Bettie Page: Dark Angel

I am RavenGlamDVDCollector@gmail.com. I am a sucker for Hollywood glamor. So if I go thumbs down, something must be very, very wrong. No, the movie isn't all bad, though I dearly love how that other reviewer put it so eruditely: 'Bettie's films were destroyed. This film should have been destroyed too'. Right on! Sums it up!

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE was disappointing. But this one has zero going for it save the recreations of the bondage vignettes. The movie itself is a waste of time. And note that the vignettes had to be very static with a fixed camera, little movement except up and down, and to add to this dull closed- circuit TV look, you have lots of the movie itself bogged down in similar dull shots.

Toddlers in a nursery school play are more exciting. Well, gee, I'm talking about the rest of the movie, the weak story, for at least there is a lot of sexy stuff, even if kinda dull.

That cheetah at the end has my attitude. However much Paige flirted with the haughty creature, after this Burnt Turkey of a movie, he wanted nothing to do with her. Even when she got naked. By the way, after all these years of watching end titles, a movie that rewards that effort.

I am quite ashamed of the low score I'm giving it. The vignetted are (I suppose) faithfully recreated, and clearly deserve more, but the movie is a wasted opportunity. The vignettes should have been spliced in with THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, and this one need then not have gone further than that.

A tremendous disappointment!

This movie was bad beyond belief. I saw it during the 2004 San Francisco Film Festival. Before it started the owner of the theatre got up and told us how half the audience had left the theatre the night before, which happened to be its "world premiere." I don't think anyone in the theatre understood just how bad the movie was going to be at that point. We all understood by the end.

Its not a documentary though it was sort of sold as one. Dark Angel was a bad biography and misguided homage to Bettie Paige, in which half the movie is actually just remakes of old Bettie Paige movies. The movie is only 90 minutes long and the content of those 90 minutes is sub par to say the least. A scene would start going then someone would say "wow you're so great Bettie, why don't we make another movie." this would be followed by a 5 minutes of a Bettie Paige remake which was almost as ridiculous as (and even more boring than) the normal part of the movie. by the end of the movie people were laughing every time another Bettie Paige movie remake came up. it was that ludicrous. I heard a lot of laughter in that theatre, but people were not laughing with the movie maker, they were laughing at the movie and its poor content and structure. This was easy to tell as the parts that would get the most laughs were the ones which were supposed to be serious or revelatory.

I know movies are expensive. I have seen many cheaply made independent films but somehow the cinematography and quality of this movie set it apart from anything else I have ever seen. The movie looks like it was made for $12. The cuts, the graininess, and the lack of a sensual plot made this a memorable experience. This movie makes "Dude, Where's My Car?" look like Citizen Kane.

My friends and I left the theatre feeling like we had just paid 8 dollars to be tortured. The only redeeming part of the experience was that we got to laugh about the fact that someone had actually made this movie and thought it was good. Apparently, the previous night, the night of the "world premiere" the director/writer/producer had been in the audience and had gotten to witness people laugh at and walk out on his movie. Bettie Paige's movies were destroyed. They should destroy this movie too.

If you are expecting a Hollywood big budget feature, re-think your approach to this film. This is a small, B-Budget film about Betty Page and her work with Irving Klaw making erotique shorts on 8mm camera. The lead, Paige Richards, is a dead ringer for Betty and does a fabulous job re-creating the movies. The 'film' in the 'jungle' actually features still shots of the real Betty Page from the shoot in the '50s. Full of tongue-in-cheek humour, take this film for what it is, a B-movie about THE pin-up icon...

The major flaw with the film is its uninspired script. It plods back and forth between vignettes of Bettie's story and re-creations of the Klaw short films. While the Klaw re-creations are well done, it is unnecessary to recreate them in their near entirety. Page Richards, while not an amazing actress, does a decent job overall. And, at times, she does bear a remarkable resemblance to Bettie. Also of note is some faithful attention to detail. Costumes and clothing well done, as is some of the set direction. The sets are generally sparse and feel stage-y, but do feel of the era. It is sometimes surprisingly well lit, and the color palette was clearly thought-out to give the overall look a vibrant, retro feel.

I am a huge Bettie Page fan i remember hearing about the two biog films,this one and the bigger budget notorious Bettie Page.although this movie lacks a budget it is very entertaining and i thought Paige Richards does an awesome job playing the late great icon Bettie Page.they did a great job recreating the black and white films made by Irving and Paula Klaw.the soundtrack is good but my problem was the casting of b movie star Dukey Flyswatter(Micheal Sonye)as a grumpy Irving Klaw.it is a real treat for Bettie Page fans.but really too short and leaves too much out.but none the less i liked the film.and i want to give props to the beautiful sexy;Paige Richards for playing the ultimate unmatched pin up model Bettie Page who i think was far ahead of her time.8 out of 10.