Cheap Ganja and Hess (DVD) (Bill Gunn) Price
CHEAP-PRICE.NET ’s Cheap Price
Here at Cheap-price.net we have Ganja and Hess at a terrific price. The real-time price may actually be cheaper — click “Buy Now” above to check the live price at Amazon.com.
Not surprisingly, a film that so daringly defied convention was hard to market, and after its failed release it was drastically re-edited and eventually released to video under no fewer than seven different titles. Fortunately, a single print of Gunn's original version survived at New York's Museum of Modern Art, its reputation rising through revival screenings until Ganja & Hess achieved cult status as a "lost" milestone of its decade. The DVD release preserves Gunn's original cut in superb condition (considering the film's turbulent history) and includes engaging commentary by surviving cast and crew and an insightful essay reprinted from Video Watchdog magazine. And while Ganja & Hess is certainly not for all tastes, there's no denying that its fully restored release on DVD represents an historic occasion that any cinephile should celebrate. --Jeff Shannon
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Bill Gunn |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 1973 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Image Entertainment |
| MPAA RATING: | R (Restricted) |
| FEATURES: | Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC |
| TYPE: | Addiction Drama, Adult Situations, Atmospheric, Biting, Blaxploitation, Cerebral, Class Differences, Color, Dangerous Attraction, Deliberate, Dreamlike, Drug Content, English, Feature, Haunted By the Past, Horror, Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Intimate, Lyrical, Meditative |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 649686984121 |
Related Products
Customer Reviews of Ganja and Hess
Literary, Smart, Divinely Executed Ganja and Hess is one of those movies that, if you have heard about, you have heard it discussed in the terms used by all the reviewers thus far. Throw all of that away. What this is... is art. The story is masterful, the acting nuanced and subtle, the over-arching story intriguing and the "twist" unexpected enough to leave your jaw hanging open as you understand what you just watched. <
> <
>Many people call this film "confusing" -- however, it isn't confusing at all. It demands that the viewer make the same leap of faith we make when we read a text and simply "ingest" the action, the characters, and the narrative which is not immediately transparent. You are gonna have to work for it. Wait for it. Keep your eyes and ears open and really pay attention. <
> <
>This movie does display some of the motifs of this era so there is full frontal male nudity, there are boobies of all body types, there is some stark reality, but this is one of those movies I would have loved to have watched as a young kid... but it is, perhaps, not for the youngun's. <
> <
>James S. Hinton passed not too long ago and so it is really a joy to watch his cinematography... because it is true, this is an ESPECIALLY beautiful movie. <
> <
>If you have watched too much Hollywood pap and have lost all sense of imagination, creativity... you should probably pass this one by because it is not giving itself to you the way in which you are used (i.e. it is not spoon-feeding you as much as leading you along a path, beckoning you to enter). However, if you remember and like some story with your entertainment, some meat with your movie, treasure thinking about the ways things happen: Watch this movie. You'll never thank yourself enough. <
>
Better in theory...
While this movie is termed "legendary", Ganja and Hess is one of those movies that are better in the ideas they present rather than the actual film. Ganja and Hess has its profound moments; it has incredibly intense and sensual imagery as well as a beautiful soundtrack but the plot is very unclear. I honestly don't blame others for wanting to edit the film because the actual storyline is hard to find beneath the dream sequences and the symbolism.
<
>Ganja and Hess is thought-provoking, but flawed. That's all there really is to say about it. I do recommend watching Abel Ferrara's film The Addiction as a companion piece to Ganja and Hess, which explores some of the same ideas.
Pitiful
I had heard of this movie for so many years, first as a kid reading "Famous Monsters," then as a film buff who kept hearing and reading tales of a complex and challenging vampire film that the distributors wouldn't release. I was thrilled when I got my hands on this DVD. I must say I've liked my share of oddball, offbeat films that few others seem to connect with, and it was with that spirit that I went into "Ganja and Hess." Sadly, despite what "art" some see in it, "Ganja and Hess" is a total mess and a waste of time. It's execution is amaturish and it's plot is hopelessly muddled (except of course if you view plot as something that just interferes with the artist making his point). You could call this the "Plan 9 From Outer Space" of blaxploitation films, but that would be an insult to "Plan 9" and suggest that "Ganja and Hess" is fun in a bad movie sort of way. It's not. It's just bad. I get the idea that Ben Gunn has some sort of point to make, but by the time he gets around to making it, you're so numb you just don't care anymore. If you're looking for a good vampire film from the "blaxploitation" period, "Blacula" is coming to DVD soon. And if you're looking for art, look elsewhere. You won't find it here.