An amazingly hokey sci-fi themed art movie at most. I love it for the music, the no wave art aspect of it and the general cheeze factor
but what does it mean?
My girlfriend of 3 years cited this movie as one of the many reasons she broke up with me “Oh you loved Liquid Sky?? You dont even understand what it means or whats really going on” 2 years later, I am still trying to figure it out.
Whats really going on?
Margaret/Jimmy being played Anne Carlisle and then being forced on each other?
To be honest, I was not confused by this movie until my “Margaret” (and she was exactly Margaret" told me I will understand her when i understand this movie
at this point i dont want to understand her, but i would love to know if she was full of it, or if there is really something to understand.
God that takes me back. I saw Liquid Sky about six times at the two dollar movie house in the eighties. Unfortunately I can’t remember a thing about it other than the general look and the line lissner has already quoted. But thanks for the brief rush of nostalgia, Analogue Skywalker.
But as far as your gf dumping you over this? I can’t believe it was even a reason among many for a break up. It was kind of extreme, in my hazy recollection, but nothing to dump someone for.
Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it as well, but here’s my take: the movie’s most overt theme is that sex, dope & cheap thrills are never a substitute for happiness or true pleasure, that’s obvious enough.
But as for the dual role, I think it is meant to suggest two things:
A general theme is that people who embrace pop-culture / media-fabricated identities (be it punk, new wave, hippie or whatever) lose their individual identities. The film suggests that new wave’s embrace of androgyny was the worst loss of all because it strips people of their most basic, fundamental identity - their sexuality. (This is not a statement I agree with, mind you, but I think that the film is stating it.)
Consider the scene when Maggie goes down on Jimmy while everyone else at the party cheers “Do it! Do it! Do it!” In essence, Maggie has become a downtown underground star because she is destroying herself and the New Wave scenesters are cheering on her suicidal behavior. Punk rock makes stars out of self-destructive flameouts (such as, say, Sid & Nancy).
To quote Ebert, “I hated hated hated HATED this movie!” Got dragged to a late-night showing of it in college, and was appalled by its narcissism and pretentiousness, the cheesy SFX and screechy music, the wooden acting and the complete absence of a coherent plot. It is, hands down and without a doubt, 100% USDA certified, the absolutely worst movie I have EVER seen in my entire life.
I liked it in a “laugh at the freaks” kind of way, even though I was in a version of the big hair/silly clothes/weird music underground scene that this film portrays. But then again, I never took “the scene” seriously.
I saw Liquid Sky once when it came out. I liked it. It was bizarre. I rented it several years ago, and I thought it was a bit plodding. But still, there’s something about it…
As a result of reading this thread, I have a copy on the way. (And while I was at it, I found a legit copy of Urgh. A Music War.)
I found a VHS copy on half.ebay, only reading the seller’s feedback I suspect it’s a bootleg. I got mine from a seller on amazon who claims it is the original CBS Video release.
When I was in college, a friend of mine told me I absolutely had to see it. He was fond of recreational pharmaceuticals. I was not. I think he thought that this film might teach me what I was “missing”.
Eventually, I rented the video and watched it. I was unimpressed.
Although the scene in which the woman gives herself a blowjob was rather amusing.
I love Liquid Sky. It epitomizes the loose concept of the new wave movement – shallowness, style over substance, performance art, fashion shoots, parties, club culture, sex, drugs, new-wave-as-substitute-for-rock-and-roll. Plus, just the incredible Arp synthesizer soundtrack. “I kill with my c**t.” Ann Carlisle playing two main characters. Art Vandelay’s interpretations are good. For other nihilistic counter-cultural movies of the time, see also: Smithereens, Repo Man, Suburbia, Breaking Glass.
What is it about? Aliens visit earth, to survive they need the chemical created in the human brain at the moment of orgasm, which in turn kills the people who have the orgasms, and it all happens in Margaret’s apartment, thus leading her to believe she has some sort of deadly vagina. At first the deaths are viewed as accidental. Then, Margaret uses sex, weapon-like, to kill people she doesn’t like. You might consider this movie to be a feminist statement (if nothing else other than because it was made by a woman.) Even though Margaret kills without having any idea how or why she is doing it, once she knows that she can, she elects to continue killing. This might be considered the existential crisis of the film.
Another thing the film suggests is that just because people look cool and act cool (frigidly cool) doesn’t mean they are any better than anyone else when it comes to how far they will go to get what they want. Margaret and Tommy (and everyone else) are ultimately responsible for their actions, alien intervention or not.
oh yes yes. believe i know that i have been better off for 2 years, this is a girl who got a venus fly trap tattoed on her delicate woman area with a banner that says “this pussy has teeth”
What is it about? Aliens visit earth, to survive they need the chemical created in the human brain at the moment of orgasm, which in turn kills the people who have the orgasms, and it all happens in Margaret’s apartment, thus leading her to believe she has some sort of deadly vagina. At first the deaths are viewed as accidental. Then, Margaret uses sex, weapon-like, to kill people she doesn’t like. You might consider this movie to be a feminist statement (if nothing else other than because it was made by a woman.) Even though Margaret kills without having any idea how or why she is doing it, once she knows that she can, she elects to continue killing. This might be considered the existential crisis of the film.
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i think this would be the interpertation that she got from the film, that she was so insistant that i did not understand or grasp. sounds like an ethos she would attach her self too, see my reply about the tattoo.
