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“My Own Private Idaho” was such an excellent movie! There’s so much to love: the “What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the day” parody, the house dropping into the road in the middle of nowhere, the pre-Moulin Rouge (though, non-Argentinian) narcolepsy! Some of the images (after the one of River and Keanu) are from the film, right? But some aren’t, I think.
Mutecypher – I have been obsessing on the movie and the Criterion material for a couple of weeks now. I know, I love it too! These are all images from the movie, actually – I just loved all the boys that Gus van Sant found – many of them who were actually living that life – they give the film a documentary feel, even with all the Shakespearean language. And then of course there is Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers – love this movie. Working my way up to write something about it.
River Phoenix is such a genius – and I don’t think Keanu has ever been better.
have you read about Endless Idaho? I’m so curious and want to see it, mostly for the glimpse at phoenix’s process. here’s a description I found online:
“For Endless Idaho, Franco edited outtakes, deleted scenes, alternate takes, and behind-the-scenes footage from My Own Private Idaho into a 12-hour film.
Endless Idaho provides an unprecedented look into the workaday process of making a movie, from location scouting to repeated takes. Like many of the films of Andy Warhol, a major influence on Van Sant’s own auteur style, it is a provocative, often riveting blend of documentary and fiction. Interviews with actual hustlers who played secondary characters in My Own Private Idaho are intercut with shots of River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves improvising and refining their performances under the direction of Van Sant and his crew.”
I just popped it into the Netflix cue, I need to see it again. Dogfight is ahead of it.
And I’m in the last 50 pages of Winter’s Tale. You’re my Arts and Literature guru, Sheila.
I need to watch this again. I think it’s some of River Pheonix’s best work. Along, actually, with his precociously wise performance in Dogfight. I still have Dogfight on VHS. I find it riveting. Partially, I suppose, because it also introduced me to Lili Taylor.