Pink Flamingos (1972)

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters (writer)

Release Date:

October 1979 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

Tagline:

An exercise in poor taste.

Plot:

Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".

Plot Keywords:

Hippie | Lesbian | Competition | Criminal | Egg

Cast

Divine	...	Divine / Babs Johnson
David Lochary	...	Raymond Marble
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	Cotton
Mink Stole	...	Connie Marble
Danny Mills	...	Crackers
Edith Massey	...	Edie
Channing Wilroy	...	Channing
Cookie Mueller	...	Cookie
Paul Swift	...	The Egg Man
Susan Walsh	...	Suzie
Linda Olgeirson	...	Linda
Pat Moran	...	Patty Hitler (Party Guest In Nazi Uniform)
Jack Walsh	...	Party Guest
Bob Skidmore	...	Delivery Boy
Pat Lefaiver	...	First Lesbian

Also Known As:

John Waters' Pink Flamingos (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for a wide range of perversions in explicit detail.

Runtime:

93 min | Australia:106 min (re-release) | UK:104 min (re-release) | USA:108 min (re-release) | Argentina:108 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1997 re-release) | Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:(Banned) | Australia:R (cut) | Australia:X (video rating) (1984) | Singapore:(Banned) | Japan:R-18 | Australia:Refused Classification (uncut) (re rating) (1997) | Canada:(Banned) (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:XXX (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1997) | Ireland:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:(Banned) (original rating) | Norway:18 (video rating) (1992) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (1997) | USA:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Dreamland

Trivia:

Director John Waters wrote a sequel to this film, entitled "Flamingos Forever". It takes place 15 years after the action of the original film, showing Babs' return to Baltimore with Cotton, Crackers, Miss Edie, and her new grandson Dwayne, an 8-year-old transvestite. Their foe in this film is Vera Venninger, Connie Marble's sister, and her husband, Wilbur, a necrophile who runs a mortuary. Troma Films offered to finance the picture for $600,000 but it was never made because of the death of Edith Massey, and later that of Divine, whose roles were integral to the plot. Waters was also VERY uncomfortable with TROMA's editing facilities, which at that time were Moviolas from the very early days of film editing. The screenplay to this work is available with those of Pink Flamingos (1972) and Desperate Living (1977) in a collection entitled "Trash Trio".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During a tracking shot along a sidewalk, the window frame of the camera car enters the shot.

Quotes:

Crackers: No one sends you a turd and expects to live!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "South Park: Gnomes (#2.17)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

Ooh! Look-A There, Ain't She Pretty

Outrageously Sick, Disgusting and Grotesque… But Also Funny

The filthiest person alive, Divine, is using the codename Babs Johnson and living in a trailer in the woods with her retarded mother Eddie (Edith Massey), who loves eggs; her mad hippie son Crackers (Danny Mills); and her mate Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce). The envious couple Connie (Mink Stole) and Raymond Marble (David Lochary), who abduct and impregnate female hitchhikers to sell their babies to gay and lesbian couples, using the money to invest in heroin and sell in schools, hire Cookie (Cookie Mueller) to have sex with Crackers and spy Divine to compete for the title of "the filthiest people alive". When the competition begins, Connie and Raymond Marble learn why Divine has this title.

The underground "Pink Flamingos" is outrageously sick, disgusting and grotesque… but also funny. John Waters' intention is certainly to shock the audiences and is certainly very well succeeded. The bizarre characters present some of the most scatological and gross scenes I have ever seen, like Divine chewing excrement of dog, or Crackers "singing" with his anus, and there is no limit for the sick mind of John Waters. The viewer has to have empty stomach to see the whole movie. In the Extras of the DVD, John Waters presents deleted scenes, inclusive with the fate of Cookie. The trailer used to promote the film in 1972 is hilarious, since it does not show any scene, but people being interviewed about the movie. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Pink Flamingos"