Rating: 
Summary: a little gem which is well worth seeing
Review: ANDY WARHOL'S TRASH By C.C.BergI first saw this tragic comedy when it was released in Stockholm in 1970, and it is against the background of this period that it should be considered: free love and the birth pill; the hippie flower-power philosophy; the Vietnam war; the drug culture. Twenty-nine years ago this movie had a strange effect on me, I left the cinema with a profound feeling of joy According to what I have read, the movie is unscripted and the acting improvised, this comes across very clearly. The sound quality is sometimes poor. We are shown a series of 'tableaux', in which some very perturbed, gruesome characters play out their daily life centred on drugs, sex and misery. Joe, an impotent heroine addict, is constantly looking for his next hit and constantly coming across women who want to make love with him. Joe and his 'wife', sweet Holly Woodlawn, a frightful transvestite (and powerful actress), live in a run-down apartment furnished with what Holly finds in the garbage. These two characters and the fauna who surround them get into the most absurd and unlikely situations. The movie is sprinkled throughout with humour and grim reality, a dichotomy which works disturbs and delights. One finds oneself passing from disgust to a belly laugh in a matter of seconds and this is where the strength of the movie lies. To be brief, here is a little gem which is well worth seeing, an absurd drug-sex comedy with much artistic talent. For adults only.
Rating: 
Summary: Visual Heroin
Review: As a fan of cult cinema and gay underground films, I admit, my expectations for this DVD were pretty slim. I knew Dallesandro would be a visual feast, if not a genuine screen presence. Other than that, I can't say that I expected this film to impress me. Well, it didn't. I've waded through John Waters' early efforts with more mirth than this sad film could hope to inspire. Laughing at this film is like empathizing with the upper-crust couple that Joe has the misfortune of encountering: hollow yucks at squalor and cheap thrills for the terminally jaded. There IS a story here, of sorts, but Morrissey is determined to ignore it in favor of "moody" shots of Joe looking thoughtful, or just strung-out. The acting has the same over the top quality as that of Waters' 70's films, but the dialogue simply doesn't have the same insanely humorous spark. There are a few moments that will have even non-fans sitting up in their recliners, though. For me, the scene where Holly gives a nice upstate boy a shot of heroin in the butt was a classic. And though the way she strips him and slavers over his naked body could be described as grotesque, it's also fascinating. The best that I can say for this film is that it has a strong visual allure, whether it's one of Joe's many nude scenes, or a profile shot of Holly, all overbite and eye makeup. If you're a fan of Warhol or Morrissey, I'm sure you have a deeper appreciation for "Trash." If you're just an interested viewer, like myself, you may find my comments here to be of some use before considering a purchase. -Mic
Rating:
Summary: Visual Heroin
Review: As a fan of cult cinema and gay underground films, I admit, my expectations for this DVD were pretty slim. I knew Dallesandro would be a visual feast, if not a genuine screen presence. Other than that, I can't say that I expected this film to impress me. Well, it didn't. I've waded through John Waters' early efforts with more mirth than this sad film could hope to inspire. Laughing at this film is like empathizing with the upper-crust couple that Joe has the misfortune of encountering: hollow yucks at squalor and cheap thrills for the terminally jaded. There IS a story here, of sorts, but Morrissey is determined to ignore it in favor of "moody" shots of Joe looking thoughtful, or just strung-out. The acting has the same over the top quality as that of Waters' 70's films, but the dialogue simply doesn't have the same insanely humorous spark. There are a few moments that will have even non-fans sitting up in their recliners, though. For me, the scene where Holly gives a nice upstate boy a shot of heroin in the butt was a classic. And though the way she strips him and slavers over his naked body could be described as grotesque, it's also fascinating. The best that I can say for this film is that it has a strong visual allure, whether it's one of Joe's many nude scenes, or a profile shot of Holly, all overbite and eye makeup. If you're a fan of Warhol or Morrissey, I'm sure you have a deeper appreciation for "Trash." If you're just an interested viewer, like myself, you may find my comments here to be of some use before considering a purchase. -Mic
Rating: 
Summary: 2 historical notes and a question
Review: Bruce Pecheur, the actor playing the husband of Jane Forth, was murdered in his Greenwich Village apartment by an intruder while the movie was still playing in New York. Jane Forth (Who for my money had the best lines in the film- "Now get in here and rape me!") was a highly paid fashion model who was to become a Warhol regular but reportedly dropped out to go back to the runway. Does anybody know what ever happened to Holly Woodlawn?
Rating:
Summary: Proverbial Van Down by the River
Review: Despite the gracious full frontal male nudity which is shocking now days, this film is boring! Even though D'Allesandro (the random hung naked guy of many Morissey / Warhol films) is every inch (literally) gorgeous (despite crawling around looking like a homeless man), nothing prevents the crawling creeping restless boredom of this film. (If that was the intent of this film, well then-well done.) If nothing else it serves as a prompting for a liberal's worst nightmare awakening: that hippies and alt. culture are hated for some good reasons. It serves well too as a proverbial "van down by the river": it will deeply motivate you to do something with your life and never end up like this. Nancy Reagan should've thought of this film when she was telling kids to just say no.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling Must-See
Review: I watched this movie last night for the first time and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since -- in fact, I hope to order the film once I finish this review. I am amazed that no one in my life ever suggested that I see this movie because it is now one of my favorite films. The movie is episodic and inconsistent in a dramatic sense but the majority of it is composed of unforgettable scenes that are generally hilarious, often quite moving, brilliantly acted, and perversely beautiful. Holly Woodlawn, specifically, provides a wonderful performance that, in my opinion, provides a thematic framework for the entire exercise. Ultimately, I find myself considering what or who is really the 'trash' of the film. Holly finds her own kind of treasure discarded on the street -- not only in the form of junk furniture but in the beautiful but impotent human form of junkie Joe. And who stinks more, dirty strung-out Joe harmless in a bath or the shallow, amoral rich couple who exploit him for a brief moment of voyeuristic pleasure? In addition, it might be said that the film documents a type of 'trash culture' that arguably conquered New York in the seventies. Along with and, in a sense, an inverse of Woody Allen's 'Manhattan', this is a classic New York movie. It is truly unique and it should not be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Filthy infested breakthrough film
Review: Paul Morrissey's film "Trash", a fascinating glimpse into film history,is probably the first extremely popular underground film( following on the heels of "The Chelsea Girls" and "Flesh").It is a sprawling gem of filth and squalor, a clean break from the predominantly boring Hollywood movies of the time. Filmed with a handheld camera and including long takes of actors spouting bizarre dialogue. Warhol Superstars Joe Dallesandro and Holly Woodlawn are baptized by fire in this oddity, a must for anyone interested in cinema verite and the New York underground movement.
Rating:
Summary: TRASH,TRASH,TRASH!!
Review: The movie is really trash. The movie starts out showing Joe Dallesandro's [rear] and Geri Miller go-go dancing naked. Later on in the movie we meet Holly Woodlawn a trash collector who is a transvestite and a former prostitute. More graphic nudity and sex come up when Jane Forth and her husband come in the story. An all right beginning,middle, and end but the story is terrible.
Rating:
Summary: Exploring the junky side of the moon
Review: This film deals with drugs, very precisely heroin. We are in the post hippy period when drugs became an addiction after having been a life style. The drug addict is reduced in his sexuality, in his thinking and in his social life. He only survives in a hostile environment. But that was in 1970. The environment of the drug addict is either looking for easy kicks by flirting with drugs (high-school students for example), or for sexual kicks among young middle class couples or people who try to use the uninhibited life of the drug addict to have physical contacts with them or to beef up their own boring and fading relations, or for some advantage they can get from them in exchange of some welfare money (social workers for example). This leads to the sad conclusion that drug addicts who look for a certain liberation in a trip beyond limits find themselves entirely trapped in a fake world where alienation is demultiplied by their addiction. The film is of course also a piece of art by the fact that it refuses any kind of special effects or heavy production and the pictures only speak because they are plain, simple, and yet tremendously worked on by the simple technique of the camera, physical acting and voices. The expressivity of the film comes from those simple elements and the realistic revealing dialogue that goes along with it. The feeling we get is that of a totally poignant fatality that pens up the drug addict in a fully lost battle for survival. There seems to be only death at the end of the road. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating:
Summary: PRICELESS, PRICELESS, PRICELESS!
Review: This movie is a pure gem! Unlike most fans of the Flesh, Trash, Heat trilogy, I couldn't care less for Joe Dallesandro. I wasn't smitten with his appearance, and his personality is definately lacking. the STAR of this movie is the wonderful Holly Woodlawn. The story traces the life of a Heroin addict through his desperate desire to stay high. He lives with his "girlfriend" (Woodlawn) in what appears to be a condemned building. Holly decorates her place with junk she takes from people's garbage. Joe is unable to "perform", supposedly, because of the drugs. This is questionable later when he tries to get it on with Holly's pregnant sister, who has no eyebrows! As with the other films of Paul Morrissey, the movie is given a basic plot outline and the actors improvise. This concept works with the right people, and Woodlawn handles it perfectly. The greatest responses, looks, and attitude, she makes this endlessly entertaining. Joe has nothing interesting to say, but never really does. The film's final scene is worth the wait, for those who may find this type of film tedious. Holly and Joe posing as a pregnant couple in their efforts to convince a Welfare case worker to give them money is hysterical. Holly views being on Welfare as "respectable". The case worker focuses on Holly's shoes and ultimately states that they can't have Welfare if he can't have the shoes. The movie has no real ending. It just seems to stop, which just adds to it's appeal. The movie also has the bonus of a brief, but memorable, appearance by the wonderful Andrea Feldman. As far as I'm concerned she is 1 of the 2 main stars of the third in the trilogy "Heat". The other star being the pricelessly disgusting Pat Ast. This movie is often viewed seriously, due to the drug addiction and graphic shooting up sequences, but personally I believe the movie was meant to exploit this fictional white trash couple. If taken lightly it can be endlessly appreciated.
| 
