DIRTY PICTURES (TV)
Summary
This docudrama, about the landmark 1990 censorship trial over the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe, mixes dramatic narrative with archival news footage and interviews with pundits and figures related to the case. The film opens with footage of political figures like Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), politician and writer Pat Buchanan, Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.), and President George Bush, who discuss Mapplethorpe's work in the context of the case. Each significant figure from the controversy is then introduced, including Cincinnati Sheriff Simon Leis, moral activist Monty Lobb, and the trial's beleaguered defendant, Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center head Dennis Barrie. After the introductions, rap group 2 Live Crew's anti-censorship anthem "Banned in the U.S.A." blares over a montage of Mapplethorpe's photos, which range from pictures of flowers to explicit portraits of figures involved in sadomasochistic sex. After the montage, a subtitle declaring that it is "one year earlier" appears over a scene depicting Barrie's attendance at a meeting of the American Association of Art Museum Directors. J. Paul Getty Museum Director John Walsh announces that the prestigious Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., has canceled the Robert Mapplethorpe show that Barrie has also booked for his museum. Before Barrie can even ponder the significance of the news, his colleagues encourage him to remain committed to the exhibit. Barrie returns home and finds that his family is already being harassed by moral-activist groups. The museum director seeks legal advisors, who warn him that his controversial show is opening at the worst possible time -- a high-profile election year. A number of interview clips are then run, including opinions from Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.); conservative commentator William F. Buckley, Jr.; author Salman Rushdie; National Endowment of the Arts Chairman John Frohnmeyer; ACLU president Nadine Strossen; actress Susan Sarandon; and writer Fran Lebowitz. The interviews conclude with footage of Mapplethorpe himself, who died of AIDS in the mid-1980s. Barrie is charged with displaying obsene photographs, and he is forced to go to trial to defend his right to run the exhibit. The defense calls several unusual witnesses in order to sustain its case that the photos are not obscene, and a clip is run from an interview with a young man named Jesse McBride, who was photographed naked by Mapplethorpe at the age of eight. McBride declares that he does not feel that he was exploited in the photos. The prosecution's witnesses, though, insist that humanity at large was exploited in Mapplethorpe's work.
Details
- NETWORK: Showtime
- DATE: May 27, 2000 Saturday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:40:06
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:64159
- GENRE: Docudrama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Art - Censorship - Drama; Obscenity (law) - Drama; Pornography - Drama; LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: Showtime, TV - 2000
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Manheim … Producer
- Frank Pierson … Director
- Ilene Chaiken … Writer
- Mark Snow … Music by
- James Woods … Cast, Dennis
- Craig T. Nelson … Cast, Leis
- Diana Scarwid … Cast, Diana
- Leon Pownall … Cast, Prouty
- Matt North … Cast, Lobb
- David Huband … Cast, Sirkin
- Judah Katz … Cast, Mezibov
- Rachael Crawford … Cast, Bosworth
- Marnie McPhail … Cast, Reising
- R.D. Reid … Cast, Albanese
- Allegra Fulton … Cast, Angela
- Michele Muzzi … Cast, Brenda
- Martin Roach … Cast, Ed
- Tom DeSantis … Cast, Floyd
- Kenneth McGregor … Cast, Gil
- Jeff Pustil … Cast, Harry
- Sally Cahill … Cast, Liz
- Linda Goranson … Cast, Mary
- Geoffrey Bowes … Cast, Suit
- John Evans … Cast, Tucker
- Jonathan Whittaker … Cast, Muntz
- Colin Fox … Cast, Walsh
- Michael Seater … Cast, Ian
- Stephen Joffe … Cast, Kevin
- Ann Marin … Cast, Teacher
- Richard Sali … Cast, Cabinet Maker
- Nicky Guadagni … Cast, Kardon
- Nancy Beatty … Cast, Reisman
- Lawrence Bayne … Cast, Stein
- Dave Nichols … Cast, Johnson
- Michael Dyson … Cast, Bailiff
- Frank Moore … Cast, Buberg
- Kathryn Haggis … Cast, Clerk
- Michael Carvana … Cast, Principal
- Barbara Radecki … Cast, Dalrymple
- Brett Heard … Cast, Vice Cop
- Conrad Bergschneider … Cast, Policeman
- Graham Losee … Cast, Mean Kid
- Adrian Roberto … Cast, Kid
- Arnie Achtman … Cast, Pro-Artist Protestor
- Sanjay Talwar … Cast, Pro-Artist Protestor
- Ian Orchard … Cast, Pro-Artist Protestor
- Holly Sedgwick … Cast, Parent
- Angel … Cast, Angel
- Dennis Barrie
- Pat Buchanan
- William F. Buckley, Jr.
- George Bush
- Alfonse D'Amato
- Barney Frank
- John Frohnmeyer
- Jesse Helms
- Fran Lebowitz
- Simon Leis
- Monty Lobb
- Robert Mapplethorpe
- Jesse McBride
- Salman Rushdie
- Susan Sarandon
- Nadine Strossen
- 2 Live Crew
- John Walsh