GANJA & HESS (1973)
Schedule
Thu, 09 Oct, 2025 at 07:30 pm
UTC-04:00Location
Epsilon Spires | Brattleboro, VT
After being stabbed with an ancient dagger, a doctor is blessed with immortality… and cursed with an unquenchable thirst for blood. Flirting with the conventions of blaxploitation, arthouse and horror, Bill Gunn’s revolutionary film is a highly-stylized treatise on sex, religion and African-American identity.GANJA & HESS (Dir. Bill Gunn, 1973 | 110 minutes). Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead) stars as anthropologist Hess Green, who is stabbed with an ancient ceremonial dagger by his unstable assistant (played by the director himself, Bill Gunn), bestowing upon Hess the blessing of immortality… and the curse of an unquenchable thirst for blood. When the assistant’s beautiful and outspoken wife Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes searching for her missing husband, she and Hess form an unexpected partnership. Together, they explore just how much power blood holds.
Later recut and released in an inferior version, this new restoration represents the original release, restored by The Museum of Modern Art with support from The Film Foundation, and mastered in HD from a 35mm negative.
