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Querelle

Querelle

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Once upon a time there was a ship full of oily sailors...
Review: ...and it only gets more confusing after that. 'Querelle' is a difficult movie to follow. I've watched it quite a few times and I end up with something new after each viewing. Querelle (Brad Davis in a way-too-tight sailor uniform) appears to be just another resident meanie in the port of Brest. OK, a very sexually-repressed meanie. He hasn't come to the realization that he just wants to be loved. How he comes to that realization is the plot of the movie (...or is it?). Along the way, Querelle murders, fondles a cop, smuggles drugs and flirts with his commanding officer.

The movie is an eerie, voyeuristic experience painted in sepia tones. Although Querelle participates is numerous kinky episodes, there is nothing pornographic here in the sense of flailing flesh and hungry moans (lots of sweaty sailors, though) and everything that happens moves the plot along.

The DVD is a welcome change from the Columbia and EDDE edition VHS tapes (but I would rather have the original Columbia VHS artwork instead of the big "Q" here). The print is anamorphic (2.35:1) and of a pretty good quality for 1982. I did notice a few frame shakes here and there but nothing too jarring. You also get the original English mono track and an alternate French track. There's no trailer included for this movie but there's a couple of other unrelated ones.

So sit back and prepare to scratch your head and say "What the..." Querelle is definately not a disappointing flick.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MASTERPIECE
Review: A BRILLIANT MOVIE.IT IS BASED ON A GENIUS WRITER GENET'S BOOK,
DIRECTED BY A GENIUS DIRECTOR AND STARRING A GENIUS CAST.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Wild Boys
Review: An ambitious and original movie, Rainer Werner Fassbider`s "Querelle" is an interesting effort with some compelling moments but ends up being too flawed as a whole. This experimental release presents a surreal and dreamy mood that showcases Querelle`s (a marine played by Brad Davis) search for himself and his true nature. His search will lead to some risky relationships with a couple of his mates, presenting a movie that combines campy moments with some introspective and symbolic ones. What we have here is a film that explores human desire, narcisism, homo(sexuality) and seduction in an unique and peculiar way, even if the characters are too self-absorbed and the plot drags in many scenes. "Querelle" is too ambiguous and ethereal to deliver a convincing resolution, even if it delivers an unusual dark atmosphere with compelling settings and brilliant direction (the photography is also good, displaying excellent colours and textures). The acting is not very intriguing and the weird characters turn this into an unusual yet cold cinematic experience. Fassbinder presents some good ideas here, still this effort is to sparse and disjointed to become a solid movie.

Not bad, just too uneven to convince.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fascinating and Bizarre
Review: Brad Davis is captivating as the sailor boy prostitute "Querelle" desired by men and women alike in this odd, yet gentle masterpiece. Clearly not for all audiences, the movie is dark and often harrowing, at times recalling other classic Genet adaptations, and occassionally, even the legendary "Midnight Express" which made Davis a star. Like the latter film, there are moments here that shock the viewer into action, perhaps fewer than necessary, and yet always mezmerizing and accomplished. Steeped in an aura of bright, almost unimaginable color, "Querelle" is one of those gay-cinema classics that deserves a place in an adult video collection (like "Taxi Zum Klo" for example.) Yet remember - this is a harrowing vision, and clearly not for every member of the family. Still, Davis is superb!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Weak soft porn
Review: Cheesey movie....was bored after the first 15 minutes.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Quriously Quirky "Querelle"
Review: Films are a lot like wine. Some become finer with age, others simply go flat. "Querelle" has neither improved nor deteriorated since it first made the rounds of U. S. arthouses back in the early 1980's. It was potent rotgut then, and it's still potent rotgut twenty years later ... okay for a quick buzz, but ultimately an unsatisfying selection that may not settle well. The film's appeal lies within the main ingredients that promise a flavorful mix: source material by Jean Genet; direction by maverick German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder; and star performances from an impressive international cast headed by Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau, and (especially) gay icon Brad Davis who is cast as the overtly homosexual title character. Unfortunately, the final product is contaminated by some unneeded artificial flavors and colors, specifically: preachy and pretentious narrative interruptions; some disconcertingly choreographed sequences that would more properly belong in a stylized musical romp rather than a dramatic character study; and an incoherent script that diverts the core of the movie away from plot and character development and allows the director to indulge in too much visual grandstanding (the phallus-shaped turrets, the coital etchings in the tavern glass, etc., etc.). Some of these minor elements might have blended well if they had been added in balanced proportions, but the haphazard recipe followed resulted in a bitter mess that is sure to leave many connoisseurs with an unpleasant aftertaste and a queasy stomach. If you're still determined to sample this unusual concoction, may I recommend the DVD? The contents may be flawed, but the packaging is outstanding, and the film is presented with great style. This is one film that requires a wide-screen viewing; otherwise, you'll be left wondering if something you missed over on the side might have been a key to understanding and appreciating the whole experience. (No.) And just remember afterwards, when your head is spinning and you're wondering why, oh why, you indulged ... you were warned!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Quriously Quirky "Querelle"
Review: Films are a lot like wine. Some become finer with age, others simply go flat. "Querelle" has neither improved nor deteriorated since it first made the rounds of U. S. arthouses back in the early 1980's. It was potent rotgut then, and it's still potent rotgut twenty years later ... okay for a quick buzz, but ultimately an unsatisfying selection that may not settle well. The film's appeal lies within the main ingredients that promise a flavorful mix: source material by Jean Genet; direction by maverick German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder; and star performances from an impressive international cast headed by Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau, and (especially) gay icon Brad Davis who is cast as the overtly homosexual title character. Unfortunately, the final product is contaminated by some unneeded artificial flavors and colors, specifically: preachy and pretentious narrative interruptions; some disconcertingly choreographed sequences that would more properly belong in a stylized musical romp rather than a dramatic character study; and an incoherent script that diverts the core of the movie away from plot and character development and allows the director to indulge in too much visual grandstanding (the phallus-shaped turrets, the coital etchings in the tavern glass, etc., etc.). Some of these minor elements might have blended well if they had been added in balanced proportions, but the haphazard recipe followed resulted in a bitter mess that is sure to leave many connoisseurs with an unpleasant aftertaste and a queasy stomach. If you're still determined to sample this unusual concoction, may I recommend the DVD? The contents may be flawed, but the packaging is outstanding, and the film is presented with great style. This is one film that requires a wide-screen viewing; otherwise, you'll be left wondering if something you missed over on the side might have been a key to understanding and appreciating the whole experience. (No.) And just remember afterwards, when your head is spinning and you're wondering why, oh why, you indulged ... you were warned!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rub a Dub Dub
Review: First of all when you get the DVD version, you have the opportunity to watch the film as it was originally filmed - in English. Anyone who speaks French and can read lips knows that the film was dubbed into French (and not just bad sync-sound) - the film was later released back in the states with English subtitles under the French dub (talk about a triple threat).

I must say that I love this movie for tackling issues that 20 years ago were definitely still taboo in the mainstream. Although not a masterpiece in terms of plot development, I believe it stays true to the development of Jean Genet's characters - and of course the cinematography is stunning. Like watching a live action Tom of Finland cartoon directed by David Lynch at times... Wonderful.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Decadent,Immoral, Jean Jenet at his best, I loved it.
Review: I bought the dubbed version of this movie, but, had seen it first with subtitles. The dubbed version is by far the best. As you miss so much trying to read the captions.

This was close if not the last movie Brad Davis made before he died of aids. Being shunned by producers here in the U.S. He went to Europe to work and lucky for us he did.
Querelle,(Brad Davis) Is anchored on a merchant ship in Brest,France. He enters a brothel, to find his brother wrapped around the owner, Jeanne Moreau(Lysiane) And finds out about his homosexuality thru the toss of the dice.
This is not a gay thing, but, rather a discourse on homosexualism. Querelle, does not believe in two men loving each other , but, two men can enjoy each other and why-not indulge your sexual desires to the max..After loosing the toss-of-the-dice, he tells Gunther, 'we will not Kiss' and Gunther replies, "that goes without saying".

Ms. Moreau is stunning and puts out a song that is haunting, and tells of Querelles love for his brother, might be more than brotherly love!!

I found this movie to be very intriguing, and found myself trying to catch all the phallic symbolism on the etched window panes and the writting on the walls of the local W.C.
Franco Nero, plays the Lietenent who is much enamored with Querelle and tapes his longings for him.. This is a must see for those who can cope with the amoral,decadence and troubled mind of Jean Genet and Fassbinder; and can cope with homosexuality, explicit. I give this film a **** stars rating.this is the vhs version-dubbed ciao yaaah69

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great movie!
Review: I never expected this movie to be so dark and sexy. It looks like a screened comic book with flat stereotyped porn clich? characters in a violent gay storyline. It captivated me and made my night with my boyfriend quite better.
This movie is sexy, shallow and very dark. If you like gay films, this is a great choice.
Besides, Brad Davis is the cutest and sexiest guy ever.


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