Rent Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
3.7 of 5 from 127 ratings
1h 29min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
With this trailblazing musical, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell and composer-lyricist Stephen Trask brought their signature creation from stage to screen for a movie as unclassifiable as its protagonist. Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig (Mitchell) undergoes a traumatic personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an "internationally ignored" but divinely talented rock diva, characterized by Mitchell as a "beautiful gender of one". The film tells Hedwig's life through her music, an eclectic assortment of original punk anthems and power ballads by Trask, matching them with a freewheeling cinematic mosaic of music-video fantasies, animated interludes, and moments of bracing emotional realism. A hard-charging song cycle and a tender character study, 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' is a tribute to the transcendent power of rock and roll. - Actors:
- John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Theodore Liscinski, Rob Campbell, Michael Aronov, Andrea Martin, Ben Mayer-Goodman, Alberta Watson, Gene Pyrz, Michael Pitt, Karen Hines, Max Toulch, Maurice Dean Wint, Ermes Blarasin, Sook-Yin Lee, Maggie Moore, Renate Options, Taylor Abrahamse, Thérèse DePrez
- Directors:
- John Cameron Mitchell
- Producers:
- Pamela Koffler, Katie Roumel, Christine Vachon
- Writers:
- John Cameron Mitchell, Stephen Trask
- Studio:
- Entertainment In Video
- Genres:
- Comedy, Lesbian & Gay, Music & Musicals, Special Interest
- Collections:
- A History of Gay Cinema: According to Hollywood, Drama Films & TV, Top 10 Films With Voiceover Narration, Top 10 Modern Musicals, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 22/07/2019
- Run Time:
- 91 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary from 2001 featuring Mitchell and DeMarco
- New conversation among members of the cast and crew
- New conversation between composer and lyricist Stephen Trask and rock critic David Fricke about the film's soundtrack
- Documentary from 2003 tracing the development of the project
- Close look at the film's Adam and Eve sequence
- New programmes exploring Hedwig's creation, look and legacy through its memorabilia
- Deleted scenes with commentary by Mitchell and DeMarco
- Trailer
- An essay by critic Stephanie Zacharek, portraits of Hedwig by photographer Mick Rock, along with, illustrations by animator Emily Hubley, and excerpts from two texts that inspired the film: 'Plato's Symposium' and 'The Gospel of Thomas'
More like Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Reviews (2) of Hedwig and the Angry Inch
More than just a bunch of blokes in drag... - Hedwig and the Angry Inch review by Kurtz
If like me you felt nothing but a little uncomfortable when hairy male followers of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” felt compelled to drag on their girlfriends’ underwear, you might have shared my initial misgivings about “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”, but two minutes in it’s obvious that this is a completely different beast- Hedwig him/herself, for example is a sublime creation, poignantly played by his/her creator, John Cameron Mitchell, firing killer one-liners and capturing the character’s sadness and dignity even while delivering an infamous “carwash” to unsuspecting audience members- (has to be seen to be believed!) There can’t be many other movies that invoke an unholy mash-up of Plato, Lou Reed and the Tina Turner and still communicate a coherent message…AND THE SONGS REALLY ROCK!!!!!!!! (…and I didn’t even mention Yitzhak, the most unconvincing boyfriend ever…)
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Glitter, Bile and the Angry Inch - Hedwig and the Angry Inch review by griggs
Somewhere between glam-rock tantrum, breakup spiral and cabaret revenge fantasy, this thing is such a weird little mongrel that it takes a while to realise quite how much it gets away with. John Cameron Mitchell writes, directs and throws himself into Hedwig so completely that even when she is prickly, vain and a total pain in the arse, you still want to stay in her orbit.
The setup is ridiculous in the best way: a near-forgotten song stylist slogging through seafood-chain gigs while seething at the rock star who nicked her songs. But beneath all the glitter, bile and eyeliner there is real hurt. The Origin of Love earns every bit of its reputation, and Miriam Shor is brilliant as Yitzhak, landing the laughs while carrying a lot of the film’s sadness on the side.
I was with it almost all the way. The final stretch reaches for transcendence and does wobble a bit when it gets there. Still, it is raw, funny, bruised and exactly the sort of beautiful mess I’m glad exists.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.