Pink Narcissus

This is a remarkable work of art that is difficult to classify since it is more than a film and is more akin to contemporary performance art than to mainstream for profit entertainment. It was produced in the 1960s and early 1970s and may have been considered an experimental film or underground film when produced, but its esthetic appeal has ensured its survival whereas many other underground films have now been lost and are never seen. I have considerable respect for the creativity of James Bidgood, the director, art director, writer, producer of this odd but luscious visual product. Bidgood worked on the film for 7 years starting in 1964. In many ways the film is beautiful with its concern for the shiny jeweled surfaces, the gilded mirrors, and the handsome nude and semi-nude young men. It could be called an erotic fantasy and every scene can certainly be classified as erotic, but yet it is not pornographic since the film appeals to an esthetic sense of beauty more so than to more basic lustful sensibilities. There is only the bare essence of a story line or plot but we see the adventures of a young man which are fully enhanced by his fantasies, so much so that the fantasies begin to dominate the film with their dreamlike reflective mysterious beauty. The story line is that of Bobby imagining himself in various roles always awaiting the arrival of the lover, the john, or the man. Don't buy this film thinking you are getting gay pornography. There is much nudity displayed by handsome male actors, but the goal and outcome is esthetic.Actor Bobby Kendal offers a kind of ambiguity and balance between masculine and feminine sensibilities as well as predator and prey combined into one character. The film explores almost every inch of his body including close up shots of his lips sucking his fingers or grass blades that are outstanding and beautiful. These images reminded me of the photography of Andre Serrano or the paintings of Marilyn Minter.Bobby is the hustler whose day dreams turn him into a matador, Roman slave or Arab harem master. And a cast of handsome young men play the extra roles required in the film.The amazing aspect of this film is that it was almost entirely shot in the apartment shared by Bobby Kendal and James Bidgood. The sets are composed of beads and artificial flowers, photographed in close-up so that they remain mysterious and grand at the same time. The film has the grand sensation of a Joseph Cornell box, an effort to create an entire lush world in a tiny space. Thus the obviously fake sets are interpreted as dream props rather than poor imitations of reality. I would strongly recommend this film to any gay man familiar with contemporary art and photography.

If you come to "Pink Narcissus" expecting your typical "art house film" (or even a "gay cinema classic"), you'll probably end up agreeing with the viewers who gave this film a one star review below. But to judge it on anything other than its own singular standard is to miss the point of it entirely.Released as a work by "Anonymous", "Pink Narcissus" was the creation of a New York theatrical costume designer and physique photographer named James Bidgood, who filmed the entire production in his apartment over a period of seven years starting in 1964; finally, tiring of his relentless tinkering with the footage he had created with no finished product to show for it, his producers edited the film themselves and released it in 1971. (Bidgood demanded that his name be taken off the credits as a result, and its true authorship was not revealed until nearly thirty years after its release.)While there is a plot - barely - "Pink Narcissus" simply isn't a conventional narrative film. Instead, it is a series of wordless vignettes focused on the stunningly beautiful Bobby Kendall, who imagines himself in a series of tableaus - a young sultan, a Roman slave - while he awaits the arrival of his lover, or john, or ... someone. The sets and lighting, all created by Bidgood himself, are lushly artificial and hallucinatory: fake butterflies float on visible strings, fake jewels glitter on every surface, and gels on the lights create unnatural shadows and skin tones. The scratchy film stock and soundtrack - mostly excerpts from classical works - add to its intimate but almost claustrophobic atmosphere. This is the work of a man obsessed by both his subject and the medium he's using to portray it.Viewed within the context of Bidgood's career as a photographer (examples are collected in an excellent Taschen book - do an Amazon search to find it), "Pink Narcissus" is less a narrative film than Bidgood's photographic visions come to life: a sexy (but not pornographic, at least by contemporary standards), hallucinatory meditation on beauty and desire, artifice and reality. Viewers who come to it expecting to be told a story or see some hot sex will be disappointed, but for anyone curious to see a nearly forgotten creation that looks something like a cross between "Physique Pictorial" and the works of Kenneth Anger and Stan Brakhage will appreciate it for the rich and strange hothouse flower of a film that it is.

An experiment in underground films, "Pink Narcissus" is an early effort (supposedly, about 7 years in the making)which gently teases & taunts during its artistic splendor. Its main character throughout is actor Bobby Kendall, a boyish, pouting, darkly handsome young man of incredible male beauty. The camera follows him through many visual moments of symbolism as he escapes (momentarily) the harsh realities of the outside world in daydreams of vivid proportions. His narcissism is reflected in the multiple roles he plays in his fantasies, as he becomes not only the object of desire, but those who yearn to have him. He is seen as: A matador fighting a leather-clad "bull" on a motorcycle; a harem boy dancing for his sheik; a pixie-like nymph conversing with nature; and a Roman emperor observing a slave.The film begins and ends with a haunting, almost surreal tableau of the woods at night. The blurred, scratchy look of the film gives it an otherworldy feel, a sense of intimacy. In between all this is Kendall calling a "john" or lover, and waiting for their arrival. There's symbolism aplenty, such as Kendall destroying a butterfly (the "crushing of his innocence"), or him trapping himself by becoming his own john.The film uses stop-motion effects and lavish hues of color (particularly, pink...hence, the title).If you are looking for softcore fare, there's the longing but distant caresses of Kendall's physical beauty. But, if you are looking for hardcore porn, this is not the film; it is purely art blended with titillation.For casual viewers, this film could be a frustrating experience. But for arthouse buffs, its poetic images can be fascinating.

This in my opinion is the greatest gay film ever made. It is funny, sexy, beautiful, witty, camp and, at times, intensely moving. With an inspired selection of music (the theme from Mussorgsky's "Night on Bare Mountain" is particularly haunting), it was a labour of love made by James Bidgood, in, believe it or not, his cramped Manhattan apartment, in conditions that were totally amateur. On one level one need not take it seriously at all. One just sits back and enjoys a beautiful young man (Bobby Kendall) disporting himself in front of you. On another level it is a paean to the evanescent beauty of youth, a capturing of the lovely moments in a boy's life when he was all beauty and enchantment, which we know will not last for ever.

Great copy of one of the first gay films ever made. A true classic beautifully reproduced

Haven't watched the whole film yet but a nice release from BFIComes with a booklet with writings on the filmPicture quality isn't the best but it's the best it will ever look given the cameras used to shoot It

Everything is OK

Did not enjoy this over the top film