Behind the Green Door by Mitchell Brothers - review by tim1724

This is one of the classic 1970s porn films, about as well-known in its time as Deep Throat or The Devil in Miss Jones. So my girlfriend and I wanted to see it, as we've enjoyed some other 1970s porn films. (Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy is a must-see, for example.)

But we were disappointed. Not only is there not much of a plot (unlike most 1970s porn) but the sex is pretty boring, too. The sequences which were intended to be shocking in 1973 (such as what is generally considered the first interracial scene in a feature-length title) just don't pack any punch in today's world.

Plot Synopsis

The movie opens with a pair of truck drivers in a diner who are asked by the cook to tell the story of the Green Door. Then we get a flashback to some rambling dialog which goes nowhere. The action begins when Gloria (played by Marilyn Chambers) is abducted and taken to a club where she will be ravished in front of a live audience.

There are really only two sex scenes in the film. The first is the extended scene in the club, in which Gloria is involved in a variety of activities (mostly pretty tame) while the audience watches (and eventually turns into a bit of an orgy). This includes a five minute sequence in which a man's ejaculation is played over and over in slow motion, with psychedelic colors and other optical effects. I guess in 1973 everyone must have gotten high when they went to the porn theaters. I can't imagine any other way you could sit through this sequence without being bored out of your mind. The second scene involves Gloria and one of the truck drivers after she leaves the club.


Technical Quality

The audio and video are pretty bad, as the DVD was made from an old, degraded print of the film. There are a lot of spots and scratches on the film, and the audio warbles a bit throughout the movie. Much of the movie is slightly out-of-focus and the lighting is pretty bad in the club scene (which constitutes most of the movie). Combined with some uninspiring camera work, these shortfalls make it difficult to see what's going on. It's almost painful to watch in today's world of HD cameras and digital editing.

It's not clear how much of the lack of visual quality is due to the poor DVD transfer (and degradation of the film print) and how much was present in the original film, but either way it doesn't look good.


Extras

As with most movies which pre-date the age of DVDs, there are no real extras. A few trailers for other well-known 1970s porn titles are included. These are pretty entertaining.

My girlfriend and I didn't find any of the sex to be exciting at all, and we were both a bit bored through much of the movie. We found some aspects of it to be amusing (in the same way many old movies are so bad that they're funny) but we can't recommend it.