Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea louis proyect. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea can be streamed in its entirety through the kqed arts youtube channel. Rhetorical references notes human communication therefore is a symbolic action because we draw upon language and other symbols to construct a framework for understanding and valuing and to bring the wider world to others attention. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea offers an offbeat portrait of the people who populate the shores of the once california riviera, which is now considered one of americas worst ecological. It is an epic western tale of fantastic real estate ventures and failed boomtowns, innercity gangs fleeing to. Pretty good documentary on the people living around the sea. Plagues and pleasures shows a dying ecological outpost alive with eccentrics.
Plagues and pleasures director chris metzler will be at santa fes cca cinematheque on wednesday, june, and albuquerques guild cinema on friday and saturday, june 15 and 16, to present his film. But it wasnt always like this, as chris metzler and jeff springers thoroughly engrossing documentary, plagues and pleasures on the salton sea reveals, mostly through a. The salton sea is a lowlife black comedy drawing inspiration from memento, pulp fiction and those trendy british thrillers about drug lads. Docuramas dvd of plagues and pleasures on the salton sea is presented in a colorful flat encoding. Released september 19th, 2004, plagues and pleasures on the salton sea stars john waters the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 26 min, and received a score of 72 out of 100 on metacritic. Patten and team, it occupies the lowest elevation of the salton sink in southern california patten et al. The salton sea is a 2002 american neonoir crime thriller film directed by d. Chris metzlerwho visited us last year with everyday sunshine. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea popmatters.
The story of fishbonecodirected plagues and pleasures on the salton sea, an occasionally whimsical and deeply sad look at a. Greg bassenian is raising funds for salton sea documentary feature film on kickstarter. Sep 08, 2007 plagues and pleasures on the salton sea filed under. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea 2004 moviefone. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea, a film about. I loved the quirkly narration waters provided as this documentary revealed the creation, the marketing hype of the salton sea and its sad surrealistic present day condition. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea cinematographer 2004. Narrated with morbid relish by john waters, this witty doc chronicles the rise and. Miracle in the desert tells the story of the salton sea s creation to its current state of peril and impending ecological disaster. Rent the salton sea 2002 starring val kilmer and vincent donofrio on dvd and bluray. Caruso the salton sea 2016 film, starring jamie anne allman, was directed by veena sud. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea, directed by.
He is completely selftaught, having first bought super8 film equipment in 1982. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea 2004 plagues and. But the pleasures portion of the title is an equally important factor in the film s tone, which has room for both scientific inquiry and. Fabulously offbeat and refreshingly upbeat, this lovable film gets friendly with the natives of the salton sea. I recently watched plagues and pleasures on the salton sea at the 1st annual ellensburg film festival and i thought that the documentary was made with great success. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea dvd 2007 new. Maybe it was john waters narration that had me wondering at what level this film would be exploiting the salton sea and its inhabitants. Nov 29, 2007 but it wasnt always like this, as chris metzler and jeff springers thoroughly engrossing documentary, plagues and pleasures on the salton sea reveals, mostly through a voiceover supplied, oddly. Everything is weirder narrated by john waters ive been to the salton sea, but it was something like thirty years ago. Once known as the california riviera, the salton sea is now considered one of americas worst ecological disasters. But you dont ever hear about the salton sea, do ya. Read about the plagues and pleasures on the salton sea dvd and browse other dvd movies. The filmmakers have a good eye for the salton sea s grotesque ruins and bizarre denizens.
The actual sea, which is 35 miles long and 15 miles wide and was created by accident in californias imperial valley by a diversion of the colorado river, briefly flourished as a resort area from the 50s to the 70s until massive flooding and the sea s. From beneath the hard facts emerges a sobering lesson. The appalling condition of the salton sea is a prediction of disasters to come. The desert is even more interesting when you add a huge inland sea to the mix especially when that sea was a mistake that resulted from a colorado river flooding over a hundred years ago. Its about the rise and fall of a place, a classic story. The story of fishbone, codirected with lev anderson. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea metacritic.
With sonny bono, john waters, norm niver, petre melvin. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea 2004 documentary. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea box office mojo. The documentary plagues and pleasures on the salton sea does not look or feel like a serious film about the environment. Were sorry but jwapp doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. Plagues and pleasures is a thoroughly engrossing account, both humorous and. The actual sea, which is 35 miles long and 15 miles wide and was created by accident in californias imperial valley by a diversion of the colorado river, briefly flourished as a resort area from the 50s to the 70s until massive flooding and the seas. In the 80s, he was also heavily involved in melbourne area film clubs, including forming the super8 film group and the melbourne super8 film festival.
Narrated by legendary counterculture filmmaker john waters, the film premiered at the slamdance film festival, went on to win over 35 awards for best documentary and was named by booklist as one its top 10 environmental films. Newhall under construction newhall under construction. Rent the salton sea 2002 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea dvd, 2007 for. Come meet the friendly residents of californias newest environmental disaster. And its because, unfortunately, the plagues outweigh the pleasures at the salton sea. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea 2004 plagues. Bill mousoulis is a greekaustralian independent filmmaker. Chris metzler and jeff springers plagues and pleasures on the salton sea relates the unusual history of an accidental inland sea, once a mecca for recreation but now an environmental and economic sinkhole. Renowned cult film director john waters narrates this quirky exploration of the salton sea, the massive southern california lake that was created by accident a. Plagues and pleasures shows a dying ecological outpost.
Renowned cult film director john waters narrates this quirky exploration of the salton sea, the massive southern california lake that was created by accident a century ago, became a popular desert resort and has since developed into a refuge for a community of oddballs. Luckily plagues and pleasures got people on film who are not around. Codirectors chris metzler and jeff springers plagues and pleasures on the salton sea is an account of how what was supposed to be calif. Monica film center santa monica monica film center santa monica. One audio commentary offers the filmmakers selfevaluation and a second track pairs two of the salton sea locals, norm niver and steve horvitz. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea penetrates the sadness and inertia of the local residents who still try to make their livelihood in and around this monumental manmade blemish, which was once a gem.
The film delivers information about the manmade sea s past, present, and a glimpse at what may lie in the future. Plagues and pleasures has a different style for a reason. At first plagues and pleasures on the salton sea had me feeling a little hesitant. The film delivers information about the manmade sea s past, present, and a. In 2010, he completed the documentary film, everyday sunshine. Once known as the california riviera, the salton sea is now called one of americas worst ecological disasters. Plagues and pleasures on the salton sea by chris metzler. Renowned cult film director john waters narrates this quirky exploration of the salton sea, the massive southern california lake that was created by. The salton sea is a saline and shallow rift lake that is situated on the san andreas fault, in the coachella and imperial valleys. Filmmakers chris metzler and jeff springer let salton residents break it down in this charming, yet sad documentary. The film was released theatrically in the united states and broadcast nationally on the sundance channel.
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