A closer look

In a twist that defies all logic, a mob-funded adult film starring a woman with a bizarre anatomical anomaly became the cultural touchstone of 1972. You couldn't claim to be part of the intellectual elite unless you had attended a screening of Deep Throat. Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and Johnny Carson all treated this filthy underground release like an arthouse masterpiece, accidentally mainstreaming pornography for an entire decade.