American Grindhouse

Sex, gore, and violence may seem like recent movie innovations, but the history of exploitation cinema and the "grindhouse" theaters that played them reaches back to the silent era. This fun documentary looks at the B-studios, filmmakers, and actors who teased, titillated, and shocked audiences with such fare as "Freaks," "Mom and Dad," "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," "The Big Doll House," and more. Joe Dante, John Landis, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Fred Williamson, and others are interviewed; Robert Forster narrates. 82 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English.