9/15/05 Quentin Tarantino Festival - Day 7 - Sexploitation Night
Hello from Austin. I'm Micah and this is coverage of Sexploitation Night from the Alamo Drafthouse. As expected, tonight was a sold-out night, with plenty of people hanging around outside the theater show after show, hoping to score a seat.
Tonight's coverage is going to a little different, since it doesn't really make sense for me to review a Sexploitation movie the same way I'd review a move like Blue Water, White Death or No Way Out (or even Madman Marz). So, today I'll be talking mostly about Tarantino's introductions and then, instead of a full review of the movie, I'll toss out some memorable moments or lessons learned. Plus, I went undercover last night and have lots of pictures to show you. But first (even though this is starting to get silly)...
Nicky Katt Update #6: Since Day Two, I've been writing about my observation of, and encounters with Nicky Katt. As you know, Nicky Katt the Actor is one of my current favorites... consistently taking interesting roles and really making them his own. However... Nicky Katt the Person is a scary, scary dude. Or so I thought. On Night 6 I briefly talked to him and he ended up being a really cool guy. What I didn't say yesterday (and what several of you emailed asking about) is yes... Katt is still wearing a white t-shirt and dark denim jeans, just like he has every day of the festival. The guy's got a look and he's sticking with it. Toss in the ubiquitous cigarette behind the ear (American West for those keeping track) and you've almost got a James Dean thing happening.
And now the Dumb Distraction coverage of Sexploitation Night!
Posters:
Tonight the Drafthouse was decked out with tons of great 70's exploitation posters. I snapped pictures of a few of them for you.
And now, on to our feature presentation.
Group Marriage (1973)
The Roommates (1973)
Savage Abduction (1975)
Supermanchu: Master of Kung Fu (1973)
Street Gangs of Hong Kong (1973)
Hay Country Swingers (1971)
Directed by: Alois Brummer
Lars Introduction:
Onstage first tonight is Lars, the Drafthouse's resident Exploitation guru. This guy knows more about exploitation movies that just about anyone, anywhere. Today I even heard him telling Tarantino about a movie that he (Tarantino) had never seen called Confessions of a Young American Housewife, directed by the Sexploitation master Joe Sarno. There's even word that that conversation may lead to a special screening of Confessions of a Young American Housewife Saturday night.
Of all the exploitation genres, Lars particuarly likes these Sexploitation movies. He gives a good mini-lesson on how to choose a good European sexploitation movie. He claims that wherever the food is good, the Sexploitation movies are good. So French & Italian movies are great, American is pretty good... Lars pauses... "and then there's German sexploitation. It's fucking beer and bratwurst... nasty greazy shit. And there's even different kinds of German Sexploitation movies. There's the Report movies, which are kinda classy, and then there's the lederhosen movies which are so low class... and Tarantino is starting off the night with one of 'em... he must have balls the size of Volkswagons."
Click For Wallpaper Size Lars
By the way, if you're ever in Austin on a Wednesday night, you've got to attend a Weird Wednesday screening, the weekly (free) midnight movie hosted by Lars at the Drafthouse. His introductions to each of the movies are every bit as informative and entertaining as the ones Tarantino has been giving us. Over the past 3 years I've seen an amazing amount of 60s & 70s exploitation from around the globe, and can't say enough about the good work that Lars does putting that program together.
Tarantino Introduction:
This movie (as evidenced by the poster) was presented in America as a Hicksploitation movie. Everyone showed up expecting to see hillbilly hot chicks, and what they got was a bunch of German girls. Tarantino tells us that he bought this movie recently because Sexploitation is the genre that he is currently 'really into,' especially the German and Swedish ones.
Tarantino tells us that there were 5 or 6 movies that he really wanted to show tonight, but he was able to weed out the ones he wants to steal from at some point in the future. "I could show this one, but I want to rip something off from it and nobody knows about that movie yet. If I show it in Austin, they know I'm stealing from it alright!" Lots of audience laughter about that.
Click For Wallpaper Size Tarantino
The thing Tarantino likes about festivals like this is when 'the movies attain a collective' and mini-themes begin to reoccur. He doesn't plan them with that in mind, it's just one of the added bonuses about going on multi-day movie binges. Hay Country Swingers features a character we've already seen in movies like Funeral Home: the Dimwitted Idiot Handiman. And while this character was sexually taunted in Funeral Home, Tarantino tells is that we ain't seen nothing.
"This movie has the most disgusting half-retarded handiman, alright, in the history of cinema. Having said that, no Dimwitted Idiot Handiman in the history of cinema has had it as good as this guy. This idiot gets so much action, it's not even funny. I've never seen an actor playing that role get that much action or having that much fun. I was like... when did the dimwitted handiman get all this shit!."
Trailers:
Stacey - In Seduction or Slaughter, Stacey always Scores
Emanuelle in America - This is one of my favorite Sexploitation trailers of all time. It's got a great song, tons of crazy stuff going on, and this great WTF moment that always kills the audience involving a naked girl and a horse. Plus it's for a great movie directed by Joe D'Amato starring the goddess Laura Gemser.
Danish Love Acts - Sexploitation disguising itself as an 'instructional movie' for married couples.
The Movie:
A young girl gets a job on a farm and has a variety of adventures with the master of the house, the mistress of the house, the butcher, the constable, the male farmhands, the female farmhands, a polka band, and yes... the Dimwitted Idiot Handiman. Expect plenty of peeping toms, improbably short skirts, and conveniently placed foreground items.
- If you've had surgery it's ok to have sexx, but you should start slow, like with your wife.
- Lesbian scenes are better when accompanieed by Beethoven's Hymn to Joy.
- I want to be a dimwitted handiman...
- But perhaps he isn't the best choice to ddeliver a block of cheese.
- Towards the end of the movie there was ann absolutely bizarre 3 minute animated short that had nothing to do with anything else in the film, making it the second time this festival that we've seen animated penises.
This was a fairly good start to the night. There was very little nudity, and the movie mostly focused on rapid-fire setting up of sexy situations, without giving much thought to actually delivering (which I actually how I prefer these movies).
It made me think that this is the type of movie Steve Carell's character in 40 Year Old Virgin would write. "Ok, there's a chimneysweep and he falls through the chimney into a young girl's bedroom. Next there's a constable who wanders past two girls in a field. Next there's..."
At this point in the evening I ordered some liquid refreshment. Man I love the Alamo.
Teenage Hitchhikers (1975)
Directed by: Gerri Sedley
Starring: Sandra Peabody, Ric Mancini
Tarantino Introduction:
During the break someone had asked him whether he thought there was a difference between Sexploitation movies and Porno movies. The difference is huge in Tarantino's mind, and while he loves Sexploitation movies, he hates pornos. Always had, always will. "They're just not sexy. The girls are never good actresses and they're never charming... they're just slutty. I feel like I'm watching incest victims." This got the loudest groans out of any line thus far. "I can see the track marks, I can see the bullet holes... Sexploitation actresses on the other hand... these girls are fun, alright? Very charming, very trampy, and we get to watch their fun trampy adventures. I can see these girls being discovered while dancing in cool discos or waitressing in some cafe."
Tarantino also describes his childhood memories of driving through towns with drive-in theaters. They'd always have triple bills of movies with similar titles: Come See Swinging Cheerleaders, Swinging Teenagers, and Swinging Stewardesses! Theater owners would do this whether that was the movie's original title or not, and regardless of whether the new title made sense in context of the story.
"On the other hand, Teenage Hitchhikers actually was originally called Teenage Hitchhikers. And guess what it's about? Two fucking teenage hitchhikers, alright? Don't get used to that shit."
Tarantino finished off this intro by describing the thrill he and his buddies used to get as kids when their parents drove by a theater showing a triple feature like this and they'd get a momentary glimpse of something cool. This caused several of the older members of the audience to laugh, and got several of us who missed out on the drive-in era to reminisce about similar experiences watching the scrambled Cinemax channels late at night. Some things never change I guess.
Trailers:
Chatterbox - The great thing about Sexploitation trailers is how easy it is for audiences to get into them. This is another of my favorite trailers, promoting a movie about a young girl with a signing vagina named Virginia. The final scene of the trailer, with Virginia singing the national anthem at a ballgame, had the audience rolling.
Caged Virgins - Some Cages Exist Only in the Mind - Featuring the great line: How often the promise of Heaven has guided a man down the Path to Hell.
GUMS - A 'Man on the Street Reaction' trailer, featuring a newsman shaking hands with King Dong's dong.
The Movie:
Oh man, this movie blew me away. If you didn't see it you probably won't believe me, but this movie had the best written dialogue of possibly any movie we've seen at this festival. No Way Out may have it beat, but not by much. It was definately the most intentionally funny movie we've seen so far.
One of the things I generally don't like about Sexploitation movies is the gags are usually very obvious and heavy-handed. After a joke is told these movies usually wait a beat too long, just to make sure we got the joke. Not Teenage Hitchhikers. The jokes in this movie were actually funny and witty, and delivered in such a rapid-fire manner that you really felt like this was the kind of thing Tarantino could have written. An example:
2 characters are wading in a river, trying to catch trout by hands. One of them mentions that this shows real 'pioneer spirit'.
Character 1: Keep it down, the trout can hear you. You have to respect your prey like the Indians do.
Character 2: Fuck 'em.
Character 1: Who?
Character 2: I don't care. Pioneers, Trout, Indians... fuck 'em all. I wanna eat.
That probably doesn't translate as well written, but take my word for it, it was great. Just a quick throw-away snippet that was well written and well delivered. And the movie was wall-to-wall with 'em. Lines like "If you want bread... fuck a baker" and "If you wanna ride, you gotta slide" and "In this market, boobs and butts are currency."
The other great thing about this movie was the actors, particuarly Sandra Peabody as one of the hitchhikers and Ric Mancini as the escaped rapist. They were incredibly charismatic, and honestly talented actors. Peabody was only in a few other movies, but Mancini has had a diverse career as a bit actor in movies like Ed Wood, Ready to Rumble, Penitentiary III, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning and They Call Me Bruce?.
There was one great scene between the two of them where Mancini has come across Peabody in the woods, and as he takes off his pants to rape her, she makes a dismissive comment about the size of his equipment. Mancini pauses in mid-strike, truly hurt.
Mancini: Really? When I was showering with the other cons I always thought I was at least average!
Peabody: Not compared to the guys I've been with. No wonder you're a rapist. You can't get it the normal way.
Mancini: Awww... that's not nice. From now on, every time I go to rape somebody I'll think there's something wrong with me. At least I've got great technique. Here, let me rape you.
Like I said, I really enjoyed this movie. And, in the spirit of random themes reoccuring in movies, tonight gave us our second extended hair care scene (the first was in Blue Water, White Death). I also learned that if you're gonna try to make it with your virgin girlfriend in a meadow, it's not a bad idea to keep a milkshake nearby... just so you can use the cherry on the top to make a metaphorical point. And a warning to all you kids out there... if you fall asleep at an orgy, you just might wake up with a banana peel on your ass.
And that's about all I remember from last night.
In between shows the audience enjoys some vintage erotica at the Alamo Drafthouse
Click For Wallpaper Size Crowd
After the movies ended I was too wired to go straight home, so I went out for a few beers with NY Sean & Blake. Eventually we shut the place down, and headed home to grab a few precious hours of sleep before the final two nights of the festival. Tonight promises to be a blast, so come back in 24 hours for my coverage of the Grindhouse Triple Feature!
- Micah
