Grass

Rating:
Summary: propaganda about propaganda
Review: For what it's worth I do agree with what the film-makers of "Grass" have to say... that our government's criminilization of marijuana is a far greater crime than all the use, dealing, and growing of it combined and multiplied. But the film would have been better if it had been a little more even handed in it's approach. This film isn't gonna change many people's minds on the issue of legalization. I also think that this film could have gone further than simply attacking the government propaganda over the years. It is affective as a compilation of ridiculous propaganda (at times you'd swear the people who made these things were trying to be funny). But it doesn't tackle key issues like the competition that hemp provides to the paper and cotton industries, which could arguably be the main motivation behind the millions and millions of dollars wasted on this "war".

Rating:
Summary: propaganda about propaganda
Review: For what it's worth I do agree with what the film-makers of "Grass" have to say... that our government's criminilization of marijuana is a far greater crime than all the use, dealing, and growing of it combined and multiplied. But the film would have been better if it had been a little more even handed in it's approach. This film isn't gonna change many people's minds on the issue of legalization. I also think that this film could have gone further than simply attacking the government propaganda over the years. It is affective as a compilation of ridiculous propaganda (at times you'd swear the people who made these things were trying to be funny). But it doesn't tackle key issues like the competition that hemp provides to the paper and cotton industries, which could arguably be the main motivation behind the millions and millions of dollars wasted on this "war".

Rating:
Summary: Grass is more than funny, it's TRUE
Review: Grass is a documentary about the anti-marijuana legislation going back to the early twenties, narrated by who else - Woody Harrilson. It is funny and well organized, a must see! =)

Rating:
Summary: Funny, Informative and Thoughtful
Review: Grass takes an often funny, yet thoughtful, historic look at our nation's changing approach to keeping Americans convinced that weed is a useless and dangerous drug that must continue to be criminalized at an outrageous cost to taxpayers. Be prepared to be SHOCKED, as I was, at just how much of your money America is spending on its "war" on Marijuana. Through its documentary style, incorporating footage of many of the very same films I watched in junior high school, Grass imparts a wealth of information in a style that is educational and entertaining. It raises new questions as to the prudence of perpetuating the stigmas of uninformed and uneducated past generations and ignoring the many potentially beneficial uses for marijuana. I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in the issue of whether or not marajuana should continue to be criminalized.

Rating:
Summary: Informative and Entertaining
Review: I was fortunate enough to view this at the Rewind Miami film festival. The film was well done, moved quickly, and was so educational on the evolution of first amendment rights and wasted American funds. This video is so accurate, the truth jumps off the screen in a nice soundtrack, collection of visuals, and archived footage. This really should be a trailer across the nation in all movie theatres. Sometimes the truth hurts the iggnorant. Must see!

Rating:
Summary: Finally, the truth!
Review: The movie, Grass, is an excellent choice for anyone wanting to know the other side of marijuana, in a documentary format, Grass tells the story of pot in the US. How it was brought in, why it really became illegal, and why it is still that way. I recommend everybody watch this movie , even if just to be more informed. it's darn funny, too!

Rating:
Summary: A powerful teaching tool!
Review: The thesis that Ron Mann presents the viewer with in this well-crafted and colorful documentary is: that Government has always profited from laws against Marijuana; and, ergo, has refused to legalize the drug in spite of the fact that it has (arguably) been medically proven to be less harmful and addictive than alcohol. That thesis is examined thoroughly from a historical vantage point and addressed brilliantly with qualitative data, (mainly consisting of historical film footage and historical facts). Although, at times, the presentation of statistical data is somewhat dubious (Specifically, I would deduct one-half star for Mann's consistent referral to Government spending in the general "War on Drugs" as the "War on Marijuana").

I agree with most of the reviews of this film and would add that whether the viewer's position is pro-legalization or anti-legalization there is a lot of insight to be gleaned from knowing the history of Marijuana legislation in America. I would highly recommend this film for college professors concerned with teaching students about either: a) the role of political and economic power in the creation of a body of laws; or b) the power of government-sponsored propaganda with regard to the creation of sub-groups of social deviants. There is also a lot to be learned about the making of a documetary from examining the presentation of the thesis.

The most laudable aspect of this documentary, which is narrated by Woody Harrelson, is its historical "linearity" in presenting the events that eventally led to status of Marijuana in today's society. The documentary begins by showing us some footage from the early 1900's that seems to confirm that the earliest attempts to criminalize pot-smoking in America came about largely as the result of predjudice and fear toward Mexican immigrants to the US. Footage from the 1920's and 1930's seems to confirm that the government had effectively mastered the power to control other disenfranchised segments of the population (such as African Americans) indirectly through the passage of laws aimed at behaviors associated with those segments. Likewise, footage from the 1950's and 1960's indicates that the pot laws similarly geared to target first "communists" and then anti-war hippies. Footage from more recent decades seems to confirm that although by the 1970's most of the American popualtion were aware that pot was generally an innocuous distraction from reality, the demonization of grass had become so embedded in American culture that legalization was not an option.

While the presentation of the 1900-1950 data from the film is often punctuated by scare-film clips (ie: clips from "Reefer Madness", etc.) which provide the viewer with some chuckles, with regard to the substatiative content of the film, there are some particularly powerful moments that can not be disregarded. First, there are film clips taken from 1960's medical experiments, which actually show the effects of marijuana on experimental groups to be harmless. Second, evidence is presented that seems to confirm that the results of these experiements were systemically disregarded by lawmakers (especially by Richard Nixon who, in spite of medical evidence, decided to step-up efforts to punish marijuana criminals). Finally, Mann's presentation of legislation dictating the use of cannabis, accentuates the progressively counterintuitive body of law related to the drug.

In sum, although the film was produced by NORML, this is not the "government bash-fest" that I would have expected. While I otherwise liked the review, I strongly take exception to the reviewer who claimed that is "...this video is propaganda for fans of grass...". The tone of the documentary is suprisingly objective most of the time and highly academic in its presentation of historical fact and lawmaking. It really doesn't even come across as pushing a political agenda - much less as "ramming one down your throat". Show it in the classroom and see what the students think.

Rating:
Summary: One Toke Short Of The Mark
Review: The United States of America has spent untold billions to search out, arrest, prosecute, and imprison people who use marijuana; all the time, money, and effort that has gone into this has had very little effect; and it does seem odd, particularly given evidence that alcohol and nicotine are much deadlier, that we put so much emphasis on the clearly futile effort to eradicate its use. It is a situation ripe for a documentary that combines hard fact with witty satire, and this is precisely what GRASS attempts to do.

But "attempts" is the operative word here. While the film is accurate re the facts it presents, it tends to ignore facts it doesn't like--chief among them that any drug, all the way from cough syrup to heroin, can be abused, and marijuana is no exception to the rule. Ron Mann's failure to acknowledge this tends to undercut his own argument, and what ultimately emerges is a film that argues FOR the legalization of marijuana TO people who are already in favor of it.

That said, while the film presents plenty of amusing graphics and often hilarious snips of vintage films such as the notorious REEFER MADNESS, the pace is just a shade too laid back to hold the narrative together. When all is said and done, it lacks both the informational and visual spark of a truly first rate documentary. Worth watching once, but only if you don't expect too much from it.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Grass DVD Review
Review: This awesome documentary looks at the prohibition against cannabis/hemp/marijuana in the US. The movie is composed entirely of historical footage, and chronicles the beginning of the war against marijuana up to the present. It shows the true racist beginnings of the first laws against marijuana. There's alot of footage of Harry Anslinger's massive propaganda campaign, which is truly laughable now. The movie is quite funny, this is because all the government propaganda against pot has been so ridiculous and exaggerated over the years ("If you smoke it, you will go INSANE and KILL people!"). The movie shows how the public and media's attitude changed about pot, but the government failed to respond to ever-growing legalization demands. You're also presented the monetary figures on the war against marijuana over the years, it increases dramatically (till this very day).

Mann picked the best parts of old films and newsreels, and used nice collage techniques to link them together, which makes the movie very enjoyable to watch. Along with the incredible soundtrack, which is mostly old pot songs with some cool original tracks (like the opening credit music). There are even some really cool animations, and to top it off, Woody Harrelson does a nice job of narrating.

The DVD includes a few extras, but nothing to get very excited about. The creator of Grass, Ron Mann, has a short interview where he comes across as being very stoned. A deleted opening sequence is also included, which is interesting but not that great. I was excited about the High Times magazine gallery, thinking it was gonna be every single High Times cover ever printed! Unfortunately they only included about 25 covers, which is disappointing (they could have easily included every cover). NORML provided a state-by-state marijuana legal reference guide (you can choose which state to read about), this turned out to be the best extra feature. High-definition transfer for 16x9 televisions and dolby digital is always nice too. Overall I really love this DVD, mainly because the movie is so great. The DVD picture and sound quality is good, and the extras are decent. I HIGHLY recommend picking this one up.

Rating:
Summary: great movie
Review: this documentary on marijuana use from roughly 1900 to present times is awesome. it has vintage footage of adults smoking joints in their living room in the 60s for recreational use. my favorite part is when they show the soldiers in Vietnam smoking out of their gun. they use the bullet chamber of the gun as the bowl for the pot and smoke it out of the barrel.
its narrated by woody harrelson, known stoner. they also show the origins of weed in america when mexican immigrants brought it over for breaks during their labor in texas. i say thank you to them. anyways, it also shows the hippies in san francisco smokin joints. and talks about the fight to legalize it in america.