Customer Reviews

The Educational Archives, Vol. 1 - Sex & Drugs

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Man, this is one of the best DVDs I've purchased in a long time. Most of the dialogue from "Narcotics: Pit of Despair" is just BEGGING to be sampled. And it's got the guy from "Freaks and Geeks" in it!!! And where else can you see Sonny Bono (in a gold lame` suit, no less!) telling kids the dangers of marijuana "in their own language". This MUST'VE bee some kind of community service he had to do, or something...There is also a rad case study of some girl's acid trip where her hot dog starts screaming when she tries to eat it, so she squishes/"kills" it. Dunno, that sounds kind of fun to me...

This is a campy collection of films, true, but a collection that provides a detailed look at a bygone era's increasingly futile attempts at quashing youthful rebellion.

Unfortunately, seven of the twelve films here are "condensed"--i.e., edited to keep the DVD's running time under two hours and thus (presumably) keep the price affordable. This collection still provides much cinematic pleasure, though true edufilm fans should see the complete versions of such classics as MARIJUANA (narrated by a zonked-out Sonny Bono) and NARCOTICS: PIT OF DESPAIR (the only film here I actually saw in school; I never forgot the cobra scenes). At least the DVD presents the uncut version of the proto-Lynchian ABC OF SEX EDUCATION FOR TRAINABLES.

Maybe Fantoma will release these films uncondensed on DVD someday.

What makes these films so enjoyable for me is that when they were made,they were intended as dead serious educational material.HA!Maybe that's why they're so facinating now or,at the very worst,surreal fodder.Some films are hilerious and laughable,such as a case study on LSD in which a girl trips that a hot dog turns into a troll.Others are just bizzare-such as Sonny Bono trying to make clear the good and bad about marijuana even while he behaves as if he himself is stoned.A couple of the films are rather dull such as the boring classroom instructional 'Human Growth' and some are actually pretty serious warnings about the dangers of syphillis and sex education for mentally challaged adults.And not to be missed is 50's movie star Sal Mineo's bizzare song at the end of the
smug 'LSD-Insight Or Insanity'.These are really fun if your looking for a good laugh at the absurdity of youth education of the day,or if your just into weird propaganda.

The Educational Archives and Fantoma have produced a real gem here. This is seriously one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen. Some people actually doubt the validity of these archival 16mm prints due to their outlandish and ridiculously amusing nature. Even if you don't like drugs, you can not help from laughing at these amazing filmstrips. My personal faves are the Lockhead-Martin produced educational shorts (containing cool oil lamp visuals, beatnik-speak, and groovy music) espousing the dangers of LSD, amphetamines, heroin, and barbituates. The hipster slang in some of these shorts is incredible. The insightful film about Marijuana, narrated by Sonny Bono is a scream, as Sonny looks glorious in his gold jump suit and glazed eyes. 'Sex-Ed for Trainables' must be seen to be believed. This DVD never ceases to amuse me or my friends. Everyone who has watched this baby has found it to be completly hilarious. I have seen all of the other 'Educational Archive' DVDs, and this one takes the cake. There's a reason this is Volume 1. These short films range in date from the late 40's thru the early 70's. If you are a fan of the quirky, kitchy, or strange, you will love this. If you don't have a sense of humor, you may not (but I don't care about you). It's hard to believe that these shorts were shown to the youth in an attempt to scare them from doing drugs. If anything, these filmstrips make one want to experiment (especially the Amphetamine short). This DVD is highly reccomended to those seeking kicks. Don' be a square and cop this now, Daddy-O

I worked in Antarctica for seven months, and for some reason we had this dvd in our library at the station. We watched it about once a week. It's a riot. "Trainables" is one of the oddest pieces of "film" I have ever seen. Why have the huge close-ups of the presenter when he's got a horribly pock-marked face?

It's a fun ride. Good to see some early Kevin Teague before Emergency and Road House.

I remember watching the sony bono one way back when, and at the time, as I still do, saw it more as a "pro" pot film and thought and still think that Sony HAD to do this film and I truly belive he had a couple puffs before doing this. My Mom remembers the it's wonderful being a girl segemant, and we both giggled and laughed at the early attempts at explaing "womanhood"

I started laughing about halfway through the LSD one and stopped when it ended. I know full well it was supposed to be educational and taken seriously, but how many of you guys out there would have taken it that way, or know how many kids today would pay attetion? =)

Very funny, excellent selection of clips.

The film about teaching sex education to autistic people is a classic, especially the scene with the teachers brainstorming for other things to call a penis.

One complaint: The best selection, "Narcotics: Pit of Despair" seems to end prematurely, denying viewers the final moral of the story.

I am eagerly awaiting the delivery of Volume 2.

How about a Driver's Ed collection? "Blood on the Highway" ?

This film is meant to be humorous, as are the others in this series. 'Educational' customers who have a gripe because it's not 'useful' ought to read the description before purchasing. You have to watch this, unless you are totally lacking a sense of humor about drug and sex propaganda (and appallingly, those people STILL exist).

Wanna know where you (or your parents) got those warped ideas about sex and drugs? Watch this film and you'll get a taste of the strange propaganda that schoolswere teaching during the Baby Boomer years. Hand Holding was the height of premarital pleasure; girls could hint that they liked a boy, but could never ask him out; and if it was "that time of the month," all girls were basically handicapped - they needed to spend time resting in bed with a nice tray of soup that Mother would provide. Drugs were illegal because Officer Friendly and his other police colleagues wanted to protect us. Nice middle-class people stayed away from both sex (until marriage) and drugs (forever).

I was lucky enough to get this DVD as part of the Educational Archive Lunchbox, which features four of these incredible DVDs that brought me back to my Junior High school auditorium, where we spent endless hours in slightly too small wooden seats, trying to pass notes in the dark, and remaining quiet enough that the teachers wouldn't return from smoking in the teacher's lounge next door. It's where we got our ideas that only 'bad' boys and girls would do anything as horrible as smoke a joint, I mean marijuana cigarette. Those same 'bad kids' would drive fast in cars that weren't their parents' station wagons, would park in the back seat and steam up the windows, and always, always met with a bad end. Characters in these movies had best tread the straight and narrow, if not, they invariably ended up horribly mutilated, unless they were lucky enough to die first. Redemption might come, but only at a terrible, terrible cost. (and Cliches ran rampant in every scene, much like this review)

I watched these movies the first time around and believed almost every word. Seeing this DVD brought me back to the days of Shag haircuts and a school that treated gum chewing as a major sin. I laughed so hard I was hoarse for days. My daughter, an "Echo Boomer," was horrified that anyone would show this stuff to kids and suddenly understood many of the school references on "The Simpsons." Friends of either age always laugh hysterically and shout, 'Play it Again!"

This stuff is comedy gold. If you lived when these movies were shown in school, you must see them again. You'll be transported back to school dances where girls stood along one wall, waiting to be picked to dance; while teachers made sure the lights stayed on and carried a pointer to keep young dancers aware of the "six inch rule." (It means dancers needed to remain at least six inches apart, sometimes leaving enough room for the Holy Ghost to cut in) Punishment was swift and sure, and any misdeed would go on your Permanent Record.

Buy this. You won't be sorry you did. If you don't, it will go on your Permanent Record.

A campy collection of films, true, but one that also documents a lost era of American confidence, an era when the '50s-'60s establishment very confidently thought it could stave off youthful rebellion and perpetuate straight all-American living forever.

Unfortunately, seven of the twelve films here are "condensed" versions--i.e., edits to keep the DVD under two hours and (presumably) at a low price. Anyone who loves prime trust-your-leaders hilarity will want to see the full-length MARIJUANA (hosted by a zonked-out Sonny Bono) and NARCOTICS: PIT OF DESPAIR (the only film here I'd seen during MY school days; I never forgot the snake shots). At least ABC OF SEX EDUCATION FOR TRAINABLES appears in its uncut, proto-Lynchian glory.

This DVD still works as a cinematic treat. Let's hope the company releases a future DVD containing the UNEDITED films.