George Kuchar
Encyclopedia
George Kuchar was an American underground film
director
, known for his "low-fi" aesthetic.
, a vocational school in New York City. He graduated in 1960 and drew weather maps for a local news show. During this period, he and his twin brother Mike Kuchar
were making 8mm movies, which were showcased in the then-burgeoning underground film
scene alongside films by Andy Warhol
, Kenneth Anger
, and Stan Brakhage
.
After being laid off from a commercial art job in New York City, Kuchar was offered a teaching job in the film department of the San Francisco Art Institute
, where he taught from 1971 until early 2011.
In San Francisco, Kuchar became involved with underground comics via his neighbors Art Spiegelman
and Bill Griffith. They both wound up in his movies and George wound up in their publications.
. His video work is archived at the Video Data Bank. In the Critics' Poll of the 100 best films of the 20th century, appearing originally in The Village Voice
(4 January 2000), Hold Me While I'm Naked was ranked 52nd.
and producer Jeffrey Schwarz
.
It Came From Kuchar
, a documentary film
of the life of George and Mike Kuchar by Jennifer Kroot, premiered at the South by Southwest
film festival on 14 March 2009.
In 1997, the Kuchar brothers collaborated on a book Reflections from a Cinematic Cesspool, a memoir discussing four decades of filmmaking with an introduction by director John Waters
.
.
Produced at the San Francisco Art Institute:
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, known for his "low-fi" aesthetic.
Early life and career
Kuchar trained as a commercial artist at the School of Industrial Art, now known as the High School of Art and DesignHigh School of Art and Design
The High School of Art and Design is a Career and Technical Education high school located at 1075 Second Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets in Manhattan, New York City, New York.It is operated by the New York City Department of Education...
, a vocational school in New York City. He graduated in 1960 and drew weather maps for a local news show. During this period, he and his twin brother Mike Kuchar
Mike Kuchar
Mike Kuchar is an American underground filmmaker and actor. Kuchar is notable for his low-budget and camp films such as Sins of the Fleshapoids and The Craven Sluck.-Biography:...
were making 8mm movies, which were showcased in the then-burgeoning underground film
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
scene alongside films by Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
, and Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
.
After being laid off from a commercial art job in New York City, Kuchar was offered a teaching job in the film department of the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
, where he taught from 1971 until early 2011.
In San Francisco, Kuchar became involved with underground comics via his neighbors Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
and Bill Griffith. They both wound up in his movies and George wound up in their publications.
Films
George Kuchar directed over 200 films and videos (including over 15 with his twin brother Mike), many of them short films by students in his courses at the San Francisco Art InstituteSan Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
. His video work is archived at the Video Data Bank. In the Critics' Poll of the 100 best films of the 20th century, appearing originally in The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
(4 January 2000), Hold Me While I'm Naked was ranked 52nd.
Films featuring George Kuchar
Planet Kuchar, a biopic of the life of George Kuchar, is being developed by Los Angeles production company Automat PicturesAutomat Pictures
Automat Pictures is a multi-award winning entertainment production company based in Los Angeles, which specializes in EPK, Blu-ray and DVD Added Value, as well original television programming, web content and independent feature film production....
and producer Jeffrey Schwarz
Jeffrey Schwarz
Jeffrey Schwarz is President & CEO of Automat Pictures, a Los Angeles based entertainment company specializing in the production of studio EPKs , Blu-ray and DVD content, original television programming, and feature films....
.
It Came From Kuchar
It Came From Kuchar
It Came from Kuchar is a documentary film about twin underground filmmakers George Kuchar and Mike Kuchar directed by Jennifer Kroot and produced by Tigerlily Films LLC. The film includes commentary by John Waters, Christopher Coppola, Wayne Wang, B...
, a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
of the life of George and Mike Kuchar by Jennifer Kroot, premiered at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
film festival on 14 March 2009.
In 1997, the Kuchar brothers collaborated on a book Reflections from a Cinematic Cesspool, a memoir discussing four decades of filmmaking with an introduction by director John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
.
Death
George Kuchar died on 6 September 2011 in San Francisco, just past his 69th birthday on August 31st, of complications related to prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
.
Filmography
(The Kuchar brothers, in British punctuation tradition, capitalize articles, prepositional phrases, and contractions in their movie titles, when working together or independently)- The Wet Destruction Of The Atlantic Empire (1954)
- Screwball (1957)
- The Naked And The Nude (1957)
- The Slasher (1958)
- The Thief And The Stripper (1959)
- A Tub Named Desire (1960)
- I Was A Teenage Rumpot (1960)
- Pussy On A Hot Tin Roof (1961)
- Born Of The Wind (1961)
- A Woman Distressed (1962)
- A Town Called Tempest (1962)
- Night Of The Bomb (1962)
- Lust For Ectsasy (1963)
- The Confessions Of Babette (1963)
- Tootsies In Autumn (1963)
- Anita Needs MeAnita needs meAnita Needs Me is a 1963 short film directed by George Kuchar and starring Maulis Pearson as Anita. It has a runtime of 16 minutes....
(1963) - The Lovers Of Eternity (1963)
- Corruption Of The Damned (1965)
- Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966)
- Leisure (1966)
- Mosholu Holiday (1966)
- Color Me Shameless (1967)
- Eclipse Of The Sun Virgin (1967)
- The Lady From Sands Point (1967)
- Knocturne (1968)
- Unstrap Me (1968)
- House Of The White People (1968)
- Encyclopedia Of The Blessed (1968)
- The Mammal Palace (1969)
- Pagan Rhapsody (1970)
- Portrait Of Ramona (1971)
- The Sunshine Sisters (1972)
- The Devil's Cleavage (1973)
- Thundercrack!Thundercrack!Thundercrack! is a pornographic black comedy film, combining an "old dark house" mystery with hardcore sex scenes. It was directed by Curt McDowell and written from Mark Ellinger and George Kuchar.-Plot summary:...
(1975)(screenplay) - Back To Nature (1976)
- A Reason To Live (1976)
- La Casa De Chorizo (1977)
- KY Kapers (1977)
- Wild Night In El Reno (1977)
- Forever And Always (1978)
- Mongreloid (1978)
- Blips (1979)
- Aqueerius (1980)
- The Nocturnal Immaculation (1980)
- Yolando (1980)
- Cattle Mutilations (1983)
- Mom (1983)
- Untitled Musical (1984)
- The X-People (1984)
- Ascension Of The Demonoids (1985)
Produced at the San Francisco Art Institute:
- Destination Damnation (1972)
- Carnal Bipeds (1973)
- I Married A Heathen (1974)
- The Desperate And The Deep (1975)
- I, An Actress (1977)
- The Asphalt Ribbon (1977)
- One Night A Week (1978)
- Prescrition [sic] In Blue (1978)
- The Power Of The Press (1979)
- Remember Tomorrow (1979)
- Symphony For A Sinner (1979)
- How To Chose [sic] A Wife (1980)
- The Woman And The Dress (1980)
- Ochokpug (1980)
- Boulevard Kishka (1981)
- The Oneers (1982)
- Ms. Hyde (1983)
- Club Vatican (1984)
- The Legend Of Thelma White (1985)
- Motel Capri (1986)
- La Noche D'Amour (1986)
- PRC Musical (1986)
- Insanitorium (1987)
- Summer Of No Return (1988)
- La Verbotene Voyage (1989)
Videography
- Studio 8 (1985)
- Video Album (1985)
- Weather Diary 1 (1986)
- Greetings from Boulder (1986)
- Video Album 2 (1986)
- Last Hello (1986)
- Video Album 3 (1986)
- Rainy Season (1987)
- Weather Diary 2 (1987)
- Caged Culture (1987)
- Creeping Crimson (1987)
- Cult of the Cubicles (1987)
- Muffled Darkness (1987)
- Video Album 5: The Thursday People (1987)
- We, The Normal (1987)
- Xmas 1987 New Years (1987)
- Calling Dr. Petrov (1987)
- East By Southwest (1987)
- The Desert Within (1987)
- 1980 Seven (1987)
- Weather Diary 3 (1988)
- Weather Diary 4 (1988)
- The Celluloids (1988)
- L.A. Screening Workshop (1988)
- Low Light Life (1988)
- Mecca of the Frigid (1988)
- Return to the House of Pain (1988)
- Evangelust (1988)
- The Hurt that Fades (1988)
- Motivation of the Carcasoids (1988)
- Terror By Twilight (1988)
- Orbits of Fear (1988)
- Fill Thy Crack with Whiteness (1989)
- Migration of the Blubberoids (1989)
- Precious Products (1989)
- Weather Diary 5 (1989)
- The Deafening Goo (1989)
- Love Me True (1989)
- Hefner's Heifers (1989)
- Say Yes to No (1989)
- 500 Millibars to Ecstasy (1989)
- Chili Line Stops Here (1989)
- Point 'n Shoot (1989)
- Pictures at an Exhibitionist's (1989)
- Vile Cargo (1989)
- The Web of Dr. Satan (1989)
- Wet Dreams (1989)
- Letter from New York (1990)
- Weather Diary 6 (1990)
- Kiss of the Veggie Vixen (1990)
- Rocky Interlude (1990)
- Edible Atrocities (1990)
- Snap 'n Snatch (1990)
- Curse of the Kurva (1990)
- Munchkins of the Melody Manor (1990)
- Passage to Wetness (1990)
- Saga of Magda (1990)
- Tempest in a Tea Room (1990)
- The Warming of the Hell House (1990)
- Winter Hostilities (1991)
- Gastronomic Getaway (1991)
- Snake Goddess (1991)
- Foto Spread (1991)
- The Fall of the House of Yasmin (1991)
- Artists in Residence (1991)
- Scarlet Droppings (1991)
- Weather Watch (1991)
- Indian Summer (1991)
- Come Forth, Julyowa (1991)
- The Holiday Xmas Video of 1991 (1991)
- The Redhead from Riverside Terrace (1991)
- Going Nowhere (1992)
- Interior Vacuum (1992)
- Sherman Acres (1992)
- George Kuchar Goes to Work with Today's Youth (1992)
- Big Ones Hurt (1992)
- Pilgrimage (1992)
- Chat 'n 'Chew (1992)
- Demonatrix of Kebrine Castle (1992)
- Impaction of the Igneous (1992)
- Indigo Blues (1992)
- Award (1992)
- Ann Arbor (1992)
- Graffiti Junction (1993)
- The Tower of the Astro-Cyclops (1993)
- Andy's House of Gary (1993)
- ID Came from Inner Space (1993)
- Dial A Kvetch (1993)
- Bayou of the Blue Behemoth (1993)
- Glacier Park Video Views (1993)
- Melody for Maria (1993)
- Story of Ruthy (1993)
- Sunbelt Serenade, Part 1: Oklahoma (1993)
- Sunbelt Serenade, Part 2: Los Angeles (1993)
- Sunbelt Serenade, Part 3: Arizona (1993)
- Isleton (1993)
- Trinity (1993)
- Kitchenetiquette (1993)
- Video Wallpaper Series (1993)
- The Gifted Goon (1994)
- Going Hollywood (1994)
- Cellar Sinema (1994)
- Dingleberry Jingles (1994)
- Jungle Jezebel (1994)
- Sins of Bunny Luv (1994)
- Baldies of Burgermeister Bungalow (1994)
- The Cage of Nicholas (1994)
- Chow Down on Cheney Street (1994)
- Felines of Castle Frauline (1994)
- Rancho Roulette (1994)
- Holidaze, 1994 (1994)
- Route 666 (1994)
- Tales of the Twilight Typist (1994)
- Urchins of Ungawa (1994)
- Nirvana of the Nebbishites (1994)
- Woman of the 90's (1995)
- Portraiture in Black (1995)
- The Confessions of Nina Noir (1995)
- Society Slut (1995)
- The Unclean (1995)
- Slippage in the Garden of Udon (1995)
- Omewenne (1995)