Crazy Love (1987)

Director:

Dominique Deruddere

Writers:

Charles Bukowski (novels)
Dominique Deruddere
(more)

Release Date:

1987 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Three 'Bukowskian' torrid nights in the life of a man in search of love. Harry Voss, 12, is young and naive...

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Masturbation | Voyeurism | Prom | Sex With The Dead

Awards:

7 wins

Cast

Josse De Pauw	...	Harry Voss's father / Harry Voss at 19 / Harry Voss at 33
Geert Hunaerts	...	Harry Voss at 12
Michael Pas	...	Stan
Gene Bervoets	...	Jeff
Amid Chakir	...	Bill
Florence Béliard	...	The Princess / The corpse
Karen van Parijs	...	Moeder van Harry
Carmela Locantore	...	Gina
An Van Essche	...	Liza Velani
Doriane Moretus	...	Marina
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
François Beukelaers	...	The doctor
Erik Burke	...	A student
Chris Cauwenbergs	...	The tall sailor (as Chris Cauwenberghs)
Dirk Celis	...	A policeman
Guido Colonne	...	The headmaster
Jo de Fauw	...	The barman
Stanley Duchateau	...	Théo (as Stan Duchateau)
Peter Heyvaert	...	The child in the bus
Claude Koener	...	Gina's lover
Pierrette Laffineuse	...	Female wrestller #1
Hans de Munter
Kathleen Seret	...	Cathy
Brigitte Simon	...	Female wrestller #2
Isenet Thieffrey	...	The dancing girl
Geert Van Boelen	...	The drunken sailor
Micheline Van Hautem	...	The singer
Marcel Vanthilt	...	A student
Mieke Verheyden	...	Moeder met kind in de bus
Alexandre von Sivers	...	The monk
Jan Weuts	...	A policeman

Directed by
Dominique Deruddere

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Bukowski		novels
Dominique Deruddere
Marc Didden

Produced by
Marion Hänsel	....	associate producer
Alain Keytsman	....	producer
Erwin Lestabel	....	associate producer
Erwin Provoost	....	executive producer
Mark Punt	....	associate producer (as Marc Punt)
Jan Verheyen	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Raymond van het Groenewoud

Cinematography by
Willy Stassen

Film Editing by
Ludo Troch

Production Design by
Hubert Pouille
Erik Vanbelleghem

Costume Design by
Loret Meus

Makeup Department
Dominique Colladant	....	special makeup effects artist
Reiko Kruk	....	special makeup effects artist
Ariane Lebalgue	....	makeup artist
Luk Van Cleemput	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Nadine Borreman	....	production manager
Kristin Daels	....	unit production manager
Dirk Impens	....	production manager
Paul Pauwels	....	unit production manager
Jef Van de Water	....	production manager
Tina Weemaes	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Thomas Claus	....	assistant director
Stijn Coninx	....	first assistant director
Mia Degrève	....	assistant director
Philippe Denys	....	assistant director
Fons Feyaerts	....	assistant director
Koen Firlefijn	....	assistant director (as Koen Firlefyn)
Ewin Ryckaert	....	assistant director

Art Department
Lieven Baes	....	property master
Johan Van Essche	....	set dresser
Florence Vercheval	....	painter

Sound Department
Philippe Baudhuin	....	sound effects editor
Lee Dragu	....	supervising sound editor (pilot)
Peter Flamman	....	sound editor
Susana Rossberg	....	sound editor (as Susanna Rossberg)
Gérard Rousseau	....	sound recordist
Ludo Troch	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Didier Frateur	....	electrician
Frank Van Passel	....	electrician
Yves Vandermeeren	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
An D'Huys	....	wardrobe
Agnes de Man	....	wardrobe
Hedwig Pinon	....	wardrobe
Denise van den Berg	....	wardrobe
Kristin Van Passel	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Eric DeVos	....	assistant editor
Philippe Ravoet	....	assistant editor

Music Department
B. Bryant	....	song
Bobby Freeman	....	song
Gerry Goffin	....	song
Gregmark	....	song
Hamlin	....	song
Carole King	....	song
Bert Russell	....	song
Sroff and The Blackjacks	....	music performed by
Raymond van het Groenewoud	....	song

Other crew
Kaat Camerlynck	....	production assistant
Guy Van Riet	....	advisor: wrestling

Production Companies

• Kabinet van de Gemeenschapsminister van Cultuur (support)
• Ministère de la Communauté Française de Belgique (support)
• Multimedia

Distributors

• Bellparaiso S.A. (1988) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Capital Cinéma (1989) (France) (theatrical)
• Independent Films Benelux (1987) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Cineplex-Odeon Films (USA) (subtitled)
• EMI (2000) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Koninklijk Belgisch Filmarchief (Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique) (2000) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Mondo Macabro (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Bertiaux & Marcfilm (titles and opticals)
• Meuter-Titra (title design)

Other Companies

• Ace Digital House  restoration
• Kodak  film stock
• Studio l'Équipe  sound recording

Also Known As:

"Love Is a Dog from Hell" - USA

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Italian | Dutch

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

France:-12 | West Germany:18 | Iceland:12 | Australia:R | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Company:

Kabinet van de Gemeenschapsminister van Cultuur

Trivia:

Award: Grand Prix Georges Brassens du Festival de Sète 1988.

A coming of age story that is a bit different from the norm!

Crazy Love is a little known eighties cult film that traces a boy's life through three key events. The film is Belgian produced; based around three stories by cult writer Charles Bukowski and brought to life by Belgian director Dominique Deruddere. Crazy Love does not have a particularly good reputation these days, although it apparently caused quite a stir upon its release and that isn't all that surprising considering the subject matter; although to be honest, nothing in this film particularly shocked or offended me. The central character is Harry Voss, who we first meet as a young kid who is learning about sex from his friend, with the aide of a few loose women. We then pick up a few years later and Henry is a schoolboy, befallen by an extreme case of acne that leads to him being rejected by the opposite sex and ridiculed by his peers. The third and final chapter sees the once bright young boy as a drunken waster who cuts a stark contrast to the boy we saw in both the first and second chapters of the film.

The three parts of the film are all incredibly different and the director succeeds in creating an atmosphere to carry this off. Crazy Love is a 'coming of age' film; a favourite subject among Hollywood 'cookie cutter' filmmakers, but this one is about as far from the mainstream as you can get. The first segment is the lightest of the three, but still packs a punch as we watch the subject discovering sex and eventually getting acquainted with his hand. The second segment focuses more on the idea of teenage alienation and sees the film take a darker turn as the sensitive young man is rejected by all the girls because of his deforming acne. This provides a nice opener to the third section, which is completely dark and dismal and probably what earned the film its reputation - the ending is not something that many will forget in a hurry! Overall, it's not really surprising that this film hasn't gone down as an all time 'classic, but it certainly has its place among cult fans and that isn't surprising either. Be sure to catch this film if you want something a bit different!