Tuli Kupferberg Movies
Filmmakers Paul Lovelace and Sam Wainwright Douglas invite viewers to follow the tale of two true American originals in this documentary detailing the collaboration between fiddler Pete Stampfel and guitarist Steve Weber -- aka the Holy Modal Rounders. It was during "The Great Folk Scare" of the early 1960s that these two eccentric souls collided in New York's Greenwich Village, and their partnership was soon solidified thanks to a mutual appreciation for American roots music and early psychedelia. But this was only the beginning, because over the course of the next four decades Stampfel and Douglas would exist on the fringes of the music industry while gaining a steady cult following. From their work on the Easy Rider soundtrack to the lost years and ultimately a shot at redemption in the form of a 40th anniversary concert in Portland, OR, this is the story of the American outlaw subculture at its most volatile and luminous. Special appearances by Dennis Hopper, Sam Shepard, Loudon Wainwright III, John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful, and Peter Tork of the Monkees give testament to the endless influence of a duo that beat the odds to endure for four decades and counting. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
"W.R." is pioneering sexologist Wilhelm Reich, whose precedent-breaking theories concerning carnal behavior and politics (including the invention of the orgone box) made him persona non grata in most psychoanalytic circles. By all accounts, Reich began his career brilliantly - as the next great successor to Freud and Jung; he then delved into extraordinarily controversial work that divided his critics, leading some to conclude that Reich had experienced a psychotic break from reality. Dusan Makavejev is the equally controversial Yugoslavian director fascinated by Reich's theories. This essay film by Makavejev - his first major work - constitutes a witty, free-form riff on the director's perception of Reichian philosophies as the basis of individual and collective sexual liberation. Makavejev elucidates the Reichian mindset via interviews with the doctor's relatives and colleagues (we even hear from Reich's barber!) Also illustrated is the ongoing conflict between the free-thinking disciples of W.R.'s sociopolitical attitudes and the adherents of sterile Stalinism. Over the course of the picture, Makavejev journeys to the U.S. and interviews such American sexual liberationists as Screw magazine editor Al Goldstein and Betty Dodson. Woven into the factual proceedings is a fictional plotline concerning the romance between Reich adherent Milena and uptight Soviet athlete Vladimir Ilyich. Though the film was never released in Makavejev's native Yugoslavia, WR: Mysteries of the Organism firmly established the iconoclastic filmmaker's international reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milena Dravic, Jagoda Kaloper, (more)
