Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea

Last updated
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Directed by Chris Metzler
Jeff Springer
Narrated by John Waters
Music by Friends of Dean Martinez
Distributed byTilapia Film
New Video/Docurama
Release dates
  • January 12, 2004 (2004-01-12)(Slamdance Film Festival)
  • February 24, 2006 (2006-02-24)(United States)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$53,471 [1]

Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea is a documentary film by Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, with narration by John Waters and music by Friends of Dean Martinez. [2]

Contents

This often humorous documentary tells the story of the accidental lake and environmental catastrophe known as the Salton Sea, located in the desert of southern California in the United States.

Release

The film premiered at the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival. With the addition of John Waters as the film's narrator, the new version of the film premiered at the Provincetown International Film Festival, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, hosted by Mr. Waters himself. The film opened in select theaters on February 24, 2006 and continued to screen theatrically throughout the United States and Canada until late 2007.

A shorter, more environmentally themed version of the film aired on the Sundance Channel's GREEN programming block, along with occasional broadcasts on the PBS TV station KQED documentary series Truly, CA.

The DVD of Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea was released by the home video distributor, Docurama/New Video, on September 25, 2007.

Critical reception

The Christian Science Monitor's lead film critic, Peter Rainer, gave Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea an "A" and called it a "One-of-a-kind documentary... A startlingly funny portrait of Gothic Americana." [3] And the Baltimore Sun's Michael Sragow wrote "Because of Metzler and Springer's appetite for raw experience, what could have been a depressing horror movie is wildly funny and enraging. It's the rare documentary with something for everyone." [4]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes certified the film as "Fresh", reporting that 96% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 53 reviews. [5] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 8 reviews. [6] In screening at more than 200 festivals in twenty countries, Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea won 37 awards for Best Documentary. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombay Beach, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

Bombay Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California, United States. It is located on the Salton Sea, 4 miles (6.4 km) west-southwest of Frink and is the lowest community in the United States, located 223 feet (68 m) below sea level. The population was 231 at the 2020 census, down from 295 in 2010, down from 366 in 2000. It is part of the El Centro, California, metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salton Sea</span> Shallow saline lake in southern California

The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough, which stretches to the Gulf of California in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Linklater</span> American film director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1960)

Richard Stuart Linklater is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies Slacker (1990) and Dazed and Confused (1993); the Before trilogy of romance films, Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013); the music-themed comedy School of Rock (2003); the adult animated films Waking Life (2001), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (2022); the coming-of-age drama Boyhood (2014); and the comedy film Everybody Wants Some!! (2016).

<i>Multiple Maniacs</i> 1970 American black comedy horror film by John Waters

Multiple Maniacs is a 1970 independent American black comedy horror film composed, shot, edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters, as his second feature film and first "talkie". It features several actors who were part of the Dreamland acting troupe for Waters' films, including Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, George Figgs, and Cookie Mueller. The plot follows a traveling troupe of sideshow freaks who rob their unsuspecting audience members.

<i>What Would Jesus Buy?</i> 2007 American film

What Would Jesus Buy? is a 2007 documentary film produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Rob VanAlkemade. The title is a take-off on the phrase, "what would Jesus do?". The film debuted on the festival circuit on March 11, 2007, at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. It went into general U.S. release on November 16, 2007.

<i>Blindsight</i> (film) 2006 British film

Blindsight is a 2006 documentary film directed by Lucy Walker and produced by Sybil Robson Orr for Robson Entertainment. It premiered at 2006 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the category Real to Reel.

<i>This Filthy World</i> 2006 American film

This Filthy World is a one-man show/documentary film by John Waters concerning his origins in the trash genre and his successful career navigating Hollywood. It was filmed at the Harry DeJour Playhouse in New York City in 2006.

<i>For the Bible Tells Me So</i> 2007 American film

For the Bible Tells Me So is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Daniel G. Karslake about homosexuality and its perceived conflict with Christianity, as well as various interpretations of what the Bible says about sexual orientation. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

<i>Manufactured Landscapes</i> 2006 Canadian film

Manufactured Landscapes is a 2006 feature-length documentary film about the industrial landscape photography of Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films. It was the first of three documentary collaborations between Baichwall and Burtynsky, followed by Watermark in 2013 and Anthropocene: The Human Epoch in 2018.

<i>The King of Kong</i> 2007 documentary by Seth Gordon

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film about competitive arcade gaming directed by Seth Gordon. It follows Steve Wiebe in his attempts to take the high score record for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong from Billy Mitchell. The film premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival and was released in U.S. theaters in August 2007. It received positive reviews.

<i>Jellyfish</i> (2007 film) 2007 filmnby Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret

Jellyfish is a 2007 Israeli film based on a story by Shira Geffen and directed by her husband, Etgar Keret. The film tells the story of three women in Tel Aviv whose intersecting lives paint a pessimistic portrait of Israeli secular life. Batya, a waitress at weddings, comes across a mute child who seemingly emerges from the sea. Keren, a bride whose wedding Batya worked at, breaks her leg climbing out of bathroom stall and ruins her dream honeymoon in the process. And Joy, a Filipina domestic, attends to her employer with whom she struggles to communicate. Poetic imagery draws connections between the lives of these women, all of whom find solace in the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Metzler</span> American filmmaker and writer (born 1974)

Chris Metzler is an American film director known for documentaries. His documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2010) is listed in the 100 Best Documentaries ranked by the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes

<i>Chasing Ice</i> 2012 documentary film directed by Jeff Orlowski

Chasing Ice is a 2012 documentary film about the efforts of nature photographer James Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) to publicize the effects of climate change. The film was directed by Jeff Orlowski. It was released in the United States on November 16, 2012.

<i>Bombay Beach</i> (film) 2011 documentary film by Alma Harel

Bombay Beach is a 2011 documentary film directed and produced by Israeli filmmaker Alma Har'el. The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit "Truer than Fiction" Award, won "Best Feature Documentary" at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, and has been taught in several universities including Duke University and Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab and Film Center as a genre redefining work. Taking place in the Salton Sea, a rusting relic of a failed 1950s development boom, Bombay Beach is a dreamlike poem that sets three personal stories to a stylized melding of observational documentary and choreographed dance to music specially composed for the film by Zach Condon of the band Beirut, and songs by Bob Dylan.

<i>How to Survive a Plague</i> 2012 American documentary film by David France

How to Survive a Plague is a 2012 American documentary film about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the efforts of activist groups ACT UP and TAG. It was directed by David France, a journalist who covered AIDS from its beginnings. France's first film, it was dedicated to his partner Doug Gould who died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992. The documentary was produced using more than 700 hours of archived footage which included news coverage, interviews as well as film of demonstrations, meetings and conferences taken by ACT UP members themselves. France says they knew what they were doing was historic, and that many of them would die. The film, which opened in select theatres across the United States on September 21, 2012, also includes footage of a demonstration during mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1989.

<i>I Am Divine</i> 2013 film by Jeffrey Schwarz

I Am Divine is a 2013 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The documentary focuses on the American actor, singer and drag performer Divine, born Harris Glenn Milstead, a lifelong friend and collaborator of filmmaker John Waters.

<i>The Biggest Little Farm</i> 2018 American film

The Biggest Little Farm is a 2018 American documentary film, directed by John Chester. The film profiles the life of John Chester and his wife Molly as they acquire and establish themselves on Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California.

Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea is a 2020 feature-length documentary film that was directed by Greg Bassenian. The film chronicles the origins of the creation of the Salton Sea in 1905, the 1960s economic boom of the sea, as well as the current environmental challenges that it faces. It also includes interviews with local citizens as well as state and city-level officials involved in the current efforts to mitigate and/or restore the Salton Sea.

<i>Rodents of Unusual Size</i> 2017 American documentary film

Rodents of Unusual Size is a 2017 documentary film funded by ITVS and directed by the team of Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer about giant invasive swamp rats, nutria, threatening coastal Louisiana. The film is narrated by Wendell Pierce with an all original musical soundtrack by the Cajun band Lost Bayou Ramblers.

References

  1. "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea".
  2. ISBN   9780767098472; OCLC   156855197 , 666528194 , 801267763
  3. "Movie Guide". The Christian Science Monitor . June 2007. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  4. "PPSS Review". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  5. "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  6. "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea (2007): Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  7. "Jeff Springer Bio". Tilapia Film . Retrieved 2020-11-11.