Pink Narcissus

{{Infobox film

| name = Pink Narcissus

| image = Pink Narcissus FilmPoster.jpeg

| caption =

| director = James Bidgood

| producer = James Bidgood

| writer = James Bidgood

| cinematography = James Bidgood

| editing = Martin Jay Sadoff

| music = Martin Jay Sadoff
Gary Goch

| starring = Bobby Kendall
Charles Ludlam{{cite web |last1=Edgecomb |first1=Sean Fredric |title=Camping out with James Bidgood: The Auteur of Pink Narcissus Tells All |url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/camping-james-bidgood-auteur-pink-narcissus-tells/#.WyqlVKdKjIU |date=1 May 2006 |publisher=brightlightsfilm.com |accessdate=20 June 2018}}

| distributor = Sherpix

| released = {{Film date|1971|05|24}}

| runtime = 71 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $27,000 (estimated)

}}

Pink Narcissus is a 1971 American arthouse drama film directed by James Bidgood{{cite news |last=Genzlinger |first=Neil |title=James Bidgood, a Master of Gay Photography, Dies at 88 - In addition to his elaborately staged images of gay fantasies, he made the film "Pink Narcissus," a cult classic released anonymously in 1971. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/arts/james-bidgood-dead.html |date=February 7, 2022 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=February 8, 2022 }} and starring (unknowns) Bobby Kendall, Don Brooks and stage actor Charles Ludlam. It visualizes the erotic fantasies of a gay male prostitute.

Premise

Between visits from his keeper, or John, a handsome male prostitute (Bobby Kendall), alone in his apartment, lounges, fantasizing about worlds where he is the central character. For example, he pictures himself as a matador, a Roman slave boy and the emperor who condemns him, and the keeper of a male harem for whom another male performs a belly dance.

Production

In a 2005 interview, Bidgood enumerated some of the film's inspirations, such as the British film The Red Shoes and actress Maria Montez. Most of the film's extras were people actor Don Brooks found on the streets when he went out of the set on "talent searches".Edgecomb, Sean F. (May 2006) [https://archive.today/20130110175716/http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/52/bidgoodiv.htm Camping out with James Bidgood] Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

The film is mostly shot on 8 mm film{{cite web |last1=Gallagher |first1=Paul |title=James Bidgood's Sumptuous and Subversive 'Pink Narcissus', 1971 |url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/james_bidgood_pink_narcissus |date=4 July 2011 |publisher=dangerousminds.net |accessdate=20 June 2018}} with bright, otherworldly lighting and intense colors. Aside from its last, climactic scene, which was shot in a downtown Manhattan loft, it was produced in its entirety (including outdoor scenes) in Bidgood's small New York City apartment over a seven-year (from 1963 to 1970) period and ultimately released without the consent of the director, who therefore had himself credited as Anonymous. He said in the interview, "See, why I took my name off of it was that I was protesting, which I'd heard at the time that's what you did..."

Provenance

Because the name of the filmmaker was not widely known, there were rumors that Andy Warhol was behind it. In the mid-1990s, writer Bruce Benderson began a search for its maker based on several leads and finally verified that it was James Bidgood, who was still living in Manhattan and was working on a film script.{{cite book|first=Bruce|last=Benderson|title=James Bidgood|publisher=Benedikt Taschen Verlag|date=1999|isbn=3-8228-7427-2}} In 1999, a book researched and written by Benderson was published by Taschen about Bidgood's body of photographic and filmic work.

Bidgood's unmistakably kitschy style was later imitated and refined by artists such as Pierre et Gilles.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

In 2003, the film was re-released by Strand Releasing as the film had its 35th anniversary in 2006.

Music

Joseph Haydn: Horn Concerto No. 1
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
Sergei Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
Kenneth Gaburo: "Lemon Drops"
Genaro Nunez, Banda Taurina, Rosalio Juarez: "Corazon Hispano"

Restoration

In 2025, indie distributor Strand Releasing restored the movie in 4K resolution and will screen it in April 2025, as part of NewFest "So Obsessed" spring series in New York City.{{cite web |last1=Scheetz |first1=Cameron |title=Indulge your twink fantasies with ‘Pink Narcissus,’ returning to the big screen more dazzling than ever |url=https://www.queerty.com/indulge-your-twink-fantasies-with-pink-narcissus-returning-to-the-big-screen-more-dazzling-than-ever-20250311/ |website=Queerty |access-date=17 March 2025 |date=11 March 2025}}