crouse-the 100 best movies you've never seen

8/14/2019 Crouse-The 100 Best Movies You'Ve Never Seen

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Copyright EC WP R E S S , 2003Published by ECWP R E S S

2120 QueenStreet East, Suite 200,Toronto,Ontario,CanadaM4E1E2Allrights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form by any process electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the

priorwrittenpermissionof thecopyrightowners and ECWP R E S S .

Grouse, Richard, 1963-The 100 best movies you've never seen / Richard Grouse.

I S B N 1-55022-590-11.Motion pictures. I.Title. II.Title:Onehundred bestmovies you've neverseen.

PN1993.5.A1C862003 791.43 C2003-902185-8

Editor:Jennifer HaleCover and Text Design: Tania CraanCover Photographs: Richard Beland

Production & Typesetting: Mary BownessPrinting: Transcontinental

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N A T I O N A L L I B R A R Y O F C A N A D A C A T A L O G U I N G I N P U B L I C A T I O N


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RICHARD CROUSE

ECW PRESS


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tamo nt nntontQ

TheAdventuresofBuckarooBanzaiin the 8thDimension 1

Annigoni: Portraitof anArtist 3Atanarjuat:TheFast Runner 5TheBad and theBeautiful SBedazzled 1 The Believer 13BetterOffDead 17Beyondthe Mat 1 8LIST:Richard's Favorite Lines from

'80sComedies 19BeyondtheValleyof theDolls 23BigBadLove 25Biggie& Tupac 27TheBraveOne 29Brotherhoodof theWolf 3OBubba Ho-Tep 31Cane Toads:AnUnnatural

History 33CarnivalofSouls 3SChelseaGirls 39Cherish 42Cocksucker Blues


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High School Confidential 115IAnn aFugitive fromaChain

Gang 117Incubus 119IslandofLost Souls 1 24Jason& theArgonauts 1 27TheKidStaysin thePicture 12KillerKlowns from Outer

Space 13OKind HeartsandCoronets 133TheKrays 135Ladyin theLake 137TheLuzhin Defence 13M 142MadMonster Party 144Maelstrom 145TheMan Who Fell to Earth 1148Meetthe Feebles 152MileZero 1 54TheMnusMan 1 S5MonsoonWedding 159LIST:Richard'sFavorite Titles with

TenWordsorMore 1GONightTide 161Omega Man,The 1 63PeepingTom 1 67ThePhantomof theParadise 169PitchBlack 173LIST:Richard'sFavorite Legal

Disclaimers 175ThePopeofGreenwich Village 177Porn Star:TheLegendof

RonJeremy 179ThePrincessand theWarrior 181RatPfinkA Boo Boo 1 84

LIST:Richard's Favorite AlanSmithee Films 1 85

Santa Claus Conquers theMartians 188

Scarface:TheShameof theNation 191

TheSeven Facesof Dr. Lao 194Simone 197LIST:Richard's Favorite BitsofMovie

Wisdom 199Stage Door ZOOTheStraightStory 2O2SugarTown 2O4Suspiria 2O513Conversations aboutOne

Thing 2O7Tadpole 2O8Targets 2O9TheTerrorofTinyTown 212TheyMghtBeGiants 214ToBe or Not To Be 216The ToxicAvenger 219TreedMurray 223LIST:Richard's Favorite Credits 224TreesLounge 228Twist,The 23OTwoFamly House 234TheVirgin Suicides 237waydowntown 24OWhiteZombie 243Wildin theStreets 245LIST:Richard's Favorite Corporate

Logos 248Zardoz 249Bibliography 249


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It isalmost impossibletogaugehowpeoplearegoingtoreacttothingsyousay.Aninnocent little remarkcantriggerawhole cascadeofevents.Suchwas thecasea fewyearsagowhenIintroducedasegmentonReelto Real'sfavorite martial arts movies with, "I have to admit, martial artsfilmsare aguilty pleasureofmine."

I recall the shoot day. It was a steamy hot August afternoon. We wereshooting outsideand I wascooking insidemysuit.Webangedoff theintro in onetake,and Ididn't thinkabout itagain. Well,not until Ireceivedthemost aggressively angry letter Ihave ever gottenpossi-bly one of themosthateful,profanity-laced piecesofmailtoever makeits way into my, or anybody else's, inbox. Everyone in the public eye hasgotten them. Usually the subjectline reads something like "What wereyou thinking?"oroccasionallytheblunt"Youarewrong."

Thisone wasdifferent.IknewI was introuble whenIreadthesub-ject line: R I C H A R D is A S N O B .Clearly, subtlety was not this writer'sstrong point. Whatherletter lackedinsophistication,itmadeup invit-riol. Here'sthebreakdown:A fterspendingaparagraphor socallingmesome not-so-nice namesandquestioning myabilitytoreview movies,she got to thepoint. She was offended by my use of the term "guiltypleasure." "What? Can'thejustsay heenjoysmartial artsfilms?Why dothey have to be a'guilty pleasure'?Ireallydon't think hewouldsaysomething like'Ihavetoadmit, those Fellinifilms are aguilty pleasureof mine.'"

Theunladylike dispatch wenton todescribeme aspretentiousandseveralother things that aren'tfit toprint here,beforeinsisting that Irespond. I didreply, although I'm not sure shereceivedthe kind ofanswer she was looking for. Her letter was clearly designed to offendandupset; instead,IhavetoadmitIfounditrather funny.I was frankly

I n t r o d u c t i o n"YOU'VEGOT HATE MAIL"

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tickled that something I had said on television could elicit such ven-omousfeedback.As Frank Zappa said, "It doesn't matter what kind ofreactionyouget,aslongas you get areaction."In myresponseIthankedher for theletter andexplained that I enjoy awide varietyofmovies,notjust Fellini.Ilike Fellini; Ithink 81 /2is agreatfilm,almost asgoodas another favorite of mine, The Poseidon Adventure. Y ou see, Iexplained, Ihaveto seebetween 300 and 325 moviesayearfor m yjob,andwhenI sitdown toview something thatI am notprofessionallyobligated towatchIconsiderthatatreat aguilty pleasure.Ilistedafewof themoviesthatIalwaysturnto in myo ffhoursThe Bad andthe Beautiful, Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, and Here Comes Mr.Jordanexplainingwhy Iliked eachofthem.Idecidednot toattackher in any way, but to kill her with kindness.

I 'm notsure whateffect m ye-mailhad o nher,as Inever heard fromher again. I do, however, owe her a debt of gratitude. Her nasty letter gotme thinking about all the movies that I love my guilty pleasures which led directly to the writing of this book. There were only two cri-teriafor themovies includedinthis booktheyhad to beunderratedand they had to be personal favorites of mine. These aren't reallyobscure movies most are available on D VD or video, although youmight needapolicedog tofindsomeofthemtheyarejustfilmsyoumight have missed the firsttime around. If she hadn't written that let-ter, Iwouldn't have written this book. So it is to her, the pissed-offviewer,that I dedicate this book.

I also would like to extend a personal thanks to:Dara Rowland;JenHale;JackDavid; Tania Craan; Richard Beland;

Andrea Bodnar; Vincent Monteleone; Stephen Peter Smith; ZachariusKunuk; Norman Colin; Ry an Gosling; Barry Blaustein; Forrest J.Ackerman; Nick Broomfield; Bruce Campbell; Don Coscarelli; BillWyman; Peter Lynch; Rob Sitch; Oliver Hirschbiegel; Jim Jarmusch;Emily Perkins; Katharine Isabelle; John Turturro; Christopher Heard;Jenn Kennedy; Denis Villeneuve; Hampton Fancher; Mira Nair; Cole

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Hauser;VinD iesel;T omTykw er; Franka P otente; A ndrew N iccol; LloydKaufman; W illiam P hillips; D avid Hew lett; R on Mann; R aymondDeFelitta;SofiaCoppola; Gary B urns; Frances,Carol,Wini,and every-one else at S outhern A ccent; Charles W echsler; B ryan P eters; Kai B lack;D avid C arroll; B rent B am bury; Kathleen S cheibling; Julia Caslin; S usanSmythe; LauraQuinn;V irginia Kelly; N ancyY u;B onnie Smith; KarenN eilson; S herman P au; M ark P auderis; Shelly Chagnon; JulieVaillancourt;Peter Lynch;B ill P hillips; Ka trina S ouku p; Jason at R hino H om e V ideo;Tim Goldberg; Paul Kemp; The Chiodo B rothers; S helly at StarwayInternational; John B ain; M ax Films; R on M ann; A ndrew C urrie; KevinHall; R od Guidino and RueMorgue magazine; Mike Scott;and MichaelFleisher at A nchor B ayEntertainment.

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"May Ipassalongmycongratulationsfor your greatinterdimensionalbreakthrough. amsure, in themiserable

annalsof the Earth,youwillbeduly enshrined"

Y ouwanna talk multi-tasking?B uckarooBanzai (Peter Weller) mustbethebusiest renaissanceman in thegalaxy, listingnotonly rock starandcomic book heroon hisresume,but also racecardriver, samurai,andofcourse, world famous neurosurgeon.

In the opening moments ofthis,the first in a proposed seriesofBanzaimovies, Buckarooisgivinghislatest invention, something calledan Oscillation Overthruster, atest run.A s hedriveshisnewfangledJetCarthrough asolid rock faceheentersthe 8thdimension.Once thereheencounters thewicked R edLectiodsfrom Planet 1 0 , whowere ban-ished to the 8thdimension and now see a way outthrough Buckaroo'stechnology. While Buckarooiswowingtheladiesandperforming withhis band, th e Hong Kong Cavaliers, the Lectiods (all named John,strangelyenough) plantostealtheOverthrustertoescape their earthlyprisonand dobattle with their sworn enemies,theBlack Lectiods.TheBlackLectiods respond bythreateningtounleash anuclear war, whichwouldnotonly devastatethe RedLectiods,but earthaswellLifeas weknowitcouldgo up in ahuge mushroom cloud unless Buckaroo Banzaiand theHong Kong Cavaliers stepin tosavetheday.

It's a wild ride, and onethat motors along at such a clip that itdemands your attention,oryou'llgethopelessly lostin theconfusingstory.The muddled plotmay be thereason that theproposed sequelsnever materialized, ormaybeit is asWeller says,"Itjustdidn'tget the

JOHNWH ORFIN (JOHNLSTHGOW)T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F B U C K A R O O B A N Z A I

A C R O S S T H E 8 T H D I M E N S I O N o -,

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press orpublicity it needed.Thepicture gotlost in the shuffle."A t anyrate, audiences in 1984 stayed away. S ince then it has gained acult fol-lowing, no doubt driven by fans of the Robocop movies, a characterWeller originated.

BuckarooW ellerisstoic, delivering lines like "R emem ber,no matterwherey ou go, there you are," w ith amock seriousness that bo rders o ncamp. It's a nice balance to John Lithgowas the insidious D r. EmilioLizardo/Lord JohnWhorfin,aperformance soover-the-topthatit bor-derson insanity.The movie isgreat fun towatch.Astrong supportingcastincludes EllenB arkin as the maudlin Penny Priddy,Jeff GoldblumasB anzai's medical colleague with the unlikely nameof N ewJersey,andChristopherLloydasJohn B igboote.

Poorboxoffice receipts killedanychanceof20th CenturyFoxturn-ingBuc karooBanzaiinto a franchise, but rumors persist that asequelmightbemade someday,orpossibly evenatelevision series."Y ourguessis as good asmine,"saysW eller. "The director is hiding out in B ostonsomewhere, the guythatowned therightsshothimself inahotelroominC entury City,and the restof ushave goneon tohappy lives. W e'veallbeen approached a hundred times, and I'd certainly do it if it all cametogether Idon'tunderstand themovie myself,butpeople lovei t . . .we'll see."


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"Ifyou candraw,you can paint."

When documentary filmmakers Richard BondandStephen Peter Smithwerefilming in theCathedral ofSanto AntonioinPadova, Italy,acuri-ousthinghappened.They were thereto shoot Pietro Annigoni'sfinalfresco from th e walls of thegreat cathedral when awizened old manapproached themandasked what they were doing.

"W etold him we areshooting the last fresco,"said Smith."Hesaid,'No N o This is not the last fresco. Followme and I'll showyou.'A ndhe led usthroughtheback interior [of thecathedral].Low andbehold,heopens adoor into this huge workspace that hadn't been usedfor ahundred yearsormore,and wasjustastorage space. Annigonihadcre-ated this incrediblefresco thatw as 1 5m eters high.It wasamazing.It hadbeen covered immediately after finishing it."

T hepiecehadsimply been losttotime.Noteven Annigoni's secre-taryor hisestatewasawareof itsexistence."I t wasreally extraordinary,"saysSmith. "Italyissortoflikethat.A lot oftheirancientart treasuresaren't properly cataloged,sothey lose literally hundreds of thousandseachyear."

Themaking ofAnnigoni:Portraitof anArtistwas afour-year jour-ney ofdiscoveryforBond and Smith. Shot on location in Annigoni'shome of Florence, Italy, the filmmakers immersed themselves inAnnigoni's world, interviewing hisstudents and familyto gain insightinto this largely forgotten painter.

"Iwent around Florenceandcheckedout hiswork,and Ithoughtitwasincredible thatnobodyhadever madea film onthispainter," saysSmith."W estarted exposingthe first frames in1991in the fall andwenton from there. I tjust becamealargerandlargerfilm as w e gotdeeper

Annigoni: P O R T R A I T O F A N A R T I S T , ~ S F-PIETROANNIGONI

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intohisworkand hisideas. A nnigoniwassuchaprolificartistw ereallyneededafeature lengthto tellhisstory."

The Annigoni presented in this film is a complex person. His stu-dents called him "The Maestro" because of his mastery with apaintbrush he was, simply put, the Karshof the canvas.H e w as aphilosopher, with the skill to capture a person's soul on canvas, bu t alsohad areputation as aheavy drinker and brawler.He was anintellectualwith the soul of an artist, whose favorite pastimewasknife throwing.Painter John Angel characterized him as a "cynical and pessimisticman," while his peer Giorgio de Chirico called him "one of the fewartists worthrespecting."D irector S mithsaysA nnigoniw as anenigma."He w as avery gentleand generous man, but he was a perfectionist and could be severe attimes. E specially w hen it came to hiswork."

Annigoni's work provides the heart behind this 1995film. Studentsof 2oth century portraiture willbe familiar with Annigoni's celebratedpaintings of John E Kennedy and Queen E lizabeth, and B ond andS mith take pains to ensu re that the painter's other great w orks are wellpresented.

Photographing the enormous frescos presented the biggest chal-lenge.To avoid distortion, cameras had to bepositioned on the sameplane as the frescos to properly film their two-dimensional surfaces."W e had to build scaffolding and shoot on extension ladders," saysS mith. "W e also had to run external generators because the churchesaren't equipped to handle cinema lights." It was time consuming anddifficult, but Smith foundit rewardingin the end. "Youdon't want tomakea filmlike thisandtakeshortcuts.W ereally wanted to dojusticeto his w ork, and also take pride in the kind of film we were capable ofmaking."

That kind ofpride is something that Annigoni himself might haveappreciated. "Annigoni really believed in the technique of drawing asbeingone o f themost Important aspectsofpainting," says S mith.In thefilm A nnigoni says, "I f you can draw, you canpaint."He was a perfec-


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tionistas apainterandteacher,andwould only takeonstudentsof thehighestcaliber.Accordingto the film,heoncehad apotential studentworkfor threemonthson asingle drawing beforehe would agreetoteach him."It was apretty rigorous processto getaccepted intothestu-dio,"saysSmith.

"Atthedawnof the firstmillennium...evil lurks in the formofanunknown shaman ...two familiesdivided by power,jealousy, murder,andrevenge . . . one manmust fightfor

his lifeandcommunity . . .battlingnaturaland supernaturalforces . . . canharmony finallybe restored?"

- Advertising tagiineforATANARJU AT: T H EFASTRUNNER

Originally planned as a two-hour movie fo r Canadian television,Atanarjuat: TheFastRunnerhas foundworldwide success, scooping upawardsin Cannes and finding theatrical distributionathome, in theNetherlands, Germany,and theUnited States. Basedon anInuitlegendpasseddown orally throughtheyears, this173-minuteepicis astunningachievement for director Zacharius Kunuk.Heperfectly captures therhythmsof theNorth, allowingthestorytounfold littlebylittle againstabackdrop of ice andsnow.Theresultiscompelling both as astoryandananthropologic study.

S et in the eastern Arctic wilds near Igloolikat thebeginning of thefirstmillennium,Atanarjuat: TheFastRunnerbegins with th e murderofa camp leader. Sauri (Eugene Ipkarnak) takes command, and pro-ceedsto humiliatehis oldenemyT ulimaq through maltreatment andderision. Tulimaq regains someof hislost prestige years later when his

A T A N A R J U A T : T H E F A S T R U N N E R (2001)

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tw o sons, Amaqjuaq, The Strong One (Pakkak Innukshuk) , andAtanarjuat, The Fast R unner (N atar Ungalaaq), become the mainproviders offood for the camp.Old rivalries ariseas Sauri's bad-tem-pered son Oki (Peter Henry Arnatsiaq) becomes resentfulofA maqjuaqand Atanarjuat. When The Fast R unner wins awayOki's promisedbride-to-be, the striking Atuat (SylviaIvalu), Okischemesto murderthe brothers.

"I t is astory thatwastaughtto us, astory passedfrom generationtogeneration," director 2'acharias K un uktoldReel toReal inMarch 2002."It'slikealesson on how youwanttolead your lifewhenyougrowup.These stories were taught to us, they were like bedtime stories for uswhenw e used to sleep side by side. M others told the stories to put theirkids to sleep and give lessons."

A t first glance director Zacharias Kunuk's style recalls that of the1922landmark docum entaryNanook of theNorth.Likethe So-year-oldclassic, The Fast Runner was shot entirely in Igloolik and the NorthBaffin areaofA rctic C anada and is setagainst vast vistasof snow andice, an unrelenting background of stark white and icyblue. The coldactsas an em otional trigger, as the audience can relate to it on a prim allevel.K unu k wisely letsthe severe climate speakforitself,quietly tellingthe viewer of the hardships ofInuit life.

AlsolikeNa nook,Kunuk's slow-paced cinema veritemethodrevealsthe cultural values of the I nuit peo ple, bu t that is w here the similaritiescease. Yes,The Fast Runner is historically accurate, carefully recon-structing ancient Inuit traditions and lifestyle, but, unlike itspredecessor, is far from being just a clinical examination of time andplace. B lending realism with legend, Kun uk tells a storythat isbothcompelling and universal in its appeal.

"Once you hear the storyyou can't get it out of your mind," saysN orman Cohn, the film's cinematographer, co-writer, and productionmanager, and anativeN ewY orkerwhomovedto Igloolikin 1985. "Thecenterpiece of this sto ry is a m an, naked, runn ing for hislife across theArcticice asthree guys arechasinghim with spears trying to kill him.


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Zach has talked many times about what it is like to be a kid and havethat imageinyour head: you couldsee it, imagine it.T here arelotsoflegendsyou canchoose from, but once you've heardthisone,yousay,'Wow,thatwouldbe agreatm ovie.'W ewere evolvingas acompanyandasacreative prod uction teamtolargerandlarger projects,andwhenwedecided wewere readyto try andmakeafeature film,thisstory seemedlikeareally good placetostartP aul A pakA ngilirq,who was thescreen-writer, said, 'Let's try and do this one.'And we really thou ght it was agoodidea"

The otherworldly setting may seem foreign, but the moral of thestoryisanythingbut.Throughtheactionso fOkiand hisfather Sauriwelearnof the consequences ofgreedand themisuseofpower.The themehas been covered hundreds of times in all art forms from the Bible toOthello to television's Dallas,R arelyon screen has it been somoving,so memorable. It is a timeless morality tale, but asKunuk s-1-o-w-l-yunravels the story we are treated to a beautiful retelling that ismorethan worth th ewait.One main ingredient of the film's success is the ensemble cast.Wonderfully naturalistic performances breathe life into the roughlyhewn characterizations. Thesearesimple, primal people livingaharshand unforgiving life, without a trace of self-pity or regret. N atarUngalaaq isparticularlyhauntingin thelead role.Hisunderstatedturnas Atanarjuat reveals an inner strength that is exposedby his actionsand facial expressions rather than through dialogue. Through him welearn the virtues of perseverance and forgiveness. While the film hasbeen praised,and won the 2001 C amera d'Or atC annes,theGuardianAward fo r First D irectors at the 2001 E dinbu rgh I nternational FilmFestival,and theToronto City AwardforB est C anadian Filmat the2001Toronto International Film Festival, it is a shame that Ungalaaq'sremarkable perform ancehasbeenall but ignored.AnotherstandoutisPeter HenryA rnatsiaq. In his firstprofessionaljob as an actor, the former full-time hunter isvery convincing as thewicked Oki.

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melodrama that is atonceover-the-topandincrediblyinsightful Basedon astorythatoriginally appeared in aFebruary 1951 issue of Ladies'Home Journal, the film opens with actress Georgina Lorrison (LanaTurner) , writer James Lee Barlow (Dick Powell), and director FredAmiel (Bar rySullivan) arrivingat a filmstudio for ameeting with hotshot executive Harry Pebbel (Walter Pidgeon). Pebbel's mission is toconvince the trio to make another film with blackballed producerJonathanShields (Kirk D ouglas)."Don'tworry,"hesays, "some of thebest moviesaremadebypeoplewhohate eachother'sguts."

In aseriesof flashbacks, w elearn about the trio's troubled relation-ships withtheschemingproducer.AmielandShieldshad cuttheir teethtogether, makingastringofsuccessful B -pictures.They weretightuntilShieldsstoleAmiel'sidea for aclassyfilmcalledTheF arawayMountainandleapt intothe bigtime withouthim.NextisGeorgina's storyofalco-holism andspurned love.S he is thedaughter of afadedscreen star,whofruitlessly battled thebottle until Shields showed up, romanced her,helpedherkick booze,andcasther in amovie. Whenthe film w asdone,so w astheir relationship. Lastissouthern writer JamesLeeBarlow's taleofwoe. WooedtoHollywood,hemadeitbig,butlosthiswifeRosemary(GloriaGrahame)afterShields engineeredanaffairbetweenher and thestudio's resident Latin lover Gaucho (GilbertR oland).Both were killedwhen Gaucho's plane crashedenroutetoMexico.

There isn't ahint ofcynicismindirector VincenteMinnelli'shan-dling of the material. While he paints Shields as a manipulative,cheating gadfly,healsoimpliesthateachofthese characters oweshimsomething, suggesting they must put aside their personal animositiesandmake adecision based purelyonprofessional considerations. T hequestion remains, Will they acknowledgetheir debttoShields,ortaketheir revenge, kicking him when he isdown? "Look folks," saysPeebel,"you'vego t togivetheDevilhisdue.W e all owe himsomethingand y ouknow it." The Bad and theBeau tiful is a far cry from the negative,sadtenor ofother contemporary Hollywood exposes likeSunsetB oulevardand A StarIsBorn.

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Occasionally overwrought check out the scene where S hields tellsoff Georgina after the premiere the movie succeeds because of thelarger-than-life characterizations of the main characters. Kirk D ouglasis at his ruthless best (he lost the Best Actor Oscar that year to GaryCooper inHighNoon)) and Lana Turner turns in the role of her lifeasGeorgina. Herhysterical breakdown on arainy road in the HollywoodHillsis the highlight of herspotty career.

Minnelli took great care casting the smaller roles as well. Look forB eaver's m om , B arbara B illingsley, in an uncredited cameo as a testycostume designer. N ed G lass's turn as a world-weary w ardrobe man is aclassic.Anotherof thejoysofThe Bad a nd theBeautiful istrying to connectthe dots between the fictional characters and their real-life counter-parts. Georgina likely is a thinly disguised D iana B arrymore, thebeautiful but troubled daughter of acting legend John B arrymore. Acomposite of writers W illiam Faulkner and F. S cott Fitzgerald seems tobe the inspiration for B arlow's tale of woe, while there are great simi-larities between D avidO.S elnickand Shields.The Bad and the Beautifulis sophisticated, but still just trashy enough to be consistently enter-taining,just likethetabloids that inspired the story.

"I'm thehorned one. TheDevil.Let me give you mycard."- GEOR GE SPIGGOTT (PETER COOK) f rom BED ZZLED

B E D A Z Z L E D 1967In the 19605 and early'jos the duo of Peter Cook and D udley Moorewere Swingin' London's hippest comics. Their West End revues Pieceo f Eight and Beyond theF ringe heralded a new age of comedy that

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paved the way for Monty Pythons Flying Circus and a new brand ofsatiric humor. N o subject escaped their jaundiced eye the R oyalFamily, socialconditions,the B B C ,eventhe Prime Minister. In1 967 theytook ontheir most pow erful subject ever,the D evil.

Bedazzled is a comic reworking of the Faust legend. Stanley Moon(D udley Moore) is a lonely andtimidshort-order cook at a LondonW impy B urger restaurant. He's hopelessly in love with waitressM argaret (E leanor B ron) who is oblivious to hisaffections.S purned, hewrites asuicidenote"D ear Ms.S pencer, This is to saycheerio. Y oursSincerely,S tanley Moon.R S .I leave you my collection of moths" andtries to hang himself. Like everything else in Stanley's life, his suicideattempt is a miserable failure.

He makes the acquaintance of the sarcastic George Spiggot (PeterCook), a smooth-talking gentleman w hoclaims he's reallythe HornedOne, B eelzebub, The P rince of D arkness The D evil. Georgeoffers toexchange Stanley's soulfor Margaret's loveand seven wishes.T o act onhis dreams, all he must do is utter the magic words, "Julie Andrews"(who is apparently in league w ith the D evil). S hould S tanley wish tocancelany of hiswishesall heneeddo isblow a"raspberry." S ounds likeawin-win dealfor a guylike S tanley,but Spiggothas awicked senseofhumor that prevents Stanley's wishes from turning out the way hewantsthemto .Stanleymustbecareful what hewishes for, because hejust m ight get it. Enticed by the living person ification of the D eadlySins,emb odied byR aquel W elchasLilian L ust, S tanley b eginshisjour-neyto w in the heart ofMargaret. Alongthe w ay hisdreams are dashedover and over by the w ily D evil, who always seems to b e one step aheadof poor Stanley.Or so he thinks.

Bedazzled, basedonsketcheswrittenbyCookfor thestage, rides theline between satireandblasphemy , although to mymind lands squarelyon thesideo fhumor. Takingon thechurch andre-examiningthe inter-action between Satan and humans mayhaveruffled some feathers, butthey do serve the higher purpose of revealing the true nature of S tanley'sgreed and the role of the D evil as an entity w ho exists to reinfo rce

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people's belief in G od. D on't let the exam ination of religion scareyouoff,Bedazzled isalso very funny.

Peter Cook (best known in N orth A mericaas the priest from ThePrincess Bride) has never gotten his due as a comicmastermind. Hisscript for Bedazzled bristleswith inventive lines and irreverent situa-tions.HisD evil,forinstance,isn'tm alicious,but moreof awise guy.A stheD ark Lordhescratches record albums, sets wasps looseon picnick-ers,and ripsout the finalpagesofAgatha C hristie mysteries. Hardlythework of a fiend, but fiendishly clever nonetheless. On screen theCarnaby Street-cladCook playsup hisimpishcharacter beautifully, giv-ing him an amusing, self-important air.D udley Moore works well with Cook; their verbaljabsflyhard andfast,played with a comic timingthatconies only with years of practice.Amusingthough hisStanleymay be formostof the film,M oore seemsto run out ofsteam neartheend, whenhisrole takeson aslightly moreserioustone.Moore was not yet a seasoned screen actor, and seems tobe relying on stage-bound sketch comedy tricks rather than "acting."His onscreen perform ance technique w ould improve by the time N orthA merican audiences made him astarin1 0and Arthur.

Most notable among the supporting cast is the barely dressedR aquel W elch. A s Lilian Lust (married to S loth), she plays one of theSevenD eadly S ins.N ot yet amajor star, W elch adds an elementof sexappeal to this comedyof (bad) manners.

D irector S tanley D onen (Singin' in theRa in) handles the materialwith a nice light touch, and whileBedazzled may seem dated to today'saudiences, the comic duo ofMoore and Cook iswell w orthrevisiting.


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boy for hate. B y casting Gosling, an appealing, talented young actor,Beanmayhave inadvertently m ade hatesexy.

The wrong-headed anti-Semitism in TheBelieverskimsthe surfaceof D anny's character, w hereasthe difference between whathe says andwhat he believes lies at the core. A s a child we see an impassionedD anny arguing with his teachers about the story of Ab raham, who wasasked by G od to kill his son I saac as a test of faith. In the end D annydecides God is apower-drunk m adman, andI saac willbe"traumatized,aputztherestof hislife."It'sthe firststepin histormentedrelationshipwithhisfaith. "Lethim crush melikethe conceited bullythathe is. G oahead," he dares.Asa teenager he attacksJewson the street and subway, beating oneperson to a bloody pulp. His rage and hatred are born from the mis-guided belief that theJewsdid no t fight back during the H olocaust, andthereforeare aweakrace. Eventually his jour ne y leads him into the wel-coming arms of Lina Moebius (Theresa R ussell) and Curtis Zampf(B illyZ ane), leadersof aFascist organizationwho seeD an nyas anatu-ral leaderto take their messageto the mainstream.

Lina's daughter, Carla (Summer Phoenix), is drawn to D anny ,attractedb y hissexuality and hisintellect. After D annyand agroupofskinheads vandalize asynagogue and destroy the Torah,he steals andrepairsthe document. With Linaheexploresbothsidesof his ideolog-ical fence, preaching hate by dayw hile secretly studying the Torahbynight. At the film's climax a final act of skinhead terrorism in a syna-gogueleaves D anny with achoice betw eenlife and death.

"The thing I thought wasbeautiful, an interesting idea, is the line inthe movie when D annysays to Carla,'D o you think people ever com-mitsuicideout ofhappiness?'"saysG osling. "T hatwasreally im portantto mebecauseIfeltat the end of the movie andthisis the disturb-ingpartthatD annywashappy. P robably never wouldbe ashappyashe w as atthatmomentin hislife becausehe w as aJewish N azi.H e wasboth.He had agirlfriendwho was aN azi,who wasreading the Torahand learning Hebrew, who w as makingYomKippur dinner for him and

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going to shul [school], and he is daven [a prayer leader] at a Y omKippur serviceon abimah [altar wherethe Torah isread] inwhich hehas placed abomb. He's gotthemboth.He washappy, and decided,W hy can't I choosethe day Idie?W hycan't I die out ofhappine ss? I t'sahard thingto cometoterm swith."

The Believeris am urky, unsettling filmthat offers no easy answers."The reason Ithink it is atestam ent to the beauty ofJudaism and thestrengthof his faith,"saysG osling,"isthat he could giveyou every rea-son not to believeit. And he does.He can tellyou everything that iswrong withit, and he is solearned as to why you should hateit, but atthesam e tim eheloves it"D anny is a complicated, profou ndly troub led character, so in lovewithhisfaiththatitmakeshim feelw eak,andth erefore m ust destroyit."He's justone ofthose peoplewhocouldn'thelp w hathethought,"saysG osling. "He felt two ways about it." It 's a confounding philosophy th e idea of showing loveby embracing hate and the product of anunstablemind."Hejust w antedto feel strong,and as aconfusedkid hewent in aconfuseddirection"

TherealfindhereisR yan Gosling,anOn tario nativew hobroke intoshow bu sinessfollowing an audition fo r TheMickey Mouse C lub .A t age1 2hemovedto Orlando, Florida,and performedwith fellow mouseke-teers B r itney S pears and members of 'N Sync. His television workincluded lightweight syndicated fare likeB reakerH igh and the lead inYoung Hercules, and his lone film role before TheBeliever was as thethirteenth-billedB osley inRememberthe Titans, TheBelieveris aquan-tum leap forward for Gosling. I n a powerhouse performance as thesteely-eyed D anny helends hum anity to a paradoxical character.At notime does the performance hit a false note. It's a comm anding per-formancethatdeservedlywon the B est A ctor aw ardat the IndependentS pirit Aw ards.Chances are you haven't seen The Believer on the big screen. I tplayed brieflyinindependenttheaters,but foundits main audience onspecialty channels like Showcase.


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"W e had a hard time with it, but a beautiful time as well," saysGosling."The film is about contradiction, and that is the response tothe film. It's been a real rollercoaster. It went from Henry and I and asmallcrew stealing shotsin N ewYorkw ithaverylowbudget, trying tomake a m ovie that nolbodyreally w anted us to make. N ot thinking thatanybody was ever going to see it, but just sort of wanting to tell thestory. W e never thought we'd get into Sundance, let alone winSundance. Thatw assuchahigh,andthen everybody wanted the movie.A nd then everybody realized wha t they wanted, and got scared, thennobody wanted the movie. W ecouldn't find a home for the movie.Then wethoughtthismovie isnever going to beseen,andthatw as it,and thenwefoundacoupleofhomesfor it and alternative waysofget-ting it seen. That became more important than anything, making surepeoplesaw the film ."

The Believeris averydifficult film. S ome will find the subject mat-ter offensive, and while that is an understandable judgment theanti-Semitic ravingsof the skinheadsareparticularlydifficult towatch it is also an ambitious film that sometimes overreaches, but isanchored by agreat performan cebyGosling.W efollowhisprogressionfrom idiosyncratic self-hatred to liberation; all the while the cameranever judges him, but merely observes him. Perhaps if director B eanhadbeen lesstoleranto fD anny's N azismthe filmmight havehad moreappeal, alaAm ericanHistoryX .It's a ho t-potato topic, and certainly notfor every taste.

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"I want my two dollars "JOHMNY (DEMIAN SLADE),thepsychotic paperboy

T he 19805:the heydayo fD onkeyKong,parach ute pants, C abbage P atchD olls , N ew Coke,breakdancing, and of course, deliciously funny teencomedies. Hollywood still pumps 'em out by the cartload, but theGoldenAge of adolescent humor dates back to the days whena newB r a t P ack film w as guaran teed to play tosold-outhouses. D ozens werereleased,b ut onlya few had the impact ofPretty inPink,The BreakfastClub ,and Ferris Bueller's D ay O f f which became classics of the genreand cultural touchstones of the R eagan years.

One forgotten classic,B etter O f f Dead , is a gem of surrealistic teencom edy directed by S avage S teve Ho lland, best kno w n for helm ing tel-evision shows like V.I.P. and Eek The Cat , N ineteen-year-old JohnC usack plays sad-sack Lan e My er, a 1 6-year-old w ith serious prob lem s.His soulmate B eth (A manda W yss)has recently dum ped him, w ith th ebrutally honest observation,"I reallythink it's in my best interest if Iwentout with someone morepopular."He shouldbegladto get rid ofher, but , frankly, she was the best thing in his life. His father (D avidOgden S tiers) m eans w ell,but seems slightly disconnected from reality.Mom (Kim D arby) is a terrible cook,who subjectsher familyto thecreepiest, crawliest entrees ever seen on film. B rother B adger (S cooterStevens)is acreepym ad scientistw ho doesn't speak,andcan't look any-one in the eye. On top of allthat his best friend snorts Jell-O and ademonic paperboy (D em ian S lade) endlessly harasseshim for a two-dollar payment.D espondent, and brimming with teenaged angst , Lane attempts aseries offeeble suicide attem pts. W hen apoorly timed leapoff abridgelandshim in the backof agarbagetruck,awitness comm ents, "M an,

B E T T E R O F F D E A D1985)

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now that's ashame when folks be throwin' awayaperfectly good whiteboy likethat." Lane's salvation comes in the form of Mo nique (D ianeFranklin), a cute foreign-exchange student determined to savehis lifeand w in hisheart.

Much of BetterO f f Dead is typical teen underdogfare Laneis inlovewith M sW rong, but ends up with the right girlby the time thecredits roll but thereis an irreverence on displaythat setsitapartfrom theaveragek id flick.Hollandseemstoreally understand the senseof isolation and displacement typical of the difficult teen years, butmore importantly,also know show tolampoon it.Everything aboutthismovie has an off-kilter feel,as ifrealityhasbeen tilted 45degrees, cre-ating a crazy wo rld that is both uniqu e and delightful.

Atthe coreofthis strange suburb an taleisJohn Cusack,whoputs inaperformance ripe with the vulnerabilityofyouth. Cusack's baby facereads all the awkwardness and self-doubt that occurs when you mixteen boys with raging hormones and high school girls. The blend ofCusack's charm ing pe rform ance with timeless gags, a killer soundtrack ,and some reallybad '8osfashions makesB etterO f f Deada fun time cap-sulefrom the MeD ecade.

"The Film VinceMcMahonDidn'tWantYou To See "- A dvertising sloganforBEYOND THE M T

1999)

S creenwriter B arry B laustein had aterriblesecret.Afilm and televisionveteran, B laustein hadwritten forSaturdayNightLiveand penned sev-eral successful Eddie Murphy movies, all the while keeping a uniquepersonal preference und er wraps. Thenhe wasoutedB arry B laustein

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"Iwannabe just like you,Ifigureall Ineedis a lobotomyandsome tights." - Bender (Judd Nelson), BreakfastClub(1985)"Fuckmegently withachainsaw."- Heather Chandler (KimWalker), Headers(1989)"Gee, I'mreal sorry yourmomblewup,R icky."- Lane Myer(John Cusack), Better Off Dead(1985)"How would you like a nice greasy pork sandwich served in adirtyashtray?"- Chet (Bill Paxton), Weird Science (1985)"Hi, I'mGaryCooper,but not theGaryCooper that'sdead." -Gary Cooper (Tim Robbins), TheSure Thing (1985)"AllIneedaresome tasty waves,acool buzz,and I'mfine." -JeffSpicoli (Sean Penn), Fast Times at Ridgemont High(1982)"Imean,I'vehad men that have lovedmebefore, but not forsix monthsin arow."- Ginny (Blanche Baker), SixteenCandles (1984)"Areyoutellingme my mom has thehotsforme?"- MartyMcFly (Michael J.Fox),Back to the Future(1985)"Money really means nothing to me. Do you think I'd treat myparents' house thisway if itdid?- S teff (James S pader),Pretty in Pink(1986)"I'msodead they're going to havetoburymetwice." - LesAnderson (Corey Haim), License to Drive(1988)

380sTeenComediesJi.2=

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meansa lot tohim.'Theyhad noexpectationsfor the film whatsoever"With Imagine onboard, B laustein w asreadyto rumble. Usinghis

downtimeon theweekends,heassembledasmall crewandshotavari-ety of storylines over five years."I just wanted to go out and dosomething fo r myself," he said. "It wasrevitalizing, like I wasback incollege again. Whenyou are incollegeyoufeellikeyou can doanything,and youapproach without fear.That is how Iapproached thisfilm ."

Overtime Blaustein pieced togethera filmthatworkson analmostShakespearean level. There istragedy, rage,humor,violence, intrigue,hucksterism, and real human stories. I t uncovers th e carny aspectso fwrestling,which is surprising as it was made with the complete co-operation of the World Wrestling Federation. Well,almostcompleteco-operation." I say mykneesareworse than anywrestler becauseof thebegging," saysBlaustein. "And m y lips arepretty parched too; they'rejustgetting their feelingback.I ttookabout ayear,oryear and ahalfofchasing Vince [McMahon,ownerof the WWF] to get him to agreetothis.When Icaught Vince,Icaught him on agood day. Wrestling was-n't aspopular,and I wasableto convincehim through passion andconvictionthatthiswouldbegoodforwrestling.

"He gavem e full access,but later tried topullout of it. Hewantedtoinvestin themovie, then triedto buy itoutright.Isaidno, and thisisa man who is notusedtohearingthewordno. Hewentout of his waytomake sure peopledidn'tknow about it."

Before running afoul ofMcMahon, Blaustein captured some eye-opening images.Hefollowstwo wrestling wannabes, Michael ModestandTony Jones,astheygo fortheir bigbreak,and then gives us ararebackstage look at McMahon's analysis of their performance and thewheelinganddealing sideof thewrestling biz.

T hetheme ofcontrol runs throughoutth e film fromMcMahon,whowieldsthebiggest stickin thebusiness,to thephysical controlthewrestlersmustexercisein theringtoavoid grievousbodilyinjury. Sadlythough,Beyond the Matillustratesthelackofcontrol most ofthese guyshave in their personal livesand careers.One former king of the ring,

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Jake"The S nake" R ob erts comes across likea carwreck;youdon'twantto w atch,but can't take your eyesoffhim.B lausteinunb linkinglyshowshis fall from the height ofwrestlingfame to acrack-smoking shellof aman whocan'teven stay offthepipe long enough togivean interview.It isheart-wrenchingmaterial,but further illustrates thetollthat famein the prowrestling circuitcan extract.

Veteran fighter Terry Funk fares better, yet inspires pity when theviewer realizesthe physical anguishhe suffers every time hesteps intothe squared circle.H isleft kneeisdamagedto the point whereitbarelyfunctions, but he continues to wrestle, perhaps drawn by the fame,ormaybe, feelingtheweightof hisgolden shackles,hecan't afford to quit.Perhaps the biggest surprise isM ick "M ankind" Foley,who comesacross as aniceman in anincredibly violent occupation . S cenesof himplaying with his kids:) the picture of normalcy, are juxtaposed withexcerpts from his fights. B laustein marries the two contradictory ele-ments ofFoley'slifefamilyman andw restler in apotent segmentthat shows the dismayed reaction of his wife and kids at the R oyalR umble , a no-holds-barred match againstT heR ock.

I 'm not a wrestling fan, but I w as swayed by B laustein's obvious pas-sionfor the subject.Beyond the Mat openedmyeyes, forcingme to lookpast them anufactured personasthatgrimaceandtalktrash from ring-side,and see thereal people b ehindthemusclesandsweat. Thereisrealemotion here, outside the rage and showmanship usually associatedwith wrestling. For the first time we seethese fighters not as cartooncharacters, but as real people dealing with the effects of their job ontheir health and families.Beyond the Mat should be placed alongsidePumping Iron and When W eWere Kings asmoviesthat reveal the per-sonal side of sports entertainment.

W e all know wrestling is fake, but after seeingBeyond theMat, itseemsa little more real.


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"Inascene like thisyou get acontact-high "

This is one of the most unlikelymajor studio efforts of the early '705.Co-screenwriter(and future Pulitzer winner) Roger Ebert remembersthe production of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls as "amovie that gotmadebyaccident whenthelunatics took overtheasylum."In 1968,sexploitation pioneer Russ Meyer signed a three-picturedealwith 20th Century Fox, based on the strength of the critical andcommercial successof Vixen, an independent nudie set in aCanadianmountainresort.The first ofthese projectswas asequelto the trashyscreenadaptation ofJacqueline Susann's novel Valley of theD olls.EbertandMeyers bangedout thescreenplayinjustsixweeks,noteven takingthe timeto readtheoriginal book.Theresult is a trippy story aboutthree youngfemalemusicians Kelly(May'6 6Playmate Dolly Reed),Casey(December '68Playmate Cynthia Myers) and Pat(super-modelMarciaMcBroom) who try tomakeit big in Hollywood.

Afterhooking upwith Kelly'sfunkyAunt Susan (Phyliss Davis)andher friend,rock impresario Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell (JohnL azar), th egirlsbecome embroiled in the trappings oflate '6osswinging lifestyle sex, violence, and drugs. A t a wild orgy at Z-Man's groovy LosAngelespad,theband (andth eaudience)getacquainted with th esex-ualhabitsand individual excessesof theparty-goersand"super-octanegirlswho are old at20."Themysterious Z-Man providesa color com-mentary,utteringthefamous line, "It'sm yhappening baby,and it freaksrneout,"aquote later co-optedb yMike Myersin the firstAustin Powersfilm.Despite the fact that the band's only othergig was at a seniorprom, Z-Man offers the band a contract, gives them the name T heCarrieNationsandthey score several hits includingTalkin Candy Man

- KELLYMACNAMARA (DOLLY REED)

B E Y O N D T H E V A L L E Y O F T H E D O L L Stssi (pggalan fsiij fHsS3tgsfe^a i g sa HH ^g^ ji t p^ til5E5 i g-sagsai iip s(1970)

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andLookon up at theB ottom .Thisis ,how ever,amorality tale,andeventhough the hits keep coming, things turn sour for the band, and eachm em ber experiencesanethical lesson amidthedecadenceandbetrayals.A surprise twistat the end isconfusing, largely becausethe filmmakersweremak ing thisup asthey w ent alongandapparentlydidn'tbother torework earlier scenes.

Ebertwas a neophy te screenw riter at the time w ho lacked the expe-rience to pen acoherent script, although film buffswill note that he isprobably the only P ulitzer P rize w inner towriteaskinflick. "The storyis such alabyrinthine juggling act," Ebert wrote in FilmThreat,"thatresolving it took a quadruple murder, a narrative summary, a triplewedding, and an epilogue." L ooking back at the film today E bert adm itsthat them oviehas a"curioustone."

Meyers ran the show on-set, and the personalityof the rough andtumble former World War I I newsreel cameraman intimidated theactorsso muchtheycouldn'tworkup thecourageto askw hetheror notthey should play this material fo r laughs. "If the actors performas ifthey know they havefunnylines," said M eyer, "it w on't work." A s a resultsome ridiculous dialogueisgiven very strange line readings, lendingapseudo-serious feel to Beyond theValley of theDolls that helped turn itintoa camp classic.

Viewedtoday,themovie seems likeatime capsule back into w hatwasconsidered coolin thelate '6os, except that theydidn'tget itquite right.Meyers was too old to be involved in the Summer of Love, and Ebertseems tohave only heard ab out free lovefrom readingaTimem agazineexpose.T hewild scenesin themovieare acaricatureof '6osspeech andbehavior, kind of like the beatniks on TheBeverlyHillbilliesor anyothermainstream late-'6os fare that was trying to come to grips with thecounter-culture. (Ebert and Meyer could have used a class or two atJethroB odine's "Cool S chool"before setting out to make this picture.)Z-Man is saddled with most of the outrageous dialogue. I can onlyimagine how difficult it was to deliver a line like, "You willdrink theblack sperm of myvengeance," w ithout busting a gut. To compensate,


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Meyersimplyuppedthe antebydoing whatheknew best , adding be au-tifully robust naked women intothecliched mix.

D espite credibility problems, Meyer does hit the mark satiricallyT he unruly structure (intentional or not) lends acertain m anic energyto the movie that echoesthe pillpoppin'culturehe wastryingto par-ody.Haveyouevertriedtofollowa long, involved storytoldby areallyhigh person? It makes about as much sense as this film does. The filmis best watched as a series of wacky set pieces, strung together withscenesof sex and violence to m ake a whole. W atch for P am G rier in herfirst on-screen role as a party-go er, and som e delicious'6ospsychedeliafrom one-hit wonders The S traw berry A larm C lock, who perfo rm their1967 chart topper"Incense and Peppermints."

"Thestaggering taleof one man's relentless pursuitof imperfection."- AdvertisingtaglineforBIGBADLOVE

B I G B D L O V EBig Bad Love is a surreal movie based on a short story collection byM ississippi w riter L arry B rown. "A boo k and a film have as m uch to dowith each other as aturkey doesto asandwich"says A rliss Howard inthe press notes for the film. "Once the bread is involved, it is no longerturkey, it is a sandwich; and if you make turkey salad, it is somethingelse again,and if you add mayo, humus, lettuce, salsa,if youbroilit,slice it , well the idea is in there somewhere, and it gets more confusingif you see a wild turkey take flight, more so if you are walking with athree-year-old. W hatImeanto say isthatLarry B rown understood this ,having adapted his ownworkfor the stageandscreen."

That quote sums up the feel of the movie tangential, and just a

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bit off-center. Arliss Howard directs and stars as Vietnam vet LeonBarlow,a drun ken w riter struggling to piece together the broken shardsof his life, turning his personal experiences into deeply felt fiction.A stherejected manuscripts pileuparound him,hemust also deal with thedemands of his ex-wife (D ebra W inger), his children, and his warbuddy and only friend (Paul LeMat). He's a self-centered man whostruggles to balance his creativelife a need to write with the wantsand needs ofthose in his life. Even after catching up on his child sup-portand alimony,anclearningaweekend withhiskids,he isleft feelingempty and saddened with hisex-wife's lackofcaring.H is internal tus-sles, coupled with a mother (Angie D ickenson) w ho regards him as adisappointmentand apersonal tragedy, causehim to spiral downward.

Leon is a failure on almost every level certainly personally andprofessionally and Howarddoesn't shyawayfrom hisprotagonist'sshortcomings. In one heartbreaking scene he has a drunken B arlowwatch his wedding video backwards. In the beginning we see himand Marilyn kissing and hugging, and as the film slowly reversesthrough the ceremony we see him waiting at the altar, and then wan-dering through the graveyardby the church.The way heseesit,evenon"thehappiestday of hislife"hestill wound up alone.

Themovie is(Howard's real-lifewife)D ebra W inger's return to filmafter anabsenceof sixyears,and servesas areminder ofwhat askilledscreen actress she is. Her portrayal of Marilyn is as memorable whenshe isspeakingas it iswhenshe isstill. In one sceneshetells B arlow,"Iwentout tocollectthelaundryand Ijus t couldn't makeit. I 'm too tired.I 'm just lying here listening to the rain."Thecamera lingerso n her faceafter thedialogue,and thelookon herfaceis one of awomanat the endofher rope. In her silence we learn more about her character thanw edo in anything shesays.

Big BadLove is a meandering, surreal (check out the cowwith thetypewriter) look at the creative process, and how one man messed uphis life. "Someone askedmewhat the movie isabout," saysHoward."Isaid'birth,death, love, w ork, friendship. . .pick'em.'Andtrains." It'sa

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well-crafteddirectorial debut from Howardw hohandles this quiet taleof anartist's redemption witha firmhand.

"Ifthishad been some ordinary drive-byshootingbysomeinexperienced gang-bangers we would've solved it a longtime ago.

You'vegot to thinktoyourself,'Whocoulddo thisand getaway with it?'"

Your enjoyment of Biggie and Tupac will be directly related to yourenjoyment of director Nick B roomfield and his bumbling passive-aggressiveapproach to ambush journalism.Hedominates the movie,integratinghimself intothestoryin hissearchtouncovertheculpritsbehindtheslayingof theNotoriousB .I .G .andTupac Shakur,two of hiphop's brightest stars, gunned down within months of oneanother.Noarrestshave been made in the sixyears sincethe murders, and whileBroomfield offerssome possible suspects,hestops short of any defini-tiveconclusion.

"It'sareally complicated story," BroomfieldtoldReeltoRealin2002."Ittookmenearlysixmonthsto putthis thing together. Thereare somanydifferentlayersto it. On itssimplest levelit is thestoryof twoguysw hostarted off asbest friends. B iggieloved Tupac. Then theygotinto arivalryandwhat happened isthatovertheyearstherivalrywasusedasameans ofexplaining their deaths. What I found inmaking the film,talking to the members of the L A P D w howere handling th e murderinvestigation, isthat thisis in fact not the case." Broomfield suggestsseveralmotivesfor thekillings, but thepoint of the film is tochronicle

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hisinvestigation topresent the facts andopena newdialogue ab outthe cultureofviolence that is prevalent in hip hop rather than poin t-ing the finger at oneguiltyparty.

I find B roomfield'sapproach highly entertaining,andw hileheveersoffcourse occasionallythereis along po intless sequence withan ex-girlfriend of two L A P D officers allegedlytied to Tupac's murder thathinges on the sex lives of theofficers,not their criminal behavior youhaveto admire hisbravado in chasing down interviews in backrooms,prison yards, and anyw here the story takes him. "I think docu m entariesare about entertainment," says B roomfield. "They've got to be reallyentertaining, but Idon'tthink that m eans they can't b eaboutsom ethingat the same time.In a way one isalmost likeacontem porary historianor diary keeper. It's greatto take subjectsthat tell the audience aboutsomethingthatw e'reall apartof. IthinkBiggie and Tupac is asmuchabout the waysociety seeship hop andsees those peoplewhetheritisthe police force or the FB Ior whateverasany thingelse but at thesame time it is a funny and entertaining film. I think that makes itaccessibleto amuch bigger audience."

In the film's final third there is an interviewwith Suge Knight,thehead honcho atD eath R owR ecords,aleadingraplabel. Knightwas inprisonat the time,anddidn't wantto do the interview,but throughsheer persistence B room field got him on camera.Y oucan sense the ten-sion in the sequence.T he camera isnoticeably jittery,as though thecamera operator was having an anxiety attack while shooting, andB roomfield isunu sually subd ued. K night begins benignly enou gh w itha"m essagefor thekids" which slowly disintegrates intoahate-filleddia-tribe and death threat against rap artist S noop D ogg. It is powerfulfootage, and w orth the price of admission.

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"A story of love to make the blood race and the heart melt"- A d v e r t i s i n g t a g l i n e f o r T H E B R A V E O N E

The BraveO neputs aS outh Am erican spin on the typical "boy and hisdog"storyA lot of film shave focusedon young kidsand their adven-tures w ith afavorite pet,but this may be af i lm dom first the pet inquestion is abull Basedon a true story that took place in 1936 S pain,whereabullwaspardoned andreturnedto itsowner afteraheroic per-formance in the bullring, the movie is set in Mexico.W e meet youngLeonardo (Michel R ay) w ho rescues a bullfrom certain death during aviolentflood. A tightbond develops between the spirited boy and theanimal, w hichhenames G itano. W henth ebull's ownershipisdisputed,Leow ritesaletter to the former owner,w ho grantsth eyoungboycus-todyof the animal. Tragedy strikes when Leo's boss,the ranch owner,dies suddenly, and Gitano is auctioned off with the rest of the stock tofight in the PlazadeMexico bu llring.

Leoisdetermined to savehis friend fromdeathin the bullfightingarenaandw ritesaletterto the President ofMexico askingfor apardon.Movedb y theletter,the President grantsthey ou ng boy's w ish,but it isalreadytoolate:G itanohasbeencommittedto face offwith renownedm atador Fermin R ivera (playing himself) . B oth w arriors man andbeast display braveryand brilliance in the ring, which leads to anexcitingfinale.

The Brave O ne has the best elements of a D isney film without th etreacly sentimen t. This is anu ncom plicated but m oving story, w ell toldby blacklisted w riter D alton T rum bo (usingthe penname R obert R ich)that will appealtokidsand adults alike.

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"So tellme sire, dotheyspeakof thebeast inParis?"- H EN R I SAR DIS (JEAN -FRA NCOIS STEVENIN)

B R O T H E R H O O D O F T H E W O L F (2OO1)Brotherhood of the W o l f is all over the place. It's a French R evolution/horror/martial arts epic with styletoburn,andmakesup for the gap-ingholesin itsstory with sheer energyand sensory assault.

Veryloosely basedon the legendof the BeastofG evaudan,amyste-rious creature that terrorizedarural areaofFrancein1764,Brotherhoodo f the W o l f begins its loopy journey in the closing moments of theFrench R evolution. Tosolvethemysteryof thebeast,who had attackedmore than 60women and children and waswidely believed to be ofcolossalsize, the k ing o f France dispatched two investigators to the pre-cipitous central area of France. Each member of the envoy bringsspecial talents to uncover the my stery: Mani (M ark D acascos), anIroquois scout,not onlyhasmartial arts movesthatw ould make B ruceLee green with envy, but can also talk to trees Expedition leaderFronsac (SamuelLeB ihan) comes to believe that the creature exists,thou gh he surm ises it is being manipulated by m an.

A t adinner Fronsac meets Jean-Francois (V incent C assel) and hissister Marianne (Emile D equ enn e). They are local gentry, and a blos-soming relationship between the rough-and-tumble Fronsac and thedemure Marianne causes a rift with those close to the king. Mattersbecome even more complicated when Fronsac becomes involved withSylvia (Monica B ellucci), abeautiful prostitute with some dangeroushabits. W hen the king's lieutenant falselyclaims to have killed the m ur-derous B eastofG evaudan, Fronsac arrangesonelasthuntusing Mani'sshaman techniques totrackthemurderous monster.

D irector Christophe Cans packs every moment of Brotherhood ofthe W o l f with either bone-crunching action (imagineifJohnW oo had


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down there,and Ivisited with him .W ewere talking abo ut som e differ-ent kinds ofprojects.He had [written] acrazyfilm called TheJobandalsoagreat ho rro r western calledD ead in theWestwhich would makeafunpicture,butnothingever cameof it.

"Acouple ofyears later Ifound this anthology ofsomeof hisshortstories and I was looking throu gh the dust jacket and it said,'Elvisver-sus the Mummy.' I said, 'That's a cool idea,' and that's what reallyattracted me. Then I found that it was so much more layered anddeeper andw onderfulin its ownway.I thought this issom ethingthatwould make an interesting movie." Coscarelli set aside the Phantasmseriesof movies he had been chu rning out for a decade and adapted the"true"storyofwhat happened to Elvisfor the screen.

B-movie hero Bruce Campbell wears a ton of makeup to play theelderly E lvis, a resident in a Texas old age home. The story is that Elvisswitched identities with an Elvisimpersonator named Sebastian Haff,justafter the1968 comeback special. U nfortunatelyhemissed his chanceto switch back before Haff died, and ended up broke and in the resthom e. Therehebefriendedan oldA frican-Am erican man (Ossie D avis)who believes he is President John E Kennedy. Together they battle anevil soul-sucking Egyptian entitythathasbeen terrorizing the home.

"It was the weirdest script I had ever read," Campbell told Reel toReal in 2002." I t certainly jumped out.A lot of the crapyou get issuchmiserable dreck,and I'vebeenin a lot ofmiserable dreckso I cansmellthem when they're corning.B ub bawasdifferent. It had adifferent stinkon it."

Campbell understands different. Finding cult fame as A sh in theEvilDeadmovies,he hasforgedacareer doing B -moviesand in the processgathered a fiercely loyal fan b ase. D espite his reputation as aB -actor,Campbell is not to be underrated. He literally brings Elvisto life as acranky,horny old man. "A n Elvis impersonator came and I worked w ithhim, but hequit after anhour," saysCampbell. "Hesaid,'You'reworth-less. It'snotgoingtowork.I'm the onewiththerealtalent.'Isaid,'Yeah,who's playing Elvis and who's the fake Elvis?Who's playing him me


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oryou, pal?'"Despitethe fallingoutwiththeElvis expert,Campbell'sportrayalof TheKingisreverentialCampbell citestheheavy makeup,fat suit, and the factthat he washunched overawalkeras thebuildingblocks to creating th e Elvis character. "The rest w as just dickingaround,"helaughs. Veteran actor Ossie Davisisthoroughly believableasthe deluded Jack, and is aperfect foil fo rCampbell's Elvis.

T hepremise is astartlingly original one for a film, andwhile over-the-top, has large dollops of humanity spread throughout. As thedynamicduobattle evil, theyaremakingthemostoftheirfinalyears.Theseguysmay beold, bad-tempered,andslightly crazy,but theycanstill makeadifference.BubbaHo-Tep isactually more entertainingandexciting than most Elvis movies, and should earn an enthusiastic"Thank you,thankyouverymuch,"from open-minded fans of TheKing.

"When onespecies ofcane beetle is in thecane fields,itjustdoesn'tcome incontactwiththegroundandweknow that cane toads can't fly."DR. INGRAM

C A N E T O A D S : A N U N N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y , Whowould have thoughtadocumentary aboutthecane toad infesta-tion in Australia could be this much fun? Made in 1987 bydocumentarian Mark Lewis, the film is acautionary tale about intro-ducing non-native speciesto afragile environment.

I n1 935,100cane toads were brought infromHawaiito Queensland,Australia,tobattlethecane grub,anastylittlecritter thatwasdestroy-in gth esugar-cane crop.B adplanning,as itturns out, becausethecanetoadsdidn'thave ataste for the grubs and instead began procreating


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constantly. Just 50yearsafter they w ere introduced, these sex-crazedamphibians had spread from the initial nine farms to cover almost250,000 square miles.

Equipped withtwo venom pouches behind their headsthatshootdeadly poison, the toads haveno natural predators; they candefendthemselvesagainst insects, birds,and miceall the w ay up to dogs, cats,and even humans whodon'thandle them properly. They are unstop-pable. Queensland became overrunwiththese (Ihaveto say it) hornytoads that laytensofthousandsofeggsayear.

Lewis presentsthe facts, but washes them down with mo re hum orthan Marlin Perkins could ever muster on Mutual of Omaha's WildKingdom. Much of the comedy is derived from clever crosscuttingbetween the citizens of Queensland, who have adopted the toad as amascot, and thean ti-toadfaction,thescientists,w hohateth elittle crea-tures. Lewis adds to this a seriesof real and staged shots that inspiredread and hilarity simultaneously. In one such scene a motorist wit-nessesthe relentlesssexdriveof themaletoad.D riving downa countryroad, the man stops when he sees a male toad mating with a female.Quite natural, except that she is roadkill, squashed pancake flat. The"What the hell???" look on the driver's face alone isw orth the entiremovie.In another scenealocal displayshisprowessinhunting the tinytoads . . . with his van . He swerves through a co untry road, flatteningthem underh iswheels.B ecauseth etoadspuff upw hen they sense dan-ger,they m akealoud popping sou nd w henrun over.Lewiscan't boastthatnoanimals werehurtduringthemakingof hisfilm,b utthisscene,and theensuing loud b ursts,do inspire some giggles.

Thestaged scenesarejustaseffective.Takinghis cuefrom classic ho r-ror films, Lewis shoots several sequencesfrom the point ofviewof thevillain.The"toad cam" sequencesareamusingas thew icked am phibianshippityhoptowardtheirprey,inparticularthe onewhere they sneakupon a man in theshower singingatune called "Queensland Toads."Thesingle most disturbing scene involvesa four-ye ar-o ld girl playing with"D airy Queen," her pet cane toad. S he makes it dance and rubs its

A


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tummy, blissfully unaware of the lethal tendencies of her living toy.Lewis heightens the surreal goings-on by adding theliltingstrains of afolk song about lovingthecane toad "wartsandall"

CaneToads:A n UnnaturalHistory is anexploration intonot onlyth ebiologyofnature,but also human nature,as welearn that m anyof thelocals have grown to love and admire these pesky creatures. N everpreachy, but not wi thout scientific merit, Cane Toads is the funniestnature documentaryto date.

"Wedidn'tset out to makeaclassic.We justwantedto makeamoviethatwouldmakea little money. . .

- Cinematographer MAURICE PRATHER

The successofTheBlairW itchProject in1 999 took everyonebysurprise.A no-budget, black-and-white horror film, it packed a punch withatmospherics and unexpected thrills. Almost 40 years earlier, anothermicro-budgetedmovie,Carnival ofSouls,breathed th e sam e air, givingusafear-inspiring storythat reliedon psychological terror ratherthanhigh-tech special effects.

Colorado-born producer/director Herk Harvey w as born into aworking-class family and christened with the unlikely name HarveyHarvey. A lways fascinated w ith showbusiness,hem ajoredintheateratKansas University, cutting his teeth acting and directing stage produc-tions. In the late '505 he turned to film, working with the CentronCorporat ion of Lawrence,Kansas, a company specializing in educa-tionalandindustrialfilm s.Hiredas anactor,heappearedinmany shortsubjectsbefore taking a job behind the camera as a director.

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The idea for Carnival of Souls wasborn in 1961 during a roadtripthrough Utah. Harveyhadju st finished shooting an industrial film inCalifornia, and while driving home to Kansas he passed Saltair, anabandoned amusement park located near the Great SaltLake."It wasthe w eirdest place I 'd ever seen," he later said. Once a popular resort, thegrandstructurewas now inruins,but it lit up Harvey's imagination,and he sensed it would be a good location to shoot a film. Harvey hadaspired to directing features, especially now that another industrialfilmmaker, R ob ert A ltman, had recently made the jum p to the bigscreenwithTheDelinquents,shot in KansasCity.

Harvey discussedthe idea ofshooting afeature with John Clifford,a friend from Centron. Clifford was an author with awestern novel tohis credit. T heybrainstorm ed,and in two m onths Clifford had a com-pleted script.

Clifford's script begins with adrag race betweenacarloadofyoungwomen and some testosterone-charged guys. The race ends badly andthe women crash, plungingintoadeep river. Hourslater,as the policedrag the river fo r bodies in vain, Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss)appears, dazedbutunhurt.S heremem bersnothingof theaccident, andisviewed as a miracle wom an, someo ne w ho defied death. She tries tolead anormal life, acceptinga job as achurch organist in Utah.A sshepiecesher life together, strange things start tohappen. S heloses touchw ith reality, ableto seepeoplewhocannotsee orhear her.Aghostlyfig-ure (played by Herk H arvey) plagues her, even thou gh no one elsewilladmit to seeingthephantom. What exactlyisthis hallucination?

The storyissimple,if not completely original.LucilleFletcher,wifeofPsycho composer B ernard Hermann, had written a script calledTheHitchhiker,which wasperform ed on theradioby theMercuryTheatreand starred O rson W elles. There are vague similarities between TheHitchhiker and Clifford's script.I n Fletcher'sstoryamotoristwho hadpreviously been in a car accident driving across the coun try repeatedlyencounters the samehitchhikeraftera car accident.

The connections to TheH itchhikerareclear (bo th M ary Henry and


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Fletcher's motorist see ghosts after surviving a trauma), althoughCliffordadds some elements thatset itapart fromFletcher's radio play.This time the main character is awoman, w ho slips in and out of asupernatural stateofnon-being. Also,Clifford's Maryis acold, distantcharacter, a break from the stereotypical sympathetic horror movieheroine.Thestorymayhave familiar elements,butClifford'shandlingof th e material elevates a run-of-the-mill trifle into a nightmare ofparanoid delusion.Its refusal toprovide cut-and-dried answers leavestheviewer uneasy.

While Clifford w aspenning thescreenplay, Harvey set out to raisethe modest budget through private investors. He pieced together$17,000,amodest sum, evenin the early'6os.Withno moneyin thebudgetto payactors,anamateur castwasassembled,andHarvey tookathree-week leaveo fabsencefrom Centron toshoot the film.

When it came to cutting corners on the set of Carnival of Souls,Harveyused some tricks he'd learned while shooting industrials. Withno money fo r special effects, save fo r some wavy lines that appearbetweenplains ofexistence, some ingenuityw asrequired. In onesceneaghostlyfaceappearson a carwindow. Todaythe effect could easilybeaccomplished with computer imagery,but in1962 Harveyand cine-matographer Maurice Prather cameupwitha much simpler solution."W edid itwith amirror,"saysPrather.

B udgetaryconcerns precluded the use of aprocess screen,atech-nique commonly used in film to give the illusion ofmovement in carscenes.These shots would typicallybeshotin astudio withanyland-scape seenthroughthewindows of the carprojectedontothe processscreen.In CarnivalofSouls the carscenes were actually shoton locationinsidemoving vehicles, usingabatterypoweredhandheldA rriflexcam-era. T he shots are very clean, and have since become th e industrystandard.The use of theArriflex,an extremely mobile camera tradi-tionally used in news photography, gave them the opportunity toconcoct elaborate camera moves withoutthe use ofexpensive dolliesorcranes. The inventive camera work of Maurice Prather is one of the


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things that sets Carnival of Souls above other low-budget horror filmsofthe same vintage.

Another effective scene wasshotfor only a few dollars. C entral to thestoryis the carcrashat: thebeginningof thefilm.I t isimpo rtant that theviewersee the crashto understand itsdevastating nature.T hecars werearranged through a contra deal, but having them smash through abridgewas adifferent andpotentiallymore expensivematter. "Whatdoyou think it cost us for acity like Lecompton,Kansas, to let usw recktheir b ridge?" asked P rather,"T hirty-eightdollars. They said,'Yeah,youcan do that as long as you replace the rails you knockout.'It was noth-ingtoreplacetherails."Carnival of Souls is apotent thriller,and likeTheBlairW itch Projectrises above its humble beginnings to deliver some truly frighteningmoments. Iparticularly likethe use ofsoundin apair ofscenes whereMary findsherself shutofffrom reality, unab leto make herself know nto those aroun d her. Harvey heightensthe tension ofthose passagesbyeliminating all sound except the clicking of Mary's heels. The eeriesilence conveys Mary's alienation far more effectivelythanany musicalscorecould.

The crisp black-and-whiteCarnivalofSouls doesn't lookor feel likeamo dern horrorfilm andcontains momentsofwo oden actingand stiffdialogue,but it hasundoubtedly influencedageneration offilmmakers.I tssteely-eyed lookat thehorrorthatcan liejust un derthesurface cer-tainly influenced D avid L ynch, while other horrorm eisters like JohnCarpenter andG eorge R om ero have acknowledged itsimportance.

Herk H arvey never made another feature (he became a teacher atKansasUniversity),but he didlive long en ou ghto see his filmbecomea cult classic.He died in 1996, eight yearsafter it wastheatrically rere-leased togreatcritical fanfare.


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"Paul loadedthe camera. Andy pointedit andGerard startedthetaperecorder- there were always endlessamounts ofwaiting.Of course

there wereendlessamounts ofdrugstoo,whichsort of made up for it."-MARYWORONOV OFCHELSEAGRLS

A nywine expertcantellyouthat certain bottles, w hen stored properly,improve with time. Think of Chelsea Girls as a nicely aged bottle ofMeursau.lt S ancerre 1967 smoky,but displayinga tremendous pres-ence; rich and boldly flavored. Viewed with a mix of curiosity andbewilderment at its initial screenings, Chelsea Girls has become A ndyW arhol's best-know n film and atrue und ergro und classic.

Pop artist Andy Warhol liked to hang out at the El Quixote restau-rant, located dow nstairs from the fabled Chelsea Hotelat 222W est 23rdStreetin N ewY ork.Hewould m eethisentourage (mostofw hom werestaying at the hotel) for a cheap dinner washed down with jugs of san-griaand would discussthe eventsof the day. D uringone ofthese m ealsWarholsayshe"gotthe ideatounifyall thepiecesofthese people's livesby stringing them together as if they lived in different rooms of thesame hotel."

Warholhadbeen tinkering withfilmssincetheearly '6os.Hispieceswere primitive point-and-shoot exercises featuring ad-libbed dialogueand naturalistic performances.H is films were studies of people doingmundane things one film, Eat , showed R obert Ind iana eating amushroom for 33minutes; another,Haircut^ was aha lf-hour movieofone man ritualistically cutting another man's hair.His idea fo r ChelseaGirlsw as to b e his most ambitious film to date.BetweenJuneand S eptember 1966 W arhol shot1 5one-and two-reefilms atvarious locations around N ewYorkCity, includingtheChelseaHotel and his Factory studio. The process was the same each time. Each

(iH E L S E A G I R L S 1 9 6 7 )


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scenewasshotin onetakeuntilthe35-minute filmloadhad run out.Warhol's thesiswassimple:pointthe cameraat exciting people,let itrun,and something interestingwaslikelytohappen."Thisway I cancatch people being themselves instead ofsettingup asceneand shoot-ing it and letting people act out parts that were written," he said."B ecause it's better to actnaturally than actlike somebody else."Theshortfilms had no plotsor scripts, savefor some rough outlines thatwere discarded earlyin theshooting process.

Warhol's direction of the scenesw asminimal. Eric Emerson, cred-itedas The Boy in the Kitchen, remembers Warhol simplyinstructedhim to tell th e storyof his life, and"somewhere along th e line totakeoffall myclothes." While Warholdidn'tprovide much guidanceon theset,he didhave other methods todraw incendiary performances fromhisactors.All the performers knewoneanother andwere partof thescenethatWarholhadcreatedin hisFactoryartstudio.Theactors wereusingdrugs, and allvyingforWarhol's approval.Heused this scenarioto create tension among his "superstars" by spreading gossip andunkind remarks that the actors were allegedly making about oneanother. He encouraged them to express their feelings about oneanother intheir scenes. This methodologywasdisagreeableand some-timescruel,but itmadeforcompelling viewing.Bob"Ondine"Olivio,w hoplayedT hePopeofGreenwichVillagein the film,called this man-ner of working unpleasant, but added with a bit of unintentionalhyperbole,"hepulledout ofthese people, includingmyself,someof thebest performanceseveron screen."

Warholdidcapture some unforgettable images. Transvestite MarioMontezcut hissceneshort afterbeing reduced totearsby theinsultso ftwoboys sittingon abed.Thetaunts and the tearsarereal,and thescene isharrowing.

In another scene real life and infighting take over. Before filmingbegan, Susan "International Velvet" Bottomly told Warhol she wasexpectingacallfromamodeling agency.Hetoldherthatwouldnot beaproblem,and to use thecallin thescene. Whenthephone ringsa fight


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ensuesbetween Velvet andMary "Mary Might" Woronov when Marywon't letVelvetanswer it."That'smycall,"saysVelvet. "Youdon'thaveacall," Mary replies, "You havea fatass."It mayseem trite now in lightoftelevision'sreality shows,but therealism drips offthescreen,and theviewerisleftwonderingifwhat theyareseeingisrealorcontrived. Thatfeeling is enhanced when one of the actors, obviously growing frus-trated with Warhol's process, looks intothecameraandasks, "Whenisthat fuckingthing goingtostop?"

Warholpieced together Chelsea Girls after reviewingthe reelsat theend ofSeptember 1967.Aclose examination of the 15half-hour scenesrevealed an unintentional, rough story line. Warhol realizedthat hecould piece allthese loose bits of footage together into one film. Theproblemwas he wasunabletoeditthefootage becausehe hadshotit allon newsreel camerasthat recordedthe sound directly ontothe film.This technique prevented separation ofsoundandpicture,so tokeepthesoundinsynchewould haveto run the35-m inutesegments uncut.Topreventaprohibitive seven-hour running time, Warhol ingeniouslyusedasplit-screen presentation, with sound onlyon onesidea t atime,to cut therunning time downto three-and-a-half hours. Warhol cre-ated astandard orderfor thereels, though byjugglingth eorder of thescenesandremixingthesound it ispossibletocreateadifferent movieeach time it isscreened. In 2000, director Mike Figgis used asimilarapproachin his filmTimecode,whichw asshotondigital videoandpre-sented on a quadruple-split screen. Figgis would personally hostscreenings,remixingthesound basedon thereactionsof theaudience.

Chelsea Girls isn't perfect, but at three-and-a-half hours it hasenough compelling momentstomakeitworth watching.Forexample,Ondine's attack on the Roman Catholic Church, climaxing with theline, "Approachth e crucifix, lift hisloincloth, and goabout your busi-ness " issearing stuff, and isstill shocking today, decades after it wasfirstreleased.What I findmost fascinating about the film is the way itblurstheline between realityand artifice.Warhol orchestrated asordidlookat the soft underbellyof his life in N ewY ork, and it ishard totell


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what is real and what isperform ance art , although the drug use andinfighting seemauthentic.

W arhol was not a skilled filmmaker. He d idn't concern himself w ithproperly recording the sound. The camera zooms wildly, constantlyrefocusing and jiggling. This looks and sounds like an undergroundmovie, but there is apunk rock D I Yenergyaboutthe filmthat propelsthe action.

In 1967Chelsea Girlswas met with mixed critical reaction,and gen-erated hundreds of column inches in the newspapers. Warhol wasphilosophical about fault-finding attacks from the establishment."Until then the general attitude toward what we did was that it wasartistic or camp or apu t-on or just plain boring? he said. "But afterChelsea Girls,words likedegenerateand disturbingand homosexual anddruggy and nudeand realstarted being applied to usregularly."

"She'dget outmore . . . if itwasn'tafelony."- Advertisingtaglinefor CHERISH

C H E R I S H 2OO2)Cherishis one ofthosefilmsthat people liketocall quirky.It is an oddlittle story about a fantasy-prone woman named Zoe who winds upunder house arrestfor acrim eshedidn't commit. R obin Tunney playsZoeas ahaplessip-year-oldcomputeranimatorhopelessly in lust witha co-worker named Andrew (Jason Priestly). Many drinks later at anafter work party in a nightclub, Zoe finally gets Andrew's attention.Before accepting a ride home with him she checks her car, only to behijacked by am ysteriousman in amaskwho forces her todrive drunkand stepson theacceleratoras a copstandsin frontof the cartryingto


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flagthem down.Thepoliceofficer iskilled,thestrangeman disappears,and Zoe isarrested forvehicular manslaughter.

Toavoid ha rd jailtime while waitingfortrial,Zoecutsadealtoliveunder house arrest, wearingan ankle bracelet that sets off an alarm ifshestraysfrom her loft.A t the beginningof her sentenceher living sit-uation doesn't seem that bad there are worse ways to do your timethanin ahugeIkea-filled loft in SanFrancisco but thelimitationsofmovement soon become obvious, and you realizethat any place canbecomeaprison if you aren't allowedtoleave.

D espitenotbeing allowedto setfootoutsideherfront doorsheforgesrelationships w ith several people apizza delivery man ,herw heelchair-bound downstairs neighbor, and a gawky local deputy playedby TimBlakeN elson. Through her confinementand the friendshipofoutsidersZoe sheds her emotional handicaps and blossoms into a confident,resourceful, self-reliant wom an. S he's innocent,andsinceno onebelievesher,shemust find theproof that willset her free.A tthis point themoviebreaks loose of itsclaustrophobicfeelas Zoe takescontrolof her destinyandhunts down the obsessiveman whoruinedher life.

R obin Tu nney rises above the occasionally m essy script to actuallygiveZoe an interesting screenlife.S he's spirited, likeable,and deliversaheroine with a bit of edge. She's the offbeat girl you see at the coffeeshop,thebrainiac withasecret inner life.S hemakes interesting choicesthathermore mainstream contemporaries might have avoided.JenniferConnelly might have played Zoe with steely determination, whileKirstenD unst w ould have bro ught a veneer of sweetness to the rolethatwould undermine the character's natural anxiety. Instead Tunney playsZoeas asubtle oddball,aw om an just slightly ou t-of-step w ith everyoneelse.It isthis very quality that makeshertransformationsomuch m oreinteresting and believable. Fewrecent Hollywood movies have strongcentral female characters, so it is refreshing to see a film in which thefemale leadis invirtually every scene.

Tim B lake N elson's lovesick deputyis an understated gem of aper-formance. At first he's all business, but he slowly warms to Zoe and


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finds his well-ordered life slowly turned upside down as he developsdecidedly unprofessionalfeelings fo r her.His is a keycharacter, on theone hand representing authorityand incarceration, and on theotherZoe's tickettofreedom. It'safinelylayeredactw ithout any of theshowyaspectsof hisworkin OBrother,WhereA rt Thou?orMinority Report.

Other well-known names pop up in small supporting roles.Alternative rocker LizP hair fares well enough in the bland part ofBrynn , one of Zoe's co-workers, but doesn't make much of an impres-sion. N ora D unn, best known for her five-year stint on Saturday NightLive,playsano-nonsense attorneywith gusto,but it isJason P riestlyasthe objectofZoe'saffections who stealsthe show.A ge hasrounded hishandsome face somewhat, which makeshim less ateen idol and morethe good-looking guy who could actually work in the next cubicle toyours. It's aself-deprecating portrayalthatslyly pokesfun at hisformercheesecakestatus.

The pop music of the 19708and '8ospropels the movie, and is usedto illustrate Zoe's inner life.Thethemes ofstalking and unrequited loveareunderscored by radio hits by Hall &G atesand The A ssociation. Thesongs may sound familiar, but in this context the lyrics to "TaintedLove" by Soft Cell or locc's "I 'm N ot in Love" resonate w ith creepyundertones.

Cherishisn'taperfect movie. The b asic plot is implausible. A nyonewho haswatchedLaw andOrder cantelly ou that peoplewho aresus-pected of killing police officers are not treated to house arrest, andcertainly no cop would treat Zoe the waythat B lake's character does.I f you can ignore the movie's key flaw, there is a great deal here toappreciate.


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"It'safuckinggoodfilm, Robert,but if itevershowsinAmericawe'llnever beallowedin the countryagain."

You probably haven't seen one of the best moviesabout rock and rollever made, and Mick Jagger wants to make sure that you never do.CocksuckerBlues,the legendary docu m entary about the R olling S tones,issoraunchy iteven madethe FabFiveblush.Although it was producedwith the full co-operation of the band, they still took director R obertFrankto court toblockits distribution.

The R olling S tones first met the S wiss-born photographer R obertFrankat amansion in LosA ngeles duringthe sessionsfo rExileonMainStreetA s E uropeans they shared a comm on fascination with A mericanculture. The Stones were walking encyclopedias of Southern blues,while Frankhad traveled the Statesin themid-'sossnapping aseriesofphotographs that would be released as a book titled TheAmerica ns. B ythe time of their meeting in1972the S tones werethebiggest rock bandin the world, and The Am erica nswas already regarded as one of the clas-sicphotography b ooksof the century.

After theirinitial meeting Frank washired to provide the cover artfor ExileonMainStreet.Hegavethem aphoto he had takenin1950of acollage of circusfreaks from the wall of a tattoo parlor on R oute 66. Thecover photo was met with such critical acclaim that the Stones decidedto expand their working relationship w ith Frank,andhiredhim to shootano-holds-barreddocumentary oftheir1972 Americantour, to be pro-duced by the legendary owner of Chess R ecords, Marshall Chess.The Stones had not performed in theU.S. since the D ecember 1969debacle at the Altamont R acetrack, the final date on a tour that wasfilmed by A lbertandD avid Mayslesand releasedas afull-length feature

- MICK JA GGE R t o d i r e c o r R O B E R T FR A N K

1972PfWQl lPkTD R I I I C QbUbl\oUljr\tK DIULO


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film titled G i m m e Shelter.Shot in thewaning moments of the 19605,G i m m eShelternotonly documents theactualend of thedecade,but itsideological end aswell. DuringtheAltamont concert theHell's Angels,hiredby theStonestc>act assecurity, used pool cuesandknivestobeatan iS-year-old African-American audience member to death. As theStones played "UnderMyThumb"andMeredith Hunterlaydyingon theground, theimage profoundly signaled the end of the era ofpeaceandlove. I t w as an h istoricalmoment, and theRolling Stoneshad it on film.

GimmeShelteris anabove-average rockumentary,and theinclusionofthecontroversial Altamont footage assuredthatitwouldbesuccess-ful.Three years later,it w astime for afollow-up.Jaggerdecided tocallthe newmovie Cocksucker Blues after araunchy tune he had writtenabout a gay hooker in London,and gaveFrank an all-access pass toshoot wherever and whatever he wanted. That was a decision thatwould later come back to haunt the band.

Frankchosetoshoot the filmcinemaveritestyleincrisp black andwhite, which lendsastark newsreelfeelto themovie.Hisdispassionateeyeneither judges nor comments, preferring to let viewers draw theirow nconclusionsas he film sKeith Richard's descent into heroin addic-tion, or a battered woma

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