Behind the Green Door
Behind the Green Door MOVIE TYPE: Feature
70 Mins.
Mitchell Brothers
DIRECTOR: James & Artie Mitchell
THEMES: Classic Porn, Abduction, Interracial Sex
1973
STARS: Marilyn Chambers, John S. McDonald, Johnnie Keyes, Lisa Grant, Yank Levine, Toad Atell, Ben Davidson
REVIEW-
I already reviewed this movie on VHS a few years ago and had mixed feelings about it. It stands out as a classic to be sure, but there are some shortcomings that can not be overlooked. I recently had a chance to re-watch this all-time classic on DVD and it was really impressed. Some of what I disliked about my VHS copy are fixed in this DVD release. The picture quality has been cleaned up and the horrible audio problems are mostly gone. Marilyn Chambers is still one of the most stunning women to grace the screen and I can appreciate that this movie was revolutionary forty years ago. Things have changed and porn has evolved and today’s director’s are free to shoot sex in a way that makes this look very soft and a little flat some times. The story is probably too edgy for today and hopefully no one but the most pretentious alt-porner would actually put mimes in an adult feature these days. So I still say that Green Door is a must see classic for an porn fan. It’s not as strokeable as your average Jules Jordan movie, but the DVD version is a nicely done piece of erotic history.
I’ve been doing a lot of “classic” porn viewing thanks to a side project I’m working on and am really shocked by the way so many of them look like B-Movies through much of the non-sex action. This on features the opening diner scene that reminds me of an old horror flick. (For some reason the cook at the diner gives me a Two Thousand Maniacs vibe.) The dialog scenes that follow are inexplicable though. They make no sense and are only good because Marilyn is eating at table near the guys droning on. She really one of the most stunning women to ever star in adult films. I am impressed by the picture quality in these early scenes, but the pace of the movie is still pretty bad.
Once Marilyn is abducted and we are introduced to the weird party atmosphere things get more interesting. You can really see where Kubrick was likely influenced by this movie (and vice versa) Marilyn is slowly prepped for her night of adventure in a way that is disturbing and visually beautiful at the same time. Too bad only the latter is true of the mime that serves as a warm up act.
Before the sex starts we are assured that she will be unaware of what is going on tomorrow. Seems like an odd justification for rape as sport, but it is what it is. Marilyn is the center of attention sexually and she certainly doesn’t put up much of a fight. In looking back at my video review of this movie I noted serious issues with the picture and sound. These are cleared up for this DVD release. The picture is rather crisp and the sound has been greatly improved.
With the girls party like the Red Sea, Johnny Keys strolls in and goes to town on Marilyn‘s fuzzy muff. He slips his impressive tool into her and Marilyn takes it all. People have ripped me recently for not considering the sex in this movie to be great. Those people need to watch this scene shot for shot. The side of her face, her breast, his hip, his necklace, his face, her face, a random ring on someone’s finger, her ear, you get the picture. It’s super soft core and just doesn’t hold up to the best of what is shot today. The eye contact between performers is hot and Marilyn is beautiful, but even compared to the softest Vivid scene today, this movie looks like cable ready fodder.
John leaves and the party goers watch as a giant swing descends from the ceiling. Marilyn is placed inside while some scary hippies surround her and get her ready for Johnny. The cut away shots to really ugly and fat people are kind of interesting. It somehow makes the whole thing seem a little more perverse. Marilyn is still the star of the show and compared to her, the best looking party goer is still pretty much chopped liver. For all the kink this may add, it definitely takes away from any eye candy we might get from the crowd shots. We come back to Marilyn for the big monster cumshot loop. It goes all psychedelic and really is as annoying as the final fifteen minutes of 2001.
The final Marilyn blowjob long after the show is actually the best action this movie has to offer. We get a clear shot of her beautiful face as she sucks a hard dick until it is ready to explode. There hardcore shots of her fucking are not great by today’s standards, but certainly are a huge step up from what we have seen before.
Bonus: Trailers of other Mitchell Brothers movies including Graffenberg Spot (With Traci Lords still in the cast list)
