Divine Trash (1998)

The life and times of Baltimore film maker and midnight movie pioneer, John Waters. Intercut with a 1972 interview of Waters are clips from his first films and recent interviews with his ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Yeager

Writer:

Kevin Heffernan

Stars:

John Waters, Patricia Waters, John Waters Sr.

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Waters	...	Himself
Patricia Waters	...	Herself
John Waters Sr.	...	Himself
Steve Buscemi	...	Himself
Mink Stole	...	Herself
Steve Waters	...	Himself - John Waters' brother
Herschell Gordon Lewis	...	Himself
George Kuchar	...	Himself
Mike Kuchar	...	Himself
Pat Moran	...	Herself
Bill Landis	...	Himself - author
George Figgs	...	Himself
Ken Jacobs	...	Himself
Mary Avara	...	Herself, the last film censor in America
Lou Cedrone Jr.	...	Himself - former film critic

Storyline

The life and times of Baltimore film maker and midnight movie pioneer, John Waters. Intercut with a 1972 interview of Waters are clips from his first films and recent interviews with his parents, his brother, Divine's mom, actors and crew, other directors, film critics, a film curator, psychologists, and Maryland's last censor, who shudders at the memory of Waters's pictures. Also included is footage of Waters making his early movies, culminating in an up-close and in-depth look at Pink Flamingos: the script, the set, the filming conditions, its editing, its distribution, and its impact. In sweet ways, this documentary is also a celebration of Divine (1945-1988).

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Plot Keywords:

interview | actor | film critic | midnight movie | underground film | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1998 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$750 (USA) (19 May 2000)

Gross:

$39,842 (USA) (14 July 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Divine Trash, Stratosphere

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

John Waters: Underground films are... I guess what most people think of underground films are films that were made on a very cheap budget with unknown people, that sort of play sporadically. You don't really know where they're playing, you have to sort of look for them.

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Crazy Credits

Kenneth Anger and Russ Meyer declined to be interviewed for this film.

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Connections

Features Female Trouble (1974)

User Reviews

Really good, but there needs to be so much more...

This documentary is about the influences that led to the films of John Waters as well as in-depth discussions of his early work. I particularly enjoyed seeing the parents of Waters and Divine's mother being interviewed because they seemed so normal and nice! Other interviews, the use of archival footage (for those who have since died, such as David Lochary, Divine and Edith Massey) and film clips all make up DIVINE TRASH.

In viewing the documentary, you'd almost swear that Waters stopped making films after PINK FLAMINGOS--at least until he made PECKER two and a half decades later. I say this because almost no mention at all is made of any of the films in between other than a very brief clip from FEMALE TROUBLE and DESPERATE LIVING. I understand why this wasn't done--the film was only 96 minutes long, but it still seemed a bit remiss for neglecting to even mention the other films or talk about how the director made the odd transition from beyond the fringe to mainstream.

However, I won't be a total party-pooper. What I did see, I really liked--but I was sure left wanting to see so much more as well as hear about his stock actors. Divine was discussed in some depth, but the others really seemed unimportant--and this is far from true.

Maybe this should be made as a mini-series or perhaps have a sequel or two.