Underground film

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An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing.

Notable examples include: John Waters' Pink Flamingos, David Lynch's Eraserhead, Andy Warhol's Blue Movie, Rosa von Praunheim's Tally Brown, New York, Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, Nikos Nikolaidis' Singapore Sling,

Rinse Dreams' Café Flesh
, and Jörg Buttgereit's Nekromantik.

Definition and history

The first printed use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by

William Wellman," and others with the "less talented De Sicas and Zinnemanns
[who] continue to fascinate the critics." However, as in "Underground Press", the term developed as a metaphorical reference to a clandestine and subversive culture beneath the legitimate and official media.

In the late 1950s, "underground film" began to be used to describe early

San Francisco, California and New York City, New York, and soon in other cities around the world as well, including the London Film-Makers' Co-op in Britain and Ubu Films in Sydney, Australia. The movement was typified by more experimental filmmakers working at the time like Shirley Clarke,[2] Stan Brakhage, Harry Everett Smith, Maya Deren, Andy Warhol,[3] Kenneth Anger,[4] Jonas Mekas, Ken Jacobs, Ron Rice, Jack Smith, George and Mike Kuchar, and Bruce Conner
.

By the late 1960s, the movement represented by these filmmakers had matured, and some began to distance themselves from the countercultural, psychedelic connotations of the word, preferring terms like avant-garde or experimental to describe their work.

Having been embraced most emphatically by

No Wave Cinema
of the late 1970s to early 1990s, the term would still be used to refer to the more countercultural fringe of independent cinema.

Latter-day cinema

In the early 1990s, the legacy of the Cinema of Transgression carried over into a new generation, who would equate "underground cinema" with

Bruce La Bruce. In London the Underground resurgence emerged as a movement of Underground cinema clubs which included the radical open access group the Exploding Cinema.

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the term had become blurred again, as the work at underground festivals began to blend with more formal experimentation, and the divisions that had been stark ones less than a decade earlier now seemed much less so. If the term is used at all, it connotes a form of very low budget independent filmmaking, with perhaps transgressive content, or a

punk music
and cultures.

A recent development in underground filmmaking can be observed through the

Hi 8 format and usually with no-budget. Utilizing many New York based performers, their work generally contained camp elements and taboo themes. These films were commonly screened at venues & bars in and around New York City.[6][7]

Underground versus cult

The term "underground film" is occasionally used as a synonym for cult film (as in the case of films like Eating Raoul).[8] Though there are important distinctions between the two, a significant overlap between these categories is undeniable. The films of Kenneth Anger, for example, could arguably be described as underground[9] while a studio film like Heathers (New World Pictures) may have a cult following, but could not be accurately described as an underground film.[10]

Criticism

Film critic Pauline Kael called most underground cinema "a creature of publicity and mutual congratulations on artistry".[11]

Notable underground cinema figures

List is incomplete.[12]

Further reading

  • Farber, Manny (1957). "Underground Films". Commentary.[13]
  • Wheeler Winston Dixon, The Exploding Eye: A Re-Visionary History of 1960s American Experimental Cinema, Albany: SUNY UP, 1998.
  • Sheldon Renan, An introduction to the American underground film, New York : Dutton, 1967
  • Jack Sargeant, Naked Lens: Beat Cinema, London : Creation Books, 1997, 1999.
  • Jack Sargeant, Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression, London : Creation Books, 1995, 2000.
  • P Adams Sitney, Visionary Film: The American Avant Garde 1943 - 1978, Galaxy Books, 1979
  • Jack Stevenson, Desperate Visions: Camp America; London : Creation Books, 1996
  • Duncan Reekie, Subversion: The Definitive History of Underground Cinema ; London : Wallflower Press 2007.

See also

References

  1. ^ Farber, Manny (1957). "Underground Films". Commentary.
  2. ^ Underground Film: A Critical History|Underground Film Journal
  3. ^ The Black Hole Of The Camera: The Films Of Andy Warhol|Underground Film Journal
  4. ^ "Kenneth Anger: Magician of Underground Cinema" 23 September 2014 The Third Eye
  5. ^ Sydney Underground Film Festival
  6. ^ Macaulay, Scott. "COURTNEY FATHOM SELL: SO YOU WANNA BE AN UNDERGROUND FILMMAKER? - Filmmaker Magazine".
  7. ^ "Trolling the LES with Rev Jen". Vice.
  8. ^ 10 Odd and Obscure Cult Movies Worth Seeking Out - Taste of Cinema
  9. ^ Kenneth Anger|Underground Film Journal
  10. ^ Heathers: An oral history|Entertainment Weekly
  11. ^ Film since World War Two - Pauline Kael 1968:Pacifica Radio Archives-Internet Archive
  12. ^ 50 Underground Filmmakers Everyone Should Know-Flavorwire
  13. ^ Shepherd, Duncan (May 25, 2006). "Debt: You can't very well look a man in the eye on a daily basis when you're stealing from him". San Diego Reader. Archived from the original on 17 June 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

External links

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