.
A selection of free movies, documentaries, interviews and commercials to watch from 1916 to the present day that deal with drugs, addiction and other issues affecting our wellbeing…..
.
Documentaries.
Silent Snow, Secret Snow (1966)
Alienation, angst, and schizophrenia are powerful themes addressed by Kearney in this forgotten masterpiece. From a story by Conrad Aiken.
view film
*
Symptoms in Schizophrenia (ca. 1940s)
Shows masked mental patients enacting various schizophrenic symptoms as they were understood at the time. A disturbing film that raises questions about the condition and treatment of its subjects.
view film
.
The Shopping Bag Lady (1975)
Set In Manhattan’s Central Park, this film is the poignant story of a teenage girl’s encounter with a homeless old woman (movingly portrayed by distinguished actress Mildred Dunnock) who carries all her belongings around in shopping bags. This encounter eventually leads to the girl’s understanding of the problems of aging and the dignity of all individuals, regardless of their place in society.
view film
Golden Gloves (1977)
A moving portrait of a promising young boxer. We see him reeling after his first victory, certain of his impending fame and fortune. We also see the boy after his first big loss and his recognition that its really going to be hard for him to support himself while boxing. The tape is incredibly intimate and seems to sum up not only the hardships faced by inner-city project dwellers, but also the general loss of idealism faced by all young adults.
view film
.
Swansea Love Story
Must See ….A harrowing documentary about life and love (of sorts) on the bleak streets of the South Wales city. Swansea Love Story is no Romeo & Juliet story transferred from the streets of Verona to those of South Wales, no matter what the name might suggest. Instead, filmmaking duo Andy Capper and Leo Leigh provide us with a staggering documentary that attempts to get under the skin of a small selection of the many drug addicts living in the city…
view film
*
Timothy Leary’s Last Trip (November 9, 2007)
A documentary called Timothy Leary’s Last Trip with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters by A.J.Catoline, O.B.B.Babbs, and David Herman. Film features soundtrack including previously unreleased Grateful Dead tracks. Original footage of Leary, The Merry Pranksters and the Grateful Dead. Includes narration by author Ken Kesey. Exclusive footage of Leary’s final “Cyber Chat” with Ken Kesey on the internet.
view film
.
Distant Drummer: Flowers of Darkness (1972)
Traces the history of opium and how it has led to the present day usage of heroin. Examines the methods and procedures of organized crime in transporting the drug to the United States and its toll on the streets of America. Includes methods of combatting the problem and interviews with addicts who discuss their compulsion for drugs.
Narrator: Paul Newman. view film
*
The Narcotics Story
The Narcotics Story began life as a training film for the LA police department. In sledgehammer fashion, producer-director Robert W. Larsen exposes the evils of marijuana, heroin and cocaine by illustrating the results of these drugs on “normal” people. The screaming, thrashing addicts depicted herein were actually played by police personnel, none of whom were exactly Academy Award prospects.
view film
*
Drug War Reality Tour (2003)
Kensington, PA is one of the nation’s poorest and most neglected neighborhoods. Once a thriving industrial hub for the textile sector, during the late 1970′s Kensington was hit by a wave of de-industrialization which saw American jobs lost to the growing pool of sweat shop labor in Mexico and South East Asia. Today, Kensington’s two major sources of income are welfare and narcotics. As one of the biggest heroin distribution centers in the country, it is not uncommon to find addicts of all ages, ..
view film
*
Drug Addiction (1951)
Classic “slippery slope” narrative of post-World War II stoned slackerdom.
view film
*
Ask Me, Don’t Tell Me (1961)
San Francisco teenage gangs and the unfriendly world they inhabit.
view film
.
*The 90′s Pilot Episode – Bejing, Crack, Studs (1989)
“Crack Clouds Over Hell’s Kitchen” by The Educational Video Center. Interview with crack addicts in New York City who actually demonstrate how to smoke crack onscreen and describe its effects as they feel them. Five seconds ago I was real tired. Right now Ive got energy. I could get up from here now and walk to the moon… The reason why Im doing this interview is, Im tired of this place Manhattan and Im leaving right now. Im outta here. If anybody sees this tape and knows me, you know I tried, you know what I came from, you know what I used to be and Im going to get it again.
view film
.
Prisoners Of The War on Drugs
A documentary titled Prisoners Of The War on Drugs, produced by HBO in 1992. This documentary examines the use of drugs within federal and state prisons with interviews by inmates…
view film
.
Day In The Death Of Donny B. (Circa 1969)
Docudrama, shot Cinema-Verite style, which follows a junkie on his never-ending quest for money, and ultimately, his fix.
view film
Marihuana (1936) – Dwain Esper
This propaganda film depicting the “horrors” of marijuana use.
A high school girl is led to ruin after befriending a drug dealer who invites her to a party at his beach house.
.
Why People Smoke (1990)
Video produced by Philip Morris Europe in which “experts” explain the various social, emotional, and biological reasons why people smoke.
view film
*
Alcohol and the Human Body (1949)
Traces the course of alcohol through the body; shows the effects of alcohol on the brain; dramatizes the case of a problem drinker, including treatment.
view film
Drug Wars (A 2000 Documentary About the History of America’s War On Drugs)
.
Movies
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916).
Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love and Alma Rubens
Plot Summary: Coke Ennyday, the scientific detective, divides his own time in periods for “Sleep”, “Eat”, “Dope” and “Drink”. In fact he’s used to overcome every situation with drugs: consuming it to increase his energies or injecting it in his opponents to KO them. To help the police he discovers a contraband of opium (which he eagerly tastes) transported with “Leaping Fishes”, and the blackmail of a mysterious man who wants to marry the “fish blower” girl. Will Coke be able to free the girl ?
view film
.
Reefer Madness (1938)
Considered THE archetypal sensationalized anti-drug movie, but it’s really an exploitation film made to capitalize on the hot taboo subject of marijuana use. Like many exploitation films of the time, “Reefer Madness” tried to make a quick buck off of a forbidden subject while skirting the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930. The Code forbade the portrayal of immoral acts like drug use. (The illegal drug traffic must not be portrayed in such a way as to stimulate curiosity concerning the use of, or traffic in, such drugs; nor shall scenes be approved which show the use of illegal drugs, or their effects, in detail.)
view film
.
Driller Killer-Uncut (1979)
An artist slowly loses his mind as he and his two female friends scrape to pay the bills. The punk band downstairs increasingly agitates him, his art dealer is demanding that he complete his big canvas painting as promised, and he gets into fights with his girlfriends. When the dealer laughs at his canvas he snaps, and begins taking it out on the people responsible for his pain and random transients in the manner suggested by the title. Uncut Version.
Warning: Adult language and situations. Viewer discretion advised.
A Bucket of Blood
Walter is a busboy overly impressed with the cool cats that hang out at The Yellow Door coffee house,and he wonders how to become “hip”
Born to Win (1971)
A smart-mouthed junkie/loser known as J.J. (George Segal) spends his days looking for just “one more fix”.
Director: Ivan Passer
Stars: George Segal, Robert De Niro, Paula Prentiss and Karen Black
view film
*
The Pyx (1973)
A detective investigating the death of a heroin-addicted prostitute uncovers evidence pointing to the existence of a murderous devil cult.
Producer: Harvey Hart
view film
*
Narcotics: Pit of Despair (Part I) (1967)
Dark vision of drug use and its effect on American youth.
view film
Keep Off The Grass (1969)
Tom gets in trouble when his mother finds a joint in his room. Instead of punishing Tom, his father challenges him to learn more about marijuanas evil effects on society. Nobody gets killed in this Sid Davis film, yet Tom still learns a harsh lesson after being mugged by druggies and learning that his best friend sells pot to school children
view film
*
Alcohol Is Dynamite (1958)
Teens Bud and Jack, eager to get some alcohol from the liquor store, ask the adult to buy it for them. Instead, the adult tells them a story of three teenagers who learn the hard way that “alcohol is a violent narcotic.
view film
*
Interviews
.
Bela Lugosi – rare 1955 interview
Lugosi’s last on-camera interview from 1955. This shows him leaving the California State hospital after a 90-day morphine detox program. Lugosi was the first celebrity to go public with a drug addiction problem. He did this shortly after filming Ed Wood’s “Bride of the Monster”. In the interview he mentions looking forward to working with Wood again on “The Ghoul Goes West”. However, the film was never made and Lugosi died of a heart attack a year later.
see interview
3 films starring Bela Lugosi
+ Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
.
Commercials
.
Lucky Strike Commercial from 1955
Lucky Strike Cigarette commercial from 1955. This one features a couple walking outside a movie theater/theatre.
view commercial
Cartoon
Betty Boop: Minnie The Moocher (1932)
A wonderful, surreal and genuinely scary piece of work. If I had seen this as a child I would have had nightmares for weeks!
.
.
Documentaries
for purchase
.
The Narcotic Farm
A federal prison in Kentucky was a temporary home for thousands, including Sonny Rollins, Peter Lorre and William S. Burroughs as well as a lab for addiction treatments such as LSD.
From 1935 to 1975, just about everyone busted for drugs in the U.S. was sent to the United States Narcotic Farm outside Lexington, Ky.
view film
.
