Behind The Green Door (1972)

One of the earliest and most successful "mainstream" American adult films, "Behind the Green Door" grossed over $1 million in its theatrical run and over $50 million total including video sales despite its meager $60,000 budget. It was so successful, according to Wikipedia, the mob stepped in and tried using extortion to obtain the rights to the film.

There's not much plot to speak of, really. Two men at a diner are asked by the cook to relay the story of the green door and the bulk of the film occurs in flashbacks. Gloria (played by a then unknown Marilyn Chambers) is abducted by two men and driven to an undisclosed location. After being massaged by a slightly older woman who reassures her that no harm with come to her, she is led to a stage where sexual acts are performed on her while a group of masked socialites look on. There are three distinct segments with Gloria (I'll skip the details) culminating with the audience members taking matters into their own hands once things get too exciting for them. Finally, the film closes with Gloria and one of the men from the diner passionately making love after the cook asks what happened to the girl.

Obviously, this is fairly tame compared to today's pornography, but the pacing and direction is some of the best I've seen in adult film. It was far more stylized than its competitors at the time and did an excellent job of creating atmosphere and building anticipation. Marilyn wasn't put through any gymnastics, so to speak. Instead, she was the "every girl" who let her reaction shots do most of her acting. The climax of the film (pun intended) is one of the most bizarre things I've seen in a film of any genre, and Daniel LeBlanc's wonderful score illustrates just how important music is in setting tone.

After a slow moving first half, "Behind the Green Door" finished strong. I was all set to give it a 3/5 rating, but that psychedelic montage bumped it up a whole point for me.

4/5