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To be perfectly honest, the first time I watched Bill Gunn's 1973 art-house horror movie, "Ganja and Hess," it left me quite cold and even managed to put me to sleep. I felt that the film was unbearably slow moving, featured unsympathetic characters, suffered from lackadaisical direction and mumbled line readings, contained numerous scenes that petered out listlessly and meaninglessly, and concluded with an excruciatingly protracted gospel finale. During a repeat viewing, however, to ascertain whether this film, which I'd loooong wanted to see, was really that bad--and with not so much lowered as altered expectations--I realized that the picture, despite its previously mentioned faults, does contain many fine qualities. In it, we meet Dr. Hess Green, an anthropologist who is stabbed by his unbalanced assistant with a knife from the fabled land of Myrthia and becomes a blood addict (the "v" word is never mentioned in this film), just as likely to sip his beverage of choice from a cut-glass decanter as to lap it up from a dirty floor. He takes up with the wife of his attacker, a beautiful though obnoxious woman named Ganja Meda, in a very unusual romance indeed. Duane Jones, the hero of 1968's seminal "Night of the Living Dead," is excellent and charismatic here as the bearded Dr. Green, and Marlene Clark does well in her difficult role. The film makes great use of an African chant that weaves through Hess' consciousness when he is, uh, thirsty, and its lethargic pace struck me, on a second viewing, as not so much glacial as dreamlike. This is a picture that almost demands and requires a second look to appreciate all its subtleties and various symbolic allusions. Put aside your expectations of fangs and capes and bats and you may find yourself really getting immersed in Hess Green's nightmare. This picture turns out to be not nearly as anemic as I initially thought!

I first heard of GANJA & HESS (1973) on the Internet but, after reading several favorable reviews, I decided to purchase it and I'm glad I did – though I've only watched it once so far. While I absolutely adore the "old" horror films, it's refreshing that once in a while a film comes along that treats the genre with extra sensitivity and maturity: Bill Gunn's approach, while peripheral in intent, is highly original and invigorating. The music score adds that much more to it, while the photography and editing techniques envelop the whole in a truly stunning visual style. It is inconceivable that such a seminal (and relatively recent) piece of work was almost lost to the ravages of time, not to mention the ignorance and pretensions of commercially-minded distributors!

The DVD's Audio Commentary, though limited (due to the obvious absence of Gunn and Duane Jones), was quite informative and the cast and crew members involved were certainly enthusiastic, harboring a genuine affection for the film. The essay co-written by Tim Lucas was also very interesting, filling as it does the "gaps" concerning the film's background and its chequered history along the years.

I would have liked that the notorious shorter version of the film, BLOOD COUPLE – complete with alternate credits and extra footage, shot by Gunn but discarded when assembling the original director's cut – could have been included on the DVD but, when I put this question to David Kalat (All Day's President), this is what he had to say:

"On GANJA & HESS, all of the parties involved in the original version hated and despised the BLOOD COUPLE recut and everything it represented to them. They worked hard, for little pay, to make a Black art film, and found their work abused and maltreated. 25 years later, through the DVD, they found an opportunity to try again. None of them--the producer, the editor, the DP--would have agreed to include the BLOOD COUPLE cut on the DVD, and I respected their wishes. I used Tim's article as a way to describe that alternate version, even if it wasn't otherwise represented."

Ganja and Hess doesn't surpass any cinematic niveaux or reinvent the art form but it is far above the standard fare afro Americans have had to tolerate as representative cinema. Something about it is just charming enough to recommend it; it is quirky and pensive but paces itself so deliberately it might well be delivered in episodes. It is a historical artifact, you will notice a multitude of 70s markers. The vampirism is not campy, the dialogue while perhaps inexpertly delivered, is not cliché or stereotyped and the cast looks good. It takes patience, nonetheless to watch and more than a little intelligence to decipher its subtexts.

This is an odd movie to say the least. Dr. Hess Green (Duane Jones) acquires the "addiction" from a ceremony while travelling in Africa and becomes, basically, a vampire. Not your standard fictional vampire mind you, but someone who has a hunger for blood and cannot die. After that, all similarities with your standard vampire end. He walks in the daylight, sleeps in a bed, goes to church and does not have fangs. He lives on a large estate and has a butler and chauffeur who take care of him. There is a bit of narration from the butler who knows about the doctor's affliction, but it is mostly to get us up to speed at the beginning of the film. A ways into the film Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes to stay with Dr. Hess. She finds evidence of strange goings on and tells Hess an interesting story from her childhood. Somehow this leads to their getting married and him performing the ceremony on her to give her the same affliction he has.

There are parts of the film that have a lot of dialog and then other parts that have very little, if any. There are also some extended scenes from a gospel singing church that look more like a documentary than a fictional vampire movie. Flashback scenes are interspersed with dream sequences and at times it is difficult to tell if it is present reality or a dream. There are a few violent scenes where the doctor feeds including one at a whorehouse where he somewhat violently kills his victim and laps up the blood that has spilled. In another scene he robs a medical clinic, walking away with their supply of blood in his leather satchel.

I can't say that this is a great movie, but it is somewhat entertaining, if not a little slow. When the film was first screened the producers were disappointed that it was not a traditional "blaxpoitation" film and cut it down from 110 minutes to 78 minutes. It bombed and was soon forgotten.

All Day Entertainment released the fully restored dvd to much fanfare from fans of the movie back in 1998 and it is still in release. There is an essay from Tim Lucas and and a commentary from producer Chiz Schultz, actress Marlene Clark, cinematographer James Hinton and soundtrack composer Sam Waymon. The full retail price is $30 and I am certainly glad I rented it from Netflix instead of buying it, but some collectors might consider it for their collection, mostly those intereseted in really offbeat, independent vampire films, or collectors of interesting black cinema (blaxploitation it is not).

There are others that can talk about the symbolism in this film much better than I can. It was made for Black audiences, and I certainly won't try to describe what director Bill Gunn was trying to say.

This film effectively ended Bill Gunn's short career. He was supposed to make a Blaxploitation film like Blacula. He failed his producers by making an art film, which they chopped up and released under another name. This is the fully restored film with an amazingly beautiful score by Sam Waymon.

If you are looking for horror or blaxploitation, you came to the wrong place. This film was shown at Cannes - the only American entry that year - and received a standing ovation.

After being stabbed with a ceremonial dagger but finding himself unable to die, a man tries to control his insatiable blood-lust while keeping himself safe from his new wife who grows curious about his strange activities.

This is a truly abysmal effort that has very little elements that are enjoyable and wasn't all that entertaining at all. The main thing with this is that nothing happens at all in here and it's an endless repeat of boring blather about nothing in particular or endless looping of an admittedly-catchy tribal song and not much else, as the film's barely-there plot unfolds in such a confusing, mystifying manner that there's almost no way to ensure what's going on at all. That just makes the film seem endlessly long and excruciatingly boring, since we don't have anything to really get a grasp on at all beyond the few decent moments of eroticism and sensuality present in their romance with each other. That mostly comes along during the final half which is where the few moments of enjoyment come from with the final revelation of the curse forcing this into some decent areas, but overall, this one just isn't all that worthwhile.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Nudity, strong sexual content and drug use.

#208 Ganja & Hess - 1973 (This Films Rates a B- ) Dr. Hess Green, an anthropologist, survives a brutal attack by his unstable assistant, Meda, who later commits suicide. While recovering, Dr. Green drinks Meda's blood, transforming him into a vampire. As he navigates his newfound thirst for human blood, Meda's wife becomes his lover and eventual vampire companion. However, their relationship is marred by her unlikeable nature. She seduces and murders. But ultimately disillusionment cannot overcome the will to survive. The film features hypnotic, artsy scenes throughout, but some may find them overlong. The script has memorable lines, such as "I dreamed you murdered me," "Everybody is some kind of freak," and "When you got a high on Jesus, you're high." The 1970s-inspired soundtrack is a standout, elevating the film's trippy atmosphere. While not excessively gory, the film has some blood and brief nudity. Its unique vampire film, but the pacing and character development takes so long that this just misses out on something special.

I am a horror aficionado who is always open to seeking out a lost treasure or new discovery on my horror quest. I had heard this movie pop up a few times over the years in discussion and felt it was time to give it a shot. Truth be told, it took everything in me just to make it through to the end of this one.

Let's start with the obvious statement that needs to be made, this is not really a horror movie, or a vampire movie. If you are going into this with the expectation of finding a drive-in or grindhouse flick from the 70s, this is not going to meet your expectations, at all.

This movie is very much in the art-house realm, using the archetypes of vampire mythology to explore concepts of addiction, religion and cultural identity. That would be fine with me. I was a Lit student in college and enjoy an intelligent movie with themes to explore. The problem here is that's all this movie has to offer. It's essentially two hours of conversation between Ganja and Hess, intercut with softcore sex, an occasional post-kill death scene and an overwhelming amount of directorial masturbation meant to convey symbolism.

I'm completely open to abstract film and the use of images to convey your symbolism, but you can achieve the same effect and still present an entertaining narrative. Even to have kept the same artistic flourishes, but to have actually explored the vampirism a little more in between might have produced a better film. Instead, the relief we get from the barrage of images is nothing more than conversation between two main characters.

This, in itself, is a problem because of the odd dialog style employed here. The acting and dialog delivery often feels like a bad 60s documentary. It's like watching WOODSTOCK and listening to the drug-addled metaphysical ramblings of hippies, "you dig me man". The opening convo with Bill Gunn as the maniac assistant, or the scene of Ganja explaining her childhood. Nothing felt professional or even more, if often felt like they would trip over words on purpose, or struggle for the next thought. I eventually started feeling like everyone on the cast and crew was high and I was watching a film that probably amused them greatly but did nothing for me.

I'm sure I'll get Not Helpfuls from the folks who assume that I'm just not intelligent or artistic enough to appreciate this "classic masterpiece", but this could have been done well, done intelligently and still created a much more entertaining film in the meantime. This is just dull and boring and make most wish for the two hours of their life back.

Ganja and Hess is a landmark film in so many ways. It is a remarkable achievement technically and in terms of fractured narrative. It is a remarkable addition to the African-American cannon of film. It is a remarkable boundary crossing experiment, aggressively combining elements of the blacksploitation horror film with the "art" film. Ganja and Hess is a vampire movie that says more about African-American history, sexual politics, capitalism and its relation to sexuality, colonialism and identity and spirituality than most other films. Find this film!

A uniquely formalist film about the Black experience, a film about being both a victim and a murderer, and about simultaneously being oppressed, while also being an oppressor. Ultimately, it is a film about Black assimilation into Anglo-Saxonism, and the complications that arise from a fractured identity. These ideas, while being incredibly ripe for thought, ultimately come across as a bit jumbled. The whole film feels rather jumbled, actually, like some discordant fever dream, which excites in a sensory way, but which does not quite make an effective appeal to logos.

Many comments on this film from other users implicitly take on a perspective not unlike that of the producers who severly cut the film before its theatrical release because they expected it to be a more conventional blaxploitation horror film. It is neither blaxploitation nor horror, but instead one of the few (only?) examples of an independent African-American art cinema from the early '70s. It may be flawed, but it is also an incredibly ambitious, challenging film. If you are a fan of Shaft, Superfly, et. al., you may not like this one; if you are a fan of Bergman, Bunuel, or Antonioni, you should check it out.

Duane Jones of "Night of the Living Dead" fame plays Dr. Hess Green, a renowned professor of anthropology and geology who is assaulted by his unstable new assistant, George Meda (played by writer / director Bill Gunn). George stabs Hess with a ceremonial dagger that turns Hess into a fiend with a craving for blood. Then Georges' outspoken hottie wife Ganja (sexy Marlene Clark) arrives, looking for her husband and also looking for a place to stay. Ultimately, Hess and Ganja enter into a passionate relationship, fired by their desire for the red stuff.

It's a shame that this ended the filmmaking career of Mr. Gunn. His producers wanted him to deliver a "Blacula" type of exploitation-horror picture, but he took the money and made something far more interesting and substantial. This viewer found this to be an intriguing film that owes more to art films than conventional horror - full of meaning, symbolism, and imagery. Therefore, it won't be to some tastes: people may find it far too long and not exploitative or gory enough. But it is also extremely sexy, atmospheric, effectively acted, and nicely scored by Sam L. Waymon, who plays the supporting role of the Reverend Luther Williams.

Far from being a typical vampire flick, this features characters who may not be *that* sympathetic, but who are trying to come to terms with the changes in their lives. In fact, we never do hear the V word, and "Ganja & Hess" never does go for the "body count" approach. Nor is there anything resembling a Van Helsing kind of character.

Jones delivers a quiet, restrained performance. Perhaps a bit aloof, but this does fit his role. Clark is quite enticing to watch, and is given one big monologue well into the picture. Gunn himself is pretty memorable in his brief time on screen. This was the feature film debut for singer / actress Mabel King, of 'What's Happening!!' fame.

Re-released by various distributors, at various running times, over the next few years, but if people are looking for substance and not mere exploitation, they're advised to check out this full-length 114 minute-long version.

Seven out of 10.

There was a time when film was slower. Shots were longer and cuts were considered an interruption. Ganja and Hess is of this era. Before you say anything, realize that image means a lot in cinema. Just the amazing imagery and in-depth account of black life without the white gaze make this an important film. The rich world of Dr. Hess unfolds with African connections, the church, and the street all make for a pioneering film with complete disdain for established norms. As a student of black cinema this along with Bush Mama and Killer of Sheep are simply must sees. For the second wave see Daughters of the dust, Dead presidents and Sankofa. While it is no night of the living dead it is an import stop in the history of the horror genre.

I'll start with the usual preamble: America makes two kinds of movies: Empty CGI spectacles and self-absorbed (wish-to-be-European) dramas which, in the end, are equally empty. This movie is the latter.

Don't get me wrong, I've got no actual negatives here. Screenplay, acting, camera, production - all of it is ok. It's just that there's no point to it all. Where's a plot? What's the point of it all? Is the movie entertaining in any shape or form? Does it have a heart? No. Maybe there's some "inner joke" to it all to some people, but not to me. All I saw was 2 hours of boredom. This is not how you emulate European cinematography!

However, it's still better than Disney Star Wars or MCU, that much is sure.

I took a chance on this film after reading a couple of intriguing reviews of it. Ultimately, I thought the film was boring, incomprehensible, amateurish, and almost unwatchable. The cinematography and editing are a mess. The story pointless and the direction varies between arty and overdone to dull and sluggish. The acting ranged from passable (by the lead, Duane Jones) to awful (everyone else). This is supposed to be a landmark in black cinema of the 70's? Avoid at all costs!!!

This film essentially begins with a wealthy anthropologist by the name of "Dr. Hess Green" (Duane Jones) inviting his new assistant "George Meda" (Bill Gunn) to his house for dinner. During this time George, who is by his own admission "neurotic", gets exceedingly drunk and tries to kill Hess by stabbing him 3 times with an ancient African knife that has special, hidden properties. Afterwards, feeling guilty for what he had done, George subsequently kills himself. It's then that we discover that Hess was not killed and that whatever wounds he had sustained have completely healed on their own. At the same time, however, he finds that he has an unquenchable thirst for blood and because of that he then proceeds to drink his fill from the body of his dead assistant. From that point on, his life revolves around killing others so that he might live. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a highly unusual horror film in that it deviates from the usual vampire traditions in favor of a supposed African mythology centered on a ancient tribe known as "the Myrthians." It also uses certain special effects which simulate a drug-enhanced stupor to great effect as well. Even more important, in my opinion, is the fact that there are apparently several versions of this film all with different titles and running times. And while I cannot comment on any of the others, I can say that the long version of "Ganja & Hess" was quite interesting and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Ganja & Hess is an art house movie disguised as blaxploitation. But it's a bad art house movie, more like a bad student film.

There is some beautiful photography throughout, but that's the only compliment that immediately comes to mind. The acting is uniformly wooden, the story is slow and goes nowhere, and the soundtrack is unbearably obnoxious. Those are three elements that I'm usually looking forward to in a movie like this. Other takes on the genre have awesome music, entertaining preformances, and an a interesting hook to the plot (however cheesy it might have been). The hook here was supposed to be another take on 'Blackula', but instead we get a vague allegory layered over a bizzare vampire story involving a cursed knife.

Looking at the movie objectively, away from it's supposed genre, it's still a mess. It's worst sin is how boring it becomes, and how quickly. The filmmakers seemed to be going for a surrealist vibe within the constraints of the characters and production, but it all falls flat. A surrealist blaxsploitation film could be very interesting, but they never go far enough in either direction. Like forgetting the key ingredients while making a great recipe.

The occasional moments of impressive cinematography kept me watching, in spite of it being crushingly boring. I literally nodded off on multiple occasions while watching (it was late, give the movie a break).

Even being low budget, and (arguably) ahead of it's time conceptually, and even though there were parts of the production that were very impressive and watchable, this ended up as one of the least enjoyable movie experiences in recent memory.

Points for originality and some beautiful proto Wes Anderson style shots. The cinematography was truly excellent, it bears repeating

GANJA AND HESS is indeed an offbeat film. It is interesting, because of it not wanting to be just a blaxploitation film of the seventies, but it has a looseness which often makes it wander around too much.

Otherwise it points its finger to African culture, which is a great theme that could be investigated more often.

Duane Jones is fascinating as ever, even he's made only so-and-so-much films. I originally came to see GANJA AND HESS because of Duane Jones' great performance in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

I think this movie made my eyes bleed. This is a perfect example of bad "art" movies. Dull, incoherent, pedestrian direction, mediocre acting, clueless editing, blind cinematography, and almost certainly no writing (this thing surely couldn't have been scripted). Perhaps Bill Gunn should have made the standard blaxploitation vampire movie he was hired to make. It certainly couldn't have been any worse.

The first time I tried to watch it, I grew impatient and ended up turning it off. I remember thinking at the time that it was too pretentious and slow. I decided to give it another chance and I am actually glad that you did.

This is not your typical blaxplotation movie, this is not your typical vampire movie either. It's neither and it's both.

I am not even going to try and explain this, it's something that you have to experience on your own, This is a movie that you will either love or hate. There is no in between here. This is a film that goes deep into subtext and symbolism. This is a film that digs deep.

While it is beautiful to watch and it is easy to see how well crafted it is, it can still be difficult to follow.

I will give extra kudos to the great soundtrack though. It is perfect for the mood and tone of the movie.