Derrière la porte verte

Behind the Green Door (1972)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

One of the "classics" from the era known as the Golden Age of Porn. The film has a couple truck drivers stopping at a diner where the owner asks them to tell him the story about the green door. When then flashback to a rich socialite (Marilyn Chambers) who is kidnapped and taken to a strange location where she's forced to perform wild sexual acts. This "golden age", as it was called, seemed to feature people wanting to make mainstream movies not unlike what you'd normally see at a theater yet we'd also have hardcore sex in them. The strange thing about this movie is that it features poor camera work, poor acting, silly editing and an all around bizarre feel yet that's what makes it rather special. The movie wasn't glossy or pretty to look at and instead of it trying to come off like something you'd see in a mainstream theater it seemed more at home being like various other grindhouse movies that featured nothing but weird images and in the case of this film, the hardcore sex. I can't say I found anything here erotic or overly sexy but at the same time the film kept my attention just because of how strange it was. We have very little dialogue and instead we're pretty much just treated to the sexual images going on but even they are done in strange ways. Most of them don't feature any music and are as silent as silent can get. Ever so often we'll get a few moans or groans but for the most part they're silent until much later in the movie. The cheap looking stage and pathetic lighting are just perfect for the film because they fit the atmosphere that the Mitchell brothers have going on. It seems out of all the "mainstream" porn stars Chambers has come out the best, which might be because she's the most naturally beautiful of all of them. She's certainly got that "girl next door" image and she's certainly easy on the eyes. As someone who came to know her for her "non-hardcore" roles, it was a little strange seeing her here but that quickly went away. No one else in the supporting cast really stood out with most of them just delivering cheap dialogue and bad performances. That's not a major fault as I'm sure most are going to be checking this out for Chambers. I'm not sure if the final scene was just added on because the movie would be too short without it but it sort of sticks out more like a deleted scene than anything else that came before it. Is this a good movie that would rival something in mainstream theaters? No. Is this an important film? Yes. Is it a good adult movie? Why not?