User Reviews

"LSD: Insight or Insanity?" is an American 19-minute short film from 1967, so this one has its 50th anniversary this year. Written and directed by Max Miller and narrated by 2-time Oscar nominee Sal Mineo, the title already makes clear what this one is about: LSD. And like many other drug-themed documentary films from that time, it makes the right statement, but the execution in detail is nothing to be proud of because the film goes so shamelessly over the top and the actors are so painfully bad that it simply is not even close to a successful execution. Quite a pity as the subject definitely deserved a lot better here. The scientists sometimes manage to elevate the material, like with the comments on how the drug (ab)users think they are more creative, but it is just in their mind. This was maybe the moment when the film was at its best as it also focused on the potentially positive aspects of LSD. But it hit rock-bottom on so many other occasions, like the screaming girl or the Russian Roulette scene at the very end that there is simply no way for me to recommend it. I think there is also a half-hour version of this one out here, but two thirds of that is really enough. I give it a thumbs-down. Watch something else instead.

"Now, everybody who takes it admits that there's always the risk of a bad trip, a bummer, a freak-out, even a flip-out. But, why be lame, baby? Give yourself a real kick. Yes, a kick in the head!"

That's Sal Mineo talking in this Max Miller-directed (the same dude who made the Sonny Bono anti-drug movie Marijuana) film which explains what LSD is, how it's made and when people take it they jump in front of cars and take leaps off cliffs like Diane Linkletter out of the windows of the Shoreham Towers, blamed on LSD even if the last person who saw her alive -- Edward Dunston -- may have also was the last person to see actress Carol Wayne alive. Then again, both Dunstons could be different people and for some other reason, people seem to confuse them with David E. Durston, the man who taught us that Satan was an acidhead in I Drink Your Blood.

See, I may make some detours, but I always get you back on the road.

This ends with a Russian Roulette freakout and Mineo singing over the closing credits, which inform us that everyone in this movie was not an actor. You won't be surprised.

This eighteen minute classroom scare film explores the subject of the potentially dangerous and unpredictable drug LSD. Various stodgy experts explain how LSD is made and point out the hazards of using it while avid LSD users talk about why they enjoy taking it (one of them describes LSD as "like a vitamin for the brain"). While users claim it sparks creativity, the experts counter this claim by noting that nobody showed any significant change in their creative abilities in a survey they did on this principle. Naturally, we get the inevitable trippy visuals complete with snazzy dissolves, queasy zoom-ins, and nifty freeze frames. Better still, folks under the influence of acid are shown jumping off of cliffs and running in front of speeding cars. And boy does this doc totally soak up the 1960's thanks to the groovy hairstyles and far-out fashions on display. To further add to the considerable kitschy entertainment value, a slow-motion rumble, kids playing chicken, and pot smoking are all tossed in for good measure. Sal Mineo's enthusiastic narration serves as the yummy icing on an already tasty camp cake. A real hoot.