Paul Morrissey was introduced to Andy Warhol in 1965. He had by then already for a few years made short independent films, and Warhol asked him to contribute ideas and bring new direction to the film experiments he had been recently begun presenting. Morrissey then signed a contract with Warhol putting him in charge of all operations at the Warhol studio with the exception of the sales of artwork.

Morrissey would control more and more elements of the creative process and after "Lonesome Cowboys" (1967), he would take total control of all subsequent films presented by Andy Warhol, beginning with the classic trilogy, simple called "The Trilogy", "Flesh" (1968), "Trash" (1970) and "Heat" (1972). Andy Warhol's only contribution was to add his name after it was done.

After working with Carlo Ponti and Jean-Pierre Rassam on "Flesh for Frankenstein" (1974) and "Blood for Dracula" (1974), Morrissey parted with Warhol, who had begun to concentrate on his painting and business activities instead of film. Morrissey went on to be one of the very few American directors who remained completely independent.

Joe Dallesandro was only 15 when he in 1963, as an already then professional car thief, was shot by the police and send to prison. It was here at Camp Cass he would get his famous "Little Joe" tattoo. After prison he supported himself partly as nude model for Physique Pictorial, before he, by accident, met Warhol and Morrissey in 1965.

Morrissey would become Dallesandro's mentor, teach him to express himself, and the central work for the two of them became "The Trilogy". Dallesandro had a stunning beautiful face, which both female and gay male were very attracted to, and Morrissey tapped into that face.

The first openly eroticized male sex symbol, Dallesandro became an icon of the milieu and the period, amongst others posing for Rolling Stone's "Sticky Fingers" cover. He would later go to Europe and work with amongst others Louis Malle, Jacques Rivette and Serge Gainsbourg, before returning to the US to work with Francis Ford Coppola, John Waters and Steven Soderbergh. He did underwear commercials with Kate Moss for Calvin Klein, and in 2004, the New York Times reported, that the Joe Hustler haircut was back in style.

Dallesandro was and still is the icon for natural male beauty, Morrissey was the key underground director, and "The Trilogy" is their legacy.

 - Henrik Sylow

 

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Morrissey worked closely with Tartan on this set, making introductions to each film, commentary to the shorts, and supervised and approved the transfer. All films are completely uncut. THE IMAGE The source is based on the by Morrissey restored and remastered versions. The transfer is from a 24 fps HD master and are superior to the old Image versions. Considering the stock the film was shot on and the equipment it was shot with, it looks amazing. Apart from minute macro blocking, there are really no artifacts worth mentioning about. Some sources mention that "The Trilogy" was shown in 1.66:1 in Europe in the late sixties and early seventies. I have been unable to verify if the films indeed were intended as 1.66:1 or the here 1.30:1. Since Morrissey approved the transfer, we must assume, that the 1.30:1 frame is the Original Aspect Ration. THE SOUND The sound is the films original mono. It has been cleaned, but it still has all the errors of the original track, like clicks where the tape is spliced, and so forth. But I wouldn't have it otherwise. This is underground film and these flaws add to the authenticity. As long as dialogue is clear, the rest is "atmosphere". THE EXTRA All three films are introduced by Paul Morrissey himself and I can only stress that viewers chose this option. It is a great introduction, and one can only imagine how incredible an audio commentary by Morrissey would have been. FLESH The audio commentary is by filmmaker Penny Woolcook and her friend, a Kleineian psychoanalyst, Nicole Abel Hirsch. It is a very strange commentary track. On one side Woolcook talks about the films history, its technical aspects and so on, on the other, she and especially Hirsch talks about psychological aspects of players, on the other yet again, Hirsch interprets some scenes some a psychoanalyst point of view. The disturbing element is Hirsch, as Woolcook really comes with some good points, but obviously doesn't want to go into arguments with Hirsch's at times naive observations. The deleted scene can either be seen with original sound or with commentary by Morrissey. The scene is the longest of any of the rediscovered footage cut from "The Trilogy" and depicts Geraldine Smith cutting Joe's hair before he hits the streets in the beginning of the film. The extras are concluded by Morrissey's short "About Face" from 1964, either in original silent form or with commentary by Morrissey, where he talks about the way he made film (or tried to) and traditional filmmaking. NOTE: Many sources suggest "Flesh" to run 105 minutes, whereas this version runs only 89 minutes. However, Paul Morrissey has later said, that the running times reported back then were simply guesses on his part. This is the full version of the film. TRASH There is no audio commentary on "Trash", which really is a shame. So Morrissey's introduction has to stand alone. The deleted scenes are two scenes: The first is an extension of an existing scene, where Joe and Johnny are waiting for Holly to come back with drugs and talk about getting high. Joe says "I'm always high. I'm never straight." (3:09). The second is an alternate scene of the finale interview between the Welfare investigator and Joe and Holly (7:20). The extras are concluded by Morrissey's short "All aboard the dreamland choo-choo" from 1964, either in original silent form or with commentary by Morrissey, where he talks about the way he made film (or tried to) and traditional filmmaking. HEAT The extras begin with an audio commentary by producer director Don Boyd and what a commentary. Boyd really is into this film and his love for the film and admiration for Morrissey as director shines thru. Boyd talks about Warhol and Morrissey, about the construction of scenes, about the legacy and impact of the film. Simply a great commentary. The deleted scenes consists of two alternate takes and a deleted scene. The first scene is an alternate scene of Sylvia Miles’ visit to daughter Andrea Feldman in the beginning of the film (7:07). The second scene is a deleted scene where Joe is on the telephone talking to his film connections (0:55). The third and last scene is an alternate scene of Pat giving Joe a backrub and being interrupted by Andrea (7:03). The extras are concluded by Morrissey's short "Like Sleep" from 1965, either in original silent form or with commentary by Morrissey, where he for about 1-2 minutes introduces the film.  - Henrik Sylow

(aka "Andy Warhol's Flesh" )

directed by Paul Morrissey
USA 1968

"Flesh" is the first installment in Morrissey's "The Trilogy". When Warhold and Morrissey learned that "Midnight Cowboy" was being shot, they simply made their film about a male hustler, and according to Morrissey beat Schlesinger to it.

Joe Dallesandro plays Joe, a heroin addicted hustler, who tries to raise $200 for an abortion for this wife's lesbian lover.

One of the key films of the sixties underground films, "Flesh" is a portrait of the wild side of New York, with its hustlers, its transvestites, its Johns and Joes. It broke ground in the way it framed the body and face of Dallesandro, ways normally only used to shoot women in pornography, but also by attacking the code directly, by being the first non-pornographic film ever to display an erected penis.

The stars of "Flesh" was immortalized in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"; Little Joe never once gave it away (Joe Dallasandro), Jackie is just speeding away (Jackie Curtis), Candy came from out on the island (Candy Darling).

Henrik Sylow

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Theatrical Release: September 26, 1968 (New York City, New York)

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DVD Review: Tartan (3-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!

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