Lipstick

Rating:
Summary: There's something about this movie ...
Review: It's far from being the best film ever made, but LIPSTICK has some special quality about it. Let's first look at the exceptional performances from the cast:

Chris Sarandon - plays the school teacher of the younger sister (Mariel Hemingway) who rapes the older sister first and then the younger sister after being acquitted of the first crime. He really comes across as the creep he is intended to. You grow to hate him, which is the point.

Mariel Hemingway - her acting debut in which she shines. A great performance.

Ann Bancroft - plays the lawyer convincingly. An all round great actress.

Margaux Hemingway - the lead actress, and real-life sister of Mariel (unfortunately died tragically in mid 90's). Not a great actress by any means but she had her moments in the film. Pity about her voice. She was actually a model in real life then, rather than an actress.

The film bombed upon release in 1976 possibly because audiences couldn't accept Margaux trying to switch to acting. These days, such a movie would go straight to TV.

It is worth seeing at least once - The younger sister's performance is that good.

DVD SUMMARY - a bare bones release saved by an impressive transfer (and widescreen anamorphic too!). No trailer included.

Rating:
Summary: Too Good To Be True!
Review: It's worth the $60 for this video just for the scene where Margaux Hemingway runs away from a photo session to blast the balls off of her rapist with a rifle while wearing a red sequined gown. Not to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: The Professional Critics Are Right?
Review: Let me preface this buy saying that I gave this movie five stars because of its raw emotional power. However, like 'The Exorcist' I cannot call it entertainment. Rape is not entertaining.

The plot: Chris (Margaux Hemingway) is an LA model who invites her younger sister's music teacher Gordon (Chris Sarandon) over to hear his music. But Gordon's music FUBAR to say the least and he brutally rapes Chris. At the rape trial Chris' moral character as a nude model is put on trial, while the prosecutor (Anne Bancroft) fights to defend Chris' character and put her rapist in jail.
This movie works because of its raw power. The rape scene is VERY violent and lasts 30 minutes, so graphic I forced myself to fast forward through most of it. The rape really is the only subject of the movie, everything revolves around it. I admire how the screenplay tells us NOTHING about whom these characters are or where they came from. We see only the most basic elements of good and evil. Chris is an innocent victim, I'm glad we were not forced to go through the motions of seeing a super model giggle and talk about how she wants to save the rainforest. This way we can see Chris as a real person. Gordon is totally evil simply for the sake of being evil, the scariest kind. We get no easy or comforting explanation as to how he can so victimize another human being.

Chris Sarandon's performance also deserves special mention. He should have won an Oscar. He was so evil and creepy I don't see how he was cast in any roles after this. Like Anthony Perkins in 'Psycho' he'll always be Norman Bates.

The most shocking thing is I remember seeing this movie as a young child unedited on HBO! I'm amazed I wasn't traumatized for life! But I remember I found it disturbing then and find it disturbing now as an adult. Not sad, not scary, just disturbing.


Rating:
Summary: Delicious Trash
Review: Oh how I love this film! Margaux is divine as a high fashion model who is raped by her teen sister's school music teacher! Well she is not just raped, she is completely brutalised! I swear some of those scenes looked a bit too realistic. Chris Sarandon is absolutely devilish in the role of the sadistic rapist. He doesn't just physically overpower Margaux, he also attacks her mentally. After the deed is done he slyly begs of her to "not do this with anyone else." During the trial he also torments her with late night calls playing selections of his Phillip Glass inspired music. While the subject matter is serious the film is also high camp & truely hilarious! In an emotional (or as emotional as Margaux can get) courtroom scene she shouts out "he tried to kill me with his c**k!" Let us also not forget lil sis Mariel who gets attacked at the end of the film...after a high speed chase through the Pasadena Design Center! This pushes Margaux over the edge so she grabs a shotgun and goes after Sarandon with a vengeance! After pumping him full of bullets she just keeps pulling the trigger...it is AMAZING! Francesco Scavullo must be so proud.

Rating:
Summary: Lipstick
Review: Really not as bad as everyone said it was back in 1976. Give Margaux a break! She was just 20 years old and this was her first movie. This Girl had to carry this film on her shoulders and I for one think she did a great job! I think she held her own with Anne, Perry & Chris too. The script does fail her,though. Give it a second try because its really not that bad! There are many other movies with firstimers out there that I'm sure were alot worse than this debut. Margaux deserves applauds just for taking the plunge from modeling to movies! ND

Rating:
Summary: a milestone of 70's gloss..and dangerous femmes
Review: the first time you see it,startling..the music,editing...the haunting ms hemingway...days later..it sticks in the memory...the score my michel polnareff stunning....and the guts to be honest,including that final act...no apologies,no second thoughts..the point illustrated by anne bancroft in voiceover,the point by clarence darrow..downfall of law &order..is very effective...see it without knowing the reputation...this is not a teenybopper,matrix/fatrix,overhyped tv actors turned movie star vehicle....it is a real adult thriller about desperation,and retribution

Rating:
Summary: strong stuff
Review: This is one of my favourites from the 70's and it's great to see it finally appear on dvd. This is a hypnotic combination of cheesy exploitation and hard hitting drama that keeps you hooked right up to the explosive finale.
Margaux Hemingway is fantastic as the model who receives the unwelcome attentions of psychotic music teacher Chris Sarandon. Sarandon's character has to be one of the most loathsome ever put on film.
Mariel hemingway delivers a curiously affecting performance as the glamour model's younger sister.
After having only seen this before on UK tv in a cut version this nicely presented disc is a welcome addition to my collection.

Rating:
Summary: I'm torn! Not a GOOD movie and a bare bones DVD ...
Review: This was a 1976 drama that probably killed Margaux Hemingway's career as an actress and model, but oddly enough launched her younger sister Muriel into the spotlight! It's a rape drama about a victim (Margaux) who's rapist goes free (Chris Sarandon), and then attacks her younger sister (Muriel) and then all hell breaks loose!

The movie itself is a guilty pleasure - a potboiler melodrama done quite stlyishly, but somehow offensive and not well acted. Would fit in well with a double bill with EYES OF LAURA MARS! The fashion sequences are unique, and also the modern dance is neat to watch. And Margaux running in heels and a red sequin dress with a hunting rifle is a sight to see! I put it on my list of bad movies that I love. It has a SHOWGIRLS sensibility! Tried hard to be artsy and meaningful, but in the end was just too over the top to be anything but camp.

The DVD has a great transfer, but NO special features at all. Not even a trailer! Pity because Margaux died mysteriously, and this is her biggest movie. Memories of her would be welcome as well as why the movie was made. Credits show that a former DA of LA was an advisor, so somebody was trying to say something!

Rating:
Summary: I'm torn! Not a GOOD movie and a bare bones DVD ...
Review: This was a 1976 drama that probably killed Margaux Hemingway's career as an actress and model, but oddly enough launched her younger sister Muriel into the spotlight! It's a rape drama about a victim (Margaux) who's rapist goes free (Chris Sarandon), and then attacks her younger sister (Muriel) and then all hell breaks loose!

The movie itself is a guilty pleasure - a potboiler melodrama done quite stlyishly, but somehow offensive and not well acted. Would fit in well with a double bill with EYES OF LAURA MARS! The fashion sequences are unique, and also the modern dance is neat to watch. And Margaux running in heels and a red sequin dress with a hunting rifle is a sight to see! I put it on my list of bad movies that I love. It has a SHOWGIRLS sensibility! Tried hard to be artsy and meaningful, but in the end was just too over the top to be anything but camp.

The DVD has a great transfer, but NO special features at all. Not even a trailer! Pity because Margaux died mysteriously, and this is her biggest movie. Memories of her would be welcome as well as why the movie was made. Credits show that a former DA of LA was an advisor, so somebody was trying to say something!