Episode 3: ARTHOUSE CINEMA: LIQUID SKY

EP3 LIQUID SKY Podcast

This is an important film. An independent production screened at scattered outlets, it yet made its money back almost fourfold. It derived its look from its Manhattan surrounds and the British scene and left a legacy of style still visible at the end of its decade. Its punk and post punk credentials are there in the lo-fi acting and sloganeering dialogue and that at no point of its running time does it attempt to be a cheap mainstream film. I saw it new (ish) at the Schonell cinema in 1984 and found it hard to get around the attention-seeking lines, numb performances and what I saw as obsolete style and try-hard radicalism. A much later viewing on a poorly transferred DVD softened this view so when I presented this at my film night about eight years ago the millennials who turned up to see it were scornful, deriding its meagre means, cliche and bungled science fiction. I defended it, though I still didn't care that much for it as a movie (however good its ideas) and their response made me think that young 'uns who see the original Halloween and ridicule the many resurrections of the monster after each deathblow, not knowing that they were looking at the origin of the trope. So, it's hard for me to advocate for Liquid Sky as it involves so much explanation to people who might only reject it on sight.

PJ

I loved this film when I first saw it the 1980s. I was especially impressed by the way it evoked the dynamic NYC downtown scene, which seemed to be only remotely connected to its counterpart in my home city, Perth, WA.  Shortly after seeing the movie (possibly at the Oxford Cinema in Leederville), I found myself wandering the empty streets of Perth with a small group of friends in the early hours of a Sunday morning (coming down from the effects of alcohol and weed).  We were moaning about being bored with WA and dreaming about being transported to the East Village (possibly by an alien spacecraft). Alas, it was not to be, but Liquid Sky gave us a tantalising taste of a more glamourous (though avowedly cynical and downbeat) subculture. I think I fell in love with NYC’s cobblestone streets, grimy tenements and skyscrapers because of Liquid Sky.

I saw the film again last year in NYC (in the presence of its star, Anne Carlisle, and director, Slava Tsukerman). The 4K restoration looked great, but, for me, Liquid Sky had lost some of its lustre. Has the film aged badly? In some ways, yes. Still, it stands up as a compelling document of its time and is a testament to Tsukerman’s ingenuity and creativity. It’s worthy of our attention today not least for the way it embodies the post-punk ‘can-do’ attitude that was a feature of alternative culture in the 80s.

GDC