Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Pluskylang Great Film overall

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Wizard-8 "The Loveless" has apparently built somewhat of a cult since it was first released more than thirty years ago. To a degree, I can sort of understand that. There are some positive things to be found here. Though a low budget movie, the movie looks good, from the convincing period detail to the photography. The acting is also well done; you can really believe these brooding characters. And the atmosphere is appropriate for a movie about hard core bikers.Unfortunately, despite positive things like what I've listed, the movie didn't work for me. In fact, I think that most viewers will be dissatisfied as well. There is a big problem, and that problem is that there is virtually no plot. The movie is just one scene after another where little to nothing (usually nothing) of consequence happening. I admit I came close to hitting the eject button on my DVD player several times because I was quite frankly bored. In the end, I can only recommend the movie to hard core fans of anyone in front of or behind the camera.

Johnboy1221 I love Near Dark, and consider it an absolute classic vampire movie....right up at the top of the list of the best, but this film. Whew! What can I say? A boring biker movie? Yeah, and then some. It's all talk and no action.I stayed with it to the end, hoping for a big finish, but it didn't happen. I guess I had worked myself up for a big Tarantino-like shootout in the bar, and it was over almost too soon to catch, if you blinked. Too bad. At least a blood bath at the end might have given me something to enjoy.I'm also a big fan of Willem Defoe, and he's very good in what little he does. One could still see the potential for greatness that would follow.I guess what really disappointed me the most was that I wasn't convinced that this was a real biker gang at all, just actors pretending to be bikers. They talk a lot, smoke cigarettes a lot, and drink beer a lot, but there's no real tension here, and ultimately the "bikers" turn out to be about like everyone else. There's no rumbles, no fights, just talking....long periods of talking.Still, if she never makes another movie, Katherine Bigelow can at least say that she made the best vampire movie ever produced. Near Dark rocks.

lost-in-limbo In the 1950s, a group of leather-clad bikers led by Vance are on their way to Daytona, Florida to compete in a race, but they get sidetracked into a quiet Georgia town to fix up a broken down bike. The uptight locals see them as nothing but trouble, and surely enough problems occur. The waitress of the dinner catches Vance's eyes and another being a brash, young teen, Elena.Wearing black leather never looked so cool! "We're going nowhere… fast" Well, this tag-line accurately describes this sublime, independent feature. Sure, it's not for everyone's tastes, but I loved this ultra-slick, inventively moody trip through the eyes of a couple of laid-back bikers of the 50s. For some people it might be aimlessly dull, because of the mellow tempo and it consciously ticks a long at a leisurely pace with vast empty spaces. I found it to be an evocative tale (despite being quite broad) that has a real hypnotic trance surrounding its arrestingly stylish framework that milks out the sullen atmosphere. There's such an authentic feel about it and so many inspired and iconic imagery seeping off the screen that you can't bear to take your eyes off it.The film was co-written and co-directed by Kathryn Bigelow and Monty Montgomery in their first major feature. The pairs' profoundly, textured direction, catches every little elegant detail (great use of the soothing neon-lighting and composition) with the guidance of Doyle Smith's crisply spacious cinematography. Being shot on location really added to the film's natural presence and unattainable free spirit. Story-wise, there's nothing really conventional about it, but just letting the poetically distinctive situations evolve into an impulsively, harrowing conclusion. The dialogues are rather dry and very sparse with splashes of sly remarks. While, it might not have a lot to say in its context. The stirring visual and music contributions do actually round it off nicely. A divinely, swish rockabilly soundtrack by Robert Gordon and mostly John Lurie becomes a major part of the scene, as it does shape the swanky feel.A huge curiosity would be that of William Dafoe's first major feature role and he rings true in a brilliant performance. His confidently, hardened turn simply has you in awe of his on screen magnetism. There are memorable no-bar performances by Robert Gordon, Tina L'Hotsky, Lawrence Matarese, Danny Rosen and Phillip Kimbrough, who snugly fill the shoes of the tightly rapport biker gang. Marin Kanter has attitude in her part as, Elena. J. Don Ferguson plays Elena's father, Tarver and brings to the table a character just waiting to crack. Finally, Elizabeth Gans is delightful in her role as the waitress, Augusta.This is more than just a basic biker; exploitation movie and I sure loved it. A beautifully, worthy obscure gem that's worth a look for those who enjoy a lot finesse mixed with a touch of enigma.

T.Paul Now that this beautifully sculpted, wildly atmospheric, true-to-the-era in which it is set movie is on DVD, I've watched and re-watched it many times. This is more of a review of the DVD than of the whole film, and the spoilers are more DVD commentary-related than plot-related, so read on if you wish.This is, by far, one of the finest films paying homage to the motorcycle enthusiasts (or outlaws, as it may be), settings, and characters of the 1950's that I've ever seen, and I own many, so any rockabilly guys or gals out there reading this review - this movie is for you! It's moody, sexy, violent, and slick - great eye-candy with an outstanding cast of characters.The DVD has one of the better commentaries, featuring conversations with the film's co-writer/co-directors Kathryn Bigelow & Monty Montgomery, as well as the film's star, Willem Dafoe. Dafoe credits the movie's directors for starting his career with this movie, a fact which Monty Montgomery humbly shrugs off. They get into the movies they watched that directly influenced how "The Loveless" was shot, trivia notes, like how Robert Gordon, who was paid to score the flick blew all of the budget on on single calypso tune that is featured for a few minutes of the film. It would also seem that Gordon, who is most noted for being a rockabilly musician (and an excellent one at that!) was inadvertently cast while meeting with the film's directors. Gordon created some on-set tension that flickered mainly between himself and Dafoe, as Gordon felt that he was the only one on set who truly understood the whole biker/greaser world.It is interesting to note that the movie was Bigelow's thesis for film school, as well as her directorial debut, and it must've earned her some high marks, as she's gone on to work with people like David Lynch! Montgomery, too, has worked extensively with Lynch, producing "Wild At Heart", working on "Twin Peaks", and acting in "Mulholland Dr." For those who expect this to be a biker exploitation flick (like "The Wild One" and all of its followers thereafter), you're in for a surprise. The directors intended for the audience to feel as if that is what they were in for while the initial scenes unfold, but as the story moves forward, we realize that it isn't so much a biker film but more of a kind of a wild-west movie. Monty Montgomery credits Edgar G. Ulmer's short, noir film "Detour" as being the major influence as far as the style, the framing, and the shots of "The Loveless" go. He also credits Kenneth Anger's movie "Scorpio Rising" as the movie that inspired the whole homo-eroticism of the biker world as presented in this, Montgomery's earliest film.For those interested in some trivia, here ya be - Originally titled "U.S. 17", which used to be a U.S. superhighway up until the 1960's when the I 95 highway replaced it as the major thruway from Georgia to Florida and up to New York, the entire film is shot on location along this now abandoned stretch of blacktop. Monty Montgomery, the movie's co-director, grew up in and around the Georgia area where the film was shot, and at the time of filming, the stretch of road was like a time capsule, with abandoned motels, diners, and gas stations along the way which had not changed since the 40's and the 50's. This made the reality of the movie much easier to capture, and cut down massively on the cost of what would have meant sound stage creations of all of these types of locations. I wonder if any of these places exist now, as the movie was done at the beginning of the 80's? I can only hope...There is no disguising that this film focuses more on atmosphere than on plot, and there is no pretense to suggest that the directors intended anything else. Montgomery even refers to it as "eye-candy", and why not? Sometimes my eyes crave the cavities offered up by such sweet treats as "The Loveless"! There are many a long, lingering shot of beautiful vintage 'cycles being worked on, close ups on tattoos (one of the actors, Larry Matarese, who plays "La Ville", opted for an actual old-school pinup gal tattoo on his forearm before filming began), tension-creating pauses while characters look on sipping coffee in a diner or lean on a 50's Coke machine clad in leather and denim, and all of this works for the piece that this movie was meant to be.It is somewhat of homage to "The Wild One", but only in that it deals with motorcycle enthusiast-rebels in the 50's - all other plot comparisons and similarities fall by the wayside.Though they wished for a score that was more like Sergio Leone's large, sweeping, and melodramatic western film's scores, and they were held back by budgetary constraints, I felt what they did have to work with offered the film the nostalgic atmosphere perfectly. The score as it stands on the DVD (which, unfortunately is not on CD, record, or tape, darn it!) largely done by John Lurie (of "The Lounge Lizards" fame, and also a regular in many Jim Jarmusch films), along with a minimal amount of tracks supplied by Robert Gordon, can be credited for being the cherry on top of this 50's diner served, tasty milkshake of a flick!~T.Paul www.t-paul.com