Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

Female Trouble Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 2, 2018

John Waters' "Female Trouble" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include brand new filmed conversation with the director; rare cut and trimmed scenes; archival interviews with cast and crew members; previously recorded audio commentary by the director; and a lot more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Ed Halter and technical credits. In English, not subtitled. Region-A "locked".

The caged bird

It is a freak show, plain and simple. I don’t think that some of the people that are in it are even acting, they are just trusting their instincts and doing things that they feel are right at a particular moment. And this is probably the only way a project of this nature could work -- you let the freaks be freaks and point the camera at them while they throw fireballs at each other.

There is a plot but it is really more of a ruse that provides the mayhem with the necessary structure. Divine plays a spoiled ‘teenage girl’ named Dawn Davenport that becomes so disappointed by her Christmas present that she violently rejects her parents and then runs away from home. After she is raped by some utterly repulsive idiot, the cuckoo very reluctantly gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. The crazy mother eventually lands a job in a beauty salon where a duo of twisted photographers (David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pierce) convince her that she could become a real star and change her life. However, on the way to the top the future star repeatedly angers another overweight loon (Edith Massey) and eventually she throws acid in her face. The disfigured model recovers in a hospital but after she is given some drugs that are supposed to manage the pain becomes permanently unhinged. Soon after, all hell breaks loose.

There is so much craziness in John Waters’ Female Trouble that the different parts of its narrative simply fail to come together and produce something meaningful. The end result is a lot like a large collection of improvised episodes that came out of a much larger pile of content that was shot over an unspecified period of time. A lot of these episodes feel totally random and after one gets used to the bizarre instantly become quite dull. (While the basic concept behind it is slightly different, Richard Elfman’s Forbidden Zone is another film that operates with similar content and quickly disintegrates in a similar fashion).

In recent years there have been multiple attempts to praise the film as a grotesque but very witty condemnation of the safe characterizations and contrasts that Hollywood promoted over the years, but they are profoundly misleading. The simple truth is that the film was conceived to deliver more of the same trash that made Waters popular, and it can be enjoyed only while being viewed as such. In fact, any attempt to sell it as some sort of a misunderstood bizarre satire instantly invalidates the few bits in it that actually manage to be entertaining.

Quite predictably, the star of the mayhem is the late Divine whose antics frequently remind of the ones that hardcore drug addicts typically produce after they are denied a fix. A few could be rather amusing to watch, but most of the time it is the type of gross and offensive material that can easily be used in a very effective advertisement that condemns drug use. Massey is in all of the funny scenes that make the film somewhat attractive, so it is more than fair to speculate that the whole thing would have been much more entertaining if Waters had spent a lot more time documenting her madness.

All in all, long-time admirers of Waters and his muse Divine will surely find something to like in this film, but folks that are just now learning about the extravagant director and his favorite freaks should first track down and see Multiple Maniacs and his masterpiece Pink Flamingos as both are far more entertaining shockers.

Criterion’s upcoming Blu-ray release of Female Trouble is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration of the film that was supervised by its director.

Female Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Waters' Female Trouble arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Unlike the original elements of Waters' other early films, which he kept in his attic for decades, the 16mm reversal original of Female Trouble was stored in a state-of-the-art climate-controlled vault by Warner Bros. The A/B original was scanned at MPI at Burbank, California, in 16-bit 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 16mm magnetic track and quarter-inch magnetic tape. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

Transfer supervisor: John Waters.
Colorist: Lee Kline/Criterion Post, New York."

The release is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration that has given the film a very consistent organic appearance. There are some sporadic fluctuations in terms of density and depth, but it is very easy to see that the conditions in which the specific footage was shot are responsible for them. During the indoor footage lighting, in particular, lighting has a major effect on the sharpness and clarity of the visuals. Where is restricted or missing there are also fluctuations that can be traced back to the manner in which the camera was handled in particular moment (I have taken an example for you to see in screencapture #17). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The color grading is excellent. There is a fantastic range of solid healthy primaries as well as equally convincing nuances that give the film a proper period tonality. Image stability is outstanding. Debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, warps, and all other conventional age-related imperfections have been removed. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Female Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on hits Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The original sound design incorporates a wide range of organic sounds and noises that from time to time produce some rather obvious unevenness, so expect minor fluctuations in dynamic activity and balance. On the other hand, the exchanges are always very easy to follow (even in the middle of the mayhem). There are no audio dropouts, pops, cracks, or digital distortions to report.

Female Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trims and Cuts Scenes - presented here is a collection of footage from work prints, film trims, and cut scenes from Female Trouble that were gathered from elements that were hidden in John Waters' attic for more than forty years. With music, plus dialog in English. (15 min, 1080p).

• John Waters and Dennis Lim - in this brand new video interview, John Water discusses the critical and public reception of Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, the shock value of the humor that defines the two films, Divine's performance, the melodramatic overtones in Female Trouble, whether the film anticipated the arrival of reality TV, his affection for trials and the final segment of the film, the rather complicated production process, etc. The interview was conducted by critic Dennis Lim for Criterion in 2018. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080p).

• Dreamlanders -
  
  1. Little Taffy - in this new video piece, John Waters and actor Hilary Taylor (who plays Taffy as a child) recall their work on Female Trouble and discuss the atmosphere during the shooting process as well as the one that the film is remembered for. The interview was filmed in Baltimore in April 2018. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).
  
  2. Moran, Pearce, and Smith - presented here is a collection of archival interviews with production manager Pat Moran, actor Mary Vivian Pearce, and costume designer and makeup artist Van Smith. The bulk of the comments address John Waters' working methods and the ways in which his work resonated with people. The interviews were conducted by filmmaker Steve Yeager in 1974. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).
  
  3. Van Smith - presented here is a rare audio interview with costume designer and makeup artist Van Smith in which he talks about working with Divine and John Waters. The interviews were conducted by filmmaker Steve Yeager in 1974 In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080p).

• On-Set Footage - presented here is rare raw footage from the set of Female Trouble which was shot by filmmaker Steve Yeager, who years later made two documentaries about Divine and John Waters, Divine Trash and In Bad Taste. With brand new recorded comments by John Waters. (12 min, 1080p).

• Crime and Beauty - presented here is a collection of outtakes extracted from interviews conducted for Jeffrey Schwartz's documentary I Am Divine. They feature John Waters, actors Susan Lowe, Mink Stole, George Figgs, and Mary Vivian Pearce, film critic Dennis Dermody, production designer Vincent Peranio, and production manager Pat Moran. The bulk of the comments address the production history of Female Trouble as well as it twisted sense of humor. In English, not subtitled. (18 min, 1080p).

• Lady Divine - presented here is an archival roundtable interview with John Waters, Divine, Mink Stole, and David Lochary, which was conducted by columnist R. Couri Hay at Andy Warhol's Factory. Some of the key topics that are discussed are the conception of Female Trouble and the success of Pink Flamingos, the classic Divine look, and the type of entertainment that the group wanted to promote. The interview aired on Manhattan public-access television in 1975. In English, not subtitled. (33 min, 1980i).

• Audio Commentary - this archival audio commentary features John Waters and was recorded in 2004. It initially appeared on New Line Cinema's North American DVD release of Female Trouble.
  
  1. Beauty and mental illness
  2. Divine fucks himself
  3. Wait for a brand-new baby
  4. "Certainly a judge could use this"
  5. Black-leather peekaboo outfit
  6. A hard-boiled Elizabeth Taylor
  7. A real loogie
  8. Crime as art
  9. Fashion terrorist
  10. Surrealist influences
  11. "She slipped on some mackerel"
  12. Divine in nature
  13. Screening the movie in prison

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Ed Halter and technical credits.

Female Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are different kinds of grotesque and I prefer the one that the great Federico Fellini promoted in his most outrageous films. The work of John Waters relies on the most basic and offensive kind to impress, and I think that the only time when it becomes effective is when it is served with a nice dose of surrealistic humor. There is a lot of familiar craziness in the very raunchy Female Trouble, but unfortunately the end result lacks the surrealistic quality that I need in order to be entertained. If your take on the freak show that is chronicled in the film is entirely different and you have been looking forward to Criterion's upcoming release, you will be glad to know that it is sourced from a fabulous new 4K restoration that was supervised by Waters. The release also offers an impressive mix of new and archival bonus features. RECOMMENDED to fans of the film, but casual viewers are encouraged to research and RENT first.