Jump to content

José Mojica Marins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In thisPortuguese name,the first or maternalfamily nameisMojicaand the second or paternal family name isMarins.
José Mojica Marins
Marinsc. 2009
Born(1936-03-13)13 March 1936
São Paulo,Brazil
Died19 February 2020(2020-02-19)(aged 83)
São Paulo, Brazil
Other namesZé do Caixão
Coffin Joe
Mojica
J. Avelar
Occupation(s)Filmmaker
Film actor
Television actor
Media personality
Horror host

José Mojica Marins(13 March 1936 – 19 February 2020) was a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and televisionhorror host.Marins is also known for creating and playing the characterCoffin Joe(loosely translated fromZé do Caixão) in a series ofhorror films;the character has since gone on to become hisalter egoas well as apop culture icon,a horror icon, and acult figure.The popularity of Coffin Joe in Brazil has led to the character being referred to as "Brazil's National Boogeyman" and "Brazil'sFreddy Krueger".[1][2]

Born inSão Paulo,Marins made his feature filmdirectorial debutin the 1950s with the filmAdventurer's Fate.He went on to direct the 1964 filmAt Midnight I'll Take Your Soul,which is considered Brazil's first horror film.[3]At Midnight I'll Take Your Soulmarks the first appearance of the Coffin Joe character, a role that Marins would reprise inThis Night I'll Possess Your Corpse(1967) andEmbodiment of Evil(2008), along with a number of other films and television series. He is considered to have been a pioneer of Brazilian horror cinema and of graphically violent horror films in general.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Marins was born on Friday, 13 March 1936 inSão Paulo,Brazilat a farm in theVila Mariana,to Antonio André Marins and Carmen Mogica Imperial, both descended from Spanish immigrants.[3][5]His interest in filmmaking began at an early age. When Marins was three, his father ran a local cinema, and the family lived in a flat above it.[6][7]During his childhood, Marins made short films with a camera that his parents had given to him as a present.[3]These shorts starred himself and his neighbours, and were exhibited at churches and amusement parks.[3]

In 1953, at the age of 18, Marins founded Cia. Cinematográfica Atlas (the Atlas Film Company).[3]He acquired an abandonedsynagoguewhich he transformed into a film studio and academy, where he gave acting lessons and trained technicians in order to finance his films.[3][5]

Career

[edit]

Coffin Joe

[edit]
Main article:Coffin Joe

Marins is best known for creating and portrayingCoffin Joe,a character who is considered a horror icon, a Braziliancultural icon,and acult figure.[1][5][8]An amoral undertaker withNietzschianphilosophies and a hatred for organized religion, the character appeared as the primary character in a trilogy (known as the "Coffin Joe Trilogy" ) revolving around his homicidal quest to find "the perfect woman" so he can achieve metaphoricalimmortalityby having a son.[9][10][11]Following the success of the first film in the series, Marins reprised his role as the character inThis Night I'll Possess Your Corpse(1967) andEmbodiment of Evil(2008), along with a number of other films and television series. The character has also appeared in comic books[2]andmusic videos.[12]The popularity of Coffin Joe has resulted in the character being referred to as the Brazilian equivalent ofFreddy Krueger.[1][2][13][14]

Other film work

[edit]
José Mojica Marins inO Profeta da Fome(1971).
Main article:José Mojica Marins filmography

Although most known for films in the horror genre, Marins also createdexploitation,drugsploitation,sexploitation(often in the form ofpseudo-documentaries), andWesterns.Marins is noted for hislow-budget filmstyle, often using friends and amateur actors as cast and crew. His films are usually set inSão Paulo, Brazil.[citation needed]

Marins became interested in cinema at a young age. He recounted that he made his first film,O Juízo Final(Judgement Day), shot in8 mm,in 1948 at the age of 12. He followed withEncruzilhada da Perdição(Crossroads to Perdition,1952).[15][16]Mojica was one of several directors of the 2013anthologyhorror filmThe Profane Exhibit,directing the segment "Viral".[17]In 2014 he again collaborated with other directors on the anthology filmThe Black Fables.[18]

Television work

[edit]

Marins hosted a monthly interview programThe Strange World of Coffin Joe[5]on the Brazilian television station Canal Brasil, in which he discussed Brazilian media and culture with other contemporary figures, such as actors and musicians. His guests includedZé Ramalho,Rogério Skylab,andSupla.[19][20]

From 1967 to 1988, Marins hosted the programAlém, Muito Além do Além(Beyond, Far Beyond the Beyond)[5]onTV Bandeirantes,in character as Coffin Joe, presenting short horror tales written by author and screenwriterRubens Luchetti.Some scripts were later adapted as Coffin Joe comic books. The show's tapes were reused and currently there are no known intact recordings of this program.[21]

Marins directed and hostedThe Show from the Other World(Um Show do Outro Mundo) on Rede Record de Televisão, again appearing as Coffin Joe. The half-hour program featured short horror films, with many of the stories sent in by the viewers themselves and adapted by members of Marins' production team. As with his earlier show, the original tapes were reused and there is no known record of this material.[22]

In 1996 Marins hosted the daily television programCine TrashonTV Bandeirantes,which featured full-length horror films.[23][24]

Documentaries

[edit]

Marins appears inThe Universe of Mojica Marins(O Universo de Jose Mojica Marins,1978), a 26-minutedocumentary filmdirected byIvan Cardoso.Marins portrays himself in the film, which also features interviews with Marins' mother Carmen Marins, film editorNilcemar Leyart,andSatã(Marins' assistant and bodyguard).[25]In 1987 Marins released thesemi-autobiographicaldocumentary filmDemons and Wonders(Demônios e Maravilhas), in which he appears as himself re-enacting moments from his life, with his family and associates playing themselves as well.[26]

A 2001 documentary film,Damned – The Strange World of José Mojica Marins(Maldito - O Estranho Mundo de José Mojica Marins), directed by biographersAndré BarcinskiandIvan Finotti,examines Marins's life and works. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 2001Sundance Film Festival.[27][28]

Death

[edit]

Marins died of complications caused bybronchopneumoniaon 19 February 2020, aged 83, in São Paulo.[1][29][30]Prior to his death, Marins had been hospitalized for about 20 days.[29][30]

Selected filmography

[edit]
Main article:José Mojica Marins filmography

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghijSquires, John (19 February 2020)."[R.I.P.] Brazilian Master of Horror José Mojica Marins Has Passed Away".Bloody Disgusting.Retrieved20 February2020.
  2. ^abcWhittaker, Richard (28 October 2017)."My Friend Coffin Joe".The Austin Chronicle.Retrieved20 February2020.
  3. ^abcdefBergfelder, Shaw & Vieira 2016,p. 178.
  4. ^Bergfelder, Shaw & Vieira 2016,p. 191.
  5. ^abcdefghijklRohter, Larry (19 October 2011)."A Cult Figure Conjures the Macabre".The New York Times.Retrieved20 February2020.
  6. ^Dennison & Shaw 2004,pp. 140–141.
  7. ^Rist, Peter; Donato Totaro (30 June 2005)."Jose Mojica Marins: Up-Close and Personal (interview)".Offscreen.com.Retrieved7 January2009.
  8. ^Trussell, Jacob (29 October 2019)."The Horror Legacy of Rudy Ray Moore".Film School Rejects.Retrieved20 February2020.
  9. ^Pinazza & Bayman 2014,p. 86.
  10. ^Bergfelder, Shaw & Vieira 2016,p. 180.
  11. ^Hubert, Andrea (3 July 2009)."Film preview: The Twisted Genius Of Coffin Joe, London".The Guardian.Retrieved20 February2020.
  12. ^Rouner, Jef (3 September 2013)."From Beyond Takes on Coffin Joe In New Video (NSFW)".Houston Press.Retrieved20 February2020.
  13. ^Atkinson, Michael, ed. (2008).Exile Cinema: Filmmakers at Work Beyond Hollywood.SUNY Press.p. 126.ISBN978-0791473771.
  14. ^abPinazza & Bayman 2014,p. 23.
  15. ^Dennison & Shaw 2004,pp. 140–144.
  16. ^"Filmografia/Cinema Brasileiro"(in Portuguese). Portal de Cinema de Brasileiro. 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2011.Retrieved16 October2009.
  17. ^abZimmerman, Samuel (25 April 2012)."Coffin Joe and" Timecrimes "director now part of" The Profane Exhibit "".Fangoria.Archived fromthe originalon 4 May 2012.Retrieved20 February2020.
  18. ^Barton, Steve (6 January 2015)."Coffin Joe on Hand to Tell One of The Black Fables (As Fabulas Negras)".Dread Central.Retrieved6 January2015.
  19. ^"Official site for Canal Brasil television"(in Portuguese). Canal Brasil. 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2008.Retrieved30 September2008.
  20. ^"Official site/O Estranho Mundo do Zé do Caixão".Universo Online(in Portuguese). 2006.Retrieved14 October2009.
  21. ^"Official site".Universo Online(in Portuguese). 2006.Retrieved14 October2009.
  22. ^"Official site/Um Show do Outro Mundo".Universo Online(in Portuguese). 2006.Retrieved14 October2009.
  23. ^"At Midnight"(in Portuguese). Journal da Tarde. 2008.Retrieved30 September2009.
  24. ^"Official site/Cine Trash".Universo Online(in Portuguese). 2006.Retrieved14 October2009.
  25. ^"Official site/O Universo de Jose Mojica Marins".Universo Online(in Portuguese). 2006.Retrieved15 October2009.
  26. ^"Demônios e Maravilhas".Universo Online.Retrieved29 September2009.
  27. ^abRuétalo & Tierney 2009,p. 115.
  28. ^Turan, Kenneth(29 January 2001)."Going to Extremes".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved20 February2020.
  29. ^abFinotti, Ivan (19 February 2020)."Morre o cineasta José Mojica Marins, o Zé do Caixão".Folha de S.Paulo(in Brazilian Portuguese).Retrieved19 February2020.
  30. ^ab"Brazilian horror filmmaker and actor Marins dies at age 83".Associated Press.19 February 2020.Retrieved20 February2020.
  31. ^Ruétalo & Tierney 2009,pp. 45, 94.
  32. ^abRuétalo & Tierney 2009,p. 45.
  33. ^Rabkin, Leslie Y. (1998).The Celluloid Couch: An Annotated International Filmography of the Mental Health Professional in the Movies and Television, from the Beginning to 1990.Scarecrow Press.p. 387.ISBN978-0810834620.
  34. ^Olson, Christopher J.; Reinhard, CarrieLynn D. (2016).Possessed Women, Haunted States: Cultural Tensions in Exorcism Cinema.Lexington Books.p. 185.ISBN978-1498519083.
  35. ^Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra (2011).Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study.McFarland & Company.p. 154.ISBN978-0786449613.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Bergfelder, Tim; Shaw, Lisa; Vieira, João Luiz, eds. (2016).Stars and Stardom in Brazilian Cinema.Berghahn Books.ISBN978-1785332982.
  • Dennison, Stephanie; Shaw, Lisa (2004). "Mojica Marins: Coffin Joe and Brazilian Horror".Popular Cinema in Brazil, 1930-2001.Manchester University Press.ISBN978-0719064999.
  • Pinazza, Natália; Bayman, Louis, eds. (2014).Directory of World Cinema: Brazil.Intellect Ltd.ISBN978-1783200092.
  • Ruétalo, Victoria; Tierney, Dolores, eds. (2009). "José Mojica Marins and the Cultural Politics of Marginality in 'Third World' Film Criticism".Latsploitation, Exploitation Cinemas, and Latin America.Routledge Advances in Film Studies.Routledge.ISBN978-0415993869.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=José_Mojica_Marins&oldid=1232444233"