Plot: What’s it about?
In Marihuana, a fun and fancy free beach party turns a little too wild, as four ladies drop their clothes and take a dip in the cool waters. Now this pleases their boyfriends of course, but when some trouble heads their way, the authorities want answers. What made these normal and wholesome girls turn into depraved harlots? This couldn’t be the work of mere teenage boys, but perhaps a certain narcotic could have forced them to shed their inhibitions. In Assassin of Youth, we follow a young reporter as he seeks to learn the secrets of drug addiction, but when he gets to close, things go off the tracks for him. Soon the once promising young man begins to fall into the pratfalls of drugs, which leaves him hopeless and addicted to the very substance he was investigating. And of course, in Reefer Madness (Doped Youth) , we watch as all hell breaks loose when some kids toke up. Who knew what utter chaos was to be loosed when the joints were fired up, right? Find out what happens to some everyday, normal folks when marijuana is placed into their systems..
If you’re like me, then you love these drug scare flicks and with this release, you can nab three of them in one fell swoop. Now Reefer Madness has been issued a few times on DVD already, but here it has been issued under the title Doped Youth. Along with the new title, we also get a new print of the film and this is a good one, much better than previous offerings to be sure. I know Marihuana and Assassin of Youth aren’t as well known as Reefer Madness, but if you’re a fan of that one, I think you’ll like these two a lot as well. The basic premise is the same and in the end, it’s more outrageous antics and a literal overcast of marijuana smoke. I think Reefer Madness is the funniest of them all, thanks to a handful of hilarious scenes, but Assassin of Youth is no pushover and has some excellent sequences as well. I’d never seen Marihuana before, but I am pleased to report that is a welcome addition to my drug scare flick collection. The girls in this one are more than entertaining, if you know what I mean and that adds a lot of humor. If you’re a fan of drug scare cinema, then this disc is a must own title and with such a solid treatment, it is well worth the time and cash.
Video: How does it look?
All three films are presented in the original full frame form and look decent enough, compared to previous editions. Reefer Madness looks much better than I’ve ever seen it before, with a much sharper and cleaner image all the way through. Some scratches are present here and there, but this is still the best the movie has ever looked on home video. Marihuana and Assassin of Youth also look good, but show more signs of wear and debris, though not as bad as I expected. The contrast levels seem in order, no sequences seem overly dark and on the whole, detail is very high at all times. Just don’t expect perfect looking prints here, but you’ll see very good visual presentations of all the films.
Audio: How does it sound?
All three films feature mono tracks and all show signs of age, but manage to complete the needed elements. The track on Reefer Madness is the clearest and Marihuana is the harshest, but all are decent enough, considered their age and nature. If you’ve seen them before and could live with the audio, then you should be happy with these mixes. The music sounds a little hollow, but then again, these are older mono tracks, so I will cut them some slack. The voices are all easy to hear and understand, which is to me the most important aspect of the audio for these films. These aren’t pristine audio tracks, but they more than get the job done in the end.
Supplements: What are the extras?
You’ll find some cool radio ads against drugs, some artwork from drug scare cinema, and three excellent short film subjects. The three pieces all focus on narcotics of course and are titled High On The Range, Sinister Menace, and Wages of Sin. These are just excerpts from extended films, but they’re still a welcome addition here, so no complaints. This disc also includes theatrical trailers for Assassin of Youth, Marihuana, and Devil’s Harvest, all of which are very nice to own on this cool collection. The final supplement is an audio commentary track by exploitation legend David F. Friedman, who sheds his thoughts on Marihuana. This is a nice track as usual from Friedman, who more than knows enough about the subject matter to fill the movie’s running time. In the end, a very solid selection of bonus materials here, all of which enhance the main features.
