Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Ganja & Hess Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 5, 2015

Bill Gunn's "Ganja & Hess" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with producer Chiz Schultz, actress Marlene Clark, cinematographer James Hilton, and composer Sam Waymon; selected-scene commentary by film historian David Kalat; and archival featurette. The release also arrives with a 24-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic and author Kim Newman and a vintage letter written by the American director. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

So red, so sweet...

The cause of the transformation is revealed in the very beginning of the film. While studying the ancient Black civilization of Myrthia, prominent anthropologist Dr. Hess Green (Duane Jones, Night of the Living Dead) was stabbed three times by a mysterious stranger -- one for God the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Ghost. After the incident, Hess has become an immortal addict.

Now the majority of the time Hess looks calm and relaxed, but when he sees blood he becomes a different man. The transformation is quick and powerful, absolutely impossible to control. It still makes Hess feel uneasy, but he has learned to live with it.

In the big city, Hess has discovered an endless supply of his ‘drug’. He prefers to raid the many understaffed blood banks, but occasionally he also sees poor prostitutes no one would miss if they disappeared. The hunger makes him feel alive, but after it disappears he feels lonely. There are times when deep inside he even feels guilty.

Hess’ life changes dramatically when Ganja (Marlene Clark, Enter the Dragon), the beautiful wife of his former assistant (director Bill Gunn), suddenly returns home from Amsterdam. She phones Hess, the last person that has seen her missing husband, and then visits his luxurious villa. Hess immediately falls in love with her, and a few days later gives her the gift of eternal life. For a short period of time the two live in harmony, but then Ganja makes a shocking discovery.

The film is loosely divided into three contrasting parts -- Victim, Survival, and Letting Go -- but the events they chronicle and even their actual order are largely unimportant. The film is far more interested in creating a very specific type of atmosphere and utilizing it in ways that would give one the ability to experience the intensity of Hess’ transformations.

In 2001, Claire Denis directed a very interesting film which brings together a man and a woman with addictions that are very similar to the one Hess struggles with. It is called Trouble Every Day and it is far more graphic, but the horror element in it once again has a symbolic role -- what Denis focuses on is the intensity of the relationship between the man and the woman and ultimately its destructive power. (If you can, see Trouble Every Day as it is just as effective as Ganja & Hess).

The version of Ganja & Hess included on this Blu-ray release is the same version that was greeted enthusiastically at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. It has been restored and reconstructed by The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation.

There is a second, shorter version in circulation which was created by the distribution company Heritage Enterprises after the film failed to meet expectations at the domestic box office. It is heavily edited, rescored and even retitled. Gunn disowned the edited version and a number of the people that assisted him also removed their names from the credits.

In 2014, Spike Lee directed Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, a modern interpretation of Ganja & Hess. According to various reports, Gunn apparently helped Lee write the script for the film.

Ganja & Hess Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in am aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bill Gunn's Ganja & Hess arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer is sourced from the same restoration by The Museum of Modern Art/The Film Foundation which Kino Classics accessed when they prepared their release of Ganja & Hess for the U.S. market. Because at one point the film was drastically cut and edited by its producers -- despite the positive reviews at the Cannes Film Festival more than 30 minutes of footage was cut from it so that it can be promoted as blaxploitation film with various alternative titles -- its original version was apparently available only via a few problematic prints. It appears, however, that the original 35mm negative also must have been in quite poor condition because even after the restoration was completed the reconstructed original version of Ganja & Hess still looks quite rough. Indeed, there are obvious traces of fading and discoloration, as well as contrast instability, general transition issues, and numerous tiny scratches and specks. Even with these issues, however, the film has a rather attractive organic appearance. To be perfectly clear, there are no traces of compromising digital corrections -- the fading does affect clarity and depth and grain isn't as evenly distributed as it should be, but the basic qualities that make film look like film are more or less retained. Ultimately, in an ideal world Ganja & Hess should look a lot better, but the current restoration most certainly allows one to experience the film as its creator intended, and more than likely as well as it is economically possible. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Ganja & Hess Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Despite some minor fluctuations, clarity and depth are very good. Indeed, the dialog is stable and clear, and Sam Waymon's ambient score easily and quickly transforms various sequences without creating any balance issues. This being said, it is quite obvious that there is still room for improvement -- light background hiss occasionally sneaks in and at times some of the high-frequencies seem unusually flat and uneven. There are no audio dropouts.

Ganja & Hess Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Blood of the Thing - in this featurette, film historian David Kalat, producer Chiz Schultz, and editor Victor Kanefsky discuss the difficult production history of Ganja & Hess, its unfortunate cutting/editing and the disastrous reviews it received at home, the film's very unusual atmosphere and Bill Gunn's script, etc. The featurette was produced for the 1998 DVD release of Ganja & Hess and also appears on Kino Classics' Blu-ray release of the film. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Selected Scene Commentary - David Kalat discusses the structure of the narrative (and specifically Bill Gunn's script), the management of time and sound in key sequences, the restoration and reconstruction of the film, etc. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Audio Commentary - producer Chiz Schultz, actress Marlene Clark (Ganja), cinematographer James Hilton, and composer Sam Waymon discuss in great detail how and where various sequences were shot, the problematic editing of the film, the uncharacteristic (for a film with African American actors) atmosphere, the use of sound, etc. The audio commentary also appears on Kino Classics' Blu-ray release.

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring: Kim Newman's essay "Ganja & Hell", Bill Gunn's "To Be a Black Artist" (this letter from Bill Gun appeared in the New York Times in 1973), and technical credits.

• Script - Bill Gunn's original screenplay for the film available via DVD-Rom and BD-Rom.

Ganja & Hess Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bill Gunn's Ganja & Hess is one of the most impressive and truly original American films from the early '70s that you would ever see. It defies classification much like Jean-Luc Godard's experimental films did and plays with the mind in a way Luis Bunuel's most subversive films do. Restored and reconstructed, Ganja & Hess was first released on Blu-ray in the United States by Kino Classics. Now it is available in the United Kingdom via local distributors Eureka Entertainment. I strongly encourage you to consider adding this release to your collections. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.