Reefer Madness (Restored Edition) |  | Director: Louis J. Gasnier
Actors: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $1.96
as of 11/24/2009 02:31 CST details
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New (10) Used (24) from $1.96
Seller: allgamesomefunk
Rating:  83 reviews
Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Restored
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 65 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D2220246D
UPC: 024543102465
EAN: 0024543102465
Theatrical Release Date: 1936
Release Date: April 20, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
Although it was made in 1936, Reefer Madness didn't become a cult hit until 1972 when the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) rescued it from the Library of Congress film archive. Thereafter, it was a mainstay on the midnight movie circuit. And it's easy to see why. The ostensible story involves a group of upstanding young high school students who succumb to the allure of the "killer weed." What follows, as if by natural progression, is a catalog of crimes that includes hit-and-run driving, loose morals, rape, murder, suicide, and my personal favorite, permanent insanity! The action is at times so hysterical, in both senses, that you may forget to inhale. Honors go to the wild-eyed, cackling hophead David O'Brien; his performance reaches a raw intensity that is hard to imagine. One measure of this film's pervasive influence is the extent to which its title continues to be invoked in news stories about decriminalization and medical marijuana. Such posterity for unintentional humor must be rare. A great film to see stoned, man. --Jim Gay
Amazon.com
A propaganda film from 1936 that has become a cult hit because of its dated outlook on marijuana use, Reefer Madness is the height of camp entertainment. Framed as a "documentary," the film is narrated by a high school principal imparting his wisdom and experiences with the demon weed. The bulk of the film focuses on almost slapstick scenes of high school kids smoking pot and quickly going insane, playing "evil" jazz music, being committed, and going on a murder spree. Meant to be an important and affecting cautionary tale, this dated black-and-white film's true value is in its many entertaining moments of unintended hilarity. --Robert Lane
Description
Reefer Madness is a campy cult favorite first released in 1938 as a propaganda film meant to scare America's youth off of drug. In this quintessential classic, innocent teens partake of the "demon weed" only to find that one puff plunges them into a hilarious web of murder, sex, lunacy and jazz music.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 83
 So bad, it's funny November 24, 2009
JLind555
Reefer Madness, made as an exploitation film in 1936, would have us believe that marijuana is the devil's weed from hell. Worse than heroin! Worse than cocaine! Marijuana will blow your brain, shrivel your soul, and land you smack-dab into a nuthouse or a cemetery!
According to the prologue, marijuana was rampaging through the high schools in 1936 and was about to undermine the foundations of the Republic. Here we meet Bill and Mary, two squeaky-clean kids (well, they're supposed to be kids but they look like they're on the far side of twenty-five) who get drawn into a marijuana den and suffer all kinds of dire consequences. A kid stoned on pot drives down the street like a bat out of hell and runs down a pedestrian, all the while laughing like a maniac. The good girl is shot dead and the good boy is framed while zonked out of his cranium. The good boy is seduced by the bad woman, who ends up taking a swan dive from the courthouse window as penance for her sins. The requisite courthouse climax neatly ties up all the loose ends. Every cliché you can think of is piled into the movie, all in the space of sixty-six minutes.
The movie is god-awful, over-acted, over-played and over-dramatized, and the hysteria rolls along at a fever pitch, but in light of what has been known for years about marijuana (it's not physically addicting nor does it cause people to suddenly start dancing like whirling dervishes or slaughter their families under the influence), it's all so over the top that all you can do is sit back and laugh at the silliness. Watch this movie some night when you're bored out of your gourd and need a few giggles. On that score, at least, it delivers.
Judy Lind
 Classic manipulation of people, reality and groups by the government September 7, 2009
S. Howes (USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
What else is there to say about this classic? When in doubt, manipulate and distort the truth to blame others and fit your needs. The government is a master of this craft. I love my country. The government has not always represented our best image as a great nation. Be informed or be left in the dark. Education is the innoculation for ignorance.
 Absolutely hilarious and by far the greatest example... May 29, 2009
Gordon
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
of a cult-classic movie out there...
This is the version to own!!! This movie is amazing in that nearly all of the claims made by it our completely fabricated and wrong. This gem was made by a special interest church group in 1936 about the pitfalls of smoking "reefers". This version is awsome because you get a colorized version as well. I have to admit though, it is much better in B&W but the color version offers some crazy scenes. The best are when they are smoking. The smoke colors are pastel and look really wacked out.
The premise is that if you smoke mary jane, you will go crazy and end up committing heinous crimes like running over a stranger and shooting your sister in the stomach...LMAO
This film is downright hilarious and a must own if you love cult-classics or if you want a prime example of propaganda.
Mike Nelson sans his robot friends, Murderous Pot Heads April 25, 2009
Jason R. Korsiak (Spring Hill, FL)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
'Reefer Madness' opens with a long scrolling prologue, outlining some of the dangers of 'marihuana,' its various 'soul-destroying' aspects including uncontrollable laughter, violent outbursts, and incurable insanity. It began as a simple morality piece produced by a church, but was taken over by one of the most infamous exploitation directors of the 30's.
Simply put, 'Reefer Madness' is terrible. It is one of the worst movies ever made. It had no artistic directorial style, dry dialogue, and inconsistent pace, and worst of all a complete lack of understanding about its subject matter. According the the filmmakers, marijuana users are uncontrollable, amoral, cackling madmen. One segment of dialogue even speaks of a young boy, a "marijuana addict" who, under the influence of the drug, butchered his family with an axe.
However, the film (terrible as it may be) is one of those films that are so terrible they are a joy to watch for the hilarity they bring. It is by far on the funniest non-comedies I have ever seen.
What makes the viewing of this film all the more rich is the masterful construction of this DVD. It gives us a somewhat remastered print, rendered in dizzying psychedelic color (with the black and white presentation for all those purists out there), and most important a commentary track by Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Mike Nelson.
If you are a fan of either the movie itself, or MST3K, this is a must own.
Also, important to note, this dvd is NOT for the musical version, it is for the original 1930's film.
SEXY! December 23, 2008
wally gator (USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have always been baffled by the anti-pot movies of the thirties. I feel like, perhaps, the message is percieved in backwards. The women in these things are always so sexy. And completely wild and out of control. Rawrrr.
The message in Reefer Madness is this; Take the classiest dames you can muster up, and give 'em a puff of that wacky weed. Soon they will be laughing and peeling clothes off left and right beyond all bounds. The more the merrier. Right?
Anyways... I love a good cult flick as much as the next, but in all truth, this movie is fun once, and then you'll probably never have any interest again. I wish there were more thirties girls wriggling around in smoke ecstacy, and possibly a few more crazed murderers... plus theres way too many feds involved, being all dead pan and whatnot. I'm just on board for the sexy aspect, you know... and maybe the laughs. However, this is still a good "deal" when you consider the Mystery Science Theater commentary features (bonus feature, Reefer Madness gets MST3K'd, yo!) and also the colorized option, which is so overly colorized, you may think that somebody laced your stuff when you're watching it. For the extras, I will give this DVD five tokes, and a chest cough. Check it out.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 83
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