Deep Roots (1978) User Reviews

Unsung porn classic, primed for rediscovery

[lor_ · 26 May 2010]

Lost in the porno shuffle is an outstanding example of the hardcore form, Deep Roots. Something Weird dumped it on the market (first on VHS, later DVD) on one of its hundreds of miscellaneous Dragon Art Theatre twofer packages, but it deserves standalone recognition.

Based on a reported NYC theatrical booking IMDb dates it as a 1973 picture, though I would infer from viewing the DVD-R that it is actually of 1977 vintage, its title being a takeoff on the TV phenomenon "Roots". The title also refers to hairdressing, but given the movie's ethnic theme and so many other "Deep" title references during the porno chic era (e.g., Deep Jaws) I could be right. Alas, I never got around to doing my planned 1970s book on film releases to followup the indispensable (but unfortunately unsequelized) AFI Catalog Feature Films, 1961-1970, so the basic documentary materials have largely been discarded and lost from that era.

Deep Roots is almost unique in hardcore history for starring a Native American actor in a Native American role. (There have been several actresses, notably Janette Littledove and Hyapatia Lee, but other than Sonny Landham, who was not cast on-screen as an Indian, I can't recall a starring part for a male.) Jesse Chacan performs admirably in the lead role as Billy, leaving his cute girlfriend behind and riding his immense chopper to L.A. for the good life off the reservation. Storyline is pretty conventional here, more an excuse for sex scenes and comic relief, leading to the inevitable and endless orgy scene at a party.

But along the way Deep Roots escapes from the porn category into genuinely erotic cinema. I have long advocated for IMDb to create a Genre category: "Erotica" that could encompass both softcore and hardcore sex films & videos, but beyond the textbook definition there are a few works that qualify as true eroticism. Filmmaker Joe Bardo, hiding here behind the pseudonym Lisa Barr, actually makes the effort to create something worthwhile (though obscurity was all the thanks this film got).

Besides Jesse's sensitive sex scene with his girlfriend, which is quite arousing and far from the mechanical "going through the motions & positions" one gets from comparable films, one becomes aware that Deep Roots is a different breed of cat when Billy starts to make love to a beautiful young girl in L.A. after she is introduced in a sensuous shower sequence. Their foreplay begins and just as she is about to give him a blow job, extremely well photographed in closeup, she abruptly stops and she begs off, claiming to be a virgin. Billy leaves in a huff, and their consummation is delayed till film's end. Even today, in such far afield offerings as the current hit pair of TV series Bones and Castle, this technique of building up a romantic involvement but tantalizingly delaying the payoff is a powerful dramatic technique, and it works like a charm here.

A very strong presence here is Anita Sands, a voluptuous, ultra-busty beauty covered with freckles and a peaches & cream freshness. She reminded me of the unsung mainstream character actress Lisa Blount ("An Officer and a Gentleman") but her body is the closest we'll ever get to seeing Christina Hendricks go hardcore. Sands, probably a pseudonym, is also very exciting co-starring opposite Rene Bond in "Do You Wanna Be Loved" and is a major discovery. Sands' sex scenes from this film were reprised by Alpha Blue Archives in their DVD titled "XXX Bra Busters In The 70's Volume 2". Incidentally, Bardo uses his "Lisa Barr" monicker for a couple of credits on "Do You Wanna...", nominally signed as directed by B.A. Smith, and that film could be of his authorship too.

Liz Renay, in a very self-conscious turn, is alluring and amusing in a support role. Overall this is a well-made porn film and highly recommended for both its sexual content and its unusual approach to the genre.

Play It as It Lays...

[Nodriesrespect · 7/10 · 5 December 2014]

Capturing the carefree California Zeitgeist of the late 1970s to a T, this is one of only a handful of XXX flicks directed by Joseph Bardo, a Jack of all trades who had cut his teeth as a tech on adult shoots stretching back as far as R. Lee Frost's 1969 sex western THE SCAVENGERS and Ted Roter's 1970 psychobabble porn NORMA. Apart from the questionably attributed Rene Bond showcase DO YOU WANNA BE LOVED? (credited to "B.A. Smith", the writer of DEEP ROOTS, with the more familiar "Lisa Barr" serving as editor), this ranks perhaps as his most accomplished effort, albeit allowing some caveat.

One of depressingly few fornication films to feature - let alone star - an actor of Native American descent, DEEP ROOTS will appeal primarily to nitty gritty adult aficionados who value often genuinely erotic sex above all else. In the lead role of Billy, kissing girlfriend Shawna (Debbie Love) goodbye to embark on a tour of Hollywood to see "how the other people live", Jesse Chacan is spectacularly easy on the eyes, like Sonny Landham's kid brother with a dash of David Cassidy and every bit as cute as the fly by night starlets he's pornographically paired with. Story takes a back seat early on as the narrative quickly boils down to a series of reminiscences as Billy fondly recalls his tussles with Tinseltown's tastiest trollops. Clearly, the current trend to revile Golden Age porn for all the aspects that make up mainstream movie fare, like an engaging script and decent thesping, is not going to apply here.

Production values on the other hand are unexpectedly lavish with gorgeous cinematography by Bart Younger, who shot all of Bardo's "Lisa Barr" endeavors (Lisa, just for the record, being his daughter's name), and a perfectly pleasant soundtrack filled with original songs by one "David Blue" who I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest as being a proper recording artist. Such polished tech specs totally enhance the overall experience, revealing a care and concern not always apparent on the remainder of Bardo's meager output, especially the train wreck that was STARLET NIGHTS, shot at around the same time but not released theatrically until 1982.

Cruising his chopper along the Pacific Coast Highway, Billy picks up hot to trot Joan (abundant Anita Sands, memorable co-star to the returning Rene in DO YOU WANNA BE LOVED?) who's mighty miffed that her longtime boyfriend steadfastly refuses to pop the question. Hence she engages in a spot of body-painting when she learns of our hero's artistic aspirations. Unspoiled Rene (one shot Toni Bell, sporting a fashionable Farrah Fawcett flip) gets Billy all hot and bothered in an incredibly arousing tease tidbit but recoils at the very last moment, leaving him to assuage an onset of blue balls with the lithe and lovely Sue (Mary Swan, another one shot) whom he has always regarded "as a sister". He soon gets over that minor quibble and their resulting encounter's a real barn burner.

Before Billy gets a repeat shot at the reluctant Rene in another scorcher, we cut to Joan getting her hair done (and not just that on her head, this being the '70s and all) in preparation of the Big Party Billy's been blabbing on about by "The Amazing Ricardo", in actuality a portly middle-aged Puerto Rican (with a short fuse...) who looks about as far removed from being a porn stud as it is humanly possibly. The party's your predictable L.A. orgy with what looks like a bunch of real life swingers billed as "Fifty Beautiful People" though I'm really only sure about the final third of that particular description. Running the gamut of age and body types, these performers generally make up in carnal gusto for what they lack in the aesthetic department, turning a diaphanously gowned Joan (easily the most eye-catching female participant) into a magnificent mess à la Brigitte Maier at the climax of Lasse Braun's superlative SENSATIONS.

Making the most of modest resources, Bardo has created a classy skin flick with creatively crafted intimate interludes with the emphasis on erotic rather than explicit, although there's ultimately no shortage of that as well. On the downside, the paltry plot meanders towards the most meaningless of cop-out conclusions (Billy stating you should never stray too far "from where you belong" before heading back to the reservation) and the "acting" is very, very bad even by adult standards. You know you're in trouble when Liz Renay, legendary burlesque headliner and an amiable enough actress (A for trying) when put through her paces by the accommodating John Waters on his 1977 trash classic DESPERATE LIVING, actually delivers the flick's most competent turn as Joan's over the hill stripper girlfriend teaching her how to rekindle the home fires through expert ecdysiasm (look it up...) in an absolutely priceless sequence.

70's porn goes Native American

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 5 August 2014]

Hunky Native American Billy (a sincere and likable performance by Jesse Chacan) leaves his reservation and heads off to Hollywood on his motorcycle to find out how other people live. While in Hollywood Billy gets a swanky pad and meets an assortment of lovely young ladies: He enjoys a torrid fireplace tryst with Joan (voluptuous redhead knockout Anita Sands, who has the most yummy and extensive freckles), makes sweet love to eager teenager Sue (fetching long-haired looker Mary Swan), and gets down to business with the virginal Rene (the extremely cute and petite Toni Bell) in a bathtub. Writer/director Joseph Bardo nicely captures a distinctly carefree and laid-back Los Angeles vibe. Moreover, the sex scenes are quite sensuous and arousing, with the lively and protracted climactic orgy hosted by a Groucho Marx impersonator (!) rating as the definite steamy highlight. Better still, the incomparable Liz Renay provides plenty of humor and energy portraying her own blithely bawdy self; the scene in which Liz teaches the nervous Joan how to relax by doing a striptease is simply hysterical. David Blue's groovy soft-rock score hits the soothing soulful spot. Bart Younger's pretty cinematography gives this picture an attractive sunny look. Recommended viewing for aficionados of Golden Age hardcore fare.