Obscene (2007)

Directors:

Daniel O'Connor
Neil Ortenberg

Release Date:

27 February 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like "Tropic of Cancer" and "Naked Lunch" to publication. |

Plot Keywords:

Publisher | Novel | Flashback | Television Show | Grove Press

Cast

Amiri Baraka	...	Himself
Lenny Bruce	...	Himself (archive footage)
William S. Burroughs	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim Carroll	...	Himself
Lawrence Ferlinghetti	...	Himself
Al Goldstein	...	Himself
Erica Jong	...	Herself
Ray Manzarek	...	Himself
John Rechy	...	Himself
Barney Rosset	...	Himself
Ed Sanders	...	Himself
John Sayles
Joseph Strick	...	Himself
Gore Vidal	...	Himself
John Waters	...	Himself

Directed by
Daniel O'Connor
Neil Ortenberg

Produced by
Karen Chen	....	associate producer
Alex Meillier	....	producer (as Alexander Meillier)
Tanya Meillier	....	producer (as Tanya Ager Meillier)
Daniel O'Connor	....	executive producer
Neil Ortenberg	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Askold Buk

Cinematography by
Alex Meillier

Film Editing by
Tanya Meillier

Sound Department
Peter Cole	....	dialogue editor
Derek Sample	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Alex Meillier	....	motion graphics artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Eric Lau	....	additional camera
Tanya Meillier	....	additional cinematographer

Editorial Department
Christopher Gray	....	color correction
Alex Meillier	....	additional editor

Other crew
Rosemary Rotondi	....	researcher

Production Companies

• Double O Film Productions

Distributors

• Arthouse Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Arthouse Films (2008) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Murphy PR  publicity

Runtime:

97 min | Canada:97 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:14A | Australia:MA

Company:

Double O Film Productions

Soundtrack:

Adult Books

New hero...

The story of a ballsy little American hero, Obscene recounts the life of Barney Rosset who's fought a lifelong battle against censors, philistines, bullies, and shrieking 'won't somebody think of the children!' nanny-state-ninnies, and made America slightly less stupid because of it (I, personally, can't think of a better legacy). A naturally-rebellious guy, Rosset, after WWII found himself, almost by accident, the owner of tiny publishing house Grove Press and almost immediately made a career out of provoking court battles with the self-proclaimed 'forces of decency' by seeking out and publishing controversial works of literature. He started off with Lady Chatterley's Lover, moved on to Tropic of Cancer, Waiting for Godot, Naked Lunch, and many others 9and founding the groundbreaking journal Evergreen Review), fighting, and winning, the battle for free speech, free expression, and all of the rest of that Commie stuff, running through all his resources (and more than a few wives) in the process. In addition to the official, court-sanctioned harassment, he got death threats, smear campaigns, and, oh yeah, somebody bombed his office. Way to go America! Rosset, still impishly subversive well into old age, recounts his various struggles against The Man with obviously pride, even as he spells out the most difficult and unjust ways in which the foes of art tried, and ultimately succeeded, in bringing Grove down. Filled with saucy excerpts, indignant interviews, racy archival footage, and an inherent love of the written word, Obscene is a thrilling, fascinating, and infuriating watch, and you'll have a new hero at the end. Unless, of course, you're an illiterate prig.

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