"Ganja and Hess" (alternately cut and renamed "Blood Couple"), was written and directed by playwright, actor, and novelist Bill Gunn and starred Duane Jones and Marlene Clark.
On the surface, the film is about a Black vampire couple: Ganja Meda (Clark) and Dr. Hess Green (Jones). Hess is a wealthy anthropologist who gains immortality when his assistant stabs him with an ancient blade. After waking up with a thirst for blood, he meets his now-former assistant's widowed wife, Ganja.
Gunn's original film used vampires to tell a story about drug addiction. But "Ganja and Hess" was recut after premiering at Cannes Film Festival, and the version that was released in theaters played up the sensual scenes of the film.
According to The Village Voice, the director requested that his name be left off of the recut version.
In 2018, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and The Film Foundation restored the film with its original cut.