Films/DVD Asylum

It's the Anti-establishment lifestyle!

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In Reply to: "The Trip" - 1967 posted by AudioHead on July 11, 2000 at 08:30:29:

Now I've got it! It's more than just a viewpoint. Maybe films sympathetic to an Anti establishment lifestyle could be a genre. Now you have me wanting find and watch some of these.
By the way, are there any movies about beatniks? And wasn't there a movie about skinheads? -probably not sympathetic. Probably the same with the militia people.

Follow Ups:

Beatniks AudioHead 09:01:47 07/12/00 (0)
I've never seen any movie that featured a beatnik as a main character
with a message or purpose; beatniks were too laid back, too cool, too hip to
get that involved emotionally. Kind of a lassez-faire attitude; not
something that would generate a lot of cinematic interest. Che
Gueverro was not a beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs was.
Some suggestions ... TG 22:30:12 07/11/00 (3)
... for immersing yourself in the counter culture. Not all of these are specifically about those times, or set in them, but all have the "feeling" of the times in some way. There's sure to be heaps more - I'm just writing this off the top of my head (help me out here guys!). They aren't listed in any sort of order, but essential viewing (IMHO) are marked (***)
Cheers
TG
Little Big Man
Woodstock (***)
Barbarella (***)
Blow Up (***)
8 1/2
Charly
The Andromeda Strain
Casino Royale
Head
Oh Lucky Man (***)
If
Fantastic Planet (animated feature)
Allegro Non Troppo
Zabriskie Point (***)
Obscrued by Clouds
Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii
Let It Be
Magical Mystery Tour
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
Lola Montez
El Topo (***)
The Holy Mountain (***)
Easy Rider (***)
The Magic Christian (***)
A Hard Days Night
MASH
The Trip (***)
Alice's Restaurant
Bonnie & Clyde
Dr Doolittle
Celine & Julie Go Boating (***)
The Magus
The Dunwich Horror
Dr Strangelove
Catch Us If You Can
The 7 Faces of Dr Lao
Harold & Maude
- "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao" AudioHead 08:16:37 07/13/00 (0)
  Fond memories indeed! Saw it sitting under an air conditioner, coming
  down off a bad trip from magic mushrooms (the tranquilizing effects
  of the Thorazine had already kicked in, neutralizing the nausea and
  the internal head pressure that made me feel like my head was gonna
  explode ala' "Scanners"!) One of Tony Randall's best performances,
  believe he portrayed six or seven different characters; and of course,
  the young and lovely Barbara Eden, always a pleasure to behold. Think
  Harryhausen did the effects too. Read the book the film was based
  on too, "The Circus of Dr. Lao" by Charles Finney, very good. - AH
- Re: Some suggestions ... edta 11:47:54 07/12/00 (1)
  Wow! Thanks! Now, I have another great list to put along side of my film noir list! Most of those are pretty old and hard to find, but these should be more easily available.
  I have seen almost half of these, but some are totally new. Celine and Julie Go Boating, Lola Montez, The Holy Mountain, Catch Us If You Can, If, and Allegro Non Troppo--I've never even heard of.
  - Re: Some suggestions ... TG 17:04:35 07/12/00 (0)
    > Celine and Julie Go Boating
    A very odd French film about two women and a "haunted" house. Quite long & dreamlike - some folks hate it. By the way, it has nothing to do with boating - the title is actually a pun in French, and loosly translated it means (colloquially) "Celine & Julie Suspend Disbelief" or "Celine & Julie Let Their Imaginations Run Away".
    > Lola Montez
    A sort-of historical biopic about a real character, a courtesan who carried on an affair with the King of Bavaria. The story is straightforward, but for a film made in the mid-50s this was quite surreal in presentation. Probably hard to find.
    > If
    If was Lindsay Anderson's first of a trilogy of films (followed by Oh Lucky Man & Britannia Hospital) which brutally satirised the establishment, particularly the British political & social caste systems. "If" is set in a boy's boarding school, which is used as a metaphor for repressive society. This film is the perfect antidote to "Goodbye Mr Chips" B^)
    > The Holy Mountain
    We are in the presence of a genuine inspired insane genius - Alexandro Jodorowsky. If you have seen "El Topo", this is in the same style (!) but even further over the top. A young man seeks enlightenment, and becomes the follower of an alchemist who enlists the aid of companions (who are magical familiars conjured from the planets) to help him on the journey. Drugs, blood, magic, and a cast of freaks & hippies. Utterly surreal and just about impenetrable if you don't know anything about alchemy or ritual magic. You'll love it or hate it.
    > Catch Us If You Can
    A John Boorman film from 1965. This was an attempt to cash in on "A Hard Day's Night" by making a film with the then popular Dave Clark 5. It worked better than you might think and came out as something like a cross between "A Hard Day's Night" and a Cliff Richard film. Some scenes really do present a convincing portrait of 1960s "swinging" England. This will be hard to get hold of.
    > Allegro Non Troppo
    A must-see film. This is the "cool" version of Walt Disney's "Fantasia". Made on a small budget in Italy in the mid-70s, it uses the same formula of animations with an orchestral backing - but whereas "Fantasia" is pompous and a bit precious, "Allegro Non Troppo" is funny, moving & very clever. Don't miss it.
    Cheers
    TG
Re: It's the Anti-establishment lifestyle! TG 16:35:29 07/11/00 (0)
Yes, I think I'd go along with that. Up to the mid 1950s, films which criticised society were really examining and condemning a particular facet of the prevailing culture, but not denigrating the culture as a whole. I'm thinking of "The Grapes of Wrath" as typical here - the background culture is portrayed as sound (indeed, longed-for), but elements of the culture (eg the authorities' reaction to the depression & its effects on the common man) are criticised.
After the mid 50s, however, a more fundamental theme of disenchantment with society as a whole becomes common, and it's not surprising that this theme was exulted in many films produced during the high-point of the counter-culture movement & student protest in the 1960s & 70s.
Movies about beatniks? Hmmm. Can't think of any offhand (or was there an Elvis film with beatnik characters?). Probably most anything depicting beats would either be stereotype, exploitation or maybe the occasional jazz documentary. Anything not made as an independent production by the people themselves would probably have little credibility.
Interesting thread :^)
TG

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