Product Details

• Actors: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White
• Directors: Louis J. Gasnier
• Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Restored
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: April 20, 2004
• Run Time: 65 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00018D3XM
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,751 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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

  #28 in

  Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Drama

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
Although it was made in 1936, Reefer Madness didn't become a cult hit until 1972 when the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) rescued it from the Library of Congress film archive. Thereafter, it was a mainstay on the midnight movie circuit. And it's easy to see why. The ostensible story involves a group of upstanding young high school students who succumb to the allure of the "killer weed." What follows, as if by natural progression, is a catalog of crimes that includes hit-and-run driving, loose morals, rape, murder, suicide, and my personal favorite, permanent insanity! The action is at times so hysterical, in both senses, that you may forget to inhale. Honors go to the wild-eyed, cackling hophead David O'Brien; his performance reaches a raw intensity that is hard to imagine. One measure of this film's pervasive influence is the extent to which its title continues to be invoked in news stories about decriminalization and medical marijuana. Such posterity for unintentional humor must be rare. A great film to see stoned, man. --Jim Gay

Product Description
Reefer Madness is a campy cult favorite first released in 1938 as a propaganda film meant to scare America's youth off of drug. In this quintessential classic, innocent teens partake of the "demon weed" only to find that one puff plunges them into a hilarious web of murder, sex, lunacy and jazz music.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Restored edition, fantastic!!!!!!, May 3, 2004

By	J. A. Stankunas "jonukwho" (Jupiter, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The movie Reefer Madness seen by itself is really nothing to brag about, but this special addition for this best-selling cult classic is fantastic. It's a must buy, because for how cheap it is, you really get your money's worth. For the first time ever, I can say that the colorized version (complete with multicolor smoke and over saturated psychedelic color schemes) is better and looks better than the original black and white, and both versions are available to watch which is considerate of the DVD producers to give us both, and it looks as good as we can ever expect. Extra features are fantastic highlighted by a hysterical commentary by Mike Nelson, formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which is the sole reason why I bought this edition. The commentary by the people who colorized the film is also worth a look. I highly recommend this new edition.

66 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Exploitation Flick of the 30s!, August 28, 1999

By	Cindy Collins Smith (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reefer Madness (DVD)

In the 70s, NORML spread the myth that the government sponsored Reefer Madness. The truth, however, is that the film was made to play the Exploitation circuit... and was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Thelma White (Mae) has said that the cast was specifically asked to "hoke it up." And the scene in which Ralph demands that the piano be played "Faster... Faster!" comes straight out of 42nd Street--a film in which actor Dave O'Brien (yes, Ralph himself) had played a chorus boy.

So, if the makers of this film weren't serious about their message, why did they make the movie? Well, why did anybody make an Exploitation film in the 30s? To show more skin than the Hays Code allowed, of course, and to capitalize on public fears. Simply put: they wanted to make money. And make money they did.

Unlike most Exploitation fare, Reefer Madness was shot over a period of three weeks, on a relatively large budget (by sub-Poverty Row standards). Using an experienced director and a couple of actors who would go on to do respectable work in Hollywood, this production is the creme-de-la-creme of 30's Exploitation cinema.

Reefer Madness is every bit as hyperbolic as it was intended to be. Just watch it knowing that its makers are laughing at you, and you'll realize that this film is perhaps one of the greatest jokes ever played on an audience in the history of cinema. It's certainly one of the most entertaining.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reefer Madness IN COLOR for the First Time - Fire UP!, January 5, 2004

By A Customer

Reefer Madness is the quintessential cult classic. Originally made as a 1930's propaganda film, it was meant to scare America's youth away from drugs, showing them that one puff of the "demon weed" turns teens into raving reefer addicts. Now, years later, this ham-fisted effort to warn you off weed has become the height of camp entertainment. A `must watch' film among students, Reefer Madness continues to entertain today's youth with the edgy exploits of their high school predecessors. This movie is so beautifully bad, it's great!

Finally someone has released Reefer Madness the way it should be: Beautifully restored, in color for the first time, and in 5.1 surround sound. Both the color and black-and-white versions are on the disk. Plus this DVD has loads of fantastic bonus material. Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 does a hilarious commentary track, cracking wise from start to finish. Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook, A short film by Grandpa Ganja himself, graces this edition and tells us everything we need to know about dope.

No question this is the "FEEL GOOD" DVD of the year!