''Vinyl '' is a 1965 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film directed by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...

. It is an early

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...

' 1962 novel ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'', starring

Gerard Malanga Gerard Joseph Malanga (born March 20, 1943) is an American poet, photographer, filmmaker, actor, curator and archivist. Early life Malanga was born in the Bronx in 1943, the only child of Italian immigrant parents. In 1959, at the beginning of h ...

, Edie Sedgwick, Ondine, and Tosh Carillo, and featuring such songs as " Nowhere to Run" by

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosali ...

, "

Tired of Waiting for You "Tired of Waiting for You" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single on 15 January 1965 in the UK and on 17 February 1965 in the USA. The single reached number one in the UK and number six in the US. It then appear ...

" by

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

, " The Last Time" by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

and " Shout" by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

Plot

The film is about the youth perpetrator Victor, who spends his time lifting weights, dancing and torturing people. When he hits his friend Scum Baby, he calls the police. Victor gets the choice to go to jail or undergo a behavioral change. Victor decides on the treatment and is bound to a chair by a doctor. He has to watch violent videos and describe what is happening on the screen while warm wax from a candle runs over his hand. After a while Victor swears off the violence and is unbound. He rejects the doctor's request to beat him and take drugs. Victor is cured.

Cast

as Victor * Edie Sedgwick as Extra * Ondine as Scum Baby * Tosh Carillo as The Doctor * Larry Latrae * J.D. McDermott as Cop * Jacques Potin as Extra

Background

''Vinyl'' was the first adaptation of the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

, which was filmed six years later by

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

(see ''

''). Warhol bought the book in the spring of 1965 and forwarded it to his screenwriter Ronald Tavel. He had claimed that he had secured the right to the story for $3,000. The film is solely based on the original and reproduces the plot in a very condensed form and the names of the characters have also changed. The recording of ''Vinyl'' took place on a day in April / early May 1965 with a very low budget and without samples. The only location in the film is a corner in Warhol's Factory while the 16mm black and white camera, the Auricon brand, stood on a stand and was barely moved. ''Vinyl'' was originally supposed to consist of a purely male casting and bring out

; but since the model Edie Sedgwick, who Warhol had met earlier the same year, coincidentally showed up for photography, Warhol gave her the last minute role in the strip. Some of the extras in ''Vinyl'' did not even realize that they were filmed and had no connection to the plot. The movie features the songs " Nowhere to Run" by

, "

" by

, " The Last Time" by

and " Shout" by

. " Nowhere to Run" is played twice in full length while the artists dance to it. ''Vinyl'' was shown the first time on June 4, 1965 as part of

Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas' work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwi ...

' ''Film-Makers' Cinematheque'' listing. Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film, as well as ''Vinyl'', begins with a close-up of the protagonist's face. Why the movie is called ''Vinyl'' is unclear.

Production

'' Vinyl '' is often credited as Edie Sedgwick 's first appearance in film, although she actually appeared in a non-speaking role in the earlier Warhol movie ''

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

'' (1965). Sedgwick has no lines of dialogue in the entire film. ''Vinyl'' was filmed unrehearsed and was also performed live in various stage productions.Joseph, Branden. Neo-Dada and Pop Art, Fall 2007 G4848 at Columbia University, December 4, 2007 lecture.

Legacy

''Vinyl'' is included in the book ''

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die ''1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'' is a film reference book edited by Steven Jay Schneider with original essays on each film contributed by over 70 film critics. It is a part of a series designed and produced by Quintessence Editions, a ...

''. Coincidentally, a HBO series by the name of ''

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

'' had Warhol as a recurring character; despite this the series has nothing in common with the Warhol film because it is about music in New York rather than art.

References

External links

* * *
Brows Held High episode about the 1965 film

On MOMA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinyl (1965 Film) A Clockwork Orange 1965 films 1960s science fiction films American avant-garde and experimental films American science fiction films Films directed by Andy Warhol American black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films based on science fiction novels 1960s avant-garde and experimental films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films