{"id":5290,"date":"2015-01-26T00:28:44","date_gmt":"2015-01-25T23:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=5290"},"modified":"2015-01-26T00:38:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-25T23:38:46","slug":"ganja-and-hess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2015\/01\/26\/ganja-and-hess\/","title":{"rendered":"Ganja & Hess"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ganja<\/a>
Ganja & Hess<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Dual Format (DVD + Blu-ray)

\nRelease date:<\/B> 26 January 2015

\nDistributor:<\/B> Eureka Entertainment

\nDirector:<\/B> Bill Gunn

\nWriter:<\/B> Bill Gunn

\nCast:<\/B> Duane Jones, Marlene Clark, Bill Gunn

\nUSA 1973

\n123 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ganja & Hess<\/i> was conceived as a black vampire movie: producers Jack Jordan and Quentin Kelly wanted to capitalise on the recent success of Blacula<\/i> (1972) and other \u2018blaxploitation\u2019 films Hollywood had started making to appeal to African-American audiences. Playwright and novelist Bill Gunn readily accepted the producers\u2019 offer of $350,000 to make his first feature film, but was determined to create something far more ambitious than a genre film. He decided to use vampirism as a metaphor to explore the idea of addiction in all its forms.<\/p>\n

Ganja & Hess<\/i> is utterly original, but if I had to compare it to another film, it would be Jacques Rivette\u2019s Celine and Julie Go Boating<\/i>, which was released the following year: both films are set in a large house where statuesque actors and actresses engage in dreamlike scenarios where time telescopes. More broadly, in its uncompromising creativity Ganja & Hess<\/i> reminds me of the supremely unusual films, past and present, screened in Paris\u2019s Latin Quarter: films that are experienced first and understood only later (if ever). Films where the only thing certain is that you\u2019ve never seen anything quite like them. Films so fresh and innovative that you feel anything could happen. Films that restore your youthful impression of time and space opening up before you with unexpected possibility.<\/p>\n

Ganja & Hess<\/i> is worlds away from the cool swagger and forthright action of a film like Shaft<\/i>. Professor Hess Green is an academic who surrounds himself with books and art, rides in an elegant chauffeured car and speaks in French with his son. As the film\u2019s producer and editor point out in the DVD\u2019s extensive extra material, this was revolutionary, as audiences had never before seen a film centred on a cultivated African-American character. Actor Duane Jones was particularly well suited to the role: although he is best known as the star of Night of the Living Dead<\/i> (1968), he also worked as a college professor. The director himself appears as George Meda, the assistant who infects the professor with vampirism. Marlene Clark plays Meda\u2019s wife, Ganja, who comes looking for her missing husband and quickly develops a relationship with the professor. <\/p>\n

Ganja & Hess<\/i> appropriates the vampire myth into a specifically African-American context through richly layered cultural references that include ancient legend, art, song, and costume. The film is bookended by documentary-style footage of an African-American evangelical church, seen as a place of passion and togetherness as well as a source of comfort and salvation.<\/p>\n

The film was released in its original version for barely a week. It was this version that won Best Film at Critics\u2019 Week in Cannes but was reviled by critics at home. The producers accordingly hired a different editor to recut it as a sexploitation film, which screened at drive-ins under various titles including Blood Couple<\/i>, Double Possession<\/i> and Black Evil<\/i>. The director, one of the producers and the original editor were so disgusted that they had their names removed from the film. This new home entertainment release finally gives audiences another chance to see this ambitious and innovative film as its creators originally intended.<\/p>\n

Alison Frank<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This utterly unique 70s experimental black vampire film finally comes to DVD and Blu-ray in its original cut.
\nReview by Alison Frank<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[1127,1130,1128,1131,1129],"class_list":["post-5290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-african-american-cinema","tag-bill-gunn","tag-blaxploitation","tag-duane-jones","tag-vampire-films"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-1nk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":213,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/11\/01\/nosferatu\/","url_meta":{"origin":5290,"position":0},"title":"Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"November 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Hailed as a masterpiece of early German cinema and still regarded as one of the best horror films ever made, the 1922 classic Nosferatu has stood the test of time, despite a shaky start. Review by Lindsay Tudor","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nosferatu 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Nosferatu-1-594x446.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Nosferatu-1-594x446.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Nosferatu-1-594x446.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2290,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2012\/04\/26\/priest\/","url_meta":{"origin":5290,"position":1},"title":"Priest","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"April 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I never thought I'd be able to describe a film as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dca post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, vampire Western' until I saw Priest. Review by Alex Fitch","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/review_priest-594x395.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/review_priest-594x395.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/review_priest-594x395.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5048,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/10\/06\/a-girl-walks-home-alone-at-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":5290,"position":2},"title":"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"October 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This achingly beautiful tale of a chador-wearing skateboarding vampire girl haunting an Iranian ghost town is a true gem. Review by Virginie S\u00e9lavy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/A-Girl-Walks-Home-Alone-at-Night-594x334.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/A-Girl-Walks-Home-Alone-at-Night-594x334.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/A-Girl-Walks-Home-Alone-at-Night-594x334.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6660,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2016\/11\/05\/vampyres-styria\/","url_meta":{"origin":5290,"position":3},"title":"Vampyres + Styria","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"November 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This double bill of European vampire movies revisits oft-told stories. Review by Kim Newman","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"styria-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/styria-1-594x333.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/styria-1-594x333.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/styria-1-594x333.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2696,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/04\/14\/youre-human-like-the-rest-of-them-the-films-of-b-s-johnson-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5290,"position":4},"title":"You\u2019re Human like the Rest of Them: The Films of B.S. Johnson","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"April 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"B.S. Johnson produced some of the most startling pieces of literature. Now his extant film work is finally being made available on DVD and Blu-ray. Review by Emily Kawasaki","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fatman_on_a_Beach_(1974)_pic_3 (1)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Fatman_on_a_Beach_1974_pic_3-1-594x443.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Fatman_on_a_Beach_1974_pic_3-1-594x443.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Fatman_on_a_Beach_1974_pic_3-1-594x443.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2522,"url":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2012\/11\/30\/die-nibelungen\/","url_meta":{"origin":5290,"position":5},"title":"Die Nibelungen","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"November 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Fritz Lang's five-hour hallucinatory epic take on mythic tale Die Nibelungen is available now from Masters of Cinema (Eureka) in a spectacular new HD restoration DVD\/Blu-ray set. Comic Strip Review by Alex Fitch, Charles Cutting and Timur Hassan","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/siegfried_comic_900-594x924.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/siegfried_comic_900-594x924.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/siegfried_comic_900-594x924.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5290"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5298,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5290\/revisions\/5298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}