Leslie Zemeckis’ writing-directing debut as a documentarian, “Behind the Burly Q” dives headlong into the history of burlesque in the first half of the twentieth century, mingling archive footage and stories told by now-elderly ecdysiasts who revealed-concealed for a generation of surreptitious fantasists. Not the most well-organized of documentaries, “Burly Q” still revels in raunchy tale-telling for the ages, with great footage of colorful characters that will tickle the eyeballs of fans of the form. Among the interviewees is a tickled Alan Alda, who recollects the stories of his father, Robert Alda, who shared bills as a comedian with the doyennes of dishabille. The overall quality of the newly shot video footage is decidedly sub-par. Zemeckis’ husband, Robert, has an executive producer credit. With Renny and Dorothy von Muchow; John Perilli; Joan Arline, a stripper who performed with two white Russian wolfhounds and was an elder in her church; Lorraine Lee; Taffy O’Neil; Rachel Schteir, author of “Striptease”; Sunny Dare; White Fury, “who painted herself with buckets of paint and lit her tassels on fire”; Sean Rand, son of fan dancer Sally Rand; Chris Costello, daughter of Lou Costello; Tempest Storm, still stripping in her seventies, claiming affairs with JFK and Elvis; Blaze Starr; Kitty West; and Sherry Britton. 98m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His multimedia history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” will be published soon. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram as Ghost Signs Chicago. More photography on Instagram.
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
Heart of Darkness: A Review of The Batman The three-hour film noir unfolds briskly, an intensive study in the pervasive interplay of power, money and corruption in what seems like perpetual rainy night.
Leslie Zemeckis’ writing-directing debut as a documentarian, “Behind the Burly Q” dives headlong into the history of burlesque in the first half of the twentieth century, mingling archive footage and stories told by now-elderly ecdysiasts who revealed-concealed for a generation of surreptitious fantasists. Not the most well-organized of documentaries, “Burly Q” still revels in raunchy tale-telling for the ages, with great footage of colorful characters that will tickle the eyeballs of fans of the form. Among the interviewees is a tickled Alan Alda, who recollects the stories of his father, Robert Alda, who shared bills as a comedian with the doyennes of dishabille. The overall quality of the newly shot video footage is decidedly sub-par. Zemeckis’ husband, Robert, has an executive producer credit. With Renny and Dorothy von Muchow; John Perilli; Joan Arline, a stripper who performed with two white Russian wolfhounds and was an elder in her church; Lorraine Lee; Taffy O’Neil; Rachel Schteir, author of “Striptease”; Sunny Dare; White Fury, “who painted herself with buckets of paint and lit her tassels on fire”; Sean Rand, son of fan dancer Sally Rand; Chris Costello, daughter of Lou Costello; Tempest Storm, still stripping in her seventies, claiming affairs with JFK and Elvis; Blaze Starr; Kitty West; and Sherry Britton. 98m. (Ray Pride)
