Flesh (1968 film)

Flesh
Directed by	Paul Morrissey
Written by	Paul Morrissey
Produced by	Andy Warhol
Starring	Joe Dallesandro Geraldine Smith
Cinematography	Paul Morrissey
Release date	September 26, 1968 (1968-09-26)
Running time	105 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4,000

Flesh (alternative title: Andy Warhol's Flesh) is a 1968 American film directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Joe Dallesandro as a hustler working on the streets of New York City. It highlights various Warhol superstars, in addition to being the film debuts of both Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling. Also appearing are Geraldine Smith as Joe's wife and Patti D'Arbanville as her lover. Flesh was first shown at the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre at 152 Bleecker Street, Manhattan, New York City on September 26, 1968.^[1][2]

Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the time period.

Plot[]

As the film begins, Geri ejects Joe from their bed and insists he go out on the streets to make some money for her girlfriend's abortion. This leads to Joe's various encounters with clients, including an artist who wishes to draw Joe, played by Maurice Braddell, Louis Waldon as a gymnast, and John Christian.

Scenes filmed on the streets of New York City show Joe spending time with other hustlers, one of whom is played by his real life brother, and teaching the tricks of the trade to the new hustler, played by Barry Brown. The film includes a scene of Joe interacting with his real life one-year-old son. Flesh concludes with Joe in bed with Geraldine Smith and Patti D'Arbanville. The women strip Joe and begin to get intimate with each other. In turn, Joe gets bored and falls asleep.

Cast[]

• Joe Dallesandro as Joe, The Hustler
• Geraldine Smith as Geri
• Maurice Braddell as The Artist
• Louis Waldon as David
• Geri Miller as Terry
• Candy Darling as Candy
• Jackie Curtis as Jackie
• Patti D'Arbanville as Geri's Girlfriend
• Barry Brown as Hustler

Production[]

Warhol and Morrissey conceived Flesh while Warhol was convalescing following the attempt on his life by Valerie Solanas. John Schlesinger was filming Midnight Cowboy, which featured several members of Warhol's entourage, including Viva and Ultra Violet who, with Morrissey, shot a separate short film during shooting of Midnight Cowboy's elaborate party scene.^[3]

Warhol initially endorsed the participation of his people but grew resentful at what he perceived as Schlesinger's poaching of Warhol's scene. Warhol decided to undercut Schlesinger by filming his own story about a male prostitute.^[4]

The film was photographed by Morrissey, using a 16mm Auricon camera favored by Warhol for his earlier films. This camera permitted the recording of sound directly onto the film, and had a maximum run time of 33 minutes. This allowed for long improvised scenes. Morrissey often included the camera's flash frames and pops, which occur when starting and stopping the camera, as an aesthetic choice.

Reception[]

Flesh ranks 478th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time,^[5] and in 2007, The Guardian picked Flesh as one of its "1000 Movies to See Before You Die".^[6] It holds an approval rating of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.^[7]

See also[]

• List of American films of 1968

References[]

Further reading[]

• Hofler, Robert (2014). Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange - How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos. New York: itbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-208834-5.

External links[]

• Flesh at IMDb