It Came from Kuchar

This was an interesting introduction to the films of the Kuchar twins to me. I think I would be a bit squeamish to see all of their product but I hope to catch up on some of their underground movies. I like the excerpts from the 'Weather Diaries' films which promise some really atmospheric thunderstorm sequences. Their movies seem to have been made on the hoof and concocted as the film progresses. Although the plot of the film doesn't seem to be of importance to the Kuchars there seems to be a lot going on in their movies. There are some grotesque characters like those played by Linda Martinez. She's a 70 year old cougar who usually doesn't have any underwear on. Also there some films about Bigfoot and UFOs which I would be pleased to track down. As well as Linda Martinez there seems to be a lot of inelegant female characters especially those with Joan Crawford thick eyebrows which have been exaggerated by make-up. There are plenty of funny anecdotes and a few tips on film-making. I like that the Kuchars didn't resort to any real bad language but there is just one F-bomb from Divine in a clip from a John Waters' movie.

Sometime in the mid 1950's,a new realm of cinema started to rear it's head to make people stand up & take notice (and succeeded after a while). Up & coming film makers such as Stan Brakhage,Kenneth Anger, and Mike & George Kuchar. The brothers Kuchar shot most of their epics with virtually no budget,in 8mm (although they would make the big move to 16mm & video years later),and starring either their families,friends,next door neighbours & total strangers,with titles such as 'The naked & the nude','Hold me while I'm naked','Sins of the fleshapoids',and many others. I had only heard of the films of the Kuchar brothers via J.Hoberman & Jonathan Rosembaum's excellent book, 'Midnight Movies',which had a chapter on underground films of the 1950's,thru the early 1980's (when the book was published),along with other offbeat films of that era,including the films of John Waters, David Lynch,Jack Smith,and others. Jennifer Kroot's 'It Came From Kuchar',is a documentary that showcases the Kuchar brothers,Mike & George (twins,although it's never really revealed if they are fraternal or identical,as each brother really doesn't look like one another),tell their individual tales on growing up in New Jersey & what made them want to make movies. In addition to a treasure trove of clips from what I could only call "a cinematic fever dream",also has no lack of interview footage from Mike & George,as well as their fans (which include,among others:John Waters,Buck Henry,critic B.Ruby Rich,Atom Egoyan,Wayne Wang,Guy Maddin & Bill Griffith,creator of Zippy the Pinhead),and friends that acted in their short epics (such as Bob Cowan,Donna Kerness,Cynthia Mailman,and others). Jennifer M.Kroot (Sirens of the 23rd century)directs this inspired documentary for those who fancy the truly bizarre (i.e.:midnight cult movies,underground cinema of the 1960's/1970's & beyond),with cinematography by Christopher Million & editing by Jesse Spencer. It (for sure)won't be everybody's cup of tea,but those interested should seek it out. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains raunchy language,flashes of full frontal nudity,sexual content & other lurid goings on that's not for innocent eyes

It Came from Kuchar (2009)

*** (out of 4)

George Kuchar is a name not too many people probably know but he has over two hundred films to his credit. This documentary takes a look at what made his films so special and so different. Also on hand is his twin brother Mike who helped on most of the films.

Director Jennifer M. Kroot does a wonderful job at telling the story of Kuchar and as I said I'm pretty sure most people aren't going to know who he is. It's pretty neat how the documentary explains the underground era of filmmaking and what made Kuchar so different from the likes of an Andy Warhol. We've also got underground filmmakers like John Waters and Christopher Coppola on hand to discuss the influence Kuchar had on them.

This documentary does what any great documentary should do and that's make you more interested in the subject. I had never heard of Kuchar outside of THUNDERCRACK! but after viewing this film I went looking for some of his other work. The best thing is that both Kuchar brothers are on hand for interviews and George really comes across as a great guy and someone you'd love to discuss his work with.

I went in to this movie at the SXSW festival having never heard of the Kuchar brothers; I just thought the description sounded intriguing. Boy, am I glad I took a chance on it; of all the films I saw during the festival, this was one of my favorites. It's a hilarious and sometimes poignant look at the world of underground filmmakers and identical (or maybe not) twins, George and Mike Kuchar.

These guys have made tons of no-budget films since the 50s, including such classics as The Naked and the Nude, Lust for Ecstasy, Hold Me While I'm Naked, The Devil's Cleavage...and they are fascinating characters to boot. After looking at clips from their movies, it's easy to see that the Kuchar films heavily influenced John Waters' early works.

I hope this documentary gets a distribution deal; it definitely deserves to be seen. If it plays on IFC or Sundance channel, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Featuring interviews of John Waters, Atom Egoyan, Buck Henry, and even George Kuchar's cat, this is a fun, live, on-the- scene look at the Kuchar brothers, George and Mike and the making of their wild, bizarre, indie films. According to Wikipedia, George was hired to teach film classes at the SF Art Institute in 1971. Making these films, which starred monsters, wacky, offbeat people and gender-bending plots with his twin brother Mike, George was also a part time painter. We hear director Jennifer Kroot (who attended and worked at the SF Art Institute) asking the brothers questions about their tempestuous childhood, with conversations by the actors in their films, co-workers, and friends in the business.

In 1965, Mike made "Sins of the Fleshapoids" probably the best known of their films, which J. Waters has said is one of his favorite films of all time. Mike also directed my favorite "The Secret of Wendel Samson", which was quite ahead of its time. It's quite ironic when early in the film, Mike Kuchar, missing teeth, and sporting a looooong beard, says "Old people.... are weird." Apparently, I'm not the only only amused by the brothers' manner and appearance, since Bill Griffith says he created the cartoon "Zippy the Pinhead" based on Mike Kuchar. We also hear the comments of Christopher Coppola, yet another of the Coppola offspring in the film industry.

It's also interesting to note that "Statue in the Park" 1993, starring Mike Diana, is NOT currently listed in IMDb, and also not found on amazon. "Thundercrack!" 1975, (Marion Eaton) IS in IMDb, and purports to be in DVD format on amazon, but is "not available" for order. "Loads" 1985 (Curt McDowell) IS listed in IMDb, and the VHS tape IS currently available on amazon. Ascension of the Demonoids IS listed in IMDb, but not on amazon. Also not found in either IMDb or amazon are some of their obscure films, which are probably shorts: Cocktail Crooners, Paradise Gone, Garden of Goodies, Midsummer's Nightmare, and Secrets of the Shadow World. Too bad... Glad this documentary is helping us keep an inventory of these now missing films which will probably never make it to DVD. If you have the opportunity, find and watch "It Came from Kuchar". Well worth the 86 minutes spent watching this study of indie, bizarro films. Fun, entertaining, and a little chunk of history of the film industry. Distributed by Indiepix Films, it has 48 minutes of extras.

" I knew we wouldn't make any money because anything I work on is a financial disaster."

-- George Kuchar: