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Beneath Contempt is a raucous, heavily illustrated X-rated tale of
the amazing life and publishing career of unrepentant porn king Al
Goldstein. The self-made sultan of Times Square, he ruled over this
mythic realm of sin and corruption for decades, chronicling its
forbidden pleasures in the pages of his trailblazing sex paper
Screw and making them accessible to millions.His story is the stuff
of the American Dream. An overweight cab driver and welfare
recipient who founded Screw and became the most outspoken
figurehead of the sex revolution, Goldstein went on to become a
multi-millionaire and tireless opponent of all things
"establishment." Here was a man who had sex with the world's most
famous porn starlets, rubbed elbows with literary lions such as
Henry Miller and Phillip Roth, attended celebrity orgies with the
likes of Gay Talese, partied with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy
mansion and then lost it all, morphing into America's most famous
homeless drifter of the new millennium.He threw his heart, soul and
fortune into a series of bruising First Amendment battles and
became a folk hero to the disgruntled masses, giving the finger to
the world as ex-wives drained him and fired ex-employees and
unwitting targets of his vicious satires who couldn't take a joke
sued him. Cabbies, waiters and cops on the beat cheered him when he
appeared on the street. The Al Goldstein story stars a cast of
thousands of hookers, hustlers and porn starlets, with key guest
parts played by equally colourful characters.In addition to getting
up-close-and-personal to Goldstein in a way that lends heretofore
unavailable detail and context to the story, Beneath Contempt
charts Screw's emergence from the underground press scene and
gauges its achievements as a catalyst of counterculture rebellion.
It surveys mid-70s porn chic and illumes Screw's increasingly
lonely crusade for total freedom of sexual expression, covering the
court battles in the late 70s and touching on the downfall of Times
Square in word and image. Finally, the stunning and total collapse
of his business empire and personal life is mapped out in
meticulous detail, as is his ascension from the ashes and his run
for the presidency in 2008.The movies Al was in over the years, the
bizarre spin-off papers he published, such as Mobster Times and
Death Magazine, the erratic personal behaviour - it's all here in
this readable and lavishly illustrated profile of America's last
angry dirty old man.
With the international success of Breaking the Waves (1996) and
Dancer in the Dark (2000), Lars von Trier has established himself
as a one of the most provocative and daring film directors working
today. The founding father of Dogma 95, he made the movement's most
controversial film, The Idiots (1998), and has played a leading
role in the recent resurgence of Danish cinema. Yet despite his
success, von Trier remains something of an polarising and enigmatic
figure hailed as the new Godard by some and a charlatan by others.
In this new study, Jack Stevenson explores the achievements as well
as the paradoxes of Lars von Trier, assessing his life, work, and
critical reception. The book follows von Trier from his early life
as a troubled son of 'Cultural Radical' parents through to his
student days at the Danish Film School, diligently spent making
films that were as innovative and disturbing as his later features
have proved to be. These films (consisting of the Europa and
Gold-Hearted trilogies) are fully examined together with
considerations of his creative detours into other media and his
current work in progress, Dogville. Based in Denmark, the author
brings a unique perspective to Lars von Trier creating a
multi-dimensional portrait of the director. Utilising sources
heretofore unavailable in English, Stevenson's lively yet
fact-filled narrative is accessible to students and film
enthusiasts alike. The book is indispensable to anyone interested
in Lars von Trier and the broader issues that surround modern
Danish film and its current renaissance.
With the international success of Breaking the Waves (1996) and
Dancer in the Dark (2000), Lars von Trier has established himself
as a one of the most provocative and daring film directors working
today. The founding father of Dogma 95, he made the movement's most
controversial film, The Idiots (1998), and has played a leading
role in the recent resurgence of Danish cinema. Yet despite his
success, von Trier remains something of an polarising and enigmatic
figure hailed as the new Godard by some and a charlatan by others.
In this new study, Jack Stevenson explores the achievements as well
as the paradoxes of Lars von Trier, assessing his life, work, and
critical reception. The book follows von Trier from his early life
as a troubled son of 'Cultural Radical' parents through to his
student days at the Danish Film School, diligently spent making
films that were as innovative and disturbing as his later features
have proved to be. These films (consisting of the Europa and
Gold-Hearted trilogies) are fully examined together with
considerations of his creative detours into other media and his
current work in progress, Dogville. Based in Denmark, the author
brings a unique perspective to Lars von Trier creating a
multi-dimensional portrait of the director. Utilising sources
heretofore unavailable in English, Stevenson's lively yet
fact-filled narrative is accessible to students and film
enthusiasts alike. The book is indispensable to anyone interested
in Lars von Trier and the broader issues that surround modern
Danish film and its current renaissance.
In 1995, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier ("Breaking the Waves,
Dancer in the Dark, Dogville") and three fellow Danish directors
swore allegiance to a "vow of chastity" aimed at jolting filmmakers
around the world who had become stuck in the mire of slick,
emotionally manipulative, high-concept, and bombastic movie
productions. They named their philosophy "Dogme95," and its tenets
demanded a return to the basic core of filmmaking: the use of
natural lighting and a hand-held camera, and the refusal to use
special effects, a soundtrack of any kind (only natural sounds
found on location were acceptable), and movie sets (all shooting
was to take place on location).
Like the French New Wave and 1960s American Underground film
movements, Dogme had a profound affect on filmmaking around the
world, including the sacred cow known as "Hollywood." In part
because of the proliferation of relatively inexpensive digital
cameras and technology, the movement resonated with young and
independent filmmakers, creating a surge in back-to-the-basics,
guerilla filmmaking. It also had a profound influence on everything
from Hollywood filmmakers to dance choreographers to computer game
manufacturers.
The list of films and filmmakers to come out of the Dogme movement
reads like a who's who of art-house cinema from the late-1990s and
early-2000s: the aforementioned Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg
("The Celebration"), Harmony Korine ("Julien Donkey-Boy"), Lone
Scherfig ("Italian for Beginners"), and Susanne Bier ("Open
Hearts"), among many others.
"Dogme Uncut" is written by film journalist and historian Jack
Stevenson, who, while living in Demark for the past decade, has had
a true insider's view of the Dogme movement from its conception to
its early triumphs to its current incarnation. With a good deal of
humor and fascinating insights, Stevenson brings a mixture of
history, analysis, and reportage to bear on the eight-year-old film
movement, examining the subject from multiple perspectives. Dogme's
debt to previous film "waves" is explored, as is the impact Dogme
itself has had on current trends in cinema and on today's young
filmmakers. Penned in a lively, accessible, and jargon-free style,
"Dogme Uncut" is a richly illustrated survey of the entire Dogme
canon that is both entertaining and hugely informative.
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