The movie that gives John Waters’ “acid flashbacks”
The works of John Waters remain some of the most provocative moments in cinema history. The director is known for his films of true transgressions, such as Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. The former sees a competition to be considered the “filthiest person alive”, leading to all sorts of rather gross occurrences.
Waters’ use of comedy in a post-modern manner and a surreal artistic outlook has separated him from many of his contemporaries. Still, the director himself has been inspired by those who came before him, particularly those with a surreal creative outlook, and when Waters visited the Criterion closet to pick out his favourite films, he selected an Italian surreal classic.
“We’ll get a little artier and [pick out] 8½, which is – Fellini to me was great – we use to take LSD to see his movies all the time,” Waters said, “And this one was especially good because Saraghina, and it reminded me very much of Edith Massey and Divine kind of put together.” Both Massey and Divine were two of Waters’ most frequent collaborators.
8½ is Federico Fellini’s 1963 avant-garde surrealist movie that focuses on a fictional famous Italian film director by the name of Guido Anselmi, who is in the throes of a severe case of writer’s block and low creative energy while he attempts to direct a science fiction epic. The narrative of Fellini’s classic is difficult to pin down, and it’s simply one of a kind.
The “Saraghina” Waters refers to is one of the film’s most memorable scenes, although there are so many in Fellini’s masterpiece. The filmmaker Guido listens to a priest’s lecturing before he experiences a flashback to a time in his youth spent with a woman by the name of Saraghina.
That sequence is not the only thing that stood out for Waters, though, he also has a big love for the film’s music too. “Just the soundtrack to this movie, we always used to listen to it on acid, so I always have flashbacks when I see this movie,” he said before paying his respects to one of its stars.
“It’s got Barbara Steele in it, and it looks so amazing,” Waters signed off. “It’s just such a great movie.” Evidently, Fellini’s film holds a special place in Waters’ heart (and mind!), and it sounds like it inspired a few moments from his film career too.
Check out the trailer for Fellini’s classic below.
