''Underground U.S.A.'' is a 1980 American

No Wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...

underground film An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing. Notable examples include John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'', David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'', Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'', Rosa von Praunheim's ''Tal ...

directed by Eric Mitchell starring Patti Astor,

Rene Ricard Rene Ricard (July 23, 1946 – February 1, 2014) was an American poet, actor, art critic, and painter. Life and career Albert Napoleon Ricard was born in Boston and grew up in Acushnet, Massachusetts, near New Bedford. As a young teenager he ran ...

Jackie Curtis Jackie Curtis (born John Curtis Holder Jr.; February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American underground actor, singer, and playwright best known as a Warhol superstars, Warhol superstar. Primarily a stage actor in New York City, Curtis per ...

Cookie Mueller Dorothy Karen "Cookie" Mueller (March 2, 1949 – November 10, 1989) was an American actress, writer, and Dreamlander who starred in many of filmmaker John Waters' early films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'', ''Pink Flamingos'', '' Female Trou ...

, Steve Mass, Tom Wright, Ronnie Cutrone,

John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...

, David Armstrong, and

Taylor Mead Taylor Mead (December 31, 1924 – May 8, 2013) was an American writer, actor and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films filmed at Warhol's Factory, including ''Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of'' (1963) and '' T ...

Tom DiCillo Thomas A. DiCillo (born August 14, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and musician. Early life DiCillo was born in Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina. His father was Italian and his mother was from New England. He stu ...

was the director of photography.

Set design Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

was by sculptor

Jedd Garet Jedd Garet is an American sculptor, painter and printmaker, who was born in 1955. He was raised in California, studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, and received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Influenced by ...

. Future director

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

was the

sound recordist Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

. The film, made for $25,000 with the assistance of

Colab Colab is the commonly used abbreviation of the New York City artists' group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines. History Colab members came together as a collective in ...

's No wave cinema project, was shot in the

Mudd Club The Mudd Club was a nightclub located at 77 White Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It operated from 1978 to 1983 as a venue for post punk underground music and no wave counterculture events. It was opened ...

(at one point owner Steve Mass is held hostage there) and

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

apartment interiors. ''Underground U.S.A.'' was Eric Mitchell's third no wave film and the first to be shot in

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

. ''Underground U.S.A.'' is loosely based on the

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

’s 1950 black comedy

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

'' via

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

’s 1972 film ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

''. A general jaded slow pace and camp deadpan acting style is characteristic of the film. Characters exist less for themselves but as general iconic anchoring devices. ''Underground U.S.A.'' ran for six months as a midnight movie at St. Marks Cinema and in 2018 was presented twice at The

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. Influenced by the films of

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

and

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

, ''Underground U.S.A.'' was added in 2018 to

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

's permanent film collection.

Plot synopsis

''Underground U.S.A.'' begins with a bisexual street hustler named Victor (played by Eric Mitchell himself) being tossed out of his living situation and into Downtown Manhattan's art, fashion, and club circles. Not knowing what to do, he inveigles his way into the chic wistful entourage around a fading movie star named Vicky (played by Patti Astor), whose platinum blonde hairdo suggests that of

Edie Sedgwick Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Ma ...

and

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired actress and painter. Her contributions to cinema have been honored with two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and a s ...

. Vicky's loyal

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

is played by Tom Wright and her effete manager/butler, named Kenneth, is played by

. Kenneth has been protecting Vicky from the truth of her decline in popularity, but Vicky eventually comes to understanding the gravity of that fall through the hustler. She gradually spirals into drugs and towards suicide. The satirical

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

art underground looks on with disdain as the characters drift from art openings to party after party, engaging in idle chitchat about an art market so controlled by

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

that paintings are bought only to be stored away for profit, never to be seen again.
''Underground U.S.A.'' at Bomb Magazine 1981 In the film’s final scene, Vicky, wearing a neo-

cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

black and white dress, is falsely told by Kenneth that "Andy" (

) has called about starring Vicky in his next film, that is to start shooting next week. Imagining herself to be the newest

Warhol superstar Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and 1970s. These personalities hung out at Warhol's studio, the Factory, appeared in his films, and accompanied him to his New ...

, Vicky becomes deliriously deluded. As she emerges from her bedroom to face what she thinks is a large party crowd of loving friends and devoted colleagues, she only finds there her butler, her chauffeur, and her hustler.

References

External links

* 1980 films American drama films American independent films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-US-film-stub

Plot synopsis

See also

References

External links