 |
PUNKING OUT by Ric Shore, Maggi Carson and Juliusz Kossakowski (1978)
Info: Shot in spring 1977. Documents the punk rock scene @ CBGB's, New York City and the lifestyle that revolves around this scene. Presents a look at the attitudes and motivations behind the movement through interviews with outspoken club-goers and band members. Starring the Dead Boys (Stiv Bators and Cheetah Chrome), Richard Hell, Hilly Kristal (CBGB's owner), James Chance, Lydia Lunch, The Ramones (Dee Dee, Joey and Johnny) and Helen Wheels. Includes a short interview with Lydia (complete with feathered hair and only 17 years old) which goes like: LL: "I'm here to see the Dead Boys" -"Why?"- LL: "Because they're great fucks!" -"How do you know?"- LL: "Because I fucked them!". The Dead Boys named "I Need Lunch" after her. Directed, edited and produced by Ric Shore, Maggi Carson and Juliusz Kossakowski. Filmed by Ric Shore. |
|
 |
ROME '78 by James Nares (1978)
Info: A low rent costume drama starring David McDermott as Caligula, Eric Mitchell, Lydia Lunch, and Anya Phillips as the Queen of Sheba. Also performing are John Lurie, James Chance [The Contortions], Bradley Field [Teenage Jesus & The Jerks]. Filming started in the summer of 1978 and lasted 3-4 months. Shot in color Super-8, this is a spicy pic, acclaimed a classic of the "New Cinema" of underground filmmakers at the time. |
|
 |
GUERRILERE TALKS by Vivienne Dick (1978)
Info: (Irish born) Vivienne Dick's arrival in 70s New York, landed her in the middle of the punk era. Fresh from Ireland and having no experience of making films, she signed up for a course and took up residence on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, right in the middle of a punk revolution. This first film uses eight rolls of Kodak sound Super-8 film to profile each woman in real time and without any editing. Each one is captured on film in a screentest to which the camera is co-conspirator rather than voyeur, reacting as opposed to recording. The 'subjects' include Pat Place and Adele Bertei [both Contortions] as well as Lydia Lunch. The women talk, read letters, play pinball, while the camera zooms in and out using oblique framing. Made in the second wave of New York avant-garde film, after the intense scrutiny of film by structuralist filmmakers, Dick's films use the 'every-dayness' of Super-8 with choppy hand-held shots and a home-movie style ethic, to explore the self-image and social politics of a diverse group of women in 1970s New York City. |
|
 |
SHE HAD HER GUN ALL READY by Vivienne Dick (1978)
Info: Vivienne Dick's second film has at its centre two of the 'subjects' of her first film "Guerillere Talks". Moving from a kitchen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the film explores the dynamic between a complacent, almost catatonic/zombified Pat Place and the demonic, aggressive Lydia Lunch, ending with a showdown at the rollercoaster on Coney Island. The film utilises a linear narrative which is counterbalanced by an impressionistic view of New York, lit by green fluorescent lights, with intermittent effects added in-camera by Dick, including red filters and 'earthquakes'. The relationship between the two women is ambiguous, they may represent elements of a single identity or the influence of a stronger will over a weaker character. It is the dynamic between these two unequal forces which propels the narrative. Premiered @ Max's Kansas City, New York in September 1978. |
|
 |
BLACK BOX by Scott B. and Beth B. (1978)
Info: Inspired by an Amnesty International report on a device manufactured in Texas for use by totalitarian regimes, the film tells the story of an 'innocent youth' who is without rational explanation kidnapped, flogged and stuck inside "the refrigerator", a 5-by-5 cube lined with sheet metal and containing heating and cooling elements and wired for screeching sound. The black box was manufactured by the B's with a grant from the National Endowment and then employed as their central prop. Lydia Lunch plays an unnamed torturer. Bob Mason plays the victim. Directed by Scott B and Beth B (aka Beth Billingsly). |
|
 |
ALIEN PORTRAIT by Michael McClard (1979)
Info: Filmed @ CBGB's, New York City at a Teenage Jesus & The Jerks concert on 13-Jan-78. The film shows the band members' heads in slow motion over a live concert soundtrack. Michael McLard was at the time Colab member, painter, film maker and illustrator. |
|
 |
BEAUTY BECOMES THE BEAST by Vivienne Dick (1979)
Info: Using fragmented images of women and a central performance from Lydia Lunch as both a tormented five year old and a troubled teenager, this film looks at the mother and daughter relationship and examines the cyclical relationship between the two. Opening with a blast from Teenage Jesus and the Jerks ("Baby Doll") the film trails Lydia as she runs away from home having fallen out with her mother, taking with her a battered, bald rubber doll to whom she plays mother. The film cuts between images of women on TV, Lucille Ball, along with posters and adverts on the street, a woman in her kitchen, as well as members of the punk scene such as Adele Bertei. These images of patriarchical culture contrast with those of the sexually precocious 'child-girl', tormented by demons commanding her to 'be dirty', who oscillates between being a child crying for her mother and adopting a position of maternity in relation to her doll. |
|
|
THE OFFENDERS by Scott B. and Beth B. (1980)
Info: A "punk melodrama," originally shown in an 7-week serial (14 parts) screening @ Max's Kansas City , New York City (Tuesdays 17-April/29-May 1979) whereby each week the attendees paid for the making of next week's episodes. there were 2 screenings per night. The home-made saga begins when Young Turks abduct a truly bad and out-of-control daughter (Adele Bertei) and her clueless Professional Dad (Bill Rice [who died on 23-Jan-06]). A raucous satire of the teenager-leaves-home genre. The B's call the film "a savage satire on society's distortions," and its cliff-hanger format suits their sensibility perfectly. It's as though the film's sinister conspiracies, femme gangs, and punk bank-robbers were just a part of the daily round of life in Lower Manhattan. Also starring: Pat Place, John Lurie, Bradley Field, Lydia Lunch, Diego Cortez, Judy Nylon, and many more..
|
||
|
LYDIA LUNCH & HARBINGER by John Porter (1980)
Info: John Porter has been a filmmaker, performer, photographer and writer in Toronto since 1968. Often called “the king of Super-8 film”, he has made over 300 films, mostly Super-8's. In this short film Lydia is filmed live (with Eight Eyed Spy) @ The Edge, Toronto in 15-Mar-80. The footage turned out too underexposed to be used properly. |
||
 |
LIBERTY'S BOOTY by Vivienne Dick (1980)
Info: Vivienne Dick's last film in her New York period (1977-1982) draws a parallel between prostitution and the desire for success so prevalent in American culture. As in her previous films, Dick uses the camera as participant, so that the film is neither commentary nor indictment but rather all the more unsettling for its frank exploration of white middle-class prostitution. The film is unsentimental in its depiction of prostitution, showing the relationships between the Madam and the call-girls, who speak frankly about their lives. Cultural references to the 1960s are made through the use of rock anthems, whilst the ultimate all-American girl – the Statue of Liberty – is seen performing a striptease. Lydia's part in this film is not known. |
|
 |
VORTEX by Scott B. and Beth B. (Oct-82)
Info: This film, shot in 1981 on 16mm with a tiny budget ($70,000), was an attempt of bringing film noir stylings to independent film. The storyline works around a plot of corporate warfare and defense contract corruption uncovered by private detective Angel Powers (played by Lydia Lunch), who is investigating the death of a crooked Congressman. The other characters include a Mr. Big (Bill Rice [who died on 23-Jan-06]), an invalid in a hospital dressing gown; Mr. Big's chauffeur (James Russo), who swears a lot and runs the multinational corporation for Mr. Big, Ann Magnuson plus assorted business creeps, junkies, hangers-on and a midget bartender who doubles as a hit man. |
|
 |
THE WILD WORLD OF LYDIA LUNCH by Nick Zedd (1983)
Info: Filmed in London and at the same place (and time) in Connemara (Ireland) where Vivienne Dick's "Like Dawn To Dusk" was filmed during May/Jun-83. It shows Lydia wandering around in the streets of London, in the parks, pushing kids on a swing, chasing sheep down a hill in Ireland. The audio is taken from a tape-letter that Lydia sent to (by then her ex-lover) Nick after he returned from the UK to the US and with music ("Dance Of The Dead Children") off the 13.13 album. Shot on thirteen rolls film Nick Zedd stole at the airport, of which five rolls were stolen from Zedd too. |
|
 |
LIKE DAWN TO DUSK by Vivienne Dick (1983)
Info: Lydia Lunch filmed in Connemara (Ireland during May/Jun 1983) on the difficulties of relationship. Voice and soundtrack by Lydia Lunch. The opening shots of a decaying 'Big House' bearing the scorch marks of a fire, are accompanied by an off-key piano (from "Dance Of The Dead Children" off the 13.13 album). The house is abandoned but for the figure of Lydia Lunch, wearing her signature New York 'Goth' make-up and clothes. Lunch delivers a poetic monologue, both on screen and in voice-over, over a traditional soundtrack and her final words emphasize the circularity of Irish narratives: 'the past never dies, it just continually repeats itself'. |
|
|
WHERE ARE YOU GOING? by Lydia Lunch and Henry Rollins (1983)
Info: An erotic film written with Henry Rollins (also starring) which also features Exene Cervenka. Submitted to the Los Angeles, Institute of Contemporary Arts Erotic film festival, but rejected. |
||
|
SCHOOL OF SHAME by Nick Zedd (1984)
Info: The film starts off with an eight minute concert sequence shot in the summer of ´84 at a club called 8 BC in NYC. The band consists of Lydia Lunch, Pat Place and Connie Burg all playing guitars onstage, shot from skewed diagonal angles. Then a series of shots taken off the TV. Then two films Zedd made in 1976 or ´77 when he lived in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Also included is also an interview with Donna Death, Richard Hell and Brenda Bergman on The Joe Franklin TV show in 1983. |
||
 |
THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY BRAIN by Richard Kern (1984)
Info: Lydia Lunch and Jim G.Thirlwell had met Richard Kern @ the Pyramid Club during May 1984. "The Right Side.." was filmed upstate New York during Aug-84. A psycho-sexual drama of one poor unfortunate girl, featuring Lydia Lunch, Clint Ruin (aka Jim G.Thirlwell), Henry Rollins, Norman Westberg, Brian Moran, Sally Ven Yu Berg and others. Written by Lydia Lunch and Richard Kern. Music by Lydia Lunch & Lucy Hamilton (aka China/Connie Berg) recorded in NYC between Aug/Oct-84. Produced and directed by Richard Kern. |
|
 |
SUBMIT TO ME by Richard Kern (1985)
Info: Consists of a variety of fast-paced sequences depicting acts of sex, murder and suicide, featuring Lydia Lunch, Clint Ruin (aka Jim G.Thirlwell), Tom Turner, Audrey Rose and others. Music by the Butthole Surfers. Written, produced and directed by Richard Kern. |
|
 |
FINGERED by Richard Kern (1986)
Info: Filmed in Topanga Canyon,Los Angeles during Mar/Apr-86. The story of a phone sex worker (Lydia Lunch) who invites one of her customers ([Lydia's ex-boyfriend] Marty Nations). They drive to the sleaze-ball's house (in a Charles Manson type environment [The Snake Pit]). After that they pick up a hitchhiker (Lung Leg [aka Elizabeth Carr]) and abuse her. The film is quite close to the life Lydia had with Marty Nations when she was living with him in Los Angeles during 1980/1982. Also featuring Emilio Cubeiro and Pete Haskel. Music by Lydia Lunch, Norman Westberg [Swans] and J.G. Thirlwell [Foetus]. Written by Lydia Lunch and Richard Kern. Produced and directed by Richard Kern. |
|
 |
SUBMIT TO ME NOW by Richard Kern (1987)
Info: Sequel to the "Submit To Me" film, featuring Nick Zedd, Cassandra Stark, Lydia Lunch, Audrey Rose, Kern, Clint Ruin, Lung Leg and others. Music by Thurston Moore, J.G. Thirlwell, Bewitched, Black Snakes (Richard Kern's band) and others. Written, produced and directed by Richard Kern. |
|
 |
MONDO NEW YORK by Harvey Keith (1987)
Info: A young woman wanders around New York City and stumbles across a number of strange characters and settings that represent the "underground" areas of the city. She sees stand up comedy in Central Park, a prostitution auction, a voodoo ceremony, a S&M club, and a number of performance artists. A tongue-in-cheek glimpse at New York's underground. Appearances by a.o. Joe Coleman, Emilio Cubeiro, Karen Finley, Phoebe Legere, Ann Magnuson and Lydia Lunch (30 secs at start of film). |
|
 |
PUT BLOOD IN THE MUSIC by Charles Atlas and David Donohue (1989)
Info: A TV documentary on the downtown New York music scene filmed during August 1988. In a collage of music, performance and commentary, Atlas captures the energy and pluralism that characterize this urban milieu. Featuring John Zorn, Sonic Youth, Glenn Branca, John Cale, Arto Lindsay, Lydia Lunch and many more. Aired by (UK) Channel 4's "The South Bank Show" on 12-Mar-89. Later shown by (US) Channel 13's "New Television" on 01-Apr-90. |
|
 |
GANG OF SOULS by Maria Beatty (1989)
Info: This tribute to the Beat Generation maps the history and future of Beat poetry. Spans three generations of alternative poets and features interviews and readings with 12 authors, including William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Marianne Faithfull, Jim Carroll, John Giorno, Gregory Corso, Diane Diprima, Ed Sanders, Anne Waldman, Henry Rollins, Richard Hell and Lydia Lunch. Poetry and prose, with interviews by Winchester Chimes, Tom Becker, and Kathryn Simon. Filmed on location at Downtown Community Television Center, New York, 1988. |
|
|
PSYCHOMENSTRUM - THE CASE OF THE PMS MURDERS (1989/93)
Info: Around August 1989 Lydia Lunch was in the Netherlands for 3 weeks to write the screenplay for this 35mm feature film, with some input from (illustrator) Robert Williams. Lydia said it would be like an X-rated "Roger Rabbit". Debbie Harry was to star in the film. The shootings were supposed to start in January 1990, then postponed to 1993, but to date the film has not been made. |
||
 |
KISS NAPOLEON GOODBYE by Babeth Van Loo (1990)
Info: The story of a Hedda, a pregnant pianist, (Lydia Lunch) and her husband Neal (Don Bajema) who's idilic and secluded life is disrupted by Jackson (Henry Rollins). Directed for Dutch TV by Babeth Van Loo (who filmed Teenage Jesus & The Jerks in New York City back in 1977). Written by Lydia Lunch & Babeth. Music by Jim G.Thirlwell. Filmed at the Oud-Amelisweerd domain in Utrecht (NL) on 12-Jul-90. At that time Lydia had just finished a spoken word tour in Europe with Henry and Don. The film premiered in The Netherlands on 21-Sep-90. Screened at the Berlin film festival on 21-Feb-91. |
|
 |
THANATOPSIS by Beth B. (1991)
Info: A chilling yet poetic vision of despairing nihilism -(literally, a "meditation on death"). In this noir-ishly rendered narrative, a woman (Lydia Lunch) negotiates the banalities of life. In her hypnotic voice-over monologue, the narrator repeats "Annie get your gun," a warning of impending doom. Producer/Director: Beth B. Text written and performed by Lydia Lunch. Concept: Stephen McHattie and Beth B.. |
|
 |
THE THUNDER, THE PERFECT MIND by Tom Richards Murphy and Marta Ze (1992)
Info: Inspired by an ancient Gnostic text unearthed in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1947. Narrated by Lydia Lunch. The visuals illustrate the eternal duality ancients recognized and accepted: Darkness/Light, Fire/Water, Male/Female, War/Peace. Starring Lydia Lunch and Vanessa Skantze. Marta Ze was born in Bogotá Colombia, raised in New York and New Orleans. Most likely filmed in New Orleans during 1992. |
|
|
POWER OF THE WORD by Jeanne Harco (1995)
Info: Featuring Jello Biafra, Lydia Lunch, Exene Cervenka, members of Public Enemy and others. |
||
  |
VISITING DESIRE by Beth B. (1996)
Info: Beth B. has assembled twelve strangers to act out fantasies in a bedroom. One person sits, waiting on a bed -- The Sitter. Another person enters -- The Visitor. They introduce themselves: a combination of excitement, fear and anticipation are palpable as The Visitor tries to act out a (sexual/intimate) fantasy of their choice with The Sitter. The Sitter is not privy beforehand to the specific fantasy of The Visitor. The ensuing footage was edited into 14 titled segments such as "Aggression", "Flirtation", "Loss of Innocence", "Trust", "Control" and "Vulnerability" that follow the group from their introduction through several major conflicts. By far the most gregarious and outspoken Sitter is Lydia Lunch. In her meetings with assorted visitors, Ms. Lunch reveals herself as a bisexual dominatrix and is far more candid about her erotic likes and dislikes than her visitors, who understandably seem inhibited by the camera's presence. Starring Kembra Pfahler, Lydia Lunch, Patty Powers, Chloe Dzubilo and 8 more. Music by Jim Coleman. Filmed in New York City in Apr-96. Shown @ the Toronto Film Festival, 07-Sep-96 and @ the Berlin Film Festival between 13/24-Feb-97. |
|
 |
SHADOW HOURS by Isaac H. Eaton (2000)
Info: Controversial suspense/drama about a well-meaning ex-addict (Balthazar Getty) being pulled into a seamy L.A. underworld of S&M sex, murder, and hard drugs after he meets a mysterious writer (Peter Weller). Lydia Lunch worked (in Los Angeles during Jul/Aug-99) as creative consultant for the S&M sex scenes. |
|
 |
D.I.Y. OR DIE by Michael W.Dean (2002)
Info: A documentary film about how to survive as an independent artist. Interviews with Lydia Lunch, Richard Kern, Ian Mackaye, Ron Asheton, Mike Watt, J Mascis, Jim Rose, Foetus, Steve Albini, Gwar, Madigan Shive, Tribe 8, and more.. . |
|
 |
THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS by Asia Argento (2004)
Info: Adaptation of JT Leroy's short story collection. Jeremiah, a child pulled from his foster home, is thrown into a troubled life on the road with his teenage prostitute mother, Sarah (Asia Argento). With her he travels through the country roads of the U.S. and learns first hand about the troubles of the world. Soundtrack including Sonic Youth, Subhumans, Billy Corgan and Hasil Adkins. Cameo appearances by Winona Ryder and Marilyn Manson. Lydia Lunch plays the role of "Social Worker #2" and is responsible (with Marc Viaplana) for some of the still photography. Shot on location @ Knoxville, Tennessee. The film received a limited release in North American theatres on 10-Mar-06. |
|
 |
AMERICAN FAME PT.1: THE DROWNING OF RIVER PHOENIX by Cam Archer (2004)
Info: Archer examines the short, tumultuous life of actor River Phoenix, who died from a drug overdose (in 1993, at the age of 23). The film explores the fame and pressure that defined Phoenix's (played by Jasper Bel) life, along with his desire to become pure. Lydia Lunch narrates. Premiered @ the Tribeca film festival, New York City 2004. |
|
 |
AMERICAN FAME PT.2: FORGETTING JONATHAN BRANDIS by Cam Archer (2005)
Info: Meditation on a doomed child actor and the curse of fame. An experimental look at the life and times of Jonathan Brandis ("SeaQuest DSV"), a former teen TV actor who committed suicide (in 2003, at the age of 27) after his career ran aground. Lydia Lunch narrates. Written, produced and directed by Cam Archer. Premiered @ the Sundance film festival in Dec-04. |
|
 |
WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN by Cam Archer (2006)
Info: A lyrical telling of the coming of age of a 13-year-old boy who learns to cope with his newfound sexuality and his unrequited love for the cool kid in school. Lydia Lunch plays a Radio DJ (but all her scenes were deleted). Shot in Santa Cruz in the summer of 2005. Premiered @ the Utah, Sundance film festival 19/29-Jan-06. Written, produced, edited and directed by Cam Archer. Executive producer Gus Van Sant. |
|
 |
KILL YOUR IDOLS by Scott A.Crary (2006)
Info: New York's art punk scene in the late '70s/early '80s and today. Suicide, Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, DNA, Sonic Youth, Swans, etc.. Recent interviews with Lydia Lunch, Jim Sclavunos, Arto Lindsay, Martin Rev, Glenn Branca, Thurston Moore, Jim G.Thirlwell etc.. and archival concert footage. |
|
 |
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: ANTI-METH CAMPAIGN by Cam Archer (2007)
Info: The Santa Cruz Superior Court launched a new program to help people who are addicted to methamphetemine. The public service announcement was made by Cam Archer. Lydia reads the text. The campaign started in February 2007. |
|
 |
TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS: ORPHANS
Info: Directed by Ivan Lerner (once editor of Screw magazine) in 1978. |
|
 |
13.13: DANCE OF THE DEAD CHILDREN
Note: 13.13 video. Available on the "Video Hysterie" video. |
|
 |
SONIC YOUTH: DEATH VALLEY '69
Info: Directed by Richard Kern (with Judith Barry and Sonic Youth) in 1986. Music recorded @ Before Christ studio, Brooklyn-New York City during Sep/Dec 1984. Partly filmed in Los Angeles,Topanga Canyon during March/April 1986. Around the same time Lydia and Kern are filming their "Fingered" film in this area. The rest of the clip is a.o. using exerpts from Kern's "Submit To Me" film and live concert footage of Sonic Youth. |
|
Home Made by Hans (don't forget to remove the anti spam section). |
||