Marihuana / Narcotic (Forbidden Fruit Vol. 4) Blu-ray

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Marihuana / Narcotic (Forbidden Fruit Vol. 4)

Dwain Esper was not only one of the most notorious figures of the exploitation genre (due to his ruthless business practices) he was also its greatest stylist. With an utter disregard for the laws of cinematic convention, his low-budget films verge on the avant-garde as they breathlessly wallow in every conceivable moral vice—all in the name of public education, of course. Marihuana follows the downward trajectory of a bright high school girl (Harley Woods) who dabbles in cannabis and becomes a hardened, heroin-addicted criminal, who inadvertently kidnaps her own child (whom she had given up for adoption). Inspired by a true story, Narcotic is the story of an idealistic physician (Harry Cording) whose personal journey leads him through opium dens, carnival tents, sex-crazed drug parties, skid-row brothels, and eventually the halls of madness.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 1936 / August 1933

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	Marihuana: 0:57:59.833 / Narcotic: 1:01:25.125
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,820,552,151 bytes Marihuana: 12,934,831,680 bytes Narcotic: 13,522,886,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.07 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Marihuana Blu-ray:
Bitrate Narcotic Blu-ray:
Audio	Marihuana: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -2dB Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -2dB Narcotic: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -2dB
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,820,552,151 bytes Marihuana: 12,934,831,680 bytes Narcotic: 13,522,886,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.07 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary for Marihuana by Bret Wood, co-author of Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film • Audio commentary by producer David F. Friedman and Something Weird founder Mike Vraney (2000) • Audio commentary for Narcotic by Bret Wood • theatrical trailers (Marihuana Censored - 2:08 / Uncensored - 2:54, Narcotic - 2:32) • two versions of Dwain Esper’s How to Undress (in Front of Your Husband) (15:01 / 9:31) • Dwain Esper’s How to Take a Bath, trailer and fragments of Dwain Esper’s lost film The Seventh Commandment (1932) (13:58) Blu-ray Release Date: May 5th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10 / 1

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (April 2020): Kino have transferred another two of their "Forbidden Fruit" series to Blu-ray. In Volume 4 it has Narcotic (1933) and Marihuana (1936) both directed by Dwain Esper - described as "the most obscure of the 'Hollywood hack' filmmakers of the 1930s".

The image quality has imperfections with light to moderate damage but both are very watchable in terms of the 1080P. The audio is of similar quality - occasionally weak, but audible dialogue and some poor effect gunfire. Part of the appeal here are the low budget production quality. It adds to the kitsch appeal.

Kino offer no subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Some of the best parts of this Kino Blu-ray package are the supplements. We get an audio commentary for Marihuana by Bret Wood, co-author of Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film, plus a second one from 2000 with producer David F. Friedman and Something Weird founder Mike Vraney. For Narcotic we get another audio commentary by Bret Wood. He's a pleasure to listen to as he know this topic so well. More amusing extras include two versions of Dwain Esper’s How to Undress (in Front of Your Husband) - one censored (10-minutes) - and the other not (1/4 hour) plus Dwain Esper’s How to Take a Bath, pieced together by trailer and fragments of Dwain Esper’s lost film The Seventh Commandment from 1932 - running 13-minutes. Also thrown in are theatrical trailers (Marihuana Censored - 2:08 / Uncensored - 2:54, Narcotic - 2:32.)

Well, not your usual entertainment fare. Like Kino's other Blu-rays; Unashamed / Elysia and Mom and Dad, these films represent a curiosity of both social norms of the past and the extent of early film exploitation-ism. Part of the 'scare tactics' were to shock viewers with tragic scenarios of, in this case, 'drug usage'. This also became an appealing factor for viewers who wanted to see the 'wild side' that they were missing out on. It is fascinating that these ever existed and a great distraction from the usual. An interesting way to start a Double-Feature night... enjoy!