While maybe not quite a household name, William Friedkin will always be remembered for his monolithic twin entries in the 1970s “New Cinema” canon: 1971’s THE FRENCH CONNECTION and 1973’s THE EXORCIST. No less explosive, however, is his infamous 1980 thriller CRUISING. Shot on location in the heart of Greenwich Village, CRUISING finds Al Pacino as an undercover cop who embeds himself in New York’s leather daddy scene to root out a serial killer who’s been preying on unsuspecting homosexuals. Needless to say, the film was massively controversial, not least of all within the gay community: fearing the film’s decidedly indelicate treatment of the subject matter would stoke the fires of homophobia, Village Voice columnist Arthur Bell urged locals “to give Friedkin and his production crew a terrible time if you spot them in your neighborhoods.” This they did, interfering with the lighting by surrounding the shoot with mirrors, and drowning out the soundtrack with airhorns and boomboxes (which resulted in the film’s notoriously murky, overdubbed sound design). It was, in short, a shit show.
Not that Friedkin had an easier time of it in post-production. Turns out, the MPAA didn’t take kindly to the film’s graphic depiction of the subculture, and would only grant it an R rating following the excision of 40 minutes of explicit nightclub scenes. These scenes, as Friedkin discovered in his attempts to restore the film for its DVD release, are no longer in the United Artists vaults, and have likely long since turned to dust on the cutting room floor. We may never know what this guy hit Pacino for.
Enter James Franco, today’s foremost ambassador between Hollywood’s A-list and the arty-weirdo underground. In INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR., Franco and co-director Travis Mathews attempt to recreate those lost 40 minutes, based in equal parts on production notes and speculation. The meta-madness doesn’t stop there, however: rather than a straight-up reenactment, the film is largely dedicated to the act of the restoration itself, following Franco, Mathews, and actor Val Lauren (standing in for the Al Pacino role) as they attempt to shoot and unpack the footage. How much of this is documentary and how much is performance is up for debate – not unlike most of Franco’s recent work.
Those looking to unravel the ambiguity of Franco’s film – and of CRUISING itself – will have their chance this Saturday, as the Coolidge will be screening BOTH in a special midnight double feature. What’s more, the Hassle has two FREE pairs of passes to give to two lucky filmgoers – read on to find out how to make them yours!
GIVEAWAY DETAILS: Giveaway Over!!!
Thurs, 3/13, 12PM to Friday, 3/14, 11:59PM
To win a pair of tickets, like and share our giveaway post on Facebook or retweet our giveaway tweet on Twitter. Double your chance to win tickets to the double feature by doing both! Winners will be chosen at random and announced by 12PM on Saturday, 3/15. Winners will be required to respond with their full name to claim the prize.
INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR. (2013) dir. James Franco & Travis Mathews [60 min.]
CRUISING (1980) dir. William Friedkin [102 min.]
Saturday, 3/15, 11:59 PM
Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446
$10.25
