"The Amazing Transplant" (1970)
Directed by Doris Wishman (as Louis Silverman)
Written by Doris Wishman (as Dawn Whitman
Produced by Doris Wishman (as Louis Silverman)
Starring Juan Fernandez, Linda Southern, Larry Hunter
“Holy fuck!”
…I said to no one in particular after watching "The Amazing Transplant", my first Doris Wishman-directed film.
I'd had the pleasure of discovering Wishman around the same time that I discovered Andy Milligan ("The Body Beneath", "The Ghastly Ones"). These two filmmakers share some commonalities, and both photograph sex and nudity in the most sexless manner possible, cold, disconnected bodies, cellulite and pimples emphasized by harsh lighting.
If that slice of completely improper plot isn't enticing enough, and I understand if it’s not, Wishman's style cinches the deal. Inanimate objects are edited into the film at odd times to cover transitions or (I'm guessing) missing footage. The dialogue is clearly haphazardly added later. Lighting seems incidental. It's like Wishman was driven to get these things on film and she didn't have time to worry about junk like sync sound and story structure. It's amazing that she slowed down long enough to have film loaded into the camera.
I'd had the pleasure of discovering Wishman around the same time that I discovered Andy Milligan ("The Body Beneath", "The Ghastly Ones"). These two filmmakers share some commonalities, and both photograph sex and nudity in the most sexless manner possible, cold, disconnected bodies, cellulite and pimples emphasized by harsh lighting.
Where Milligan had ambitions toward dysfunctional family costume melodrama, though, Wishman abandoned all pretence to create absurd, eye-popping trash cinema. Her films appear so unencumbered by all but the most basic filmmaking skills that they approach the level of high art.
I love the opening of "The Amazing Transplant". I'd go so far to say that it's one of my favourite opening scenes in film history. I guess what it did for me, really, since it was my first taste of Wishman, is that it introduced me to an entirely unique point of view in filmmaking. It looks different, it feels different, it sounds different than most movies I've seen. If a Wishman film were an orange, I'm sure it would taste like a banana.
I love the opening of "The Amazing Transplant". I'd go so far to say that it's one of my favourite opening scenes in film history. I guess what it did for me, really, since it was my first taste of Wishman, is that it introduced me to an entirely unique point of view in filmmaking. It looks different, it feels different, it sounds different than most movies I've seen. If a Wishman film were an orange, I'm sure it would taste like a banana.
I didn't care if this was because of lack of traditional talent or lack of resources. What mattered to me was that the opening scene was something unique, something that made me react, and something that made me want to see more.
Here's how "The Amazing Transplant " begins: A nude woman reclines on a bed playing some sort of stringed instrument, a harpsichord, maybe, until she's interrupted by a phone call.
Here's how "The Amazing Transplant " begins: A nude woman reclines on a bed playing some sort of stringed instrument, a harpsichord, maybe, until she's interrupted by a phone call.
This bears consideration. Wishman wants to get some nudity in, so why not have the character take a shower? Masturbate? Walk around naked? No, Wishman decides that she should be playing some sort of obscure stringed instrument while lying nude on her bed. I guess the instrument must have been lying around Wishman’s apartment, an address that served as multiple sets for many of her films, and you know, I guess it adds production value, of a sort. But wait, there’s more.
The nude musician answers the phone to discover it's her boyfriend calling. He wants to see her even though it's Saturday and she goes shopping on Saturdays. After a conversation that honestly feels like it was written by someone with no real idea of what human interaction sounds like, the boyfriend comes over and kills the harpsichordist. Then he decides to get a penis transplant. Unfortunately, his new penis turns him into a rapist, sort of like "The Cock of Orloc".
The nude musician answers the phone to discover it's her boyfriend calling. He wants to see her even though it's Saturday and she goes shopping on Saturdays. After a conversation that honestly feels like it was written by someone with no real idea of what human interaction sounds like, the boyfriend comes over and kills the harpsichordist. Then he decides to get a penis transplant. Unfortunately, his new penis turns him into a rapist, sort of like "The Cock of Orloc".
If that slice of completely improper plot isn't enticing enough, and I understand if it’s not, Wishman's style cinches the deal. Inanimate objects are edited into the film at odd times to cover transitions or (I'm guessing) missing footage. The dialogue is clearly haphazardly added later. Lighting seems incidental. It's like Wishman was driven to get these things on film and she didn't have time to worry about junk like sync sound and story structure. It's amazing that she slowed down long enough to have film loaded into the camera.
Doris Wishman, who died in 2002, represents an aspect of movie making that I love: The filmmaker who just needs to get a movie made regardless of ability, using whatever equipment she can get her hands on, telling the most ludicrous stories that can be duct taped together. Intentional or not, Wishman's movies have a point of view, and that's something that's missing from far too many movies.
Other notable Wishman flicks include "Bad Girls Go to Hell", "Another Day, Another Man", "Deadly Weapons" (starring Chesty Morgan), "Let Me Die a Woman", and "A Night to Dismember".
Other notable Wishman flicks include "Bad Girls Go to Hell", "Another Day, Another Man", "Deadly Weapons" (starring Chesty Morgan), "Let Me Die a Woman", and "A Night to Dismember".
