During the unfortunately short-lived No Wave movement, New York filmmakers like Beth B and her husband Scott B were making films and shorts that didn’t fit inside one particular box. They explored so many issues that were happening around them, New York, and all over the world, such as alienation, punk rock, drugs, politics, fascism, feminism, and absolute rebellion. Just like the Sex, Money and Power set (released in 2023 by Kino), the six films/shorts included in the No Wave: Underground Films of Beth B & Scott B set are just as confrontational, fearless, and highly original.
Buy The Underground Films of Beth B & Scott BDisc 1:
- G-Men (1979): A startling short film about social anxiety centering on a bomb squad chief, his collusion with terrorists, and his dominatrix, for which is seeks refuge with.
- Black Box (1979): A harrowing short film about where an innocent man is kidnapped and sent into a grim nightmare where teenager Lydia Lunch (icon of the No Wave movement) throws him into a mysterious black box.
- Letters to Dad (1979): A somber meditation of authority that has individuals reading actual letters to Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana that anticipated the notorious massacre that took place in 1978.
- The Offenders (1980): The B’s first feature film which is as savage and unpredictable satire about the kidnapping of a young woman orchestrated by her controlling father.
Disc 2:
- The Trap Door (1981): A surreal parable about a young man having the worst day of his life after he is suddenly fired from his job. He then loses his girlfriend, gets hustled by a seemingly promising employer, attacked by birds, and seeks help from a shrink who turns out to be strangest one of all.
- Vortex (1981): An atmospheric neo-noir where Lunch plays a detective who exposes the plan of heinous businessman (James Russo) who seeks government contracts through manipulation and fear.
Watching these films opened my eyes more to ideas and stories about people who don’t often inhabit society. They live and breathe on their own terms and play by their own rules. I instantly connected to them, considering I’m also an outsider. This is the unexpected beauty and relevance of underground cinema. They are made by trailblazing misfits for practical misfits.
If you are looking for cinema that challenges the mainstream, then pick up this set. It’s definitely worth it. Long live the rebels!
Special features include intros to all six films by Scott B, and a new interview with Beth B, moderated by Sandra Schulberg (president of IndieCollect).
