Reviews

This is actually a pretty solid little drive-in filler, that is better than it really ought to be.

The only real problem that I have with the film is that I find the three main protagonists(Acid, Daisey and Dum-dum) to be three of the most loathsome individuals in the annals of exploitation movies. The cold-blooded manner in which they strangle, harpoon, humiliate, rape and especially shoot people(mostly innocents) is pretty difficult to take over the 90 minutes and can make the movie a pretty nihilistic experience. However, all of this does mean that when they are eventually killed themselves, it's almost a blessed release.

The film's plus-points are that it is pretty well acted, although the actor playing the perpetually stoned Acid does obviously have to ham it up a bit in order to appear out of it. The film also has a pretty good psychedelic acid-drenched guitar score. Also, when Acid is gunned down and killed, the psychedelic trip he experiences in his death throes is one of the best, and most convincing, ever filmed.

Not a classic of the genre, but well worth catching.

It's a pity that so many non-porno movies that dare to deal solely with the issue, and repercussions of(whisper it)...sex, are often dumped in the bins marked 'Worst Movies Ever Made'. Once this happens, so many interesting movies just seem to disappear, totally under-valued.

So let's hear it for Doris Wishman and this, which may well be her greatest movie. 'Bad Girls Go To Hell' is a gem, a highly individualistic fever-dream of erotic(but never pornographic) intensity.

The movie benefits greatly from it's star, the astonishing looking Gigi Darlene, who appears to be in every frame of the movie's running time. She is quite simply one of the most beautiful screen-stars I have ever seen. In 'Emmanuelle', Sylvia Kristel was praised for looking sexy(or sexual) without even being aware that she was being so. Well it's the same with Gigi here, every movement she makes on screen seems somehow sexually charged, without her having the slightest inkling of her power. Men become weak and slobbering before her, unable to control their vile sexual lusts and frustrations, and as always seems to be the case, it's Gigi who suffers as a result.

Driven from her domestic bliss(her husband is the only man in the movie who seems capable of controlling his desires while around her) after killing a deviant who attacks her, Gigi finds herself in New York where she is befriended by a struggling alcoholic man who invites her to stay at his place. After mistakenly giving him alcohol as a 'thank-you' for his kindness, the man goes berserk and beats her, causing her to flee again. She next finds herself living with a lesbian who involved with a sleazy pornographer(pimp?), again it all ends in tears. The ambiguous ending to the film is either a happy ending or a bad ending depending really upon the viewer.

Whilst I have praised Gigi Darlene highly for this film, the main credit must go to Doris Wishman. Often ridiculed, the simple truth is that if Doris was male and/or European, she would be hailed in the same breaths as Godard, Resnais and Truffaut. Her camera work and simplistic, minimal cinematography are simply excellent. The film moves with a beat and tempo all it's own. There is no doubt that this is a purely singular vision at work, an auteur's vision. It's almost incredible that Gigi Darlene can spend so much of the movie in state of complete undress, yet we see NOTHING. The movie would hardly earn a PG certificate these days, certainly not for nudity. It's a masterclass of editing. The clear crisp photography gives the movie a look all of it's own, especially in the scenes in (a bizarrely empty) Central Park. Further credit should go to the excellent score. The jaunty flute-laden music that accompanies the scene where Gigi prepares coffee in the kitchen at the beginning of the movie, and the garage-rock style accompaniment to the scene where the two girls are dancing, are both fantastic.

There are a couple of mysteries though. Both involving images that accompany the opening title sequence. Some of the images in the titles NEVER appear in the film. Given that one of the images is also one of the most frequently used as a poster for the film(Darlene Bennett in her underwear), makes me wonder if a lot of footage was never used, or has simply been lost over the years.

Nevertheless, I cant rate this movie highly enough, even though it clearly wont be to everyones tastes. It is, in my opinion, Doris Wishman's best film, and given that Gigi Darlene appears to have so few movies, I would say it's her star turn.

Bad Girls Go To Movie Heaven.

The American Civil War often serves as a back-drop for 'Spaghetti' Westerns, 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' being the ultimate example. And while this movie never reaches the heady heights of that masterpiece, this is one of the best 'Spaghetti Westerns' I've seen to date. The first half of the movie, in particular, is outstanding. Beginning as the war ends, we find ourselves amongst Confederate prisoners looking downbeat and dejected amidst some striking rain-lashed cinematography. The bleak, muddy landscape is a perfect setting for the sad, broken figures that begin the process of returning to The South to begin the Reconstruction. Amongst them is 'California' played by Guiliano Gemma, a former Captain, who befriends enthusiastic young private Willy Preston. But their return South is hampered by renegade Union soldiers and Northern vigilantes. When Willy is killed in a barbaric fashion, California decides to take vengeance on behalf of Willy's family.

The cinematography and acting are top-notch, and the very mournful score is outstanding. It's a pity there doesn't seem to be proper DVD release for this, but keep an eye out for it on TV, or at Movie Fairs. It's well worth it.

A small classic.

"San Fransisco in the middle 60's was a very special time and place to be part of", wrote the late great Hunter S Thompson, and this documentary, shot as it actually occurred, tries to prove this. However time has been rather unkind to both that period of history, and indeed this movie itself.

Most of the footage was shot in the Haight-Ashbury district in the Spring and Summer of 1967. The entire area seems swamped with hippies, beatniks and weirdos. Long hair, beards, kaftans, flowers, flutes, bongos, and wild wacky jerky dancing seem to the requirements of the day.

What makes this documentary stand out from other similar films of the time(Mondo Mod for example), is that there is no arch wise-cracking patronising voice-over narration here. None of that "Hey Daddio, check these groovy cats out....Man, that's a blast. Far Out!!!" stuff. Instead we get genuine voice-overs from the people who were there. Some are very lucid and intelligent(even if they have evidently been ingesting some mind-altering substances), others however drawl and slur and talk gibberish, but this all adds to the realness of the piece. Also, there's no ADR of those interviewed on screen, so what we hear on the soundtrack are the genuine sounds of the time.

My favourite sequence occurs about half way through, in a segment called 'Life In A Commune'. A young man tells us about life in the 'Strawberry Fields' commune. As he enthuses, the camera pans around to show nothing but absolute squalor. He goes on to tell how a young woman had too many candles in her abode and how it caught fire. He saved her but she received 60% burns to her body. We see the burnt remains of her shack, and as his voice breaks with emotion, the camera closes in on a burnt and melted copy of 'The Free Wheelin Bob Dylan'. Next up is a young mother who regales all her hippie friends(and we the viewers) with her mystical/drug-related stories. She may well be tripping, but she remains lucid and enthusiastic in her oration. "We USE dope, but dope is NOT our world" she tells us. Then she goes on to explain how she took LSD even before she had even gotten high on liquor. "And on that first trip I saw the face of Jesus" she goes on, while some mournful guitar-and-flute piece plays in the background.

The film ends with footage of an anti-Vietnam rally, at which Muhammed Ali is present. Here, the movie loses a point for it's subjective editing. A clean-cut 'square' young marine tells us he's going to Vietnam in 30 days for a 1 year tour of duty. He is then harangued by some bearded, wild haired hippy who tells him that most decent American citizens want the troops home, but before the young marine has a chance to answer, the scene cuts away. We hear the rally being declared unlawful, and then the police in riot-gear move in. Instead of showing us any conflict that may have occurred, we see the placards and banners lying broken and in tatters. A powerful and moving last image.

Time has also been unkind to the film-stock that was used. What was probably a very colourful time is now reduced to murky browns and oranges, giving the film an Autumnal, sepia tone, which actually works as this is now a period curio and nothing else. The film also loses a point for the lengthy 'trip-out' sequences, as pounding acid-rock instrumentals play out, we are bombarded with strobes and oil-lights. This is okay for a few minutes, but it goes on and on and on.

A real curio, and an intriguing portrait of a strange time and place. Definitely worth seeing.

:Spoilers: :Spoilers: :Spoilers:

The only thing disappointing about this film is the weak-tea reviews being dished out by some critics. Critics who should know better. There's an unhealthy air of 'Kill-The-King' Syndrome doing the rounds.

Let's not beat about the bush, this film is a MASTERPIECE, and is infinately better than Vol.1. All the kick-and-rush of Vol.1 is replaced here with pacing, depth and texture. This is a homage, not just to Spaghetti Westerns in general, but to the ultimate Spaghetti; Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West". The opening scene with Bill and Beatrix outside the Two Pines Chapel is played out against almost total silence, pretty much like the opening of Leone's marvel. Beatrix then makes a long, slow methodical process of elimination as she wipes out those who surround Bill, almost in identical fashion to Charles Bronson's 'Harmonica' as he edges closer and closer to Henry Fonda's reptilian villain, 'Frank'. The final confrontation between Beatrix and Bill is also similar to the meeting of Harmonica and Frank; it is long and never rushed(there's almost 50 minutes between Beatrix bursting through the door, and the eventual outcome). Just as Harmonica and Frank's confrontation is dealt with in mutual respect, dignity and understanding, so Bill and Beatrix's final meeting is touching and emotional as both still love each other, but must ultimately kill each other. Bill's death is dignified and romantic, a master-stroke from Tarantino.

The film is heavilly littered, or should that be bejeweled with references to the great Spaghetti Westerns; the backwards tracking shot out of the Chapel as the Deadly Vipers move in is pure Leone; the mariachi trumpet score from 'A Fistful Of Dollars' and the whistling motif from Sergio Corbucci's 'Il Mercenario'; and the whole chapter of Budd and his reformed 'gun-slinger' taking on a lousy job but being dragged into one last job for a suitcase full of cash, these are all classic Italian Western traits. Just as Vol.1 was his Eastern, so Tarantino now gives us his Western.

The acting in this movie is astonishing. David Carradine is an utter revelation, and his lengthy monologues are a joy to listen to. Uma Thurman again delivers, and kudos to Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen for putting in the performances of their career.

The 'buried-alive' sequence comes as blessed relief to someone like me who was haunted by the denouement of George Sluizer's 'Spoorloos', and remains surely the most atmospheric and realistic burial scene in movie history.

Only two loose-ends bother me; What happened to Sofie Fatale? And if Bill felt Beatrix could never lose her Assasin mantle and live a normal life, how come he allowed Vernita to do just that? She married, had a child and settled into the family-routine. Hmmmm......

That aside, this is a work of genius, PURE GENIUS. 10/10.