Night Tide (Harrington, 1961): Rio Cinema, 6.30pm
Rio Cinema introduction: This event is part of the Sailors are Gay! queer film season at The Rio Cinema, presented in association with The National Film and Television School’s Film Studies, Programming and Curation MA. More information on instagram: @filmsaregay. The evening consists of screenings of two short films, a Q&A and the main feature, Night Tide.
Fireworks (1947, dir. Kenneth Anger, 15mins) An avant-garde homoerotic dream of sexy sailors and strategically placed roman candles, Kenneth Anger’s experimental short is considered the oldest surviving narrative gay film from the USA. Smothered in queer and occult symbology, we follow a dreamer’s sensually violent encounter with a gang of handsome seamen. Not only are these transfixing 15 minutes noteworthy for their place in gay sailor cinema, but integral for the first American court case to rule homosexuality to be a “non-obscene” subject of art. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience what Tennessee Williams described as, “the most exciting use of cinema I have ever seen.”
Fireworks Revisited (dir. Bev Zalcock, 1994, 9 mins) This lesbian reworking of Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks (1947) by experimental duo Bev Zalcock and Sara Chambers (Space Dog Assassin, East End Underground Moment), pulls in a panoply of references, from Eisenstein to Prisoner Cell Block H, to proclaim that it’s not just gay cis-men who can make sailors objects of homerotic desire. Structurally mirroring Fireworks, this revisitation’s dreamscape of grainy London is occupied by leatherclad motorcyclists, butch bodybuilders, and a catherine wheel in the place of the original roman candle. The short will be followed by a discussion with its filmmakers, Bev Zalcock and Sara Chambers.
After our discussion with Bev Zalcock and Sara Chambers, we will have a 15 minute intermission before our screening of Night Tide.
Night Tide (dir. Curtis Harrington, 1961, 86 mins) Johnny Drake, a sailor on shore leave (Dennis Hopper) falls in love with Mora, (Linda Lawson) a woman posing as a mermaid for tourists on the Santa Monica pier. When a retired sea captain convinces Johnny that Mora’s siren persona is more than just a hoax attraction, his leave takes a dark turn in this fantasy exploring gender, identity and the beliefs we hold of ourselves. Often interpreted as a trans allegory, gay filmmaker Curtis Harrington’s debut feature pulls inspiration from the gothically queer literature of Edgar Alan Poe, the occult arcana of lifelong friend Kenneth Anger, and the supernatural feminine found in Cat People (1942).
Chicago Reader review (of Night Tide):
Dennis Hopper had his first starring role in this odd and arresting
black-and-white mood piece about a young sailor who falls in love with a
carnival worker who may be a mermaid. Made in 1960 but not released
until 1963, it was the first feature of Curtis Harrington. A poetic,
low-budget independent effort, it can't be called an unqualified success
but certainly deserves to be seen. At moments it evokes some of the
early magic of Jacques Demy, and as with Demy's first feature, Lola,
it's questionable whether Harrington ever topped it in his subsequent,
more commercial efforts.
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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