Flesh (1968)

This 1968 production from Andy Warhol's Factory found director Paul Morrissey still defining his style and particularly open to Warhol's own process of shooting extended takes with minimal editing. Factory star Joe Dallesandro plays a hustler working to earn money for his wife's girlfriend's abortion. The long trail of transvestites, drugs, and debauchery doesn't just drag a viewer down but rather adds up to a kind of transcendent curiosity about itself. Intelligent, well-constructed, and at times lyrical, this is one of the best of the Morrissey-Warhol collaborations. The cast includes a couple of actors in Warhol's orbit who later broke into mainstream movies and television, including Patti D'Arbanville. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

"It's Boring."

What a difference 40 years makes. I suppose we all thought we were too too hip when we saw this film in 1968. After all Joe Dallesamndro was all of 20 with a perfect body that he keeps showing in this film. It must have been a first with all that frontal nudity although he does seem quite natural when he strips for us. I'll give him that. But unfortunately this movie doesn't hold up at all. One of the characters, when commenting on school, says "it's boring," a perfect statement about this film that lasts 89 minutes although it seems much longer. It took me three trys and a couple of naps before I finally finished it.

There essentially is no plot, the camera jerks and jerks and the characters mumble. Some of my favorite lines are so bad that they are amusing. "My brain can't be developed any more than it is now." "Do you know what it is like to dance topless before a man who has raped you?" A tranvestite says to a real woman: "I think things that move around like your bust are so beautiful. Let me see what they [breasts] feel like." Finally when the aging old photorapher/artist queen (Maurice Braddell) rapsodizes on body worship, Dallesandro, who has just posed naked as a discus thrower and now is lying on his stomach, responds "what's for dinner?"

As we all know, Andy Warhol said that everyone should have 15 minutes of fame. Director Paul Morrissey proves that anyone can make a boring movie. September 25, 2008

Morality of the FLESH

Flesh
This is a film of the late sixties that was shot with a rather amaturess genere for the reason of the effect it would have on the audience. Its entire theme surrounds characters in the Big Apple in the era of transition during the late 60s - early 70s. The director has shown the ultimate conflicts in moral judgements in this country in this film! His play-off of the characters shows exactly the problems facing society in general. By tracing this one man's life, we get a small glimse at the chaos that he is living through! This is one film that should be considered a Classic as it gives a very accurate protrayal of American life. AMORALITY!!! July 10, 2008

IT'S ALL ABOUT JOE

Of course the main reason to view this film is Joe Dallesandro. Why else would anyone look at it? It is interesting in a slice-of-life pseudo-documentary way. The same kind of thing you could have seen a few years ago on Primetime Live without the aggravation of Diane Sawyer following Joe around asking him ridiculous questions. The choppy editing and lack of sound in some sections will surely aggravate many or make you wonder if you have missed something. But i mean really, there is not a great intriguing storyline to follow anyway. It is simply a day in the life of one maginificent looking street hustler in the late 60s. It confuses me whether Joe is supposed to be gay, bi, straight, nothing?? But i dont really care because just to train your eyes on him for 90 minutes is enough of a recommendation for anyone really to check out the film. Whether or not it qualifies as "art" or not, well that is the debate that can go along with any film. Entertaining? Perhaps. Eyecandy, most def. I'm glad i bought it. :) March 18, 2008

Stange but fun movie

Flesh is a strange but fun movie. It's a product of it's time and very charming. If you are a Joe Dallesandro fan it's a must. Lot's of him running around nude. November 3, 2006

Dallesandro Has A Beautiful Smile - Who Knew?

All I can say is, wow! Blame it on my having watched the Dallesandro movies in "reverse" - having viewed Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein, I was prepared for another stone-faced portrayal by Dallesandro...the perpetual sneer worn over the rigid, blank expression that was Dallesandro's "trademark" in both films. Instead I was blown away by a fresh faced boy, with a beautiful smile, expressive face and dancing eyes. WOW! This film is a must for any Dallesandro fan.

The quality of the film is grainy, the sound is equally grainy and a little jumpy- but once you get used to these deficiencies, you quickly get caught up in the story. And I use the term "story" loosely since, from what I understand, the entire thing was shot without a script - allowing the actors to simply ad-lib. Be that as it may, the story line unfolds in a fascinating manner.

Once again, I was disappointed to find no commentary or interview with Dallesandro was included in the special features. Instead you get a commentary with Morrrissey that's only slightly interesting. I highly question his assertion that he was making some grand statement with this movie. I think that now, he wants to looks back in history and pull a grand statement from, what was then, only meant as entertainment. But then I've always found Morrissey to be a little egotistical. (Besides which, I think Morrissey should be kicked for turning Dallesandro into that stone-faced actor who wasn't allowed to smile.)

People should know that while this is by no means pornography, graphic male nudity makes this unsuitable for young viewers.
August 11, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...