Monday, 21st OCTOBER 2002 BODY BITS!!!
featuring: SATANIK (1968) Kinky tale of horribly-disfigured female scientist Dr. Marny Bannister, who, on quaffing her colleague Professor Grave's new rejuvenation formula, becomes youthful and beautiful in appearance, only to be - you-guessed-it - transformed into a criminally insane murderess, embarking on a cruel spree of ill-fated seductions, and nightclub torch-singing. Revelling in her newly-acquired vitality, the formerly-repulsive Dr. Bannister seduces a Spanish blackmailer, precious gemstone magnate and fence, George Van Donen, whom she picks up in a bar, the Coral Flamenco, at which he does the occasional spot of business with the French proprietor, Louie Laroche, who runs a band of jewel thieves on the side. Of course, as is the case with all rejuvenation formulae in the movies, from Dr. Jeckyl's to Julius Kelp's, Marny discovers soon enough that the effect is only temporary and doesn't hesitate to kill when cornered in her quest for more of the stuff. Having commited a series of murders, Marny flees to Geneva under the assumed identity of one of her victims, Stella Dexter, the (ex-)Louie's girlfriend, where she is intercepted by his brother Dodo's minions, and taken to his casino, Chez Moi. Dodo quickly gets the hots for her, and once again murder and mayhem ensues. Meanwhile the law - Inspector Trent of Scotland Yard and Commisioner Gonzales of the Spanish police - are hot on the mystery woman's twisting trail, although a little confused as to whether they are chasing an old, disfigured female or a blonde bombshell. An elaborate pursuit, and shoot-out on a riverboat steamer, culminates in a giddy car-chase, and with Marny escaping - as the formula again wears off - in a (defective) stolen car which crashes through a safety barrier and down the hill. In death, a poetic irony emerges as the now-reverted Marny is finally(?) transformed again to the beauty she so yearned for. Inspired by the popular fantasy comic strips of Max Bunker & Magnus.
Director Vivarelli (aka Donald Murray) began his career making musicals and later made hard-core porn films with Moana Pozzi, but is not averse to a bit of dabbling in philosophy, in particular Foucault, Merleau-Ponty, Benjamin, Derrida, Carmelo Bene and Pasolini. Good '60s Eurotrash horror starring STUNNING HUNGARIAN BEAUTY Magda Konopka. Spanish-Italian Co-production. Dir: Piero Vivarelli Cast: Magda Konopka Julio Pain Umberto Raho Luigi Montini Arming Bald , Mimma Ippoliti , Nerio Bernardi 80 min. TOILETTE (1976) A dilemma of identity, TOILETTE is a black comedy in plasticine animation about a woman uncertain who she is. A faceless female figure examines herself in a mirror. Unhappy with her appearance, she pats, pulls and reshapes her features. Throughout the film she experiments with various outfits, make-up and wigs. Nothing pleases her, and in the end, she reverts to anonymity, returning to bed defeated. Prod Co: Films Incorporated/ Carpenter Center for Visual Arts, Harvard University. Prod/Dir: Joan Freeman.6 mions.ALC.
SIZE 10 (1978) A discussion about body images, sexuality, society, conditioning of what women should look like, how the fashion industry profits from women’s insecurities and the pressures on women to conform. Prod: Australian Film Commission: Experimental Film Fund. Eds: Sarah Gibson, Susan Lambert. Phot: Sarah Gibson, Susan Lambert, Martha Ansara. 18 mins. NFVLS. GAP-TOOTHED WOMEN (1987) Famed documentarian Les Blank made this quirky indie profile of a diverse parade of subjects. A charming valentine to women born with a space between their teeth, ranging from lighthearted whimsy to a deeper look at issues like self-esteem and societal attitudes toward standards of beauty. Some interviewees are notables, such as actress-model Lauren Hutton & Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. But most are "regular" folk who tell tales about growing up with a complex about their looks. One tells how she went to bed every night wearing a rubber band across her mouth, trying to "stretch" her mouth into place. Another gap-toothed woman became an artist, exploring other such women as seductresses in art. Quietly witty, never less than fascinating, and in its own modest way, GTW says a lot about the expectations our society puts on women whose forms are less than "perfect". The final interviewee is a belly dancer who subtly but movingly tells how she overcame cancer, and now even her worst day is something to look forward to.
Blank says he comes to his film ideas simply by following his interests. Gap-Toothed Women harks back to a lingering fascination with a gap-toothed middle-school classmate. When he learned reading Chaucer in college that the Wife of Bath's gapped teeth were a sign of sensuality & carnal lustfulness, Blank found himself once again thinking about his old classmate and regretting that he hadn't been "bolder" in approaching her. Later, during a spate of unsuccessful American Film Institute funding proposals, he pitched, on a whim, a gap-toothed-women film to them and, on a lark, they went for it, thought it would be a good women's issues flick. 2 mins. NFVLS.
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