Marijuana is often lauded as being “hangover free”, maybe most famously by Tim Meadows’ character in WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY, but most stoners can attest to at least a slight fog the next day if one goes hard. And Spectacle went hard in April with the 420 double feature of [REDACTED] and DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES. So hard in fact that our licensing agreement allows us to play the titles a few more times to recoup some of those expenses. Thus, this May Spectacle—groggily—presents the return of DEALING, paired with pornographer Alex de Renzy’s classic documentary WEED, for a look back at Marijuana under prohibition and the experience of trafficking bricks across borders, both fictional and non-fictional.
DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES
Dir. Paul Williams, 1972.
United States. 88 min.
In English.
SATURDAY, MAY 2ND – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, MAY 8TH – MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY, MAY 16TH – 10PM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27TH – 7:30PM
[ PURCHASE TICKETS ]
DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES, a mouthful of a hyphen-laden title, tells the story of Peter (Robert F. Lyons), a privileged Harvard Law student who parlays his ennui into cross country drug smuggling at the behest of his posh classmate John (John Lithgow in his first film role).
Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Vietnam War, Peter makes his way from Cambridge to California under the alias Lucifer where he picks up a shipment of marijuana and becomes smitten with Susan (Barbara Hersey), who he meets during the basement deal. Safely back in Boston with a suitcase full of bricks, Peter implores John for another mule gig in order to bring Susan to the East Coast. But things don’t quite go to plan and Peter must further immerse himself in a world of corrupt cops, missing evidence, heroin, and the Cuban cartel, to get Susan out of trouble.
WEED
Dir. Alex de Renzy, 1972
United States. 117 min.
In English.
SATURDAY, MAY 2ND – 5PM
MONDAY, MAY 18TH – 7:30PM
TUESDAY, MAY 26TH – 10PM
[ PURCHASE TICKETS ]
Presented as an educational film, adult film pioneer Alex de Renzy takes us on a journey through the methods, risks, and logistics of the 1970s drug trade.
In 1970, Alex de Renzy found commercial success with CENSORSHIP IN DENMARK: A NEW APPROACH (1970), a film that documented Denmark’s legalization of pornography while incorporating explicit sexual content. The film was the subject of obscenity challenges in New York, where rulings in its favor helped expand the legal exhibition of explicit films.
However, this win was short lived for de Renzy as this ruling allowed cheaper, less tasteful pornography to flood the market. In regards to this de Renzy said “I made films with style and fought to get them shown, and then this trash comes along and floods the market. It only demeans my own reputation.” As a result of this de Renzy decided to turn his attention to another subject that, in the early 1970s, remained shaped by legal restriction and social stigma.
WEED (1972) traces a path through Mexican border towns, Californian enforcement offices, and international trafficking routes, combining interviews with customs officials, narcotics agents, and small-time dealers. As it details techniques such as maritime transport, air routes, and concealment strategies, it gradually reveals an underlying interest not just in documenting these systems, but in understanding how they function in practice.
A year later, it became evident that WEED was more than just a film for de Renzy. On September 22, 1973, he was arrested by Canadian drug enforcement officers after a tip-off that the decommissioned naval vessel he had taken on an around-the-world trip was being used to smuggle hash. An initial search of the ship turned up nothing, but three days later authorities discovered a cache valued at nearly one million dollars hidden ashore. The charges against de Renzy and his crew were ultimately dropped, and he denied any knowledge of the operation for the rest of his life, famously asking, “Why would I do that for a lousy million dollars?”