Richard Kern woefully underrated

Not a mention on this site. He will be remembered for putting lydia lunch on film in fingered. Also his photobooks are terrific, a filmography:

Corporate Ghost (2004)
Lunchbox (1995)
My Nightmare (1993)
Detachable Penis (1992)
The Bitches (1992)
Sewing Circle(1992)
Horoscope (1991)
Nazi (1991)
Tumble (1991)
The Evil Cameraman (1990)
Money Love (1990)
Pierce (1990)
X is Y (1990)
Submit to me Now (1987)
Death Valley 69 (1985)
Fingered (1986)
Goodbye 42nd Street (1986)
King of Sex (1986)
I Hate You Now (1985)
Manhattan Love Suicides (1985)
The Right Side of My Brain (1985)
Stray Dogs (1985)
Submit to Me (1985)
Thrust in Me (1985)
Woman at the Wheel (1985)
You Killed Me First (1985)

Stray Dogs, Fingered, Death Valley 69 are classics. Too bad he ended up making cheap soft pornos, basically.

But he doesn’t see any difference at all between his “cheap soft pornos” and his other films.

So glad someone finally mentioned him. The Bitches is one of my favorites. :)

So glad someone finally mentioned him. The Bitches is one of my favorites. :)

So glad someone finally mentioned him. The Bitches is one of my favorites. :)

why should he see a difference ari
altman didn’t see a difference between nashville and oc and stiggs

I don’t think that’s a valid comparison. In Kern’s case, people frequently make a distinction between his early work (considered “art” films) and his later work (considered “cheap soft pornos”) that’s not qualitative like Altman’s case. Personally, I think this is pretty arbitrary and the fact that he sees no distinction there is, yes, relevant. Then again, if you want to see Kern’s legacy in popular culture, it’s probably most apparent in the Vice Magazine aesthetic. So I’m not so sure that the Cinema of Transgression or whatever else it was called was anything other than a fashion statement (that probably serves best now as a nostalgic sad paean to a NY that no longer exists). I tried to get into Kern’s stuff when I was into all things Sonic Youth but call me unimpressed. So why would you say he’s underrated? Because he invented the hipster trash aesthetic?

I would say he’s rated just right, neither under or over rated. His moment has come and gone. Or at least his influence has seeped into the mainstream so much so that his earlier work no longer seems brazen. That’s not a knock on him because it happens to all trail-blazers and Kern was certainly a trail-blazer. He came along at the right time and captured that time perfectly.

@ Ari ~

I also wouldn’t say he invented the ‘hipster trash aesthetic’ and the cinema of transgression was much more than a mere fashion statement. Lots of artists during that time, whether their medium was film, music, photography or painting, felt the same way and were documenting those feelings even before Kern came on the scene. He became the most notable (thanks in part to Fingered and The Right Side Of My Brain) but he wasn’t the only one.

Hm for a moment I thought you meant this fella. Whoopsie!

Double post

A fantastic film-maker and photographer.

Fingered, Thrust in Me and The Evil Cameraman are my favorites. Also love You Killed Me First, mainly for Lung Leg. I read somewhere that he wanted to remake You Killed Me First with GG Allin playing the dad, a shame this project never happened.

Hope The Auterus database will list his films on here soon (and while they are at it, also list Zedd)

I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be superficial but the term “cinema of transgression” is simply delicious and exciting just to contemplate.

Anyway, I’ve not see anything by Richard Kern, but now I’m very interested. Lydia Lunch? Sonic Youth? Hipster garbage and pornography? I’m in.

—PolarisDiB

I recommend this set of his films, PolarisDiB-

It features “Death Valley 69” (1986), “The Right Side Of My Brain” (1984), “You Killed Me First” (1985), “The Bitches” (1992), “The Sewing Circle” (1992), “X Is Y” (1990), “Fingered” (1986), “Horoscope” (1991), “Submit To Me Now” (1987), “My Nightmare” (1993), “Manhattan Loves Suicides” (1985), “Submit To Me” (1985) and “Evil Cameraman” (1986)

@ Jeff, maybe you’re right and I’m being unfair to Kern. Perhaps his artlessness isn’t so affected and has something more going for it than I can see. But if the Cinema of Transgression hardly merits a footnote in the annals of cinema, I’d say it’s because once its shock value wore off, it didn’t have much going for it. I’ll still give him credit for the Death Valley 69 video and the cover of EVOL. Yeah, and you’re right he was less of an innovator than the epitome of that aesthetic. Personally, I much prefer Abel Ferrara’s sleazy vision of 1980s New York than Kern’s bondage fetishism. And Ferrara actually has some talent. Now Ferrara might actually count as being underrated (hell, his films barely even seem to get distribution these days).

yes he is an exciting director who invented the hipster trash aesthetic + helped lydia lunch launch her career and I doubt russ meyer saw much difference between the seven minutes and pandora’s peaks but he was a good director so all his work is worth considering. Nothing wrong with good soft core porn and as roger ebert says erotica can be judged good or bad simply by whether or not it gives an erection

That’s not all that expensive, thanks Grey Daisies! I just got a Christmas check in, that might be where it goes to.

—PolarisDiB

@ Den

I think Lydia Lunch would strongly object to your statement about Kern helping to launch her career. It’s more the other way around.

I can also recommend that DVD that Grey Daises posted. It has most of Kern’s essential works and I think it’s the only legitimate DVD of his. Sadly, most of the films of the cinema of transgression or no wave or whatever you want to call it are still unavailable in the DVD format. There’s also a decent documentary about the scene called Llik Your Idols which gives you an idea of what the scene was all about.

you might be right all i know is i started buying her cds after I was introduced to her in the kern work
and others i have talked to said the same

I should emphasis that the documentary I talked about is indeed called Llik Your Idols and is not to be confused with Kill Your Idols, which was about the music of the No Wave movement. The film I mentioned is mostly about the careers of Kern, Joe Coleman, Nick Zedd and Lydia, of course.

the only thing I have ever seen of Kern’s is the video he did for Sonic Youth “Death Valley 69”, which was impressive. I do want to see Fingered.

I take back my words about being unfair to Kern. Those shorts are both terrible, horrible student film quality crap. Not student film quality crap because they are low budget because they are obvious, insipid and show little talent. He’s worse than I remember. Girl picks up Emile Durkheim’s Suicide and then slits her wrists in the bathtub in the next scene. Jesus Christ. How fucking profound. Cool guy (very heroin chic) walking down decrepit streets of Lower East Side NY (again, I think I was right that the only thing Kern’s films have going for are documents of what NYC used to look like). And what a “shocking” ending. Please.. Kern strikes me as someone who only was able to get where he was because he was in the right scene at the right time and knew the right people. Buddy G.’s Combat Shock (made around the same time) is just an infinitely better portrayal of a similar milieu.

Two bright spots:

1) Thrust in Me reminded me of how much I like the Dream Syndicate (it actually inspired me to take out my vinyl copy of The Days of Wine and Roses – what a great album).

2) David Wojnarowicz is fantastic. Maybe not as an actor but, unlike Kern, he actually was talented. Close to the Knives is a great book.

@ Ari

Don’t let your dismay over Kern’s shorts put you off from seeing Fingered if you get the chance. I’m not saying you’ll see the light and become converted but it goes down a little more smoother than some of his other stuff. If nothing else, you’ll be amused at how many times Lydia Lunch says ‘fuck’ in its short length. Interesting you mentioned Combat Shock because I’m been trying to see that film for a few years now. It has a nasty reputation which means it’s right down my dirty alley.

i love combat shock

off topic, anyone enjoy the necromantik films?

The two Necromantik are also on my must see list. I’ll probably regret having watched them afterwards though. Netflix doesn’t have the Necromantik’s and Combat Shock in stock at the moment and I don’t know if I’m willing enough to take a chance and buy them outright. I also want to see the uncut version of Murder-Set-Pieces too which I heard a lot of bad things about (which means good things, in my eyes)

buy the first necro
the most shocking scenes in the 2nd are just flashbacks of the first film

i don’t think they’re “profound” either, i take it as a sense of humor regarding hipsters

however i agree with N_Coffi​eld86, Death Valley ’69 is pretty fuckin great

@ Den

New copies of Necromantik are going for $119.00 on the Amazon marketplace while used copies are starting at “only” $66.00. They’re going to have to come down in price drastically for me to take the plunge.