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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn2rgP24pEc Born in Flames (1983) Dir. Lizzie Borden Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames is one of the most polished, propelling and politically radical works of the avant-garde New York No Wave movement, that emerged briefly in the late 1970's[1]. Borden had made a feature-length experimental documentary called Regrouping in the mid-70's, but Born in Flames would better serve as her narrative debut, shot guerilla-style piece-by-piece with an amateur cast over the course of five years on an eventual budget of roughly $30-40,000. Set in alternate future 1980's America, where a "peaceful revolution" has ushered in an era of socialist democracy, feminist radicals continue the struggle for true freedom. As we learn, the so-called revolution has been co-opted by effectively the same patriarchal, overwhelmingly White forces that had always dominated the country and their socialism is no true socialism at all. Early in the film we learn much about this dystopian (and not so unfamiliar) world -- roaming vigilante feminist bike gangs patrol the streets of New York to pre-empt and punish rapists and the mass media gleefully pushes the narrative of the government. Two pirate radio stations, Radio Ragazza led by the White lesbian Isabel and Phoenix Radio led by the Black radical Honey, push for feminist revolt. But true chaos breaks out when the Black political activist Adelaide Norris is arrested upon arriving in New York City and soon after dies mysteriously in police custody. Norris' death is the spark for a true revolutionary fervor, one built on egalitarianism and workers' principles. Borden's film is fast and furious, weaving together the polemic politics with engaging and realistic characters. The action is propelled by a killer soundtrack, including the Red Krayola song that the film takes its name from, and also features small, early performances by Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Bogosian. I don't want to spoil the final shots of the film, but the climax is jaw-dropping, particularly in a modern context. I can think of few fictional films that capture our modern zeitgeist in the way Born in Flames does and it's a powerful reminder that freedom is a constant struggle. [1] No Wave spanned music, visual art and cinema and helped launch the careers of now renown filmmakers and actors such as Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi, John Lurie, Vincent Gallo, Scott and Beth B., Vivienne Dick, Nick Zedd, Richard Kern and Susan Seidelman. In music, the scene produced acts such as Lydia Lunch and her band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Sonic Youth, and Swans. Even The B-52s and the Beastie Boys had connections to the movement. Sorry for the delay in posting this and shorter than expected write-up, been very busy this month but hopefully y'all can track this down. Past Movies of the Month Somebody fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Jun 11, 2020 |
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Jun 11, 2020 15:29
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:59 |
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https://archive.org/details/borninflames.1983 It's on Archive.org for free! Thank you so much for choosing this, it's a really cool and timely film. I love the raw, documentary feel, and how fleshed out each of the characters are. It's also fascinating to hear those voices, and see those faces which are so often ignored, and to follow their struggles which so closely mirror our own.
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Jun 17, 2020 00:56
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Oh drat, I had no idea it was on there. And looks like pretty high quality too! Archive.org continues to be the best site on the internet.
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Jun 17, 2020 14:54
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Never heard of this movie before, but it was a good film. If you were ever into punk music, then you will hella like the soundtrack. I watched a low quality version I found elsewhere online, so I say use the archive.org link is nice for anyone who hasn't watched it yet.
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Jun 17, 2020 22:31
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:https://archive.org/details/borninflames.1983 I thought it was very informative, and shows how little things seemed to have changed about alot of things. Seems like you could have taken alot of the debates they were having and you would have some C-SPAM threads. There were two parts that I didn't like. One of which, the ending, which...you know. Obviously unknown to the makers at the time. The other part is just a personal thing. As a cis white male, I don't know alot about natural hair, besides what my friends have told me (trying to buy product for it in Asia, it turns out, is hard.) But I do know bald. And Honey shaving her head like that with a safety razor...seems like it would cut her head up real bad.
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Jun 18, 2020 09:39
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Big thanks to DDD for that link, I was having a lot of trouble finding a copy the usual way. Anyway, I really liked it. I thought the setting was great; I thought it was very insightful how the party men shut down criticism by pointing out that some things have genuinely gotten better, and how their attempts at dealing with the WA delicately just led to more and more escalation.
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Jun 18, 2020 12:41
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If anyone wants some additional viewing on No Wave, the documentary Blank City is up on Vimeo. They do spend some time talking about Born in Flames (including that ending, so spoiler alert). If you just want to see the stuff on Born in Flames skip to about 44 minutes in. https://vimeo.com/78429727
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Jun 18, 2020 14:16
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Blank City was definitely a good watch, and I like that they addressed how jarring the ending seems now. Plus it gave me a few dozen more films I need to catch up on.
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Jun 19, 2020 07:54
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This is also available on Kanopy, which should be available to just about any student or library card holder. Watching it tonight.
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Jun 27, 2020 00:23
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Yeah, this is...great. It's a proud ancestor of riot grrrl and a zine in cinematic form. It's a classic example of the evergreen lesson that it ain't the tools that make a picture; it's the eye. Borden fashions a full-bodied science fiction world with television sets, closed circuit footage, and urban guerrilla camera tactics. It practically feels criminal to call it avant-garde like it's merely a curio for the near-sighted academic. I reckon everyone I know would enjoy this movie in this historic moment if they took the time to sit down for it.
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Jun 27, 2020 13:54
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Yeah, the sci fi without a budget visuals also remind me a lot of Alphaville in a way. I keep trying to get friends to watch it and it rarely actually happens so really glad so many people here are enjoying it,
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Jun 27, 2020 14:32
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Just watched this on The Criterion Channel and it's awesome.
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Jul 3, 2020 04:59
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:59 |
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Egbert Souse posted:Just watched this on The Criterion Channel and it's awesome. And just to remind everyone, with this in mind: a movie of the month threads only lose their sticky at the end of the month. Threads remain open and discussion is still encouraged.
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Jul 8, 2020 14:58
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