15 August 2009

The Birthday Babysitting Orgy Club and Rhythm Revue

The orgy scenes in the DVD we saw were not digitally censored. But the music was censored. Some morally outraged Hindu groups complained that the music during the orgy sequence was a Hindu prayer even though it was not. Either they don’t recognise their own prayers or they never saw the movie. I’m guessing that just like every other morally outraged religious group that complains about a movie, they never saw it.

So while what we saw was Kubrick’s vision, what we heard was not. For all the controversy around this movie before and after it was released what they changed was the music. Stanley Kubrick is probably in that great orgy in the sky laughing about it all.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an introduction to a movie review!

By the by...Poor lad your nephew, not only does he have the confusion of observing an attractive corpse completely nude, but this while in the company of a nubile aunt.

This is something I might read in Philip Roth's earlier works, or the juxtaposition of arousal and guilt that made up part of Woody Allen's catchet.

I can relate to the poor boy. As a repressed youth brought up in the Catholic tradition (gave this up) I have never quite shaken free of the guilt associated with certain pleasures or accidents.

Mia said...

Yoel's fortunate that he's not growing up in a repressed environment. He's seen how natural nudity is and his entire family speaks openly about politics and religion. Maybe too much. At his age he's already heard too many diverse arguments to be swayed by biased and simplistic media broadcasts.

Woody and I both grew up Jewish in Christian-dominated environments. There's no better way to gestate guilt.

Sasha said...

I hate this film. Was the dead prostitute the drugger girl he helped out earlier? This is not clear. What happened to the musician friend? Killed? Scared off? Did the wife have an affair or not? Where did the mask come from at the end?

Mia said...

It's called ambiguity. Not everything has to be explained in detail at the end. But the wife never had an affair. She only fantasised about it.

Hagar said...

Given your taste in film, we all know to expect the unexpected.