Liquid Sky is having its last-ever 35mm screening in New York City this weekend
LIQUID SKY (Slava Tsukerman, 1982)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28, 7:20 (both followed by Q&As)
212-255-2243
quadcinema.com
www.liquidskythemovie.com
“Everybody wants euphoria; what’s wrong with that?” a character declares in Slava Tsukerman’s 1982 sci-fi cult classic, Liquid Sky. First, a tiny alien spaceship lands above a rooftop apartment in the shadow of the Empire State Building. Margaret (Anne Carlisle), a Connecticut native who dresses in shocking makeup and clothing, lives there with Adrian (Paula E. Sheppard), a performance artist and heroin dealer specializing in Liquid Sky. Their world is all about sex, drugs, and punk / new wave music. Later, at the club, they meet Vincent (Jack Adalist), who claims his father is a bigwig in the movies, and Paul (Stanley Knap), a middle-class junkie whose wife, Katherine (Elaine C. Grove), is trying to get him to kick the habit. Katherine’s brother, the androgynous, Bowie-esque Jimmy (also played by Carlisle), is a friend of Adrian and Margaret’s who is going to model with Margaret in what turns out to be a very strange fashion shoot for Midnight magazine with an oddball crew that includes a cool designer (Nina V. Kerova), an eager photographer (Alan Preston), and a snappy hair stylist (Christine Hatfull). Meanwhile, UFO hunter Johann Hoffman (Otto von Wernherr) is on the trail of the midtown alien ship and being wined and dined by the hot-to-trot Sylvia (Susan Doukas), whose window offers an excellent view of Adrian and Margaret’s apartment. The plot thickens when Margaret discovers that she seems to have a rather special power whenever a sexual partner (or rapist) has an orgasm with her.
Ann Carlisle stars as both Jimmy and Margaret in Slava Tsukerman’s Liquid Sky
Released in August 1982, Liquid Sky was ahead of its time in its treatment of gender identity and sexual orientation (and even bathroom usage); in fact, it’s already postgender. It also presages the AIDS crisis and the protest motto “Sex = Death.” And the special effects, which were created by Russian cinematographer Yuri Neyman and combine science with psychedelia, might look cheesy now but they were cutting edge (and still slyly funny) thirty-five years ago, as were the freaky costumes and production design by Marina Levikova. Marcel Fieve was responsible for the fab makeup and hair. Written by Soviet émigré Tsukerman (Stalin’s Wife, Perestroika), his wife, Kerova, and Carlisle, the film, inspired by Wendy Steiner’s The Scandal of Pleasure and Tsukerman’s own emigration, is an avant-garde look at the immigrant experience in America, whether coming from outer space, the Soviet Union, or Connecticut, as well as the Reagan-era counterculture. The Empire State Building rises tall in numerous shots, a large phallic symbol of personal freedom. There is also a brief shot of the Twin Towers, echoing Carlisle’s performance as both Margaret and Jimmy. The acting is mediocre at best and the plot doesn’t always make sense, but Liquid Sky is more than just a captured moment in time, as it explores issues that are still controversial today. The hypnotic, synth-heavy soundtrack is by Tsukerman, Clive Smith, and Brenda I. Hutchinson, but nothing can top Sheppard’s performance of “Me and My Rhythm Box.” Carlisle appeared in nine movies between 1981 and 1990, including Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile Dundee, but hasn’t made another one since, and Tsukerman has directed several nonfiction works but Liquid Sky is his only feature; however, they are collaborating on a documentary about the making of the movie (and perhaps a sequel as well). Among other things, the film is about death, and the original negative is decaying, so the Quad will be presenting the last-ever 35mm New York City screenings of Liquid Sky on May 27 and 28 at 7:20 as part of “Immigrant Songs,” with Tsukerman and Carlisle participating in Q&As after both shows. The series concludes May 26-29 with Brian De Palma’s Scarface and May 27-31 with Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth.