Watching Movies Alone with crumbsroom

Judge not that ye not be judged.


My experience with pink film is mostly the action-oriented stuff that I think most people here would find relatively tolerable. Not much worse than the average exploitation film, imo. I highly recommend for Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs (I wrote a review at one point, will dig it up later) and Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion, if that counts.


As for the more overtly pornographic fare, my experience is even more limited (and best in small doses, I found), but given my appreciation of golden age hardcore, I hesitate to write it off. The video store I frequented back when I left the house carried carried some if I recall correctly, so if they're still around post-pandemic, I'll put on my raincoat and check a few out. (I don't think they're streaming in any of the usual services, although I do remember Fandor having some when that was still a thing).

I'm not judging. I'm delegating. ("You take the blonde, I'll take the one in the turban.")


Oh, does that count? Love those films but I don't find them, er, erotic exactly.


I'm really in the weeds here. The only "pink" I've seen was Slave Widow, which was very good and much more into pathos than I was expecting. Maybe something like....Flesh Market just seems to be more tawdry than it actually is? I don't know. I do find it strange that Realm of the Senses is not generally considered pink, I guess because it's too arty, or maybe because it just goes too far. I'm a babe. I know not.

The only certifiable 'pink' I think I've seen is about some guy up in an attic peeking in on women undressing. But maybe that's all of them.

Let's see, non-actiony stuff I've seen Debauchery and Flower and Snake, which I guess are good for what they are (the former is like a porno Belle de Jour with a much dumber ending, the latter is supposed to be a classic of the genre), and School of the Holy Beast, which I found kinda dull tbh (too perverted to argue its themes and too self serious to be entertaining) but I think it's well regarded. Great to look at at lest least.


Do Entrails of a Virgin and Entrails of a Beautiful Woman count? The latter is one of the most upsettingly sleazy things I've ever seen, yet I can't help but sort of admire it on that level.

JJ, I am adding those to the watchlist.*

Actually, does Gate of Flesh count? Big fan of that one.


Oh, I've seen Ecstasy of the Angels as well, but remember being left a bit cold by it.

Wanna see a wild "pink" film... watch "Woods are Wet: Woman's Hell". that **** was bat crazy... loosely based on the work of deSade.. but not for the light-hearted.


I have seen a lot of Nazi Exploitation films in my movie experience.

Oh, I own Ecstasy of Angels. Didn't even know what it was.

I've definitely gotten a bit more squeamish on extreme films over the years, and have nudged slightly away from them fairly recently. After watching Moodyson's "Hole in My Heart" I decided I was tapping out for awhile. I don't know if I wasn't expecting something like that from that particular director, but....no thanks. Really awful stuff. Like, really really bad.

That's not to say my tastes are entirely tamed though. I'm still up for most provocation and offence.I just tread slightly more cautiously towards it.

I guess I will never realize my dream of watching the entire August Underground trilogy. *sigh*

Charlotte Rampling asks a lot from me.

Does The Night Porter count? I'm kinda with Ebert on that one.


I've seen Salon Kitty, which has its charms. The Ken Adam production design and scenery chewing by Helmut Berger and Ingrid Thulin make it an entertaining enough watch.

Music!

I rewatched this last night. It doesn't help that the last minute of my copy doesn't play, but also the rest of the movie that came before didn't help much either.



I don't know how I feel about it. From the perspective of Rampling's character, I think the movie is extremely lazy. And for the good majority of the film, that was the perspective I was watching through. By the end I was looking at it more from Bogarde's perspective, and it's a better way to look at it, since his attempts at reconciling with his past seem to have a little more meat to them. But...I don't know. I still don't know. Maybe it's still lazy from that angle too.


I think this was much like I felt the first time I watched it.

My problem with the movie is that it wants to be transgressive with its central relationship but the transgression rings hollow because all the flashback scenes to the concentration camp establishing the basis of the relationship feel like outtakes from a softcore porno. Had those scenes been "uglier" and the movie didn't resort to a cloying, overly romanticized tone at every opportunity, it might have worked for me. The film as is, despite the very good lead performances, pissed me off more than anything.

I think I agree. I struggled with the almost stage production look of those scenes. But, then again, it's also his memories (mostly, I think). And he is holding onto them, regardless of it facilitating his down fall. But, even this is cheap and kind of obvious transgressive stuff. And the emotional emptiness (deliberate?) doesn't help.

Regardless though, I can't say I enjoy it much, regardless of how much it works or doesn't. It's transgressions aren't even all that startling. They are muted like the entire tone of the movie. Am I supposed to be shrugging at how deplorable and sad and ugly it all is. Because I'm shrugging.

It's no Salo.

Zing!

The Night Porter popped up on the Criterion channel and I made it about 90 minutes in and just quit.

And the whole hiding-Nazi support-group thing felt so dumb.

The central relationship felt transgressive in writing, but not in how it was portrayed.

Looked up the runtime again, would have lol'd if it was 91 minutes long.


Yeah, that whole Nazi group subplot is coming back to me and yeah, not good.

The Nazi Support group is super dumb. But was also my hook into trying to piece together what the point of this movie was. Not a good sign though when something super dumb is your Rosetta Stone. And you still don't have any great answers by the end. LIke said, I still don't know how I feel. I either hated it, or begrudgingly didn't hate it.


I will say that the last half hour is where I went from actively hating the movie to wondering if maybe there was a sliver of something there. I don't blame you for bailing though. I think it would easily qualify as one of the worst films to get a Criterion blessing.

That was a ballpark. Would have really been something if the film were 86 minutes long. "It was the last 4 minutes of static that I just couldn't take."

Usually when I don't "get" a film, I assume that it's me. But this was one film where my overriding feeling was "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?!".

I also recently watched Gillo Pontecorvo's Kapo. But it was on a double bill with Slime City, so I'm sure everyone can forgive me overlooking it.