Eat Your Makeup
Eat Your Makeup

Movie spotlight

Eat Your Makeup

1968
Movie
41 min
English

John Waters' first sixteen-millimetre film, about a deranged nanny who kidnaps young girls and forces them to 'model themselves to death' in front of her boyfriend and their crazed friends. It was never shown commercially.

Insights

IMDb6.0/10
Director: Jack SmithGenres: Experimental, Comedy

Plot Summary

A bizarre and surreal cinematic experiment, 'Eat Your Makeup' is a feature-length silent film that follows a series of strange characters and events. Set against a backdrop of fragmented narratives and unusual imagery, the film explores themes of identity, performance, and the grotesque. It's a challenging and visually striking work that pushes the boundaries of conventional filmmaking.

Critical Reception

Jack Smith's 'Eat Your Makeup' is considered a seminal work of underground and experimental cinema. While it was not widely released or critically reviewed in its time due to its avant-garde nature, it has since gained a cult following and is recognized for its significant influence on subsequent experimental filmmakers. Its surreal imagery and unconventional narrative structure have been both praised for their artistic audacity and critiqued for their perplexing nature.

What Reviewers Say

  • A hallmark of American underground cinema, noted for its bold visual style and challenging content.

  • Praised for its unique, dreamlike atmosphere and its departure from narrative conventions.

  • Often described as a perplexing yet captivating exploration of taboo subjects and surreal imagery.

Google audience: Audience reception for 'Eat Your Makeup' is scarce due to its niche and experimental nature. However, those who have encountered it often find it to be a highly unusual and thought-provoking film, appreciated for its artistic ambition and its place in film history, though its avant-garde style can be polarizing.

Fun Fact

Jack Smith famously shot 'Eat Your Makeup' on borrowed film stock and in various locations around New York City, often with minimal planning and relying on improvisation.

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