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Blue Movie

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This article is about the 1969 film by Andy Warhol. For other uses, seeBlue movie (disambiguation).

Blue Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndy Warhol[1]
Written byAndy Warhol
Produced byAndy Warhol
Paul Morrissey
StarringViva
Louis Waldon
CinematographyAndy Warhol
Production
company
Andy Warhol Films
Distributed byAndy Warhol Films
Release date
  • June 12, 1969(1969-06-12)[2]
Running time
105 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3,000[3]

Blue Movie(also known asFuckandF,k)[2][4][5]is a 1969 Americanerotic filmwritten, produced and directed byAndy Warhol.[1][6]It is the firstadult erotic filmdepictingexplicit sexto receivewide theatrical releasein the United States,[1][4][6]and is regarded as a seminal film in theGolden Age of Porn(1969–1984), which, before thelegalization of pornography in Denmarkon July 1, 1969,[7]started on June 12, 1969[2]with the release ofBlue Movieat theElgin Theater,and later, theNew Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre,inNew York City.[1]Blue Moviehelped inaugurate the "porno chic"phenomenon,[8][9]in which porn was publicly discussed by celebrities (likeJohnny CarsonandBob Hope)[9]and taken seriously by film critics (likeRoger Ebert),[10][11]in modern American culture, and shortly thereafter, in many other countries throughout the world.[12][13]According to Warhol,Blue Moviewas a major influence in the making ofLast Tango in Paris,an internationally controversial erotic drama film starringMarlon Brandoand released a few years afterBlue Moviewas made.[4]VivaandLouis Waldon,playing themselves, starred inBlue Movie.[4]

In 1970,Mona,the second adult erotic film that received a wide release, was shown. Afterwards, other adult films, were released, includingBoys in the Sand,Deep Throat,Behind the Green Door,andThe Devil in Miss Jones,which continued the Golden Age of Porn. In 2016,Blue Moviewas shown at theWhitney Museum of American ArtinManhattan.[14]

Development

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The film includes dialogue about theVietnam War,various mundane tasks andunsimulated sex,during a blissful afternoon in a New York City apartment[1][6](owned by art critic David Bourdon).[15]The film was presented in the press as, "a film about the Vietnam War and what we can do about it." Warhol added, "the movie is about... love, not destruction."[16]

Warhol explained that the lack of a plot inBlue Moviewas intentional:

Scripts bore me. It's much more exciting not to know what's going to happen. I don't think that plot is important. If you see a movie of two people talking, you can watch it over and over again without being bored. You get involved – you miss things – you come back to it... But you can't see the same movie over again if it has a plot because you already know the ending... Everyone is rich. Everyone is interesting. Years ago, people used to sit looking out of their windows at the street. Or on a park bench. They would stay for hours without being bored although nothing much was going on.This is my favorite theme in movie making– just watching something happening for two hours or so... I still think it's nice to care about people. AndHollywood moviesare uncaring. We're pop people. We took a tour ofUniversal Studiosin Los Angeles and, inside and outside the place, it was very difficult to tell what was real. They're not-real people trying to say something. And we're real people not trying to say anything. I just like everybody and I believe in everything.

— Andy Warhol,cited byVictor Bockrisin his bookWarhol: the Biography(2003), p. 327[17]

According to Viva: "The Warhol films were about sexual disappointment and frustration: the way Andy saw the world, the way the world is, and the way nine-tenths of the population sees it, yet pretends they don’t."[18][19]

Cast

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Production

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Andy Warhol described makingBlue Movieas follows: "I'd always wanted to do a movie that was pure fucking, nothing else, the wayEathad been just eating andSleephad been just sleeping. So in October '68 I shot a movie of Viva having sex with Louis Waldon. I called it justFuck."[4][5]

The film was supposedly filmed in a single three-hour session, with 30 minutes initially cut for the 140-minute version.[3]The climactic section was shot in a 35-minute take.[3]According toVariety,the film has only 10 minutes of actual sex.[2][20]

The film acquired a blue/green tint when Warhol utilized film stock that was meant for filming with tungsten lights, and the daylight coming through a large apartment window resulted in the film's middle reel turning blue.[21][22]According toWheeler Winston Dixon,a filmmaker and scholar who attended the first screening of the film atWarhol's Factoryin the spring of 1969:

[...] Warhol used16mm reversal filmfor his movies, and if you were shooting color film in the 1960s and 70s, two of the most popular choices for film stock were Eastman Reversal 7241, balanced for use outdoors; and Eastman Reversal 7242, balanced for tungsten (indoor) lighting. If you shot Eastman 7242 outside without using aWratten 85B filter,the image would become completely blue; and that's what was happening here. The only light used was the daylight coming through the window, thus making the final image very, very blue indeed [...] When the film ended... I heard Warhol asking someone plaintively "Why is the whole second reel all blue?" So I told him about 7242, 7241, and the need to use the proper filter to balance the color when you used indoor stock outdoors, or vice versa. "Ohhhhhhh," said Andy. Long pause. "Well, I guess we should call itBlue Movie."[...]Michelangelo Antonioni[also present at the showing] laughed, as well, appreciating the obvious double entendre; a "blue movie" that really was a blue movie [...]Vincent Canbynoted [in hisNew York Timesreview][1]that the film was "literally a cool, greenish-blue in color". Now you know why.

— Wheeler Winston Dixon,Andy Warhol, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Blue Movie(2012)[15]

Release

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Cover of the 1970 book adaptation[23]

The film had a benefit screening on June 12, 1969, at theElgin TheaterinNew York City.[2]Varietyreported that the film was the "first theatrical feature to actually depictintercourse".[3][20][23][24]While it was initially shown atThe Factory,Blue Moviewas not presented to a wider audience until it opened at theNew Andy Warhol Garrick TheaterinNew York City[25][26]on July 21, 1969, with a running time of 105 minutes.[1][2][6][16][23]The film was also screened at theBerkeley Repertory Theatrein California.[3]

On its opening day in New York, the film grossed a house record $3,050, with a total of $16,200 for the week.[3]Warhol received 90% of the gross, which recovered the film's $3,000 cost quickly.[3]Viva, in Paris, finding thatBlue Moviewas getting a lot of attention, said, "Timothy Learyloved it.Gene Youngblooddid too. He said I was better thanVanessa Redgraveand it was the first time a real movie star had made love on the screen. It was a real breakthrough. "[17]

Controversy

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On July 31, 1969, the staff of theNew Andy Warhol Garrick Theatrewere arrested, and the film confiscated.[4][6][27]The theater manager was eventually fined $250;[4][6][28]afterwards, the manager said, "I don't think anyone was harmed by this movie... I saw other pictures around town and this was a kiddie matinee compared to them."[16]Warhol said, "What's pornography anyway? [...] The muscle magazines are called pornography, but they're really not. They teach you how to have good bodies[16][...] I think movies should appeal to prurient interests. I mean the way things are going now – people are alienated from one another.Blue Moviewasreal.But it wasn't done as pornography—it was done as an exercise, an experiment. But I really do think moviesshouldarouse you, should get you excited about people, should be prurient. Prurience is part of the machine. It keeps you happy. It keeps you running. "[17]

Aftermath

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Afterwards, in 1970, Warhol publishedBlue Moviein book form, with film dialogue and explicit stills, throughGrove Press.[23]

WhenLast Tango in Paris,an internationally controversial erotic drama film directed byBernardo Bertolucciand starringMarlon Brando,was released in 1972, Warhol consideredBlue Movieto be its inspiration.[4]

Mona the Virgin Nymph,an erotic film depicting explicit sex, also received a mainstream theatrical release in the United States in 1970. Shortly thereafter, other adult films, such asBoys in the Sand,Deep Throat,Behind the Green Door,andThe Devil in Miss Jones,were released, continuing theGolden Age of Pornthat began withBlue Movie.In 1973, the phenomenon of porn being publicly discussed by celebrities (likeJohnny CarsonandBob Hope)[9]and taken seriously by film critics (likeRoger Ebert),[10][11]a development referred to by Ralph Blumenthal ofThe New York Timesas "porno chic",began for the first time in modern American culture[8][9]and later throughout the world.[12][13]

Revival

[edit]

In 2005,Blue Moviewas publicly screened in New York City for the first time in over 30 years.[29]In 2016, the film was shown at theWhitney Museum of American ArtinManhattan.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdefghCanby, Vincent(July 22, 1969)."Movie Review - Blue Movie (1968) Screen: Andy Warhol's 'Blue Movie'".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on September 8, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 8,2023.
  2. ^abcdefStaff (July 21, 1969)."Blue Movie (1969)".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.Archivedfrom the original on September 8, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 9,2023.
  3. ^abcdefg"Sex Act Film Cost 3G; Recoups Pronto; 'Times' Review Never Detailed It".Variety.July 30, 1969. p. 1.
  4. ^abcdefghComenas, Gary (2005)."Blue Movie (1968)".WarholStars.org.Archivedfrom the original on December 30, 2015.RetrievedDecember 29,2015.
  5. ^abStaff (April 27, 2013)."Andy Warhol – Blue Movie aka Fuck (1969)".WorldsCinema.org.Archivedfrom the original on February 8, 2020.RetrievedDecember 29,2015.
  6. ^abcdefCanby, Vincent(August 10, 1969)."Warhol's Red Hot and 'Blue' Movie".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on April 5, 2016.RetrievedDecember 29,2015.
  7. ^Staff (May 31, 2019)."Denmark legalized pornography 50 years ago. Did the decision turn out as expected?".The Local.Archivedfrom the original on June 11, 2023.RetrievedAugust 22,2021.
  8. ^abBlumenthal, Ralph (January 21, 1973)."Porno chic; 'Hard-core' grows fashionable-and very profitable".The New York Times Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on March 13, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 8,2016.
  9. ^abcdCorliss, Richard(March 29, 2005)."That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic".Time.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 27,2016.
  10. ^abEbert, Roger(June 13, 1973)."The Devil In Miss Jones - Film Review".Chicago Sun-Times.Archivedfrom the original on July 26, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 7,2015– viaRogerEbert.com.
  11. ^abEbert, Roger(November 24, 1976)."Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy".Chicago Sun-Times.Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 26,2016– viaRogerEbert.com.
  12. ^abPaasonen, Susanna; Saarenmaa, Laura (July 19, 2007).The Golden Age of Porn: Nostalgia and History in Cinema(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on March 15, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 15,2017.
  13. ^abDeLamater, John;Plante, Rebecca F., eds. (June 19, 2015).Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities.Springer. p. 416.ISBN9783319173412.RetrievedSeptember 15,2017.
  14. ^abStaff (April 7, 2016)."Andy Warhol's Blue Movie (1968)".Whitney Museum of American Art.Archived fromthe originalon May 7, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 9,2023.
  15. ^abDixon, Wheeler Winston (April 22, 2012)."Andy Warhol, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Blue Movie".University of Nebraska–Lincoln.Archived fromthe originalon September 14, 2017.RetrievedMarch 23,2018.
  16. ^abcdWatson, Steven(2003).Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties.New York City. p. 394.ISBN9780679423720.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 19,2016.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ^abcBockris, Victor(August 12, 2003).Warhol: the Biography.New York City. pp. 326, 327.ISBN9780786730285.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 19,2016.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[Note – in "view all" / "page 327" – from the book text, "In a final defence of his methods, which were used inBlue Moviefor the last time, Andy told Leticia Kent, [in aVogueinterview]... "]
  18. ^Bockris, Victor(2003).Warhol: the Biography.Hachette Books. p. 274.ISBN9780786730285.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 23,2016.
  19. ^"Viva and God".The Village Voice.Vol. 111, no. 1. May 5, 1987.
  20. ^ab"Warhol's 'Blue Movie' The Bluest of 'Em All, If and When Released".Variety.June 18, 1969. p. 2.
  21. ^Flatley, Guy (November 9, 1968)."How to Be Very Viva--A Bedroom Farce".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2018.RetrievedDecember 29,2015.
  22. ^Goldsmith, Kenneth (April 1, 2009).I'll Be Your Mirror: The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews 1962-1987.New York City.ISBN9780786740390.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2024.RetrievedDecember 29,2015.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ^abcdComenas, Gary (1969)."July 21, 1969: Andy Warhol's Blue Movie Opens".WarholStars.org.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 20,2016.
  24. ^Haggerty, George E. (2015).A Companion to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies.John Wiley & Sons. p. 339.ISBN9781119000853.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 20,2016.
  25. ^Staff (2013)."Garrick Cinema 152 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012 - Previous Names: New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, Andy Warhol's Garrick Cinema, Nickelodeon".CinemaTreasures.org.Archivedfrom the original on March 24, 2018.RetrievedMarch 23,2018.
  26. ^Garcia, Alfredo (October 11, 2017)."Andy Warhol Films: Newspaper Adverts 1964-1974 – A comprehensive collection of Newspaper Ads and Film Related Articles".wordpress.com.Archivedfrom the original on March 24, 2018.RetrievedMarch 23,2018.
  27. ^Haberski, Raymond J. Jr. (March 16, 2007).Freedom to Offend: How New York Remade Movie Culture.Lexington, Kentucky:The University Press of Kentucky.ISBN978-0813138411.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 19,2016.
  28. ^Staff (September 18, 1969)."Judges Rule 'Blue Movie' Is Smut".The New Day.Archivedfrom the original on November 7, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 19,2016.
  29. ^Staff (October 2005)."Blue Movie + Viva At NY Film Festival".WarholStars.org.Archived fromthe originalon October 27, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 20,2016.

Further reading

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