Episode 201: The Rage Art of Andy Milligan

## Show Notes

We discuss the career and difficult life of the writer, director, cinematographer, dressmaker and angry man about town Andy Milligan with a focus on his sexploitation shocker Seeds (1968), his grimy Sweeny Todd adaptation Bloodthirsty Butchers (1970), and masterwork Fleshpot on 42 Street (1973).
## Films Discussed

* Written and directed by Andy Milligan
	+ *Vapors* (1965)
	+ *Seeds* (1968)
	+ *Torture Dungeon* (1969)
	+ *Nightbirds* (1970)
	+ *Bloodthirsty Butchers* (1970)
	+ *The Body Beneath* (1970)
	+ *The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here!* (1972)
	+ *The Man With Two Heads* (1972)
	+ *The Fleshpot on 42nd Street* (1972)
	+ *The House of Seven Belles* (1979)
	+ *Monstrosity* (1987)
	+ *The Weirdo* (1988)
	+ *Surgikill* (1988)
* *Gone With The Wind* (1939) Dir. Victor Fleming
* *Fireworks* (1947) Dir. Kenneth Angers
* *The Beguiled* (1971) Dir. Don Siegel
* *Forced Entry* (1973) Dir. Shaun Costello
* *Female Trouble* (1974) Dir. John Waters
* *In the Mood for Love* (2000) Dir. Wong Kar-wai

## Discussion Notes

* Andy Milligan: the definitive gutter auteur
	+ In the same vein of Ed Wood and Shaun Costello
	+ John Waters on Milligan - "Can a genius be untalented?"
	+ One of Wills favorite directors, despite his works flirtation with being unwatchable
* Milligan's films - talky, disorienting, full of distasteful content
	+ Most films made for under $10,000, shot by Milligan himself
* Our hosts on Milligan
	+ Will - his films are "howls from the gutter", a "walking open wound of a person"
	+ Justin - he "wants to burn every bridge as he walks over it"
* An openly gay man with a sadomasochistic outlook on life
	+ Unhappy childhood represented by recurring archetype of domineering matriarch in his works
	+ Served in Navy as young adult, was a dressmaker before becoming a filmmaker
	+ Worked at off-off Broadway venue called Caffe Cino
		- Wrote a number of his own plays, reworked Jean Jenet plays, hurt his actors and the actors hurt themselves
			* A 'theater of cruelty'
* Died of AIDS in abject poverty and was buried in an unmarked grave
	+ Many films of his that remain were saved by Nicolas Winding Refn - available for free!
* Books discussed
	+ *The Ghastly One: The Sex-Gore Netherworld of Filmmaker Andy Milligan* by Jimmy McDonough
	+ *Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film* by Michael Weldon
	+ *Danse Macabre* by Stephen King
* *Vapors*
	+ Avant-garde short film about gay life in New York
		- A life Milligan had no interest in
	+ A view into a softer, sweeter career Milligan could have had
		- Milligan's *In the Mood for Love*
	+ Played to both art-house theatres and the sexploitation circuit
* *Seeds*
	+ Will - "close to unwatchable, also a masterpiece"
		- Shot at Milligan's Staten Island Victorian mansion - which looks awful
	+ About a family coming together and hating each other
		- A kitchen sink of unpleasant things
* *Fleshpot on 42nd Street*
	+ A William Mishkin produced picture where Milligan was forced to shoot hardcore footage
		- Milligan made many films for Mishkin (most are lost to time)
	+ Reunites Laura Cannon with her former co-star Harry Reems
	+ One of Milligans more empathetic films
* *Monstrosity*
	+ One of his later films, after his work with Mishkin dried up
	+ A Frankenstein-style goofy comedy story
	+ An improved access to resources deprived it of the the energy of his earlier films

## Listener Letters

* Elias
	+ When was the last time you cried watching a movie?
		- Will - *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (a real dad take)
			* Gets emotional at *Nashville*, *Glen or Glenda*, *It's A Wonderful Life*
	+ Justin - *Speed Racer*
	+ What evokes tear of laughter?
		- *Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You*, *Borat*, *Anchorman*, *Team America: World Police*
* Bennett
	+ Writes in about his Woody Allen tattoo cover-up
* Mark
	+ Is there such a thing as an artistically irredeemable movie?
		- Every movie gets it day in court
		- Will finds many movies irredeemable - but movies don't exist in a vacuum, so they can change
			* "*Corky Romano* is endlessly fascinating"

## Post-Outro Discussion

* Our hosts discuss the Oscars
	+ Will finds them increasingly depressing
		- The message of 'proper cinema'
	+ Can the Oscars be both right and wrong?
	+ *Parasite* winning Best Picture - does it peak to seismic shifts in the movie industry?
	+ The 'In Memoriam' snubs