#863: WATERS, John: Multiple Maniacs (1970)

WATERS, John (United States)
Multiple Maniacs [1970]
Spine #863
Blu-ray


John Waters' gloriously grotesque second feature is replete with all manner of depravity, from robbery to murder to one of cinema's most memorably blasphemous moments. Made on a shoestring budget in Waters' native Baltimore, with the filmmaker taking on nearly every technical task, this gleeful mockery of the peace-and-love ethos of its era features the Cavalcade of Perversion, a traveling show mounted by a troupe of misfits whose shocking proclivities are topped only by those of their leader: the glammer-than-glam, larger-than-life Divine, out for blood after discovering her lover's affair. Starring members of Waters' beloved regular cast, the Dreamlanders (including David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, Edith Massey, George Figgs, and Cookie Mueller), Multiple Maniacs is an anarchic masterwork from an artist who has doggedly tested the limits of good taste for decades.

96 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2017
Director/Writer


John Waters was 24 when he wrote and directed Multiple Maniacs.

Other Waters films in the Collection:

#1131: Pink Flamingos (1972)
#929: Female Trouble (1974)
#995: Polyester (1981)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Linda Yablonsky.

Commentary

Featuring Waters.

Interviews

With cast and crew members Pat Moran, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, George Figgs, and Vincent Peranio.

Video essay

By scholar Gary Needham.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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