Distant Drummer: Flowers of Darkness (1972)

★★★★ · Rare objectivity for the sixties · samontreal · 2004-07-13

I found that although this film certainly sees drugs as always evil, it has a rare sense of compassion for the people involved, especially the addicts. I found it generally interesting, in a National Geographic sense rather than having propaganda rammed down my throat from the DEA. Some nifty shots of Asia, by the way.

★★★ · A great overview of the drug problem, 70's style! · Spuzz · 2003-04-20

Paul Newman (who seemed to to do a lot of narration of drug films around this time) narrates this interesting piece about the drug culture circa 1972. Nothing totally new is stated, with the history of the opium trade, the terrible outcomes of addicts and treatment. But the climate and the feel of the early 1970's is most prevelant here, with the fashions, the cops during the drug busts and the customs agent. Quite a curious little relic, and quite worthwhile to check out.

★★★ · Herioin from Poppy to Pack · Christine Hennig · 2004-01-16

This late 60s film chronicles the worldwide opium trade and the contemporary problems of narcotic addiction in the United States. For the most part, this is intelligently done, though somewhat dry. Near the end, they talk about the shift in social attitudes from viewing addicts as criminals to viewing them as suffering an illness and how that has changed public policy. Unfortunately, that was not to last, and would be replaced by the strident, and ineffective, War on Drugs. This film provides a good historical record of drug policy during the 60s. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **.…