Andy Warhol Movies
American pop artist Andy Warhol became a pop icon himself, symbolizing the wild decadence of the "beautiful people" of the 1970s. Born Andrew Warhola in Pennsylvania, he studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology before designing advertisements for women's shoes. After gaining notoriety for his pop-art renditions of things such as Campbell's Soup cans and silk screens of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol began making experimental films during the early '60s. Most of his early works were little more than passive chronicles of the ordinary. For example, in the film Sleep, he simple recorded a man sleeping for several hours. Such endeavors were heralded as groundbreaking by other experimental filmmakers, but the public and most critics generally regarded them as wastes of film, and their time. Still, Warhol continued making these plotless films until he eventually began adding crude soundtracks and sketchy scripts. Many of these films are filled with his "players": the beautiful people, "freaks," and wealthy dilettantes that constantly surrounded the artist and his "Factory," an art studio he founded in 1962. His films became a form of cinéma vérité, a voyeur's delight of strange people doing equally strange things. Some of the players Warhol turned into underground celebrities included Candy Darling, Viva, Holly Woodlawn, and Ingrid Superstar. Simply playing versions of themselves, they left the viewer to decide if they were, in fact, real people or simply fantastical figures. Many of Warhol's films were centered on sex and death, and the sex in his films was often explicit and transcended traditional gender boundaries. In 1968, Warhol was wounded by a disgruntled Factory reject, an incident which inspired the 1996 movie I Shot Andy Warhol. While healing, he began to withdraw from filmmaking, closed the Factory, and turned the reins of his operation over to filmmakers such as Paul Morrissey, who helped make subsequent movies more commercially accessible. Morrissey was behind Warhol's best known films Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula, both of which were shot while in Rome in 1973. Although Warhol never fully recovered from the attempt on his life and had stopped making films, he did continue his voyeurism of the strange lives of his illustrious friends via the Polaroid camera he carried with him until he died in 1987 from complications following surgery. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 2006
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Documentary filmmaker Ric Burns explores the life and legacy of pop art's most beloved icon with this film that seeks to illuminate the public persona and creative complexity of painter, photographer, and filmmaker Andy Warhol. Host Laurie Anderson narrates as an erudite collection of curators, critics, and biographers dispel Warhol's own self-created image as a haute couture heavyweight to offer a more intellectually minded portrait of the man who forever changed the way the world views Campbell's Soup cans. From Warhol's boyhood experiences in a Czechoslovakian community in Pittsburgh to a disheartening stint at art school and initial work as a commercial illustrator in New York, Burns' film explores every aspect of Warhol's life to offer a detailed look at the artist whose short-circuited class-jumping gave him a most unique view on contemporary culture. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andy Warhol
Henry Geldzahler was one of the most important figures in 20th Century American art, even though he was not an artist himself. Geldzahler was a collector and historian who helped establish the role of artists such as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, George Segal, and Roy Lichtenstein within the canon of contemporary art with "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970," a groundbreaking show at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art which made the case for pop art while the gallery establishment was still favoring the more accepted but less accessible abstract expressionists. A passionate man who was a friend, confidante, and collaborator to many of the painters and sculptors he championed, Geldzahler assembled the "New York Painting and Sculpture" show himself, and while it caused no small amount of controversy at the time (especially among his colleagues at the MoMA), it established a consensus that the pop movement and its leading figures were here to stay, and Geldzahler continued to be a mover and shaker in the world of contemporary art until his death in 1994 at the age of 59. Who Gets to Call it Art? is a documentary which celebrates and chronicles Geldzahler's life and career and features interviews with a number of his friends and associates, including Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Jonas Mekas, Larry Poons, John Chamberlain, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, (more)
- 1995
This German documentary offers a tragic profile of the notorious "death angel," Nico. Long after her death in 1988, the German model and entertainer has remained a darkly mysterious cult figure. She was born Christa Paffgen in Cologne and took her professional name from photographer Nico Papatakis. She began modeling in the early '50s, and this led to a brief appearance in Fellini's classic La Dolce Vita. Though Nico was blessed with the rare combination of beauty and intelligence, she was depressive and utterly lacking in ambition; she spent much of her life simply drifting about through various film and commercial appearances until she met artist Andy Warhol. He introduced her to the band The Velvet Underground, which resulted in the tone-deaf beauty occasionally singing with them -- much to the discomfiture of the band members; she became addicted to heroin and eventually could no longer disguise its effects. Nico went on to become a solo act until her death as the result of a brain hemorrhage. Nico -- Icon includes film clips, commercial clips, archival photos, songs, and interviews with those who knew her, including members of the Velvet Underground, Paul Morrissey, ex-Factory members Viva and Billy Name, songwriter Jackson Browne, and avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christa Paffgen
A documentary featuring the founder of pop art. Andy Warhol is represented through his work and through interviews. ~ John Voorhees, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andy Warhol
- 1988
- R
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The personal film archives of Yoko Ono were utilized for this feature-length documentary on the life of John Lennon. Predictably, it downplays Lennon's association with the Beatles and concentrates on his years with Ono. The film spends a lot of time recounting Lennon's anti-war activities, highlighted by a confrontation on a talk show hosted by conservative cartoonist Al Capp. The title of the documentary is, of course, taken from Lennon's idyllic ballad about a world free of hatred and discord. Imagine: John Lennon is a reverent but ultimately depressing chronicle of an artist who died the untimeliest of deaths. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
With top-name models like Carol Alt and Kelly Emberg, as well as the designer clothes they wear, this docudrama about the hardships of jet lag as the women travel from Rome, to Paris, to New York, to London is at least visually, if not mentally or emotionally engaging. The focus, in general, is on the models who work for John Casablancas and his New York agency, and it ostensibly follows the rising career of a young model from New England. The fashion world often holds its own fascination, which may be enough to satisfy most viewers.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Wolfe, Carol Alt, (more)
- 1984
Consensus opinion is that Paul Morrissey directed L'Amour on his own, despite Andy Warhol's name on the credits. This film has much more of a story than the other Andy Warhol Factory productions, but it takes the same casual approach to nudity and sex. In the story, two female tourists (Donna Jordan and Jane Forth) seek out Michael (Michael Sklar) a wealthy American resident, who has been living with a handsome French boy (Max Delys). Everyone tries, with varying success, to seduce everyone else, though the two men have only an implied relationship. Eventually, Michael decides to marry one of the girls and return to the U.S. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Cocaine Cowboys is an odd, simply dreadful little film which tries to be chic and innovative but merely succeeds in being confusing and tiresome. The film purports to tell the story of a rock group that supports itself between gigs by selling cocaine. This side business gets them into trouble with the mob. The only performances of note are those of Jack Palance as a mobster and of Andy Warhol, who allowed the movie to be filmed at his Montauk home. Director Ulli Lommel, at the beginning of his career, acted with Rainer Werner Fassbinder's entourage and branched out to directing as well as performing. While some of Lommel's work is distinctive and accomplished, Cocaine Cowboys should be avoided by all except those with chronic insomnia. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- 1979
- NR
Richard Hell, one of the most important and influential figures in the late-'70s New York punk rock scene, stars in this gritty look at the underground art and music community, directed by German filmmaker Ulli Lommel. Billy (Hell) is an up-and-coming musician and poet who meets Nada (Carole Bouquet), a journalist from Europe who has come to New York to do a story on him. Billy and Nada soon fall into a troubled relationship, and Billy has to choose between his career and his feelings for Nada. Andy Warhol appears as himself (being interviewed by Nada); Richard Hell plays three songs with his band The Voidoids, shot live at the legendary club CBGB's. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The final film released under the Andy Warhol moniker (which Warhol executive produced) is a much more polished affair than Flesh, Trash or Heat, but preserves the oddball wit and eccentric flair that made those films so memorable. Directed by Warhol film editor Jed Johnson, Andy Warhol's Bad focuses on Hazel Aiken, a New York housewife who has to support a houseful of relatives on her own. She pays the bills by operating an electrolysis service out of her home and also by running a murder-for-hire service staffed exclusively by women that specializes in unsavory jobs like killing children and house pets. As a result of her latter job, she has to deal with unwanted attention from Detective Hughes, a corrupt cop who wants her to surrender one of her employees so he can make an arrest. Hazel's complex life grows even more difficult with the arrival of her nephew J.T. (Perry King), a sleazy layabout who wants to join her hit squad. As the bodies pile up around her, Hazel discovers that her cold-blooded take on capitalism and family values comes with a price she didn't imagine. Andy Warhol's Bad differs from previous Warhol productions because of its higher production values and Hollywood-friendly casting, but retains its sense of underground credibility thanks to a wild story line that trashes every taboo in arm's reach to create a memorably bizarre satire. Some sources erroneously list the year of release in 1971; it was in fact produced in 1976 and issued to theaters by Roger Corman's New World Pictures in 1977. The MPAA classified that version of the film with an X. It was later reedited to receive an R, which is the version available on video. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carroll Baker, Perry King, (more)
The second of two horror films shot in a single production term and bearing the name of pop-art icon Andy Warhol (whose participation pretty much ended with the use of his name), this film is slightly superior to its higher-profile predecessor, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein. Direction is credited to Warhol factory filmmaker Paul Morrissey, though there still exists a very vocal camp who insist that the real credit should go to Italian director Antonio Margheriti. Euro-horror leading man Udo Kier assays the title role, playing the count as a pale, anemic-looking blood junkie with an overwrought accent. Finding the supply of "weer-gin" blood diminishing rapidly in Romania, Dracula is forced to seek a fix in a predominantly Catholic Italian province, where he is certain a few virgins still exist. He travels with his assistant (Arno Juerging) and his coffin-sealed sister to the decrepit, crumbling mansion of the financially-strapped Marquis DiFore (a tour-de-force performance from Bicycle Thief director Vittorio de Sica) who welcomes the affluent Count with open arms, hoping to marry off any one of his four daughters. Dracula clearly has other intentions for the girls... but his plans are rudely thwarted by beefy, socialist handyman Mario (Joe Dallesandro), who has been dutifully divesting the young maidens of their -- ahem -- virtue, thus tainting their blood and making it unsafe for vampiric consumption. Very unsafe, it turns out -- as we are treated to protracted scenes of the death-pale Count vomiting up gallons of blood. Rated "X" at the time of its release (and subsequently re-rated "R" ten years later), this outrageous catalogue of depravity features wildly campy performances, inane dialogue and an outrageous climax. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier, (more)
Heat is one of the more mainstream films produced by Andy Warhol's "Factory" and directed by Paul Morrissey. It is something of a send-up of Sunset Boulevard, with male beauty Joe Dallesandro in the William Holden part. In the film, Dallessandro seeks to advance his career by bedding anyone who is able to help him, from corpulent lady motel owners, to the gay boyfriend of a movie star's ex-husband. His career moves land him in bed with a fading but still-influential movie star (Sylvia Miles), and they enjoy a brief relationship. This ends, however, when Dallessandro decides that he wants to handle his career on his own. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvia Miles, Joe Dallesandro, (more)
- 1972
The behind-the-scenes activities of the Rolling Stones on their 1972 American tour are the focus of this quasi-documentary film which has had limited showings due to a lawsuit brought by the band, doubtlessly on the advice of their lawyers. Thus, its official release date (if any) is open to question. While some concert footage is included, it mostly focuses on the backstage and offstage behavior (and misbehavior) of the band and its road crew. Despite the film's cinéma vérité tone, some of the events filmed are clearly staged by the groupies, road crew, and band just for the benefit of the cameras. For that reason, it is difficult to tell how accurate a depiction of the Stones' mid '70s on-tour behavior this is. Among the misbehaviors chronicled are hotel room trashings, and the airplane abduction of giggling, screaming and naked groupies for carnal purposes, as well as assorted drug scenes. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- The Rolling Stones, Marshall Chess, (more)
Andy Warhol produced this mordant satire of the women's movement, directed by Paul Morrissey and staring a trio of female impersonators. Candy (Candy Darling) is an aloof heiress caught in an unhappy relationship with her brother. Jackie (Jackie Curtis) is a virginal intellectual who believes that women are oppressed in contemporary American society. And Holly (Holly Woodlawn) is a nymphomaniac who has come to loathe men, despite her attraction to them. Together, they join a militant feminist group, P.I.G. (Politically Involved Girls), but their newfound liberation doesn't make them any happier; Jackie gets mixed up with a male hustler and winds up as an unwed mother, Holly becomes a homeless alcoholic, and Candy tries to make a go of show business via the casting couch. Several other Warhol/Morrissey "superstars" appear in supporting roles, including Jane Forth, Geri Miller, and Maurice Braddell. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1970
- R
This film contains a collection of commercials, interviews, and music featuring Joan Baez, Richard Pryor, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Lenny Bruce, Andy Warhol, and Allen Ginsberg. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
This Andy Warhol production finds Joe Dallesandro as Joe, a lice-ridden impotent junkie who lives with Holly (Holly Woodlawn) in a Lower East Side slum in New York. Holly is a transvestite who spends time collecting trash, going to the Fillmore East, and cruising for sex. Joe is only interested in his next fix, and graphic displays of needles piercing flesh and degrading human situations deglamorize drug use better than any board of education film or public service messages. Jane (Jane Forth) is the acid casualty housewife who listens to Pink Floyd. Male and female nudity and masturbation are featured. The color process is not credited, but technical aspects are better overall than most previous Warhol productions. Woodlawn was the inspiration for the Lou Reed song "Take a Walk on the Wild Side." ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Dallesandro, Holly Woodlawn, (more)
Underground filmmaker Jonas Mekas presents a collection of home movies, outtakes and unfinished projects. A picnic in Central Park with friends is shown, as are Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer in an anti-war protest march. John Lennon and Yoko Ono are shown in their celebrated honeymoon where they answer questions from the media in a Toronto hotel room to promote peace. Timothy Leary, Andy Warhol and Nico also appear. Color process is not credited. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dr. Timothy Leary
- 1968
This characteristically offbeat, but tedious, Andy Warhol film was finished just before Warhol was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound inflicted by one of his disgruntled followers. It was released soon after Warhol's recovery. Though the film tends to be a muddled, haphazard collection of seemingly unrelated scenes, it begins clearly enough by introducing the main character: the flamboyant, verbose Ondine, an infamous homosexual who makes a passing attempt to live life as a heterosexual. Ondine is also adventuresome enough to try and learn "college wrestling" from a young male prostitute. In the most memorable scene of the film, a nude boy standing over a motorcycle is buried in trash after he and other willing parties participate in a food-and-garbage orgy. The film is re-edited from his earlier 25-hour marathon Four Stars. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- 1968
Viva and Louis Walden star in this Andy Warhol film. The two discuss social issues and cuddle in bed before copulating. They later shower together and prepare for the day in this boring film highlighted by a sex act that is strangely mechanical and devoid of eroticism. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Louis Waldon
Flesh was filmmaker Paul Morrissey's first production for Andy Warhol. The story concerns a bisexual hustler (Joe Dallesandro) who does tricks so that he can pay for his wife's lover's abortion. The film made headlines when it was confiscated by the police during one of its earliest showings in 1970. Though this event is unlikely to repeat itself, Flesh is still explicit enough to elicit gasps from even the most jaded of underground-film enthusiasts. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Dallesandro, Geraldine Smith, (more)
- 1968
This Big Apple underground art film is based on the classic Greek play Prometheus Bound and presents assorted characters, symbolizing Greek gods and their daily actions that signify the relationship between homosexuality and urban living. Andy Warhol and his Factory members populate the piece. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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