Scrapple

Scrapple is a wonderful hippie comedy. Set in 1978,the town of Ajax, Colorado is poised on the edge of turning from a fun-loving hippie community to a yuppie ski resort. While a small time drug dealer is out for the ultimate score, the outcome could mean the end to a way of life, particularly for Scrapple the Pig. The groovy music is by Taj Mahal. Beautifully photographed by Robert Smith and sublimely acted by an ensemble cast, Scrapple sweeps you away to a more innocent time. Viewers have commented: "It makes you want to quit your day job."

Though Scrapple is an excellent debut for the Hanson brothers, the average person may have a difficult time relating to the 'scene' represented in the film.

Scrapple is an excellent flick for drug culture fanatics and anyone who has ever been 'on tour'. Those people will recognise themselves and their hipster friends in this movie. I'm sorry to say, they will be the only ones who truly appreciate the various drug references characterised in Scrapple. You're average movie-goer either won't care or just won't 'get it'.

There's some nice cinematography--with the Colorado mountains as your backdrop, how bad could it be? The story doesn't move as quickly as I would like, I would rather the Hanson brothers left out the 'dead girlfriend' sequences and focused more on the comedy. Nonetheless, I was entertained and I really did not come away feeling the movie completely sucked.

I saw Scrapple at the 1998 Breckenridge Film Fest. The description of the film read, "Pigs, drugs, and ski bums." I was intrigued, to say the least, by what would be my favorite film of the festival.

The opening credit scenes had me believing I was watching a movie that was filmed in the mid '70s. By the second scene I knew I was in for a great film. Having lived in ski towns for the past 10 years, I can safely say that Scapple does an outstanding job of relaying the universal, timeless truisms of ski town life.

Entertaining, funny, and cinematically beautiful, the film sends a small message that hits close to home. During the story we fall in love with Al Dean, the king of blind luck, in his efforts to make things right.

This is a film that was put together remarkably well, especially for a first time, independent project. After seeing a movie like Scrapple, one wonders how this film isn't being distributed on a national level, when so many undeserving movies are. I suppose blame lies in the unenlightened viewing public and not in the quality of the film, as Scrapple is the most underrated film I have yet to see.

Kudos to the Hanson brothers for their grassroots efforts to get this movie seen by appreciative moviegoers.

Absolutely unlike ANY film I've ever seen before! The music, scenery, story and characters leave you wishing you could return to this simpler, care-free time. If only places like "Ajax" (Telluride) still existed today with it's good friends, good tunes, and good times. I've watched this video over and over and still find myself singing along, reciting my favorite lines, and discovering more of it's charm each time. All I can say, is if you lived through the 60's and/or 70's, (regardless of how much you actually REMEMBER...) you've got to give this film a look. It's appeal is so unusual it's hard to quantify. The search for one's self, trust and love, a renegade but loveable pig, "temple balls", Taj Mahal's music, outstanding film backdrops, good friends, all combine for a very charming and creative film. Give it a try if you can track it down...it'll be more than worth the effort!

While Scrapple is set in the fictional ski town of Ajax, Colorado (well named as both Telluide and Aspen have an Ajax), Scrapple has almost no skiing in it. It is set in the summer time and captures the slow grooving life that existed in the '70s in ski towns. The script is quite brilliant as it moves from that slow groovy pace into a vey focused story for the second half of the film. The music is as good as you will ever get in a film. The scenery is gorgeous and the acting is just good enough to make it all work. The movie is aging beautifully as the 70s move farther away into the rearview mirror.