Blow Job

This is not an attack as Empire, nor a nice impression as Sleep, but just a short joke. There is quite a lot of action in the face and it takes only 36 minutes. You will probably forget it as soon as it finishes.

Nicely referenced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5, from Episode 96, "Intervention," it is one of the more wicked of Joss Whedon's famous pop culture references. Spike has Warren make a Buffybot for him to play with, since the real Buffy is still more interested in staking him than falling for him. Writer Jane Espenson uses "Blow Job" in a transitional scene that lasts only seconds in Act II. Many of Warhol's films were mandatory when I was in film school, and Blow Job was my favorite for sheer audacity. I think Bill Viola's The Passions video installations at the Getty Museum last year come closest to doing seriously what Warhol did to shock. Both artists take facial expressions and show them apart from the motivating circumstances, changing the viewer's reference point. Wonderful, and Whedon's use of it is delicious.

Andy Warhol, the pop artist that said that everyone would be famous for 15 minutes gives to actor DeVeren Bookwalter nothing more than 35 minutes of fame in a short and experimental film called "Blow Job" where his character facial expressions are the only thing shown on screen while he's receiving oral sex from a stranger off screen (since it's a Warhol work we can assure that is another guy who's doing the act and in the IMDb's credits the name of Willard Maas is credited as 'the giver').

It's a single shot with Bookwalter's head, while getting a blow job. He smiles, looks at the camera, lights a cigarette, seems to talk for a few moments (there's no sound, we can't hear a thing) and he enjoys the whole long act. This simple description sounds boring but the film, surprisingly, is not.

It's a daring work of the 1960's and I believe is the responsible for most films including a sex scene without being too graphic, we've just have the sense that something is happening. If today we have that classic facial expression of a guy receiving oral sex, lifting his head in pleasure, being showed in countless films is because of this little classic.

It might be a boring film for many viewers without nothing much too show? Yes, it can be. It can make you think about other things, or even in the behind the scenes of the film, after all there always be people who want to know if the sexual act happened or the actor was really good with his acting. And Bookwalter's acting is great, I mean, can you imagine portraying one single movement throughout a whole film? He was able to use a lot of his expressions (thankful to his good looks too), putting back his head, moving on and on, making subtle movements with his hand, and all these little changes makes his acting pretty good.

Exciting, interesting, a little bit gloomy among many other things, here's a great film directed by Andy Warhol. 10/10

I saw this in an art house theatre and when the feature was over comments could be heard like "such artistic talent" etc.

Well I love Warhol's paintings, him being my favourite artist, but found that this film was frankly boring. I could see no logic as to why this should be a film and not a painting where it would work much better. It does not hold your attention for more than 2 minutes.

To be honest.. boring tripe. Avoid at all costs. Go to a gallery and see his real art... superb. The only great Warhol film I've actually seen is Harlot, not listed in the imdb.

Warhol's films had a lot in common with porn in that, no matter the subject, they tended to be exercises in repetition. If you are the type to find a certain fetishistic beauty in such a visual process, then you might enjoy this. Warhol was also quite the visual stylist. Despite the popular perception, he was a fairly hands on director. I've seen his editing and lighting notes and know from speaking with people that knew him that he took a keen interest in how all of his work looked. By the way, for those who care to know, the guy doing the blowing is Willard Maas.

One last word: If you really do want to see a spectacular depiction of oral sex, I'd recommend Blowjob Fantasies Volume XI.