral Sex | Porn Industry | Politics

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dennis Hopper	...	Narrator (voice)
Gerard Damiano	...	Himself
John Waters	...	Himself
Larry Flynt	...	Himself
Erica Jong	...	Herself
Ruth Westheimer	...	Herself (as Dr. Ruth Westheimer)
Dick Cavett	...	Himself
Camille Paglia	...	Herself
Linda Lovelace	...	Herself (archive footage)
Hugh M. Hefner	...	Himself (as Hugh Hefner)
Bill Maher	...	Himself
Norman Mailer	...	Himself
Charles Keating	...	Himself
Alan M. Dershowitz	...	Himself (as Alan Dershowitz)
Larry Parrish	...	Himself
Gore Vidal	...	Himself
Al Goldstein	...	Himself
Francis Ford Coppola	...	Himself (archive footage)
Georgina Spelvin	...	Herself
Ron Wertheim	...	Himself
Andrea True	...	Herself
Wes Craven	...	Himself
Harry Reems	...	Himself
Patsy Carroll	...	Herself - Linda's Friend
Barbara Boreman	...	Herself - Linda's Sister
Len Camp	...	Himself - Location Manager (as Lenny Camp)
Sepy Dobronyi	...	Himself (as The Swinger Count)
Linda Williams	...	Herself
Helen Gurley Brown	...	Herself
John V. Lindsay	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Mayor John Lindsay)
John Goreman	...	Himself - Former NYPD Officer (as John Gorman)
Mike Sullivan	...	Himself - Former NYPD Officer
Herb Kassner	...	Himself - Deap Throat Attorney
William Purcell	...	Himself - Deep Throat Prosecutor
Ralph Blumenthal	...	Himself
Xaviera Hollander	...	Herself
Carl Bernstein	...	Himself
Joel J. Tyler	...	Himself - Judge (archive footage) (as Judge Tyler)
Arthur Sommer	...	Himself - Theater Manager
Bill Kelly	...	Himself
Peter Bart	...	Himself
Peter Manouse	...	Himself
Ray Shipley	...	Himself
Bruce Kramer	...	Himself
Roy M. Cohn	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tony Bill	...	Himself
Jack Nicholson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Warren Beatty	...	Himself (archive footage)
Susan Brownmiller	...	Herself
Tom Snyder	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gloria Steinem	...	Herself (archive footage)
Jon Lewis	...	Himself
Annie Sprinkle	...	Herself
Lindsay Marchiano	...	Herself
Terry Sommer	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Johnny Carson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jeff Conaway	...	Kenickie (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gerard Damiano Jr.	...	Himself (uncredited)
Eric Edwards	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bob Hope	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Pataki	...	Ziggy ("The Last Porno Flick") (archive footage) (uncredited)
Chuck Traynor	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Fenton Bailey
Randy Barbato

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Fenton Bailey
Randy Barbato

Produced by
Fenton Bailey	....	producer
Randy Barbato	....	producer
Mona Card	....	co-producer
Brian Grazer	....	producer
Ian Mallahan	....	associate producer
Kim Roth	....	executive producer
Ashley York	....	associate producer
Ron Howard	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Benjamin Steinberg

Cinematography by
David Kempner
Teodoro Maniaci

Film Editing by
William Grayburn
Jeremy Simmons

Casting by
Ed Arenas

Makeup Department
Anouck Sullivan	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Beau J. Genot	....	post-production supervisor
Devon Schneider	....	production manager

Sound Department
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Michael Bergman	....	additional sound
Paul Berolzheimer	....	foley recordist
Lance Brown	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lance Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Camello	....	sound effects designer
Joe Crabb	....	additional sound
Thomas Craca	....	additional sound
Stephanie Flack	....	dialogue editor
Bruce Fortune	....	supervising adr editor (as Bruce D. Fortune)
Michael Geisler	....	foley recordist
Albee Gordon	....	sound recordist
Paul Hackner	....	dialogue editor
Joe Hettinger	....	additional sound
Eddie Kim	....	sound effects designer
Kimberly Ellen Lowe	....	dialogue editor (as Kimberly Lowe Voigt)
Del Martin	....	digital engineer
David McRell	....	digital engineer
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
James Azizi Penny	....	sound effects editor
Jason Piatt	....	foley editor
Eric Raber	....	digital sound transfer engineer
Brion Regan	....	sound mixer: New York
Jayme Roy	....	sound recordist
Mark Roy	....	additional sound
George Shafnaker	....	additional sound
David Benjamin Steinberg	....	additional sound designer
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Mark Weber	....	sound mixer
Nathan Whitehead	....	first assistant sound editor
Tom Williams	....	additional sound
James Wright	....	consultant: Dolby surround
Lars Bjerre	....	dialogue denoising (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Orlando Delbert	....	graphic designer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lonn Bailey	....	assistant camera: Memphis
Mark Braun	....	assistant camera: Tucson
Oliver Cary	....	assistant camera: New York
Harry Frith	....	additional photographer
Pat Kelly	....	assistant camera: Boston
Ilya Lyudmirsky	....	assistant camera: Los Angeles
Allan Palmer	....	additional photographer
Katie Strand	....	assistant camera: Los Angeles
Curt Wallin	....	assistant camera: Park City

Editorial Department
Marc Fisher	....	finishing editor
Joe Fontes	....	post-production assistant
Clay Foster	....	second assistant editor
Ricardo Gonzalez	....	second assistant editor
Ryan Growney	....	post-production assistant
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Christine Seino	....	assistant on-line editor
Michael R. Taylor	....	post-production assistant
Tom Wolf	....	head of post-production
Craig Sawczuk	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
Danny Bramson	....	music consultant
Ed Bruno	....	music assistant
Erik Masone	....	music assistant
Angelos Skordos	....	music coordinator (as Angelo 'Pepe' Skordos)
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer
Ronald J. Webb	....	music editor

Other crew
Blake Armstrong	....	production assistant
Prudence Arndt	....	archival researcher
John Branston	....	researcher
Liz Carriere	....	production accountant
Frederick Dechow	....	production accountant
Charlie Dibe	....	production assistant
Leah Estrin	....	assistant: Ms. Roth
Nicole Flowers	....	production accountant
Bill Georgiou	....	titles and graphics
Diane Glosson	....	researcher
Mitchell Gutman	....	production assistant
Alanna Haderly	....	production assistant
Keith Heiley	....	production assistant
Nicole Hickman	....	researcher
Kari Hubert	....	production assistant
Moye Ishimoto	....	assistant to director
Mark Lennon	....	production assistant
David Lott	....	production assistant
Ian Mallahan	....	archivist
Scott Masterson	....	production assistant
Guy Morrison	....	archival researcher
Derek Natzke	....	production assistant
Pablo Pagan	....	production assistant
Miguel Raya	....	assistant: Mr. Grazer
David Schiff	....	head of production: World of Wonder
John Sergeant	....	researcher
Tess Smalley	....	production assistant (as Teresa Reilly Smalley)
Thairin Smothers	....	researcher
Michael Speelman	....	archival researcher
Caroline Stack	....	archival researcher
Lea Stenson	....	production assistant
Michael Zeininger	....	production assistant

Thanks
Johann Benét	....	special thanks
Barbara Boreman	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Jamie Boulton	....	thanks
Steven Corfe	....	thanks
Gerard Damiano	....	special thanks
Richard Dreyfuss	....	special thanks
Eric Edwards	....	special thanks
David Flint	....	special thanks
Elliott Gould	....	thanks
Lindsay Marchiano	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Paul Mazursky	....	thanks
Sheila Nevins	....	special thanks
Raymond Pistol	....	special thanks (as Ray Pistol)
Brad Rosenberger	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Imagine Entertainment
• HBO Documentary Films
• World of Wonder
• Home Box Office (HBO)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Nordisk Film Distributors (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Mediasoft Films (2005) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Quasar Films (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Oy Nordisk Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Tornado Film (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Canvas (2007) (Belgium) (TV) (first national airing)
• Cecchi Gori Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Dolmen Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Dolmen Home Video (2005) (Italy) (VHS) (rental)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Arrow Productions  footage: Deep Throat
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Elizabeth Bardsley & Associates  script annotation
• New Beverly Cinema, The  special thanks
• Something Weird Video (SWV)  moving image archives provided by
• Sony Pictures Stock Footage  footage
• Widget Post Production  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

"Dentro de Garganta Funda" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Gleboko w gardle" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Inside gola profonda" - Italy (video title)
"Mély torok mélyén" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Mesa sto vathy laryggi" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexual content

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | Japan:R-18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Philippines:R-18 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:VM14 | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Denmark:15 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-18 | Ireland:18 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | USA:R (edited version) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:R

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

Inside Deep Throat was the first NC-17-rated film aired on HBO.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Mary Carey:[When asked who starred in "Deep Throat"] It was ah, ah, that woman that just died.

Movie Connections:

References Suburbia Confidential (1966)

Soundtrack:

Brand New Key

Interesting footage, but dishonest

To get the obvious out of the way, yes, the movie's rated NC-17. Yes, it earns it's rating, in part by graphically showing us how DEEP THROAT got it's name.

I have real misgivings about this movie, although ultimately I'll recommend it to those interested in the period or artistic subcultures more generally. It is very well made, with a lot of interesting archival footage. (I especially liked an interview on what sounded like "60 Minutes" with Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and Harry Reems stuck there right between them.) This is a fascinating story, assuming you like the subject generally. And the filmmakers have dug out all sorts of interesting people, including Gerald Damiano himself (improbably whiling away his twilight years in what looks like Florida) and Harry Reems (who I think comes across really well.) My misgivings basically stem from this: the filmmakers want to simultaneously idealize a moment in time and, at the same time, draw political conclusions from the story. I don't think you can do that; I think that's a contradiction in terms. As such, the movie often comes across as very dishonest. Some of the dishonesty seems unconscious: if you're going to idealize the early Seventies adult film scene as brave busters of restrictive social mores, it seems strange to at the same time castigate those who would uphold them, since it's this very act of upholding them which gives your guys their ennobling quality, no? It's as if the filmmakers want to re-fight the DEEP THROAT wars again, without any sense of perspective.

But more seriously, I think the movie shows a lot of bad faith. It's one thing to properly make fun of a ridiculous evangelical prosecutor who spearheaded the DEEP THROAT trial; it's another to make fun of an FBI agent, who after all (as the movie reluctantly admits) was investigating the Mob's connections with DEEP THROAT. It's one thing to celebrate Hollywood's defense of the movie and Reems when he was in trial, but the movie makers rather glibly skate over the fact that Reems's descent into alcoholism was kicked off by his realization that Hollywood wouldn't hire him. As for Linda Lovelace, the movie has convinced me (rather unwillingly, frankly, and I'm not sure they intended to do it themselves) that she was at least pressured into performing in the movie. There's a still of her with bruises that's hard to gainsay.

Most importantly, the movie acknowledges that porno is a huge industry nowadays, but doesn't seem to want that realization to clutter up it's thesis that things are more repressive now. One could argue, after all, that the success of the current adult industry means that Damiano and friends have essentially won. The movie seems to want to say just the opposite, that these guys were doing more artful stuff that isn't represented by current fare, but leaving aside the question of whether that's true or not, the movie begins with a clip of Damiano himself admitting that the movie isn't that good. And the merits of DEEP THROAT seem linked to it's more-busting power, not anything intrinsic in the film itself.

I would have preferred either a straightforward idealization of that adult film era, with Waters, Jong et. al. commenting, or a straightforward examination of DEEP THROAT's sociological impact, which would have meant a more unsparing look at the realities, I fear. As it is, the movie makers try to straddle things too much. Still, if you're interested in the era, adult films or more generally "underground art" you'll probably want to check this out. Has a limited release, but I think will eventually play on HBO.