Variety |

$18.69
$16.99

Cast: Luis Guzmán | Nan Goldin | Richard Davidson | Sandy McLeod | Will Patton
Directors: Bette Gordon
Contributor:
Product Types: Movies & TV Home Entertainment
Formats: Blu-ray | DVD
Genres: Drama | Exploitation | Film Noir | Mature | Sexploitation
Studios: Kino Lorber
Original Release Date: March 8, 1983
Product Release Date: May 20, 2008
Rating: nr

The sexually charged tale of a woman’s journey of self-discovery, Bette Gordon’s Variety is a fascinating independent film that challenges common notions about feminism and pornography. Emerging out of the underground NYC arts scene that produced the late 80s boom in American independent cinema, Variety contains the contributions of an impresive array of talent, including cinematographer Tom DiCillo (Living in Oblivion), actor Luis Guzman (Boogie Nights), a script by the late cult novelist Kathy Acker, and a score by actor and musician John Lurie (Stranger Than Paradise, Down By Law).

Christine (Sandy McLeod), a bright and unassuming young woman, takes a job selling tickets at a porno theater near Times Square. Instead of distancing herself from the dark and erotic nature of this milieu, Christine soon develops an obsession that begins to consume her life. The character’s reaction unexpectedly flips normal gender roles; director Gordon daringly twists feminist ideology by showing a woman who finds self-expression through an interest in pornography. Variety becomes even more provocative when it dramatizes the changes that occur in Christine’s relationships with both Mark (Will Patton), her boyfriend, and Louie, a dangerous-looking patron of the theater.

Few films deal honestly with a female’s sexual point-of-view, and particularly with the way in which she develops her own fantasy world. Controversial and highly personal, Variety does just that, and in so doing announces itself as the major film of a director who embodies the essence of independent cinema.

Special Features

DVD Edition Features:
Production stills gallery by Nan Goldin
Essay by Director Bette Gordon
Blu-ray Edition Features:
New 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative Overseen By Director Bette Gordon
Anybody's Woman (1981, short film directed by Bette Gordon)
Audio commentary with director Bette Gordon moderated by writer Hillary Weston
Booklet essay by film critic Amy Taubin
Gallery of production stills by Nan Goldin
Location scouting stills gallery
Storyboard illustrations by Tim Burns and Bette Gordon