Tamara Horrocks Movies
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)
Although he was not the first choice to direct it, the hit black comedy MASH established Robert Altman as one of the leading figures of Hollywood's 1970s generation of innovative and irreverent young filmmakers. Scripted by Hollywood veteran Ring Lardner, Jr., this war comedy details the exploits of military doctors and nurses at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the Korean War. Between exceptionally gory hospital shifts and countless rounds of martinis, wisecracking surgeons Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould) make it their business to undercut the smug, moralistic pretensions of Bible-thumper Maj. Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) and Army true-believer Maj. "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Sally Kellerman). Abetted by such other hedonists as Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt) and Painless Pole (John Schuck), as well as such (relative) innocents as Radar O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff), Hawkeye and Trapper John drive Burns and Houlihan crazy while engaging in such additional blasphemies as taking a medical trip to Japan to play golf, staging a mock Last Supper to cure Painless's momentary erectile dysfunction, and using any means necessary to win an inter-MASH football game. MASH creates a casual, chaotic atmosphere emphasizing the constant noise and activity of a surgical unit near battle lines; it marked the beginning of Altman's sustained formal experiments with widescreen photography, zoom lenses, and overlapping sound and dialogue, further enhancing the atmosphere with the improvisational ensemble acting for which Altman's films quickly became known. Although the on-screen war was not Vietnam, MASH's satiric target was obvious in 1970, and Vietnam War-weary and counter-culturally hip audiences responded to Altman's nose-thumbing attitude towards all kinds of authority and embraced the film's frankly tasteless yet evocative humor and its anti-war, anti-Establishment, anti-religion stance. MASH became the third most popular film of 1970 after Love Story and Airport, and it was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. As further evidence of the changes in Hollywood's politics, blacklist survivor Lardner won the Oscar for his screenplay. MASH began Altman's systematic 1970s effort to revise classic Hollywood genres in light of contemporary American values, and it gave him the financial clout to make even more experimental and critical films like McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), California Split (1974), and Nashville (1975). It also inspired the long-running TV series starring Alan Alda as Hawkeye and Burghoff as Radar. With its formal and attitudinal impudence, and its great popularity, MASH was one more confirmation in 1970 that a Hollywood "New Wave" had arrived. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.