Customer Reviews

Andy Warhol's Bad [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

These DVDs are corrupted and do not play properly. I received the first defective DVD on Fri, 14 Jan 2005 and contacted the Seller. The Seller told me I needed to return the defective DVD before they would ship a replacement. I noticed on the Amazon merchant reviews that several people have had this same problem and I asked the Seller if they did indeed have copies which worked. They promised that they did have working DVDs and that they would ship one as soon as they received the defective DVD. Reluctantly I spent an additional $3 to ship the DVD back to the Seller. Today (Fri, 28 Jan 2005) I received the replacement DVD. This DVD is also defective with the identical manufacturing flaws. Evidentially Cheezy Flicks has no QC department to check their products. The DVD is quite obviously a bootleg/DVD-R copy of a worn out VHS tape. We play DVD-R's quite frequently on both our DVD systems, so it isn't a compatibility issue. The DVD will not load automatically when placed in the machine. When inserted into the machine, the DVD freezes and the number "9" appears on the DVD player. After pressing Play many times, the menu eventually appears. We were able to play the movie about 2/3 of the way through but there were constant pixilation and corruption problems all the way through. Then around Chapter 10 the DVD stops completely. Also, none of the other options on the menu work. For example, pressing "Other titles offered by Cheezy Flicks" causes the DVD to stop. The DVD and the replacement were both defective. Wait for the legitimate release. Don't waste your money on these.

I originally saw this movie at my colleges student union hall in 1977 and loved it.As cult movie fan I always wanted to own it and was very happy to find and purchase a dvd version on Amazon in early Dec.04.However,3 defective dvds later(shipping the first 2 back at my own expense),and numerous unanswered emails.It's now Mar.05.Thank you Amazon for refunding my purchase.One reviewer suggested that Cheezy Flicks is missing a quality control dept,I feel they may be lacking a cutomer service dept as well.Buyers please check the feedback on this seller before you make a purchase.Once again this is a great movie and I would love to see a vialbe dvd version available.

Very John Waters-esque, darkly funny comedy about a housewife (Carroll Baker) who supplements her income as a hair remover by running a murder racket, specializing in hit ladies who take out kids and animals. Sick and bizarre, but very straight-faced: if you have the sense of humor for this sort of thing, it's loads of fun. And probably the best mainstream feature to carry Warhol's name.

(Although, despite what the previous review says, the film is not directed by longtime Warhol associate Paul Morrissey -- it was Jed Johnson this time around -- and there is no South African surfer bedding anyone. Perry King doesn't sleep with any guys this time around, and Baker vents her sexual frustration in abject cruelty towards everyone around her.)

This is an outstanding film if you like black humour; if you don't,you won't like it at all. The script - by long-time Warhol anamuensis Pat Hackett - is good enough you really have to wonder why she didn't continue writing screenplays. It was not,however,directed by Paul Morrissey,who left his partnership with Warhol after the completion of FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN and BLOOD FOR DRACULA in 1973. BAD was directed by Morrissey's protege and sound-man,Jed Johnson,Warhol's long-time lover,who died in an aircraft accident in the late 90's. BAD is a very well-made film but it does admittedly take a strong stomach; one controversial scene shows a woman abruptly tossing her crying baby out of a high window. This is not for everyone. Notwithstanding this scene,the film got surprisingly good reviews but still lost out with follow-up publicity consisting of feminist diatribes accusing it of sexism in that the villains are all women. Since it was authored by a woman,the accusation obviously has little credibility; besides which Ms. Hackett is probably the last word when it comes to being an independent woman,besides being - strangely,given the film's wickedness - an extremely nice person. BAD is a forgotten classic,rather like Polanski's WHAT?manother black humour film that was really outstanding but execrated on grounds of bad taste. Somehow nobody minds bad taste with John Waters,but coming from anyone else it's just Absolutely Unforgivable. If you like beyond-the-pale humour you will thoroughly enjoy BAD. It was not the last Warhol-produced film,unless you want to stretch a point and include Ulli Lommell's COCAINE COWBOYS. But for serious Warhol fans,BAD was the end of an era. As for Pat Hackett,she edited the Warhol Diaries in 1989 and still works for INTERVIEW. She has never written another film,which seems a pity. She was probably the only person (other than his mom) who ever really loved and understood Andy. And BAD is the best-scripted (sorry Mr. Morrissey) of all the Warhol production. A must for all committed Warhol fans.

I must say that this is one of my all time favorite movies and having seen the VHS edition dozens of times, this edition is flawed. It is missing at least two short scenes, one of which is hysterically shocking where Glenda and Marsha mug a guy in a wheelchair. The other shot that I noticed absent is where the wife of the man with one arm (whose nose hair is growing back) insults the guy waiting for the pay phone in the bar. The copy I viewed had no problems playing.

Just thought I'd come on here and offer my 2 cents for others, like me, who saw all these scary reviews and decided NOT to get this company's (CheesyFlicks) copy of this much-sought-after, criminally under-seen masterpiece. I want to kick myself for waiting! The experiences those reviewers had might be true, but I bought this in November of 2007 and it plays just fine. Plus the DVD arrived immediately with no shipping problems. I actually rented it on Netflix first, then when I saw how good it was, I bought one. We have three DVD players (even a lousy, temperamental one) and it played perfectly on all three. The quality looks like a first generation video transfer, full screen, from a clean, new video copy - which is what this DVD is - so you know what to expect. It's fine! The sound is also crisp and clean. For people that love this film, like me, it's more than fine, it's a miracle. At least until it's officially released. OF NOTE: fans of this film should be aware that the particular print this company used is missing one scene. It's the scene after Glenda and Marsha have left Estelle's apartment after meeting with her, walking down the street talking about how they'll come back and kill the dog tomorrow, and then they suddenly mug those guys in wheelchairs for no reason. That whole scene is just not there. A little research reveals that many versions of this film have been circulating around over the decades, with some scenes missing in some prints, maybe because they were considered too awful (yet the baby scene is still in? Haha!). Otherwise there's nothing else missing, it's all there. WHAT A GREAT FILM!!!

A terrible transfer to DVD. The VHS wasn't the best in the world either. But, it is an Andy Warhol film and Joe Dallesandro is in it, as he has been in other Warhol films. Supposedly, another transfer to DVD is going to happen soon? Will wait and see. It is a comedy and the story is funny. But, the DVD is too sad to watch, (quality wise). A young Perry King also stars as well as Carroll Baker ("Baby Doll"). Hopefully, a restored DVD will soon be in the making.

Last I heard, the rights to this film were owned by Avco Embassy Entertainment, and not the screwy company that is marketing this obvious bootleg product. Fans of the original film should stay as far away from this "company" as possible.

Since most reviews here are negative towards the CheesyFlicks edition of Andy Warhol's Bad and not the content of the film, I thought I should chime-in to say that the quality is just fine. This is an underground movie and has an underground movie "look." The quality is acceptable and looks better than the VHS editions out there.

I also did not experience any technical difficulties with this DVD, nor did I have any delays in service from the seller "CheeezyFlicks." I'm grateful to finally have this film on DVD.

Perhaps Paul Morrissey's best work from his Warhol days, BAD is an unrelentingly dark take on beauty and greed - the two arch motivations in Baker's electrolysist's lunatic world of hired hitladies and rotund cops-on-the-take. Perry King as Baker's unhappy boarder matches his landlady's deadpan perormance to a T. And newcomer Roy Lyon as the young South African surfer who beds them both will surely go down in cinematic history as one of the sexiest performers to ever crawl out of the Factory cesspool. Pay close attention to Susan Terrell's trancelike turn as Baker's long suffering daughter in law. A mad and wonderful movie experience.