We see men applying lipstick to their puckering mouths, the set appear to crumble in an earthquake, and a vampire in a blond wig suck the blood of an unconscious victim. Shot from above or from odd angles at close range, Flaming Creatures is composed of loosely connected vignettes full of humor, eroticism, and violence. In Flaming Creatures, as in all of his works, there is no fixed narrative, the sets and special effects are low-tech and homemade, and non-professional actors populate the cast. Smith’s unconventional approach to his films was inspired by the melodrama and excessive glamour of Hollywood and B movies, and by such flamboyant forms of performance as burlesque. And Smith, the pioneering performance artist, actor, filmmaker, and photographer who was largely unknown outside of New York’s underground art scene, suddenly became famous. Detractors and champions took their sides. Eventually, it came to the attention of Congress and the Supreme Court, as a part of a censorship battle then being fought in America. ![]() ![]() The police were called, and they seized the film. These images were a part of Flaming Creatures, an experimental film by Jack Smith, which premiered that night. At midnight on April 29, 1963, the movie screen at New York’s Bleecker Street Cinema lit up with visions of men and women in makeup and dresses draped white fabric and a tall vase filled with feathery blooms and disjointed shots of lips, eyes, tangled limbs, and genitalia.
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