Tattoo (1981)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Bob Brooks

Writers:

Bob Brooks (story)
Joyce Buñuel (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Every great love leaves its mark.

Plot:

A troubled tattoo artist has designs on a model.

Plot Keywords:

Tattoo | Psychological Drama

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Dern	...	Karl Kinsky
Maud Adams	...	Maddy
Leonard Frey	...	Halsey
Frederikke Borge	...	Sandra (as Rikke Borge)
John Getz	...	Buddy
Peter Iacangelo	...	Dubin
Alan Leach	...	Customer
Cynthia Nixon	...	Cindy
Trish Doolan	...	Cheryl
Anthony Mannino	...	George
Lex Monson	...	Dudley
Patricia Roe	...	Doris
Jane Hoffman	...	Teresa
Robert Burr	...	Ralph
John Snyder	...	Hawker

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Joseph E. Levine Productions

Trivia:

This became the final film for producer Joseph E. Levine.

Quotes:

Karl Kinsky: Have to understand soemthing, Maddy. I've committed my life to you.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Unpleasant, with a good Bruce Dern performance.

As a psychopathic tattoo artist, Bruce Dern has to work extra hard here, because the script is very sketchy as far as his motivations and background are concerned, but he is up to the task - he has some very creepy moments (like his first outburst at a dinner table). As his "object of desire", however, Maud Adams is fatally miscast: the way she plays the model in the first half of the movie, you just can't understand why anyone would become infatuated with her. This strange film might be worth a look if you can find it, but don't expect too much. (**)