Araki’s director’s cut of the 1995 surreal travel film reopens in theaters in April. Watch the exclusive restoration trailer here.
independent filmmaker Gregg ArakiIt is wild, violent and erotic “The Doom Generationhas been available mostly on mediocre DVD releases and occasional repertoire prints since its sweeping release in 1995. Will soon reopen in 4K thanks to a new restoration. Watch the new trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
At Araki’s chaotic nightmare on the roadReturning home from a wild night at a Los Angeles club, young lovers Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) pick up a dangerously handsome drifter named Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech). Jordan doesn’t mind offering Xavier a quick ride, but his sour-tongued girlfriend thinks he’s a bad guy. When Xavier inadvertently kills a convenience store clerk, they are forced on the run, traversing a bizarre and ultra-violent America. Somehow, every random thug, drive-thru operator, and neo-Nazi they meet seems to recognize Amy as a past fling or alter ego, adding to the already explosive sexual tension brimming among the renegade trio.
Restored in 4K with edited scenes for its theatrical release in 1995, this version reflects the director’s editing, intended by Araki. The film has been completely re-timed and re-edited for today’s technological standards. The sound is remastered to complement the new audio standards in a new 5.1 mix.
“The Doom Generation” is set to play April 7 in New York at the IFC Theater, where Araki will present the film, as well as the Music Box in Chicago and the Alamo Drafthouse in Los Angeles, plus other dates and theaters around the country. , in the following weeks.
However, the New York premiere of the restoration will screen April 6 at BAM as part of NewFest’s upcoming series “Queering the Canon: Totally Radical,” followed by a Q&A with Gregg Araki.
“When ‘Living End’ came out, it was so polarizing in the gay community,” Gregg Araki told ‘Fire Island’ director Andrew Ahn. in a recent conversation for IndieWire. “Jim Stark, the producer, was like, ‘You make these gay movies that gays hate. They’re too punk rock for gays and they hate them. So he said, ‘If you make a straight movie, I’ll produce it and I’ll make you real money for it.” And I said, “OK, sure,” because fuck it. Why not? That’s why “Doom Generation” has a subtitle, “A Heterosexual Movie” So I made this heterosexual movie, but in a very punk rock bratty way, I made it so gay.
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