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Reefer Madness |  | Actors: Dave O' Brien, Dorothy Short
Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $0.66
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Rating:  82 reviews
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 70 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 096009000592
EAN: 0096009000592
Theatrical Release Date: January 6, 2000
Release Date: January 6, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
Product Description
This huge cult classic released in 1936 revolves around the dangers of ""marijuana addiction,"" highlighting the magnified symptoms of marijuana use, which leads the film's main characters down a road of mischief and mayhem.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 82
 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.
 So full of un-truths, it's funny!!! December 8, 2008
B. Williams (California, USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie is so full of un-truths, it's funny!!! In a serious tone, this movie comes on scene to some normal young American youths, that are being led astray by a slightly older group of young adults who know better. This movie is racy for the time period that it was made in. It is set to be a serious likely-hood of what will happen to teenagers who fall into the wrong crowd and start experimenting with drugs. In this case, it's reefer or marijuana that is the drug, and in this movie, it's the side effects that are so unbelievable. Teenagers who are in the know now about the side effects of reefer, will laugh through this serious, and boring way two teenagers find trouble, when they start hanging around a new group of hip smokers. Becoming more sexually active, and irresponsible in their judgement, the teens begin their downward spiral in society. Our main hero is asked to drive while intoxicated by the reefer stick, when he has an accident and every lie afterwards gets him deeper into trouble and deeper into the rugged rage of reefer. If you are able to watch your way to the end of this movie, you might be able to understand why another movie 'Reefer Madness' was made as a musical tribute to this one. The musical, mocks the original with great energy, music, and color. All of which are missing from the first movie. Yet, only after I managed to watch the original, was I able to fully fall in cult classic love with the musical.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 82
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