Comments on: "Decadent" films?

Question: "Decadent" films?

Senor Cardgage — Sat, 05 May 2007 16:56:10 -0800

Any able to suggest any good "Decadent" films?

A friend of mine is programming for a film series at a hip nightclub/lounge.
He's looking for suggestions for films (foreign or domestic) that would fall under the banner of "Decadent", you know sex, drugs, conspicuous sumptiousness, etc.

Anyone got any idears?

By: subtle-t

subtle-t — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:00:06 -0800

Caligula?

By: twoporedomain

twoporedomain — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:03:22 -0800

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls?

By: Max Power

Max Power — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:03:43 -0800

Weekend - Goddard

By: Max Power

Max Power — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:04:31 -0800

oops one d in that godard name.

By: The Michael The

The Michael The — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:29:59 -0800

Caligula
24 Hour Party People
Marie Antoinette
Shortbus
parts of Boogie Nights

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:47:10 -0800

The Rules of Attraction
Spun

By: rob511

rob511 — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:53:42 -0800

Nasty to the nth degree:

"Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma" (Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom) is a 1975 film by Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the book The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade.

Salò (as the film is commonly abbreviated) is set in the Republic of Salò, the Fascist rump state which was set up in the German-occupied portion of Italy in 1944. The film is divided into four segments that loosely parallel Dante's Inferno: Anteinferno, Circle of Manias, Circle of Shit and Circle of Blood.

According to the Wiki article, the film was banned in Australia in 1976, unbanned in 1993, and rebanned in 1998!

By: pablocham

pablocham — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:53:47 -0800

Salo
Showgirls
Velvet Goldmine

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:00:11 -0800

David Cronenberg's Crash

By: Exchequer

Exchequer — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:24:20 -0800

Vegas is a good starting point for decadence:

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Casino
Leaving Las Vegas

Plenty of conspicuous consumption there.

How 'bout a little Gus Van Sant?

Drugstore Cowboy

By: Methylviolet

Methylviolet — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:25:16 -0800

La Dolce Vita is the classic decadence movie.

Did you ever ask yourself what all the nice, respectable Indians thought about a bunch of nasty hippies sitting around getting stoned in their country? Hare Krishna Hare Rama On a similar theme, but more Austin Powerific Purab aur Pacchim

By: adipocere

adipocere — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:33:32 -0800

Okay, Salo is not decadent, it's icky. As a friend of mine remarked after we watched it, "That was entirely too much poo." If you want decadent, try The Dreamers.

By: Methylviolet

Methylviolet — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:36:00 -0800

From Hare Krishna Hare Rama...
From Purab aur Pacchim...

By: baking soda

baking soda — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:44:25 -0800

I don't know if you are looking for movies set in a contemporary era, but otherwise Fellini's Satyricon is pretty decadent and crazy as I remember...

By: doublesix

doublesix — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:54:03 -0800

I'm thinking any of Jesus Franco's films made in the 70's would fit the bill.

By: JJ86

JJ86 — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:55:35 -0800

Any of Warhol's films, a splash of Kenneth Anger, four doses of Russ Meyer, and a John Waters or two. For some European flair, you have to put in an early Almodovar.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:56:46 -0800

Last Year at Marienbad
Igby Goes Down

By: doublesix

doublesix — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:57:46 -0800

IMDB keyword decadence

By: jvilter

jvilter — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:58:37 -0800

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

By: gesamtkunstwerk

gesamtkunstwerk — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:04:54 -0800

Not my think, but I think the Cook the Theif, his Wife and Her Lover, or better yet, Drowning by Numbers would be a good choices.

By: bradbane

bradbane — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:13:58 -0800

Requiem for a Dream
Eyes Wide Shut

By: alms

alms — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:15:33 -0800

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover

(which happens to be my scariest ever first date movie, but that's another story)

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:20:18 -0800

Barfly
Orgazmo
Pink Flamingos
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:21:23 -0800

Performance, a classic.

By: peace_love_hope

peace_love_hope — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:49:13 -0800

Last Tango in Paris

Butter will never be quite the same after viewing this bad boy Brando classic.

By: JujuB

JujuB — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:51:34 -0800

Nine and 1/2 weeks One of my very favorite movies!

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:56:52 -0800

In addition to some great recommendations above:
Caberet
Satyricon
The Great Gatsby
The Dreamers

By: runtina

runtina — Sat, 05 May 2007 20:18:52 -0800

Party Monster!

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sat, 05 May 2007 21:11:37 -0800

Quills provides a juicy, almost old-fashioned moviegoing experience -- albeit with all the lurid sex, masochism, and graphic feces afforded by this century's censors.

The Holy Mountain packs in a massive amount of stunning images that are so joyfully bizarre, one cannot help but be amazed. Part of the film's charm is that the imagery is so random and surreal that its meaning is open to almost any interpretation. Topics as diverse as war, sex, violence, religion, immortality, necrophilia, bestiality, and castration are all given equal attention and carried out with great skill and beauty.

The Allmovie plot synopsis for The Holy Mountain says "it suggests what might have resulted if Luis Buñuel, Michelangelo Antonioni, and George Romero had all dropped acid and made a movie together," and that captures it nicely.

By: goshling

goshling — Sat, 05 May 2007 22:28:06 -0800

La Grande Bouffe

washes brain

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Sat, 05 May 2007 22:33:35 -0800

is "scarface" so much a cliche at this point that everyone has refrained from mentioning it?

By: Doublewhiskeycokenoice

Doublewhiskeycokenoice — Sat, 05 May 2007 22:40:04 -0800

Prospero's Books I have only seen the first few minutes of it, but it was the most off the wall, bizarre, crazy hedonist, baroque, pseudo-Greek, fleshfest I've ever seen. Seriously, he could screen those ten minutes on a loop.

Watch out though, it's got Little Boy Wang in one part (a young child, who I believe is painted blue, is swinging towards the camera, with a maniacal grin on his face as he is straight up pissing into the marble pool full of writing bodies that he is swinging over). Yes, I know that sounds like porn. I assure you it's not, and it's at least worth a movie night with your friend so you can talk about the crazy-ass shit you saw.

Once again, to be clear, I am NOT saying this is a must-have. It is very weird. I do think it's worth checking out though, 'cause it might be the thing you're looking for.

By: V-Turn

V-Turn — Sat, 05 May 2007 22:57:16 -0800

I second Requiem for a Dream, definitely

By: Senor Cardgage

Senor Cardgage — Sat, 05 May 2007 23:09:00 -0800

OK, alot of good suggestions here guys, but please, no consequences or forboding messages (Requiem, etc)

I think he needs something from Ken Russell's rumpus room here.

Think hedonism.

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 05 May 2007 23:22:46 -0800

Prospero's Books is a nude romp through the Bard's Tempest. Decadent? I don't know. Nude, yes. Greenaway likes his actors and actresses nude, and through large periods of the film. However, most of them are not really decadent. Waters is decadent, Greenaway is more like nudist surrealism. The aforementioned "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" though is truly a surrealistic descent into amoralism. I guess you could call that decadent. Half the audience left the theater in disgust during the middle of the picture when I saw it. A goodly chunk of them left when it appeared that a young boys penis was, well, I can't even say.

By: roger ackroyd

roger ackroyd — Sat, 05 May 2007 23:40:38 -0800

The Hunger is kind of decadent in an avant 80's way. It's like a commercial for lesbianism. Trainspotting. Can't remember if that one had a moral, but it certainly ruffled some feathers in its day.

By: jouke

jouke — Sat, 05 May 2007 23:45:25 -0800

Visconti: Ludwig, The Damned (Il caduta degli dei), Death in Venice

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:11:41 -0800

Clockwork Orange

By: caddis

caddis — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:29:46 -0800

how could we forget that one Afroblanco. Good call.
*opens mouth - waits for the food to enter

By: adamvasco

adamvasco — Sun, 06 May 2007 01:22:27 -0800

La Bete
La grande Bouffe
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

By: Martin E.

Martin E. — Sun, 06 May 2007 04:21:28 -0800

Henry & June
Porky's?

By: Martin E.

Martin E. — Sun, 06 May 2007 04:31:11 -0800

The Libertine? Haven't seen it myself, actually...
9 Songs (ditto)
Nekromantik and Nekromantik 2?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show

By: goo

goo — Sun, 06 May 2007 07:08:23 -0800

Peter Greenaway's alright if you're looking for visual decadence - I thought of Prospero's Books and The Pillow Book immediately upon reading your question. Some other visually decadent films are The Red Shoes and Moulin Rouge.

For outright decadence you can't beat Russ Meyer. I would forget Salo - it's not decadent, just gross, just like the book.

By: pablocham

pablocham — Sun, 06 May 2007 08:57:25 -0800

Almost forgot, Derek Jarman's Sebastiane.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Sun, 06 May 2007 11:15:55 -0800

Well, part of the problem is that it's rare to find a movie with no come-uppance for the decadent types— it usually feels narratively unsatisfying.

That said— Cheech and Chong's ouvre does this well, as do most other "head" movies (including, sidelong, Head, the Monkees movie).

Woodstock and Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii are both great, with more indulgence in Woodstock (even Hair might count).

As for the sex, you can always go with movies like Caged Heat or Chained Heat (I forget which one's better), part of the delicious Chicks In Prison genre.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Sun, 06 May 2007 11:39:28 -0800

What, no Eating Raoul? Great fun, a much younger Commander Chakotay in the title role, and a classic bit appearance from Edie McClurg. What's not to like?

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Sun, 06 May 2007 12:07:53 -0800

Any films by the Viennese Actionists, such as Otto Muhle, Kurt Kren, etc. (Not suitable for anything at all, really -- aside from decadent orgies and the like.)

By: hilatron

hilatron — Sun, 06 May 2007 13:44:20 -0800

Pandora's Box?

By: Gerard Sorme

Gerard Sorme — Sun, 06 May 2007 14:20:28 -0800

I'm a little later here, I know. But, I am so surprised nobody has mentioned Thursday. Blood, gore AND sex (Paulina Porizkova nude and rapes a guy). If you want decadent, this film is a celluloid definition.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Sun, 06 May 2007 15:19:52 -0800

Twilight of the Ice Nymphs
Blow Up

And a big old "seconded" to Performance and Kenneth Anger's stuff.

By: Brainy

Brainy — Mon, 07 May 2007 04:48:27 -0800

Blue Velvet?

By: desuetude

desuetude — Mon, 07 May 2007 06:21:27 -0800

Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist.