Heat

Rating:
Summary: Cool Heat.
Review: A memorable Warhol creation which highlights the pathos of age and decay - Dallesandro's character has had his 'fifteen minutes of TV fame', Miles is an aging actress and the motel is seedy.However, despite these sad inevitabilities, the picture contains enough offbeat humour to be refreshing. Some of the arguing between Miles and her lesbian daughter is hysterical. Still deserving of an appreciative audience.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most Quotable movies ever.
Review: After seeing this movie for the first time about 5 years ago, I can say it is probably the most quoted movie between me and a couple friends. The movie follows Joey Davis, a former child star from "The Big Ranch" to a sleezy motel while he looks for his next big break, be it in music or back on TV. The wonderfully repulsive landlady is immediately taken by Joe, who she actually remembers from his youth on TV. Not long after he meets other residents. A curious Jessica (the wonderful Andrea Feldman) inches her way over to him and strikes up a conversation with him because she too remembers him. Almost immediately she begins babbling on about nonsense. She also mentions that her mother, Sally Todd, was on the show with him. As we find out, Jessie does not get on too well with her mom, and makes it clear she's using her for the money. Mom has a problem with Jessie because she's a "Lesbin". Jessie eventually invites Joe over for artichokes she cooks on her hotplate "with salt and peppa". He reluctantly comes over. When he meets the mother she's immediately attracted. Not long after Joe and mom start hanging out as mom claims she can get Joe back in the business. Being pretty much washed up she can only get him so far. Joe seems to alternate between paying his rent at the motel by servicing the landlady, and staying at Sally's servicing her. The movie get 4 stars because there is a bit of draggy dialogue between Joe and Sally, as well as meetings attempting to get Joe an acting job. Necessary for the thin plot, but puts a temporary hold on the endless quotable lines. The movie's ending is one of the most hilarious. Just as you expect tragedy it turns into a hysterical moment. When watching this the first time I was wondering how they would end it. They managed to pull it off perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: Never be a gigolo in Hollywood
Review: Change the planet, leave New York City and move to Los Angeles. Bring a youngish beautiful man in a nest of women in heat and you could end up with a gigolo who plays the role well but cannot stand the constant rivalry between the mother, the daughter, the motel manager, and a few others, and he has to leave but to go where ? To go back to the motel swimming pool and a mother who arrives with an unloaded gun and commit the crime of shooting someone without any bullet. But it also reveals that women are looking possession and not just pleasure, and they are ready to do anything to have that possession, which a man cannot accept, no matter how greedy he may be. The end shows how castrating these possessive women can be, but without any smoke from the gun, any blood from the blade. Castrating but impotent, and they end up being hysterical and nothing else. California is nothing but heat and does not in anyway bring liberation or pleasure, just lust, greed and possessiveness, which is another word for greed. In other words this film is the total anti-picture of Hollywood : no gloss, no shine, no stars, no limelights, just hysterics, tears and sunshine. What a life for a man, even one who would like to live off the crop, on the back of the gullible women who need a man as a toy. There is no pleasure in being the toy of a possessive person who does not want to share the toy and prefers ripping it to pieces to sharing it with someone else.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Rating:
Summary: Mad Camp Spoof of 'Sunset Boulevard'
Review: HEAT is a riot - aging game show hostess vies with lesbian daughter for the affections of sexually ambiguous has been TV cowboy. The lines are eminently quotable ("Do you want your son to grow up to be a lesbian??") and the acting has elements that make cinema verite look like fantasyland. I know people (not ME, of course!) who've seen this thing 50, 60 times - and still can't get enough.

Rating:
Summary: A WARHOL/MORRISSEY CLASSIC
Review: One of the more enjoyable of the Warhol/Morrissey films, Heat showcases the dysfunctional relationship between fading starlet Sylvia Miles and her problem child Andrea Feldman. The dialogue between mother and daughter, which was largely improvised, is the best part of the film, in my opinion. Joe Dasselandro's character is actually less interesting in this film than in other Factory produced films, such as Flesh and Trash. However, the supporting cast makes this film stand out as hilarious and fun. Pat Ast as the landlady at the flea bitten motel is wonderfully repulsive and believable. Andrea Feldman's portrayal of Jessica is stunning, disturbing and wonderful as well. Heat is actually one of the Warhol films I would recommend to anyone, not just those avid fans of pure camp.

Rating:
Summary: A good example of psychological/midnight (pre-sleep) genre
Review: The main atmosphere of the film reminds me of a theatre play. This piece is neither a typical high budget American movie nor a totally underground one.(but a hybrid one) As i indicated above, the director seems to focus on the characters' personalities (like a theatre play) to give some personal messages to the viewer/observer. Whenever i watch the movie, i feel that i'm a doctor in a mental hospital and observing people. All the characters in the movie have some weaknesses in their personalities as it is in real life. And, in my opinion, the impressive presentation of the weaknesses of the different personalities is the underlying factor of the Heat's above - average success. For example, the performance of Sylvia Miles was really haunting. Her acting made me play this DVD three times last week. This role matches her perfectly. i can say the same for other movie characters. it seems like all the people are acting themselves not the roles. Therefore, one can,easily, feel the voyeuristic delight of observing people's daily private life (which is so trendy on today's television programmes) while watching the Heat. As for the subject guy, Joe Dallesandro, in terms of acting, he brings no striking or notable performance to the movie. However, to me, again, i may say that he plays himself. He's destined to act this role. Of course, there's no need to say that he's so young, beautiful and sexy in the HEAT. Being a fan of him can be only reason to watch this movie. However i should warn you that if your intent is to observe Joe's body and sexuality, this movie may not give you enough of his flesh. So, you'd better try 'The Flesh' from the famous Paul Morrissey trilogy. As a bottom line, this is not a brilliant, first class, unforgettable or masterpiece movie example at all. However, if you are into theather play-like, low-budgeted, psychological/midnight(pre-sleep) genre movies featuring a beautiful, long-haired, sexy guy with a swimwear(not showing his flesh excessively), this one is definetly for you! PS: The DVD version of this movie contains an extra material about the intentionally chosen dialogues of a few movie characters taken from the movie sequences. So this helps us more to understand the characters' personalities and their driving forces.

Rating:
Summary: Hysterical Script and Hysterical Sylvia Miles
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The beginning is fairly slow going, but once Sylvia Miles comes on the scene as an aging has been starlette, the movie is brilliant. It is hard to believe at times that the film is scripted because Miles' performance is so real and hysterical that it seems as if she were ad-libbing. She gives one of the best performances I have ever seen in this trashy little Warholesque movie.

Rating:
Summary: Plastic slice of life
Review: This is probably the most accessible of the Worhol flicks, and comes across as a seedy voyeuristic experience. Sylvia Miles is fantastic as a whacked-out, washed-up actress of yesteryear, and her sexually-confused daughter is just as off-kilter. It's filled with hilariously weird characters and scenes, most noteably the scene where Joe (Dallesandro) and his landlord (Pat Ast) end up caressing each other in bed, in order for him to get "that discount" on his rent. Another stand-out is the discussion between Sylvia and her daughter over the possibility that her grandson will become a lesbian if he is raised by two gay women! The dialogue seems very natural, and perhaps was largely improvised. The label "art-house film" is appropriate here. More refined than Worhol's/Morrissey's "Trash" and "Flesh", this stream-of-consciousness film should satisfy if you enjoy well-done low-budget independent films.

Rating:
Summary: Plastic slice of life
Review: This is probably the most accessible of the Worhol flicks, and comes across as a seedy voyeuristic experience. Sylvia Miles is fantastic as a whacked-out, washed-up actress of yesteryear, and her sexually-confused daughter is just as off-kilter. It's filled with hilariously weird characters and scenes, most noteably the scene where Joe (Dallesandro) and his landlord (Pat Ast) end up caressing each other in bed, in order for him to get "that discount" on his rent. Another stand-out is the discussion between Sylvia and her daughter over the possibility that her grandson will become a lesbian if he is raised by two gay women! The dialogue seems very natural, and perhaps was largely improvised. The label "art-house film" is appropriate here. More refined than Worhol's/Morrissey's "Trash" and "Flesh", this stream-of-consciousness film should satisfy if you enjoy well-done low-budget independent films.

Rating:
Summary: SHE LIVES THE NEXT BLOCK OVER, AND IS THE APT MANAGER
Review: THIS IS THE BEST OF ALL....AND PAT AST LIVES OVER ONE BLOCK, AND IS THE MANAGER OF HER APARTMENT COMPLEX. I AM CONSTANTLY ASKING PEOPLE IF THEY USE THEIR MOTHERS FOR THEIR MONEY, AND I ALWAYS ASK MY ROOMMATE FOR THE RENT...TWO WEEKS OVERDUE. WHEN WE DONT LIKE SOMEONE, WE DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH HER...AND WHEN YOU LEAVE MY APARTMENT, STOP SLAMMIN THE GOD DAMN DOOR, THE NEIGHBORS ARE COMPLAININ'. MY ROOMMATE PUT HOLES IN THE WALL, AND I ASKED HIM, IF AND WHEN HE IS GOING TO FIX THEM, AND IF HE INTENDS TOOOOOOO....WE TAKE HEALTH FOODS, AND LUV IT. AND I HAD TO ALSO CHANGED MY PHONE 7 TIMES AND SOMEONE TOLD MY GIRLFRIEND PEGGY, THAT I WAS A LESBIAN. BUT LISTEN, SALLY IS A WOMAN, AND HAS NEEDS. SO, I HAVE TO ADMIT, I DON'T PULL ANY FITS AND I FIND MYSELF STOPPING WITH ALL THE FANTASIES. THIS IS HOLLYWOOD, DARLIN, AND WE DONT WANT TO BE WRITTEN UP IN A COLUMN. OH, DONT BE SPLASHIN, IN THE POOL, AND.....I LIKE HAMBURGERS, TOO. ...ME TOO......AND PAT AST, IS LOOKIN' LIKE A BIT OF SEMI HEAVEN, EVERY DAY. SEE YOU ON CHANNEL 11, ON THE BIG RANCH.