Customer Reviews

Pig (Limited Edition)

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

 

 

Well, Another reviewer covered the details of the film so I'll skip most of that..

This is definitely an odd little film. It's one that makes you think instead of telling you everything thats happening (really it doesnt tell you anything considering there are no spoken words). Its worth seeing at least once though I wouldnt say its the best of its kind.

Really what made the package worth having are 2 things, the "Why God Permits Evil" booklet of Rozz's artwork and the Memorial video to Rozz with the soundtrack of his song "Flowers" which I found very touching and thoughtful in paying respect to him and all his works.

With only 1334 copies made available it was a nice collectors touch while at the same time it does prevent alot of people from seeing one of Rozz's final projects (take a look at the used selling prices, lowest price at the time I'm writing this is $147.99, OUCH! - *glad I got my copy early!!*)

-extra note, I'm not sure if all copies are like this but mine came signed by Nico B.

Gorgeous. It's a strange film: artsy, morbid, one of those things that typify what most imagine when they think of dark, college, indy art, but still impossible to pin down, and not what you would have thought it was. It is original, fluid but jarring, disturbing, and not for a second cliché. There is no questionablity as to its validity as a work of art by two men who had a vision and carried it out perfectly.

The only negative thing I would say about this film isn't about the film. It's about the fans' regard for Nico B, who gets little credit for the film from Rozz's following, but who was a huge part of the film, and I don't think that PIG would be half of what it is without him.

Wait for a seller to offer a decent price or find it on eBay and WATCH IT! No Rozz fan will be dissappointed. Following Rozz's stated purpose of early Shadow Project and Premature Ejaculation concerts - This film will make you feel sick and ashamed, even if you still haven't figured out why.

Being a fan of early Christian Death & The Shadow Project, I had to see the film for myself. Before I say anything about the visual part of the film I must say that the soundtrack is a great piece of ambient noise (5 Stars). The DVD extras contains a Rozz Williams memorial video set to one of his songs, which was a nice touch. There is also a small insert booklet of collage artwork by Rozz Williams and there are more images of his work in the DVD extras (5 Stars). So why 3 stars you ask, well the "movie" itself it seemed juvenile and if it didn't have the soundtrack to keep it moving along it wouldn't have gone anywhere. With that said, all fans of Rozz Williams should view and interpret the work for themselves.

IT is intresting how amazon keeps the minutes off The listing I would not pay this amount of money for 23 minutes. Trust me cult epics will re-issue this movie...Have not seen, wanted to buy but my luck it went out of print.Ridiculus Pricing for that amount of time on a Movie.

I'll start by admitting that I was not familiar with Rozz Williams, his music or any of his endeavors outside of this film prior to watching "PIG," so this review is more of a cinematic critique. Furthermore, since others have adequately summarized the plot of the film (essentially a poetic exploration of the relationship between a killer and his victim--there are also further details on Wikipedia), I will focus on technical aspects.

Although all of the DVD features total 40+ minutes, the film itself runs 23 minutes. It was shot on b&w film (a combination of super-8 and 16mm, I believe) with no dialogue but features a soundtrack by lead actor, Rozz Williams. Cinematography, a mixture of hand-held and tripod shots, is amateurish--composition is simplistic, exposure shot to shot is uneven, and neither zooms nor pans are smooth. Along with significant film grain, dirt and scratches are evident on the transfer. There are numerous "jump cuts" in the editing and screen continuity doesn't seem a priority --one scene features a shot of the killer leading the victim towards an abandoned house, the victim walking freely, in the next shot the killer is pulling/leading the victim now with bound hands and some sort of leash. S&M "gore" torture effects are actually minimal, marginally effective and again, amateurish.

I'm sure an argument could be made that some or all of the above mentioned details were intentional and that the viewers attention should be primarily focused on the imagery and its symbolism (not sure if more knowledge of Williams history would help here) but I'll admit it was a little difficult to fully submit to the artistic vision when hindered by these flaws that burden the film with a "film school" quality. Rozz Williams lore aside, this film is not a cinematic treat and doesn't break any new ground (seriously--keep in mind this was made in 1998). Richard Kern and Nick Zedd were entertaining and shocking, utilizing a similar aesthetic to better effect, nearly 20 years earlier with their "Cinema Of Transgression." And if you are seeking, specifically, heavily symbolic, lo-fi, b&w horror (and you have this kind of money to throw around), I would recommend Merhige's "Begotten"--expertly crafted with mind-numbing, high-contrast b&w cinematography (in the first few minutes there are even some shots that are startlingly similar to a couple in "PIG," close-up of an eye in gauze, empty abandoned house--"Begotten" pre-dates "PIG" by 9 years!) AND a feature length running time.

Included in the extra features, are some audio interviews with Rozz Williams (apparently his last?) that give a bit more conceptual insight into the film and his mindset at the time (specifically involving the films imagery and getting inside "killer" thought processes) which are fascinating, albeit brief, and prevent me from rating this DVD lower than 2 stars. The photo gallery contains a few behind-the-scenes shots of the bare bones production crew as well as the DVD artwork photos. There is also a decent memorial video that "PIG" director Nico B made for Rozz Williams' services.

Be aware that this film features, along with the general S&M type torture mentioned above, some full frontal male nudity including close up shots of male genital torture.

As far as the different pressings or "editions," it seems that there was an initial run of 1334 DVDs as well as a secondary run that brought the total number of DVDs to 2000 (cleverly making the second run a press of 666). Apparently, any copies that are hand numbered are not legit, all copies from Cult Epics were print numbered. There are a significant number of the DVDs that are signed by director Nico B (Cult Epics website says 250 of the initial run, no mention of signed copies from second). Copies of "PIG" on eBay from "cultdiscount" are actually direct from Cult Epics (which is Nico B's DVD distribution company)--seems that the director schemed that he could sign and hoard the last run and get more than the $29.95 list price...

In summary, a bit of a heavy price to pay if you are not a hardcore Rozz Williams fan/follower. I think both independent cinema and horror fiends will be equally disappointed. A better place to begin exploring these lo-fi, DIY type cinematic explorations can be found here:

Begotten
Hardcore Collection