Directors MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #442 - Le Cinema du ANDY WARHOL (1 Viewer)

[Bill McA]

Rate 'em, Rank 'em, Review 'em, whatever

Volume #442 - Andy Warhol


L'Amour (1973)
Blue Movie (1969)
Lonesome Cowboys (1969)
The Loves of Ondine (1968)
San Diego Surf (1968)
**** (1967)
Imitation of Christ (1967)
The Nude Restaurant (1967)
Bike Boy (1967)
I, a Man (1967)
The Andy Warhol Story (1967)
Tiger Morse (1967)
Tub Girls (1967)
The Closet (1966)
The Beard (1966)
More Milk, Evette (1966)
Outer and Inner Space (1966)
The Velvet Underground and Nico (1966)
Ari and Mario (1966)
Chelsea Girls (1966)
Hedy (1966)
Kiss the Boot (1966)
Lupe (1966)
Milk (1966)
Salvador Dalí (1966)
Screen Test #3 (1966)
Screen Test #4 (1966)
Shower (1966)
Sunset (1966)
Superboy (1966)
Beauty #2 (1965)
Screen Test (1965)
Screen Test #2 (1965)
Screen Test #1 (1965)
Bitch (1965)
Camp (1965)
Harlot (1965)
Horse (1965)
Kitchen (1965)
The Life of Juanita Castro (1965)
My Hustler (1965)
Poor Little Rich Girl (1965)
Restaurant (1965)
Space (1965)
Taylor Mead's Ass (1965)
Vinyl (1965)
The 13 Most Beautiful Women (1964)
Batman Dracula (1964)
Clockwork (1964)
Couch (1964)
Drunk (1964)
Empire (1964)
The End of Dawn (1964)
Lips (1964)
Mario Banana I (1964)
Mario Banana II (1964)
Messy Lives (1964)
Naomi and Rufus Kiss (1964)
Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of (1964)
The Thirteen Most Beautiful Boys (1964)
Whips and Women (1964)
Blow Job (1963)
Eat (1963)
Haircut (1963)
Kiss (1963)
Naomi's Birthday Party (1963)
Sleep (1963)

 

[Bill McA]

Andy Warhol
Aug 6, 1928 - Feb 22, 1987

Rated from :star: to :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:


L'Amour (1973)
Blue Movie (1969)
Lonesome Cowboys (1969) (Own the DVD, haven't watched it yet)
The Loves of Ondine (1968)
San Diego Surf (1968)
**** (1967)
Imitation of Christ (1967)
The Nude Restaurant (1967) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Bike Boy (1967)
I, a Man (1967) (Own the DVD, haven't watched it yet)
The Andy Warhol Story (1967)
Tiger Morse (1967)
Tub Girls (1967)
The Closet (1966)
The Beard (1966)
More Milk, Evette (1966)
Outer and Inner Space (1966)
The Velvet Underground and Nico (1966) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Ari and Mario (1966)
Chelsea Girls (1966) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Hedy (1966)
Kiss the Boot (1966)
Lupe (1966)
Milk (1966)
Salvador Dalí (1966)
Screen Test #3 (1966)
Screen Test #4 (1966)
Shower (1966)
Sunset (1966)
Superboy (1966)
Beauty #2 (1965)
Screen Test (1965)
Screen Test #2 (1965)
Screen Test #1 (1965)
Bitch (1965)
Camp (1965)
Harlot (1965)
Horse (1965)
Kitchen (1965)
The Life of Juanita Castro (1965)
My Hustler (1965) :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Poor Little Rich Girl (1965)
Restaurant (1965)
Space (1965)
Taylor Mead's Ass (1965)
Vinyl (1965) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
The 13 Most Beautiful Women (1964)
Batman Dracula (1964)
Clockwork (1964)
Couch (1964)
Drunk (1964)
Empire (1964) :star: :star: :star: (Own a 60 min version on DVD)
The End of Dawn (1964)
Lips (1964)
Mario Banana I (1964) (Own the DVD, haven't watched it yet)
Mario Banana II (1964) (Own the DVD, haven't watched it yet)
Messy Lives (1964)
Naomi and Rufus Kiss (1964)
Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of (1964)
The Thirteen Most Beautiful Boys (1964)
Whips and Women (1964)
Blow Job (1963) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Eat (1963)
Haircut (1963)
Kiss (1963) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Naomi's Birthday Party (1963)
Sleep (1963)


Seen 8
Own 12

 

[Brook K]

*1. Chelsea Girls - B-

Own: 1

 

[Rich Malloy]

Wait a minute... there's a DVD of "Chelsea Girls"???? Where? How?

So many more questions...

Is it all split-screen, or is there a feature to watch sequences individually? Is the soundtrack a "new mix" that mimics the projectionists' up/down with the volume track, or maybe a "historic mix" from some exhibition? Is it the full, complete cut?

And about Warhol dvds in general... are any of the silents available? Can I finally get to see "Beauty #2"? What about the voluminous collection of "screen tests"?

 

[Bill McA]

Rich,

The Chelsea Girls DVD is a 2-disc PAL set from Italy, which also includes a nice glossy 65 page booklet (in English and Italian)

Chelsea Girls is shown in it's entirety on disc one (split screen, 16x9, stereo, English language, removable English and Italian subtitles, 195 min PAL run time)

Unfortunately, this DVD doesn't take full advantage of the disc medium. There is no individual access to to the dual soundtracks, you only hear the individual audio that the 'projectionist' lets you hear and occasionally there is no audio from either screen (even though you can clearly see characters talking in both screens)

Disc 2 includes:
- the film Scenes From the Life of Andy Warhol by Jonas Mekas (36 min)
- a videothing by Enrico Ghezzi
- interview with Achille Bonito Oliva (Italian critic)
- interview with Mario Zonta
- Paul Morrissey meets Jonas Mekas (15 min)
all with English subtitles

The DVD is released by an Italian outfit called Raro Video although my actual disc only mentions a company called eccentriche visioni.
They have also released several other Warhol DVDs, including:

Andy Warhol - 4 Silent Movies (Kiss/Blow Job/Empire (60 min version)/Mario Banana I & II)
Lonesome Cowboys
My Hustler/I, A Man
Nude Restaurant
Vinyl/Velvet Underground & Nico

I'll be attending some theatrical screenings of these films in the next two weeks including some of Andy's Screen Tests and the full 8hr 5 min Empire.
Warhol collaborator and friend, Gerard Malanga will be on hand to provide colorful commentary and will be screening personal footage of his Warhol experiences (including a young Bob Dylan)

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:

Vinyl (1965) :star: :star: :star:
The first film adaptation of Burgess's A Clockwork Orange (it even has the same opening shot as Kubrick's version!) is a deliberately stilted, one-set, single-camera set-up which is heavy on the eroticism and S&M. The film includes one of the best dance sequences I've ever seen in a film, star Gerard Malanga performs an energetic wild frug (watched over by Edie Sedgwick) to Martha and the Vandellas "Nowhere to Run" not once, but twice...back-to-back!


Empire (1964) :star: :star: :star:
All 485 minutes of it!
A hallucinatory experience to be sure, blink and you'll miss Warhol's cameo.

Seen 3
Own 1

 

[Rich Malloy]

Bill, thanks for the great write-up. That disc is definitely on my buy-list. Is there any info at all about the audio track? I certainly wonder whether it was newly created or recorded at some previous exhibition. I've also wondered just how explicit the instructions are (or aren't) to the projectionist. Sounds like a really interesting release.

I can't believe you sat through "Empire"! What's that other super-long one... "Sleep"? I wonder if shortened versions would work in this context. After seeing the full-length "Empire", do you think a 60-minute version would do it justice? Certainly, there's no single way to view these films, and seated in wrapt attention may not be the best way. But I wonder if a shorter edit would work at all...

Does anyone know whether "Beauty #2" is out, coming out, or never ever to be seen on home video?

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:

Blow Job (1963) :star: :star: :star:

Four of Andy’s Most Beautiful Women (1964) :star: :star: :star:
Not sure if this is an official Warhol film or an edited compilation of his Screen Tests as there is no mention of this at imdb, so I'm not including it in my list.

Seen 4
Own 1


I'm not sure if that 60 min version of Empire is the entire film transferred at high speed or an actual 60 min excerpt (I'd know if I saw it). It wouldn't be difficult to put the entire film on a single DVD and to use the players variable playback speeds to watch the film in real time.

I don't think that a 60 min excerpt would 'work', the passage of time is crucial for the film's effect.
I didn't find the film boring at all (there are actually several things happening during the course of the film), I found it to be a very relaxing experience and by the end of the film, my mind was tripping the light fantastic without the use of any external aids

Nightfall comes pretty early on in the film, so most of it takes place in complete darkness with only the floodlights illuminating the very top of the building. The numerous flashes of light that fill the screen (either from the camera crew or the film stock itself) completely disoriented my vision to the point where I could no longer recognize what I was seeing as the Empire State Building...I could have sworn I was looking at the old A.I.P. movie logo up there!

Oh, yeah, 30 tickets were sold, 21 people showed up, 6 fled the theatre during the first 15 minutes (apparently unable to read film descriptions!), 2 left for several hours and returned for the end, and just 7 of us stayed for the whole thing

Rich, all those Warhol DVDs are available at xploitedcinema.com but most of them are a little pricey.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Thanks, Bill! I would think a 60-minute "Empire" would have to be an excerpt (and not a sped-up "time lapse" sorta thing). It's my understanding that Warhol shot all the early films at sound speed and then projected them at silent speed - I hope I have that right; that is, shot at 24 fps and projected at 16 fps. I completely agree with you that the (slightly slowed down) passage of time would seem to be necessary for the film to work.

Btw, did you happen to see the PBS Warhol documentary a few weeks ago? I thought it was good to excellent, with much emphasis on the early films. There wasn't much post-Solanas shooting stuff with barely a mention of "Interview". I suppose this is appropriate, but I was sorta hoping to have the latter-era Warhol illuminated in some way, as I've tended to dismiss it. Perhaps most everyone rightly dismisses the latter-half of his life/career, but I was sorta hoping for a re-appraisal or at least something that would connect the post-shooting/pre-shooting work.

 

[Bill McA]

Correct, the 16 fps speed is how I'm currently seeing these films projected.

Rich, I missed that Warhol doc as I didn't know about it until after it had aired. I'll catch up with it on DVD...uncensored and no pledge breaks!

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:

My Hustler (1965) :star: :star:

Seen 5
Own 1

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:

The Velvet Underground and Nico (1966) :star: :star: :star:

Seen 6
Own 1

 

[Michael Elliott]

Bill, you are without a doubt the bravest man I've ever known. I just went through five of his silent films and hated all of them. I watched EMPIRE but it was the 60-minute version. It's only sixty-minutes and not the entire thing only sped up. I'm really not sure how in the hell you were able to sit through the entire thing as I was wanting to kill myself after five minutes.

The place I rented this from also had the 2-disc CHELSEA GIRLS but I'm not sure I want to sit through it if it's anything like these shorts.


L'Amour (1973)
Blue Movie (1969)
Lonesome Cowboys (1969)
The Loves of Ondine (1968)
San Diego Surf (1968)
**** (1967)
Imitation of Christ (1967)
The Nude Restaurant (1967)
Bike Boy (1967)
I, a Man (1967)
The Andy Warhol Story (1967)
Tiger Morse (1967)
Tub Girls (1967)
The Closet (1966)
The Beard (1966)
More Milk, Evette (1966)
Outer and Inner Space (1966)
The Velvet Underground and Nico (1966)
Ari and Mario (1966)
Chelsea Girls (1966)
Hedy (1966)
Kiss the Boot (1966)
Lupe (1966)
Milk (1966)
Salvador Dalí (1966)
Screen Test #3 (1966)
Screen Test #4 (1966)
Shower (1966)
Sunset (1966)
Superboy (1966)
Beauty #2 (1965)
Screen Test (1965)
Screen Test #2 (1965)
Screen Test #1 (1965)
Bitch (1965)
Camp (1965)
Harlot (1965)
Horse (1965)
Kitchen (1965)
The Life of Juanita Castro (1965)
My Hustler (1965)
Poor Little Rich Girl (1965)
Restaurant (1965)
Space (1965)
Taylor Mead's Ass (1965)
Vinyl (1965) BOMB
The 13 Most Beautiful Women (1964)
Batman Dracula (1964)
Clockwork (1964)
Couch (1964)
Drunk (1964)
Empire (1964) BOMB
The End of Dawn (1964)
Lips (1964)
Mario Banana I (1964) 1/2:star:
Mario Banana II (1964) 1/2:star:
Messy Lives (1964)
Naomi and Rufus Kiss (1964)
Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of (1964)
The Thirteen Most Beautiful Boys (1964)
Whips and Women (1964)
Blow Job (1963) BOMB
Eat (1963)
Haircut (1963)
Kiss (1963) BOMB
Naomi's Birthday Party (1963)
Sleep (1963)

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:

The Nude Restaurant (1967) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)

Seen 7
Own 12

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:

Kiss (1963) :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)

Seen 8
Own 12

 

[Martin Teller]

Chelsea Girls (1966) - 7/10