Movies and TvShows featuring "no-wave" theme.
John Zorn's live performance of Naked City's self-titled album at The Marquee Club in New York City, 1992.
Night Lunch is a documentary short that explores the vibrant and experimental no-wave music scene in New York City during the 1970s. The film takes a closer look at the emergence of this underground movement and its impact on the city's cultural landscape.
Stranger Than Paradise follows a young man's life as he navigates through loneliness, cultural differences, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Set against the backdrop of snowy landscapes, the film takes a minimalist approach in its storytelling, exploring themes of friendship, identity, and the search for meaning.
In this ostensible murder mystery, the genre elements are merely a pretext for the series of haunting (if inconclusive and only mildly erotic) homo-social encounters he stages. Starting with the familiar premise of the absent woman, so popular with Downtown filmmakers, Vogl drains his storytelling of any hints of noir stylization. Instead of nighttime scenes, slick streets, and dark alleys, he shoots documentary-style on the nondescript, sunlit streets of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and City Island in a manner that casually references the art-film angst of Michelangelo Antonioni.
Smithereens is a gritty drama set in 1980s New York City. It follows the story of a young punk-rock girl living in a van, struggling with loneliness and trying to find her place in the city. She gets involved with dangerous characters and experiences the highs and lows of the music scene. The film explores themes of identity, rebellion, and the price of fame.
Downtown '81 follows a young artist named Jean Michel as he struggles to find his place in the vibrant and chaotic art scene of New York City in the 1980s. With money troubles, graffiti adventures, and encounters with eccentric characters, Jean Michel is on a journey of self-discovery and artistic expression.
In the unsettling, absurdist SIMONLAND, a grotesque, televangelist-style demagogue leads his studio audience and isolated viewers through a psychotic game of Simon Says with twisted results.
A 1950s accountant with a restless wife grows paranoid after hiding a milk thief's corpse next door.
The X-rated cartoon animations of Emmy award winning director/animator Merrill Aldighieri add a comical edge to this intense documentary with Lydia Lunch, a second collaboration after their first success, ""The Gun is Loaded."" Highlights from 5 concerts are accompanied by a live music score performed by composer JOE BUDENHOLZER & horn player TERRY EDWARDS (from MADNESS) during their travels to MARSEILLE, LYON, EVREUX, & NANTES. Bonus clips include rare on-the road interview footage with Lydia and composer Joe B., and an exclusive reading done at the Père Lachaise Cemetary.
A series of short films by Richard Kern: Stray Dogs, Woman At The Wheel, Thrust In Me, & I Hate You Now.
In a dystopian society, women rise up to fight against various forms of discrimination and inequality. They use pirate radio and broadcasting to spread their message and organize protests, strikes, and revolutionary actions. The story follows their journey as they challenge the corrupt political system and fight for justice.
Loosely based on an infamous 1984 Long Island murder case involving Satan-worshiping, teenage drug freaks (Knights of the Black Circle), David Wojnarowicz and Tommy Turner’s Where Evil Dwells is a low-budget D.I.Y. movie that walks the jagged lines between splatter flick, experimental film and transgressive art. The original footage was destroyed in a fire and the only footage that survived is this 28 minute preview that was put together for the Downtown New York Film Festival in 1985.
A psychotic saxophone player lures victims to deserted spots with his music and then guns them down.
This fascinating and retrospective look at the music of the outspoken and multitalented Lydia Lunch represents every stage of her varied career, with featured songs such as "I Woke Up Screaming" from her Teenage Jesus and the Jerks days. Other songs spanning the decades in this collection include "Freud in Flop," "Sorry for Behaving So Badly," "Dead River," "Solo Mystico," "Summon," "Violence Is the Sport of God" and many more.
Blank City is a documentary that explores the vibrant underground film scene in New York City during the 1970s. It delves into the world of experimental filmmaking, punk rock music, drug dealing, and the creative vibrancy that was present during that time. The documentary showcases the rise of the 'no-wave' movement and the impact it had on the cultural landscape of the city.
Real-life kung fu master Nathan Ingram stars in this gritty, low-budget martial arts epic as a local karate school owner who clashes with a gang of drug traffickers posing as the owners of a rival dojo. Director Charlie Ahearn (who helmed the landmark hip-hop film Wild Style) used the housing projects next to his New York Lower East Side apartment as his central location in this 1979 classic, shot on a vintage Super 8 camera.
The Last House on Dead End Street follows the story of a psychopath who takes pleasure in torturing and killing his victims. It explores themes of evil, power, and revenge in a gritty and brutal manner. The film features explicit scenes of violence, including drill-related murders and disturbing acts of sadism. It delves into the dark and twisted mind of the antagonist, showcasing his deranged desires and gruesome actions.
A group of actors in the East Village of New York City have been rehearsing for a play when the lead actress in the play turns up dead.
The cream of the New York new wave/punk crop, filmed live at CBGB when the scene was just beginning. Includes performances by Patti Smith, Blondie, Television, the Ramones, Talking Heads, the Heartbreakers, the Shirts, Wayne County, the Marbles, the Dolls, Miamis, Harry Toledo, and the Tuff Darts (w/Robert Gordon).
Nares mocks up Ancient Rome by shooting in faux-classical sites including Tribeca's American Thread Building, where a decrepit penthouse loft with a peeling-paint dome serves as an echoey stand-in for the imperial palace. The latter location required ingenuity: Posing as potential renters, Nares and associates asked the manager to show them the apartment, then unlocked the windows on the way out; a few hours later, they broke back into the space, full cast and crew in tow, to shoot the necessary scenes.