Product Details

• Actors: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White
• Directors: Jonathan Blank, Louis J. Gasnier
• Writers: Arthur Hoerl, Lawrence Meade, Paul Franklin
• Producers: Barclay Powers, Dwain Esper, George A. Hirliman
• Format: Color, Compilation, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (PCM Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Rph Productions
• DVD Release Date: August 21, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005NC4U
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,807 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #78 in

  Movies & TV > Art House & International > European Cinema > Netherlands

• For more information about "Sex, Drugs & Democracy" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Netherlands is a social paradise, according to documentarian Jonathan Banks. Prostitution is legal, homosexual marriages are recognized, universal health care and housing are provided by the government, and the personal use of marijuana, hashish, and heroine is tolerated with government control. Also, it has minimal problems with crime and drug addiction, and it has the lowest rates of teen pregnancy and abortion in the world. This blunt, shot-on-video tribute is more cheerleading than investigative journalism, and perhaps a little suspect. Banks relies on the statistics and claims provided by his subjects--government officials, businesspeople, and Dutch citizens--without bothering to corroborate them. Yet it's an eye-opening portrait in practical universal freedom as social policy that, despite claims by conservative doomsayers, seems to have been working for years. --Sean Axmaker

Additional Features

This special edition features an excellent-looking print of the 1936 camp classic Reefer Madness, the infamous, outrageous drug-scare drama that equates smoking marijuana with insanity, sex crimes, and murder. It also includes the 1942 government sponsored short Hemp for Victory, a 15-minute interview with 1960s drug guru Timothy Leary, and a bonus 15-track CD of drug tunes through the ages. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST SEE, August 13, 2004

By	CineGraphic Studios "filmclip" (Frederick, MD USA) - See all my reviews

I can't tell you how badly I wanted to move to Holland after watching this gem!
I've bought 7 copies to give as presents in the past year.
You really wonder if the USA is the "land of the free".
(Holland looks better every day!)

Well made, informal, great editing....love it!

Reefer Madness is one of the cleanest transfers I've seen on DVD.

Hemp for Victory has to be seen to believed. This classic propaganda short begs farmers to start growing dope!
Our navy needed rope for all of the new ships.
Soundtrack bonus CD is tops!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different world, January 4, 2002

By	Saradele (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This documentary offers a vivid portrait of the Netherlands' permissive social landscape. Interviewing prostitutes, judges, political leaders, coffeehouse owners, and regular Dutch citizens, filmmaker Jonathan Blank makes the case that decriminalizing "soft" drugs and prostitution can advance the public good by freeing government to spend more time on education, prevention, and public health efforts. Blank ties the film together by presenting excerpts from the Dutch constitution, which frames individual liberties very differently than does the U.S. Constitution. These excerpts make clear why the Dutch government does not have the authority to legislate morality. The only flaw in the documentary is that it cheerleads for its political message and fails to document any negatives to the Dutch social arrangement. It must also be said that this documentary is not for the close-minded or easily offended; be prepared for graphic nudity during the section on pornography and live sex shows.

The bonus features on the DVD are excellent. Far more amusing than the actual documentary is the black and white film "Reefer Madness," an unintentionally hilarious cautionary tale about how marijuana is sure to transform good citizens into maniacal, murderous thugs. There's also "Hemp for Victory," a short produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during World War II to convince farmers that it was their patriotic duty to convert a portion of their land to hemp production. These two features alone are worth the price of the DVD.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dutch Democracy, August 25, 2006

By	J.W.K (Nagano, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

The people that appear in SEX, DRUGS AND DEMOCRACY dress and act in a distinctly 90s manner, yet the overall message of the film remains just as vitally important today as when it was released in 1994: namely, that the Dutch have a lot to teach the world about tolerance, equality and democracy. Indeed, by comparison, the United States, which touts itself as a shining beacon of liberty and democracy, resembles a police state under harsh draconian laws.