I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Mary Harron

Writers:

Jeremiah Newton (book)
Diane Tucker (research)

Release Date:

1 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

You only get one shot at fame.

Plot:

Based on the true story of Valerie Solanas who was a 60s radical preaching hatred toward men in her "Scum" manifesto...

Plot Keywords:

Manifesto | Hatred | Paranoia | Nipples | Battle Of The Sexes

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Lili Taylor	...	Valerie Jean Solanas
Jared Harris	...	Andy Warhol
Martha Plimpton	...	Stevie
Lothaire Bluteau	...	Maurice Girodias
Anna Levine	...	Iris (as Anna Thompson)
Peter Friedman	...	Alan Burke
Tahnee Welch	...	Viva
Jamie Harrold	...	Jackie Curtis
Donovan Leitch	...	Gerard Malanga
Michael Imperioli	...	Ondine
Reg Rogers	...	Paul Morrisey (as Reg Rodgers)
Bill Sage	...	Tom Baker
Jill Hennessy	...	Laura
Coco McPherson	...	Brigid Berlin
Myriam Cyr	...	Ultra Violet

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, language, drug use and brief violence.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

Playhouse International Pictures

Trivia:

The film was originally planned as a documentary, but the filmmakers found almost no footage of Solanas or anyone to speak about her.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: While Valerie is in revolutionary guy's apartment, we hear "Kick Out The Jams" by the MC5 cranking on the stereo. This scene takes place in June 1968. This very well-known MC5 recording, however, was not recorded until October 30 or 31, 1968 (according to the liner notes), and released in 1969.

Quotes:

Valerie Solanas: Give me fifteen cents, and I'll give you a dirty word.
Maurice Girodias: What's the word?
Valerie Solanas: Men.

Movie Connections:

References I, a Man (1967)

Soundtrack:

Walk on By

The Woman's Version of Peeping Tom

If Peeping Tom was directed by a woman, then it would probably resemble Mary Harron's wonderful I Shot Andy Warhol. Like Peeping Tom, I Shot Andy Warhol is about how misunderstandings between the sexes can lead to violence. What was so great about I Shot Andy Warhol is how it takes a woman who most people would consider a psychopath and it humanizes her. We see what drives Valerie Solanas to commit her "insane" act of shooting Andy Warhol, and we come to understand why she did what she ended up doing. In other words, I Shot Andy Warhol successfully gets into the head of "insanity." After watching this film, I thought of a poem from Emily Dickinson: "Much madness is divinest sense. . . to a discerning eye. Much sense, the starkest madness. Ascent, and you are sane. Demure, you're straightaway dangerous, and put into chains." Now, let's see what Mary Harron does with another story about a "psychopath," American Psycho. . .