From our 4/20 issue:
Sure, you can giggle your way to stoner bliss with tried-and-true movies like Up in Smoke and Half Baked, but just because you like to get high doesn’t mean that idiotic jokes about comically oversized joints are all that’s available to the discerning pot-smoking cinephile. The world of film is full of all kinds of strange, sublime, scary, silly treats, so here’s to putting something special inside that vaporizer, kicking back in your comfiest seat, and taking a two-hour trip to parts unknown.
Head—Who knew that the most psychedelic of all the post-Hard Day’s Night films trying to cash in on the success of a popular rock group would come from the Monkees? Directed by Bob Rafelson from a script co-written by actor Jack Nicholson, this chewy piece of stream-of-consciousness bubblegum from 1968 offers no point whatsoever, other than to poke hearty fun at the band’s prefabricated image and to throw in a cameo featuring a cow-toting Frank Zappa.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed—German animator Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 film is the oldest surviving animated feature, and it uses a breathtaking cut-out silhouette technique that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. A magic adventure featuring witches, snakes, and sorcerers, it’s the perfect world to get sucked into with the help of a little something-something. Best of all, it’s silent, so you can choose your own soundtrack—but our recommendation is the one that Swedish band Dungen composed specifically for the film (and performed live at 2017’s Pickathon), which can be found on their most recent album, Haxan.