Lindsay Kemp Movies
- 1993
A performer becomes trapped in a pair of magic shoes that won't stop dancing in this 45-minute short that marks the directorial debut of British musician Kate Bush. Bush plays a singer/dancer who finds her rock band's rehearsals interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious woman who appears magically from the other side of the studio mirror. Offering Bush's character a pair of magic shoes, the gaudy diva (Miranda Richardson) quickly escapes back through the mirror just as Bush realizes that the shoes won't stop dancing and won't come off. Following the enchantress through the mirror, Bush travels through a fantastical landscape of prancing devils, sinister crones, icy cities, and endless movement, finally confronting her foe in a battle that shatters the mirror separating fantasy from reality. Six songs from Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes provide the soundtrack for The Line, the Cross and the Curve; individual scenes were later edited into separate videos for the album's singles. Lindsay Kemp, the legendary mime and London stage performer who trained both Bush and David Bowie in movement techniques, appears alongside several other longtime Bush collaborators, including her brother. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Bush, Miranda Richardson, (more)
- 1987
- R
Lidia (Christiana Borghi) passes herself off as a stage actress to interview international star Silvana (Genevieve Page) for her writer boyfriend (David Brandon). Her first obstacle is the boarding house owner and former stage star Pola Mareschi, who is very protective of her tenant's privacy. Lidia is robbed by a motorcycle gang in the middle of the living room and is caught up in a performance put on by the residents. Lidia soon finds herself wanting to stay with the quirky actors as she becomes a performer in their offbeat antics. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geneviève Page, Lindsay Kemp, (more)
- 1984
This off-beat interpretation of Shakespeare's similarly off-beat play is a low-budget, cinematic version of the Lindsay Kemp Company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Not just a reproduction of Shakespeare, the players use mime, songs, and dances to make their happy way through the long night -- with a certain amount of bare skin and even ambiguous slants on gender (is Titania male or female or both?). Inventive and outrageous in parts, this unique film does quite well, especially considering that it was shot in less than two weeks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Kemp, Manuela Vargas, (more)
Steeped in the nihilistic philosophy and rebellious fashions of the British punk movement, this early feature by experimental filmmaker Derek Jarman presents an unusual look at late 1970s London. The bulk of Jubilee focuses on a loosely connected group of female outcasts, united by a hatred of convention that at times extends into dark violence. Providing contrast is the film's framing story, in which Queen Elizabeth I travels forward in time to view the future of England and finds unexpected sympathy with the female rebels. The film references both William Shakespeare and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and it alternates scenes of transgressive violence with heady discussions of English history. The film's casting alone makes it an intriguing artifact of its time, showcasing subcultural icons from musician Adam Ant to several cast members of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Runacre, Jordan, (more)
- 1977
- R
Rudolph Valentino, born in Italy in 1895 as Alfonzo Raffaele Pierre Philibert Guglielmi, emigrated to the U.S. and became for a time the reigning male romantic lead of the silent-film era. He died in 1926, having led a short, troubled and tempestuous life which included several stints in prison. The crowds surrounding his coffin before and during his funeral were among the largest ever seen in the U.S. In this film, Ken Russell has used events from the famous actor's life as the basis for an extended meditation on the nature of stardom, and especially on what it means to be a sex idol. Beginning and ending with the funeral of Valentino (Rudolf Nureyev), the story chronicles his rise to Hollywood stardom from life as an Italian emigrant dishwasher and show-dancer. Often embroiled in controversies about his manliness (or perceived lack of ), in the film he dies as a result of internal injuries suffered in a boxing match he fought in to defend his honor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolf Nureyev, Leslie Caron, (more)
Filmed entirely in vulgar Latin, this experimental film recounts the life of Sebastiane, a puritanical but beautiful Christian soldier in the Roman Imperial troops who is martyred when he refuses the homosexual advances of his pagan captain. When this film was released, it was the only English-made film to have required English subtitles, and it is an early film by the noted experimental and outspokenly homosexual director Derek Jarman, who died in 1994. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, (more)
A righteous police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl comes into conflict with the unusual residents of a secluded Scottish isle in this unsettling, intelligent chiller. Brought to the island of Summerisle by an anonymous letter, Edward Woodward's constable is surprised to discover that the island's population suspiciously denies the missing girl's very existence. Even more shocking, at least to the traditionally pious law office, the island is ruled by a libertarian society organized around pagan rituals. Repelled by the open acceptance of sexuality, nature worship, and even witchcraft, the officer takes an antagonistic attitude towards the people and their leader, an eccentric but charming English lord (Christopher Lee). The officer's unease intensifies as he continues his investigation, slowly coming to fear that the girl's disappearance may be linked in a particularly horrifying manner to an upcoming public festival. Anthony Shaffer's meticulously crafted screenplay creates a thoroughly convincing alternative society, building tension through slow discovery and indirect suggestion and making the terrifying climax all the more effective. Performances are also perfectly tuned, with Woodward suitably priggish as the investigator and horror icon Lee delivering one of his most accomplished performances as Lord Summerisle. Little noticed during its original theatrical run due to studio edits and a limited release, the film's intelligence and uncanny tone has since attracted a devoted cult following. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, (more)
- 1972
Based on the book of the same name by H.S. Ede, eccentric director Ken Russell created this biographical drama of a great early 20th century artist who died tragically young. Henri Gaudier (Scott Anthony) is only 18 years old, a self-taught Parisian sculptor of enormous talent but prone to rash, exuberant behavior. Henri meets and begins a platonic but emotionally intense relationship with Sophie Brzeksa (Dorothy Tutin), a cultured Polish woman 20 years his senior. The relationship between Henri and Sophie remains inspired and impassioned, if not sexual, and her air of intelligent refinement positively impacts his life and work. Eventually, the couple moves to London, where Henri takes his partner's last name, and his star rises in the art world as the chief proponent of Vorticism, an offshoot of Cubism and Futurism. In real life, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was a signer of the Vorticist Manifesto and a founder of The London School along with his patron, Ezra Pound, but his genius was not recognized until after his death. Gaudier-Brzeska was killed at the age of only 24 in WWI, a French Army hero who had been twice promoted for bravery. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Tutin, Scott Antony, (more)
