Dec 18, 2021
Night Tide (1961)
"You love the sun, don't you?"
"Yes. The sun... and the moon, and the stars..."
"And the sea."
"Yes, the sea. Yes, I love the sea most of all. But I'm afraid of it, too."
"I guess we're all a little afraid of what we love."
#night tide#1961#american cinema#curtis harrington#independent film#dennis hopper#linda lawson#gavin muir#luana anders#marjorie eaton#tom dillon#h. e. west#ben roseman#marjorie cameron#kirby allan#barbette#david raksin#aram kantarian#undoubtedly a very beautiful and atmospheric film; Harrington's theatrical debut is‚ visually‚ a deeply impressive first work#his young leads (Lawson and a pre fame Hopper) are both slightly awkward and odd in performance but it suits the material#and the feel of the film. the weak link‚ for me‚ is the script: pacing is off as the film dips in the middle and seems to repeat the same#ideas and dialogues‚ then peaks for a superbly shot final act (real dreamworld nightmare territory and beautifully done) only to ruin it#all with one of the most needless‚ bloated‚ painfully redundant exposition scenes I've ever seen (you know the kind of thing; an#authority figure appears and patiently explains everything we've just seen. it's dismal). still there's a lot to enjoy here‚ from the#careful compositions to the stunning photography‚ and not forgetting a rather heavy hint of homoeroticism (Harrington was gay)#(and had worked with Kenneth Anger‚ the homosexual enfant terrible of the experimental cinema scene)#so it's certainly of value to anyone with an interest in queer cinema. a sometimes striking‚ sometimes clumsy‚ always intriguing film
