I was first exposed to Sayadian's work when I was handed Nth-generation videocasettes of "Cafe Flesh" and "Dr. Caligari" and told "watch these--they're weird; I think you'll dig them." Dig them I did indeed, and I wound up crafting a short article on the fucked-up philosophy and eye-assaulting visuals of the films published in Issue 4 of Ultra Violent Magazine. While "Cafe Flesh" has received the DVD treatment (it's bare-bones but still to be lauded, considering the disposable nature our culture assigns to other XXX flicks), "Dr. Caligari" languishes in limbo, begging to be rediscovered.
To say Sayadian's "Dr. Caligari" is a reimagining of the German Expressionist milestone is accurate, even if that catchword makes my brain itch in a distinctly unpleasant fashion. The 1989 movie dispenses with the dreamlike fairground and city of the original and expands the madhouse sequence to encompass the entirety of its eighty brainfuckling minutes. The focus is on sex here, and anyone who's seen one of Sayadian's pseudonymous "Rinse Dream" porn flicks ("Cafe Flesh" or "Party Doll a Go-Go!" to name the most famous) knows that it's not hanging-from-the-chandeliers glee-sex or the kind of slick kink one might expect from a similarly-themed Eurotrash film. No indeedy--this is sneering, body-horror sex that casts human erotic impulses as contemptible and weak.
Dark? You betcha. But this is black comedy we're dealing with here, and the manner in which Sayadian splatters the screen with madness elicits the same kind of laughter as that classic of altered-state art-sk00l viewing that is Richard Elfman's "Forbidden Zone." Much like Elfman, Sayadian directs his actors to deliver their utterly ridiculous dialogue in a deliberately affected style of speech that just begs to be imitated. Lines like "I've got an EKG you can dance to" and exchanges such as "Describe your life in three words;" "Un. Ending. Torment;" are among the most obscenely quotable in weird cinema history. I'd wager that no other film has successfully milked comedy out of a character inspired by heinous child-murderer and cannibal Albert Fish, and for that accomplishment alone, "Dr. Caligari" earns a prominent place in the trash cinema pantheon.
Check out the trailer for this film to get a little bit of the flavor of "Dr. Caligari":
And here's a short clip to further whetten your appetite for the bizarre:
For yet more of the madness of this film, check out the House of Self-Indulgence review of "Dr. Caligari" right here--I *heart* Yum-Yum, who will be crowned Official Stephen Sayadian Expert when the Tenebrous Empire comes to power. SO MOTE IT BE.
NOTA BENE: I am aware of the fact that Excalibur Films offers a DVD-R of this film in a blank envelope. Making a movie available =/= releasing it on DVD in My Imperial Opinion, so I'm classing this as MIA on DVD. A proper R1 commercial release would warm the very cockles of my black little heart.
13 comments:
Great post on a film I haven't seen. I just posted the link. Thanks so much for participating.
I remember renting this one for 49 cents at my college-town Hastings when I was a mere babe in the woods of weird cinema--obviously I didn't know what I was in for, but it definitely stuck with me all these years. I remember the main girl looking at the camera and saying something like "hummina hummina hummina," which I found endlessly hilarious. I would love to revisit it now that I've got more experience under my belt.
Great write-up! Off to House of Indulgence now...
Great piece on 'Caligari', LTTE
Mitchell Froom's music is also a very important contributor to the film's effectiveness, as it was in 'Cafe Flesh'
Shame that this isn't on DVD yet (as far as I know)
Another point:
I'm convinced that Greg Dark "borrowed" Sayadian's style wholesale for all his porno flicks.
'Cafe Flesh' was an '82 film, while Dark's first porno, released by VCA when he was part of The Dark Brothers brand (with 'Walter') was 'Let Me Tell Ya About White Chicks', an '84 effort.
I remember discovering the good Dr. as a kid thanks to Night Flight in the 80s. When I found a previously viewed copy at a video store years later you would have think I found the Holy fucking Grail.
I can't say enough good things about Rinse Dream and Jerry Stahl...I sure wish Sayadian was still working.
I see on IMDB he did production designs for Silk Stalkings...man, I forgot that show even existed...
I agree with The Phantom Of Pulp on his comparison of Stephen and Greg Dark completely...well, maybe not completely, since it's been years since I've watched any Dark Bros. films. But I'd be willing to revisit...for art's sake, of course.
Great Sayadian post. I'm honoured to be associated with such a brainsick movie. I don't know if you know this, but it represents everything I believe in. And it covers three of my favourite 'c' words: cannibalism, cunnilingus, and cannulation.
A DVD version of Nightdreams 2+3 and Untamed Cowgirls of the Wild West Part 1 and 2: The Pillowbiters would be nice, too.
Thanks for the invite, Jeremy! I had a blast doing this write-up :)
Vicar, this one's well-worth a revisit, and I'd love to see a dishy special edition of this film at some point. Great stuff, it is!
Phantom--I'll confess I'm unfamiliar with Dark's work, but I was just recently talking about what a debt of gratitude the recent crop of Alt.Porn directors owe to the Rinse Dream style! Granted, they're a lot more willing to own the SEXINESS of sex than Sayadian, but there were moments during Eon McKai's "Art School Sluts" where I was expecting a dude wearing a pencil on his head to march out (to say nothing of Jack the Zipper's "Blacklight Beauty," with its creepy clown sex).
Mr. C--I think I'll go ahead and join the queue of FOR ART'S SAKE viewings of Dark flicks!
Thanks, Yum-Yum! You set the bar very high with your Sayadian scholarship. Still digging on your "Party Doll A Go Go" post--that thing is *legendary*!
I am so ashamed of the fact that I have never even heard of this flick. The clips look, to quote a cereal box, magically delicious.
Time to roll up the old sleeves and start digging for analog.
I keep thinking this post will be about M.I.A., the rapper.
Knarf--I'm glad I could inspire you to seek out this movie! If you enjoyed the clips, the movie will not disappoint you.
I made a similar mistake when I first got invited to participate in this blog-project, Jack. Cos some days, all I wanna do is *gunshot sound effect*, *cash register sound effect*, and take your money.
I took a law school classmate to see this when it first came out (I think it was a midnight showing at one of the long-deceased movie theaters in the Village). He never spoke to me again. If I only knew it was that easy...
If this movie doesn't get a nation-wide re-release on 3000 screens within the next decade, there is no God.
It looks like exactly my kind of brilliantly deranged.
That's a *classic* story, Fred!
Nate, this movie is a *must-see*--if you've still got a VHS player, I highly recommend hunting down an analog copy for your collection!
Post a Comment