Now, I need to be honest, for all the times I've seen Ganja & Hess--and I've seen this uncut version three other times--I still don't completely understand what's going on. Duane Jones, who is best remembered for his role in the original Night of the Living Dead, stars as archeologist Dr. Hess Green, who is transformed into a vampire when he is stabbed with an ancient African dagger by his demented assistant, George (Gunn). Hess kills George, stores his body in the freezer, and goes about his life dealing with his new-found addiction. And then along comes Ganja (Marlene Clark), George's free-spirited wife, who is less concerned with the whereabouts of her husband as she is with Hess. The two quickly become lovers, and it isn't long before Ganja is also a vampires, who deals with her addiction in her own way.

That is the basic plot of Ganja & Hess, but even knowing that much doesn't help in comprehending this somewhat disjointed foray into metaphor and cinematic symbolism. As a film, Ganja & Hess is a visual rumination on addiction that isn't concerned with the audience's ability to understand everything that is going on. In many ways it is like watching someone's attempt at translating on to film a nightmare they had experienced. And while this may not sound like the most entertaining of films, it is compelling nonetheless, due in no small part to the fact that Ganja & Hess is unlike pretty much any movie you've ever seen before. It is one of those rare works of cinema that reflects the unique artist vision of the primary creator, which in this case is Bill Gunn.

Gunn was an actor with a handful of television credits to his name, and an incredibly gifted writer whose credits include the films The Angel Levine and director Hal Ashby's brilliant movie The Landlord. Ganja & Hess was Gunn's first opportunity to write and direct his own feature. He was contracted to do a blaxploitation vampire movie in the vein of Blacula, which had been a huge hit in 1972, and on paper he crafted a script that promised just such a film. But Gunn had no intention of making a typical blaxploitation, and so he went on to make the movie he wanted to make, much to the frustration of the film's financiers. After the initial release of Ganja & Hess, which was well-received by critics, but lost to audiences that thought they were getting a vampire sexploitation flick, the distributors recut the film and released it under various different titles. Where Gunn's version ran 110 minutes, Double Possession, Blood Couple, Black Vampire, and Black Out: The Moment of Terror all ran a scant 78 minutes--and none featured Gunn's name as writer and director.

Ganja & Hess is an interesting film, though it is not for everyone. It is devoid of nearly all the conventions of trappings of most horror films as well as blaxploitation movies, making something very different from entries in either of those genres. It is as more of an artistic achievement than it is a work of baseline entertainment, and as long as it is viewed and considered from that standpoint, it should always be engaging.

Video:
Ganja & Hess is presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture has been mastered from a restored 35 millimeter negative (though the film itself was originally shot on Super 16 millimeter and then blown up to 35 mm). The overall picture quality is good, but not great, and those with high standards or low tolerance for less than pristine prints need to be warned. The problem with the picture quality is that it was mastered from a source that had been assembled from various sources that were not in the best of condition. Add the fact that this is a Super 16 film blown up to 35, which brings with it a certain amount of grain, and you have a picture that might be problematic for some people. But given the option of seeing a less than perfect print and not seeing anything at all, this is more than adequate.

Audio:
Ganja & Hess is presented in English in 2.0 mono. Like the picture, the sound mix is good, though not great.

Bonus Material:
The selection of bonus material comes from the initial DVD release in 1998. "The Blood of the Thing" is a 29 minute featurette that features interview clips with people involved in the production of Ganja & Hess, as well as David Kalat, who spearheaded the '98 DVD release. Producer Chiz Schultz, lead actress Marlene Clark, cinematographer James Hinton, and composer/actor Sam Waymon provide an insightful audio commentary that covers most of the material on the featurette, as well as much more historical insight into the production history of the film. The original editor, Victor Kanefsky is not part of the commentary, but he is part of the featurette, and he sheds some interesting light on how the other versions of the film came to be. Between both the commentary and the featurette there is a solid helping of historical information to be gleaned. There is also a photo gallery, as well as Gunn's original screenplay and on the making of the film and the various cuts (both of which are DVD-ROM access only).

Final Thoughts:
Ganja & Hess is a film that is artistically and historically important, perhaps more so than it is entertaining. It is not for everyone, but it is a fascinating cinematic accomplishment, with an equally interesting story behind the scenes.