Recommend me some psychedelic films

[nochexxx]

watched Possession last night after feeling enthused by all the positive comments. i thought it was good apocalyptic love story, well perhaps that's not what it is. i really liked the overtly sensual martial arts pervert character, very funny.

 

[empty mirror]

^ yes!

um... saw "Sweet Movie".

honestly, i don't know what to say about this one.
really shocking, actually.
1974
fucked up
kinda sexy
but really fucked up

out-idiots the idiots
out-shits salo, 120 days of sodom
out-pukes and out-pisses your favorite german porno

lots of chocolate and sugar
spliced with nazi atrocity footage

 

[IdleRich]

Yeah, he definitely goes for maximum shock value, breaking every taboo he can think of (I think you missed out paedophilia in your list) but I get the feeling that it's not totally gratuitous - I mean he's got some kind of point in there somewhere. I took it as possibly an attack on all ideologies - as represented here by communism and capitalism - mixed in with some stuff from Wilhelm Reich apparently.

 

[empty mirror]

just read the wiki on reich
didn't realize the kate bush song cloudbusting was based on reich's life
brilliant video

 

[mms]

hausu



fucked up film and the music is by the same guy who did monkey magic. Its barking mad

 

[luka]

is zabriskie point any good. we stole it off the interent ages ago and havne't got round to watching it.

 

[craner]

No, it's not.

 

[luka]

you only like films featuring women raped by nazis though. any 2nd opinions?

 

[massrock]

There's weird shagging in the desert and things blowing up, can't remember much else. No it is pretty rubbish.

 

[empty mirror]

fahey famously punched antonioni during a meeting about the soundtrack for zabriskie point

 

[ziggurat]

Some good Japanese ones are

Kanashimi no Beradona (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064068/)
Funeral Parade of Roses (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064068/)

and in particular, perhaps the most Jodorowsky-like film I've seen except for the man's own, Terayama's Pastoral (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071406/)

There is much more psychedelic weirdness in Japanese cinema from the 60s and 70s.

 

[IdleRich]

"Kanashimi no Beradona (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064068/)
Funeral Parade of Roses (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064068/)"

These both go to the same link. That's one I've meant to check out for a while anyway, as is Pastoral and also Hausu - although not at the top of my list 'cause I tend not to be so mad keen on Japanese films and the clips I've seen for Hausu in particular look a little stupid. Although admittedly absolutely bonkers.

 

[ziggurat]

Oops, the first link was meant to be

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071203/

 

[IdleRich]

Ah, never heard of that, looks interesting, cheers.

 

[DannyL]

just read the wiki on reich
didn't realize the kate bush song cloudbusting was based on reich's life
brilliant video

It's based on her reading Peter Reich's memoir about his father, "A Book of Dreams" which is a wonderful, strange, touching book, particularly if you know about Reich's life. The books is realy about the effect of being around that tragedy on a little kid...

Makavejev's first film (WR: MYsteries of the Organism is more directly about Reich but still isn't a true representation of Reich's work. He quite pissed off various people in the Reichian community apparently - was granted unprecedented access and then went off on lots of daft tangents. Can go into more detail if you want.

EDIT - I still think we should watch it for Film Club, Rich.

 

[empty mirror]

^ i watched WR: Mysteries of the Organism earlier this month. fascinating!

have you read his surviving texts? i can't imagine it would have been easy to completely wipe out his body of work----someone surely has reprinted it. (i know, google is my friend...)

 

[bruno]

Bit of a vague request this but I'm hard for films that are really bonkers and colourful and exciting and stuff and that are fun. I guess I'm thinking of things that are like the Holy Mountain or El Topo - films where although the plot is minimal and often the ideas are verging on preposterous there is still loads of stuff happening and you never get bored. Unfortunately, apart from those I've mentioned, I can hardly think of anything in this category and every time I ask my friends they can't either so any tips would be greatly appreciated - especially if the films are readily available but don't worry about taht too much I guess finding them can be part of the fun.
I guess weird fairy tale type things such as Valerie and Her Week of Wonders are roughly on the right lines as well.
Cheers in advance.

as i see no mention of it i recommend visa de censure x by pierre clémenti, there is a 2 dvd set of his short films that is very psychedelic, i suspect you would like it. best, bruno

 

[marxbert]

generally, i find "psychedelic" films to have extended boring parts--or at least parts that some people will find boring. lots of experimental films are psychedelic--and experimental films are often incredibly pretentious, sometimes bizarre crap.

bunuel's simon of the desert was brought up--probably my favorite "art" film. 45 minutes, with maybe 5 minutes of anything remotely psychdelic. one of my favorite films, but i'll admit to it having its boring moments.
cremaster cycle was brought up. certainly experimental, i guess it was psychedelic, but god was it boring. maybe half an hour of entertainment in the entire cycle. for some reason, many experimental filmmakers love forcing macabre and unsettling images on the viewing public (from The Andalusian Dog to 120 Days of Sodom). i'll try to concentrate on more enjoyable films than challenging.

if you're looking for more like Fellini's Satyricon, check out Juliet of the Spirits. It is less psychedelic than Satyricon, but it benefits from a Nino Rota score and is an exquisite film. My favorite Fellini.

if you want something really fun and more psychedelic than elton john during that rainbow feathered mask and cape period, watch the sun ra film "Space is the Place." you got sun ra and a black overseer playing a card game for the destiny of mankind, you got NASA g-men trying to get sun ra's interplanetary propulsion device and talking about the black space program ('we'll put a coon on the moon by june'). the sun ra music is a plus or a minus, depending on who you are.

i'd look into "A Boy and His Dog" if you like sci fi flicks. more psychedelic than Mad Max or other post-apocalyptic visions, but not the sheer madness of Holy Mountain or a Fellini film. things head for the bizarre once the boy meets a colony trying to survive below ground. it has one of the best endings--and certainly the best ending of any talking dog movie.

there was an Australian film, Sweetie, that was able to straddle being crazy and still being approachable. Neurotic woman with dendrophobia (well, scared of only one tree, I guess). I can't remember too much of the plot (drama in the family), but certain images have stayed with me for years (tree cracking pavement).

 

[IdleRich]

"I recommend visa de censure x by pierre clémenti"

Thanks man will check it.

"i'd look into "A Boy and His Dog" if you like sci fi flicks. more psychedelic than Mad Max or other post-apocalyptic visions, but not the sheer madness of Holy Mountain or a Fellini film. things head for the bizarre once the boy meets a colony trying to survive below ground. it has one of the best endings--and certainly the best ending of any talking dog movie."

Yeah, great ending, found the rest of the film a bit hit and miss to be honest though.

My friend is sending me a film by Hungarian director Gabor Body which sounds quite promising:

In 1971 Bódy took a degree in philosophy from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest; the title of his thesis was A film jelentése (“The Meaning of Film”). From 1971 to 1975 he studied at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest. Meanwhile, he made experimental films at the Balázs Béla Studio, a haven for young filmmakers, including the film A harmadik (1971; “The Third One”). His graduation film, Az amerikai anzix (1975; “The Postcard from America”), won several prizes. In 1980 Bódy completed his avant-garde masterpiece, Nárcisz és Psyché (“Narcissus and Psyche”). Based on Hungarian poet Sándor Weöres’s Psyché (1972), an anthology of letters and poems by a fictional 19th-century female poet, the film is full of surrealistic elements, philosophical allusions, and visual experimentation, spanning centuries and shot in a number of different versions. The film attracted worldwide attention. Bódy was one of the founders of the international Infermental group, whose aim was to investigate the new opportunities offered by video art. His last feature film, Kutya éji dala (“Dog’s Night Song”), was completed in 1983. His death in 1985 was officially ruled a suicide.

 

[bruno]

bits of it for your viewing pleasure:

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