Chelsea Girls

I love Andy Warhol´s avant-garde vision of movie making. I especially enjoyed "Chelsea.. This film could be just what 8 1/2 meant for Fellini...

In "arts and entertainment", films are usually viewed as being part of the entertainment side. Warhol moves them over to the arts side. This film, like others of Warhol's is "not watched, it's experienced". I think it's brilliant. But I wouldn't get nearly as much pleasure out of watching it if I didn't know who the stars were. So, I suggest you certainly read about the film and Warhol, before you watch this.

As a fiction movie, it's nothing. As a documentary on a way-of-life, it's crap. As Art, of any kind, it's crap. As an angry, personal statement, it's overlong. As a collection of friends put together in a basement that happens to be a few derelict, crowded hotel rooms, it's a poor joke. As existentialism philosophy, it's below zero. This is one of a handful films that kicked me out of the theater before the end - and Gosh, have I seen bad stuff in my life of thousands of film viewing... (I resisted up to the first colour-reel, if you're suspecting I left early. I managed up to the first 140 minutes or so.) Frankly, and sincerely yours truly - take my advice: if you want to know something about Warhol, don't waste your time trying to locate this film.

You know when you let your mind drift--especially when under the influence of drugs or alcohol--and you think up some idea that sounds like it would be great? A typical non-genius would consider an idea like that later and think, "well, this sounded like a good idea then but it's just stupid now?" Thankfully, Warhol said to himself, "no, I'm a genius and therefore that was a good idea."

And what was this brilliant idea?

Film a bunch of drug users and couples in various rooms of a hotel then project two films at a time side-by-side, shifting the audio to switch focus.

Doesn't that sound amazingly fresh and cool?

Don't answer yet! You also get:

• randomly twitchy camera work

• quasi-purposeful film speed changes

• having the camera's point-of-interest fail to follow the viewer's desires

• racking the zoom

• sluggish response to bad focus after changing camera positions

• over- and under-exposure

Now how much would you pay?

With your average film you'd get three or four reels, but with this, you get _12 reels!_ Plus, you get sketchy instructions on when to do transitions and change projectors, putting _you in the driver seat!_

Operators are standing by.

This is definitely an interesting film as directed by Paul Morrissey, who was told what to direct.Brigid Polk was especially funny as the duchess. I am told they were all on speed, and were almost arrested as the hotel Switchboard listened to the duchess make deals. Warhol exploited people and that is fine if you like to be exploited. WHich everyone in the film was. Later when Edie Sedgwick tried to break away and have her footage cut out and refused to make movies anymore, she was banned from the studio when Warhol was profiting very well from the movies. When Mary Woronov tried to break away she was thrown down a flight of stairs, when she asked for profits from the movies. Warhol was a sadistic "artist" talented or not who exploited people. Later when Edie was had finally broke away from him he said"I wish I could film her committing suicide". WHat a great friend. I wish Edie were still alive and he was so she could smack him in the head