Flesh was filmmaker Paul Morrissey’s first production for Andy Warhol. The story concerns a bisexual hustler who does tricks so that he can pay for his wife’s lover’s abortion. The film made headlines when it was confiscated by the police during one of its earliest showings in 1970. Though this event is unlikely to repeat itself, Flesh is still explicit enough to elicit gasps from even the most jaded of underground-film enthusiasts.
Director: Paul Morrissey.
Writer: Paul Morrissey.
Stars: Joe Dallesandro, Geraldine Smith, Patti D’Arbanville, Maurice Braddell, Louis Waldon, Geri Miller, Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, John Christian.
Cinematographer: Paul Morrissey.
The thing that I liked about this movie was the nudity and veiled sexuality. I absolutely DIDN’T like the messed up drug induced thinking. Andy Warhol puts out some movies that include some interesting nudity and sexuality, but they are really just films of people who seem to have their brains ruined with drugs. I gave it a four-star rating because of the nudity, but otherwise would have given it a one-star rating.
One of the reasons I had never actually seen Paul Morrissey’s film FLESH, starring a 19 year old Joe Dallesandro, is that it came out in 1968. (In my defence, I did see 2001: A Space Odyssey and was smitten and distracted by Keir Dullea at the time.) But now I have seen it. FLESH, as you might expect from the Warhol Factory, has a lot of nudity, male and female, including the occasional erection. It’s not porn: there are a couple of moments of simulated sex but the flesh is all open and natural. It IS the point and it isn’t, simultaneously. Erotic, definitely. Sexy as hell, in fact. Let me say I was dumbfounded, moved in a good way. Now I understand why this film is a classic.