IMDb > Flaming Creatures (1963)

Flaming Creatures (1963) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
5.5/10   257 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Jack Smith
Release Date:
29 April 1963 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Fall Preview: Repertory Calendar
 (From IFC. 5 August 2009, 11:17 AM, PDT)
The Joy of American Avant-Garde
 (From IFC. 7 April 2009, 8:13 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Jack Smith's Masterpiece of Sexual Perversion and Dionysian Art more (8 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Francis Francine ... Himself
Sheila Bick ... Delicious Dolores
Joel Markman ... Our Lady of the Docks
Mario Montez ... The Spanish Girl (as Dolores Flores)
Arnold Rockwood ... Arnold (as Arnold)

Judith Malina ... The Fascinating Woman
Marian Zazeela ... Maria Zazeela
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
45 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USA

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The film caused a national scandal upon its original underground release; it was banned in 22 states and in four countries. The critic Jonas Mekas brought the film around to various screenings in the 1960s, but at several screenings was arrested for screening the film. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Velvet Goldmine (1998) more
Soundtrack:
Be-Bop-A-Lula more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful.
Jack Smith's Masterpiece of Sexual Perversion and Dionysian Art, 13 October 1999
Author: mr.smith-2

Jack Smith's 1963 short Flaming Creatures might be one of the most sexual perverse film ever made. It has ever amount of sexual deviance that made up the New York underground in the 1960's- transexuals, S&M, lines such as "do they make a lipstick that doesn't come off when you s*** c****?", drug use, and a radically innovative orgy scene that plays more like a Greek tragedy than a work of pornography. On the surface, Flaming Creatures appears to be art at its lowest, but a closer examination of the film proves that Flaming Creatures is not only high art, but a siminal piece of film in the cannon of The New American Cinema. Filmed on top of Smith's New York studio on a basic 16mm camera, Flaming Creatures embodies the true independent spirit of The New American Cinema. The orgy scene in the film is perhaps the greatest combination of art and film. The "creatures", as Smith puts them, engage in a rape-orgy scene of sailors and a transexual. The orgy plays like a tragic meeting the old America with the freshly birthed new morality in America. What is even more remarkable is the "earthquake", caused Smith's shaking camera at the end of the orgy. It as if the world is opening up on Smith's creatures and swallowing them and all their perversions. No one can deny that Flaming Creatures is a difficult film to watch- both in its content and deep artistic meanings, but the spirit of the film is the reason it should be preserved for generations to come.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (8 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Flaming Creatures (1963)

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Edward II Head On Latter Days A Very Natural Thing Edge of Seventeen
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew External reviews News articles
IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.