Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
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| Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea | |
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| Directed by | Chris Metzler Jeff Springer |
| Narrated by | John Waters |
| Music by | Friends of Dean Martinez |
| Distributed by | Tilapia Film New Video/Docurama |
| Release date(s) | Theatrical - 2/24/06 Home Video - 9/25/07 |
| Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea is a documentary by filmmakers Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, with narration by John Waters and music by Friends of Dean Martinez.
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[edit] Synopsis
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Fabulously offbeat and refreshingly upbeat, this lovable film gets friendly with the natives of the Salton Sea, an inland ocean of massive fish kills, rotting resorts, and 120 degree nights located just minutes from urban Southern California. This award-winning film from directors Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer details the rise and fall of the Salton Sea, from its heyday as the "California Riviera" where boaters and Beach Boys mingled in paradise to its present state as a decaying, forgotten ecological disaster. From wonderland to wasteland, Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea captures a place far more interesting than the shopping malls and parking lots of suburban America, a wacky world where a beer-swilling Hungarian Revolutionary, a geriatric nudist, and a religious zealot building a monument to God all find solace and community.
Crisply and hilariously narrated by oddball auteur John Waters, and featuring music by desert lounge rockers Friends of Dean Martinez, Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea melds high camp with stark realism, offering both a sobering message about the consequences of tampering with nature and a heart-warming tale of individualism.
[edit] Release
The film premiered at the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival. With the addition of John Waters as the film’s narrator, the new version of the film premiered at the Provincetown Film Festival, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, hosted by Mr. Waters himself. The film opened in theaters on April 20th, 2007 and continues to screen theatrically throughout the United States and Canada.
A shorter, more environmentally themed version of the film aired on the Sundance Channel's GREEN programming block, along with occasional broadcasts on the PBS station, KQED, "Truly, CA" documentary TV series.
The DVD of Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea was released by the home video distributor, Docurama/New Video, on September 25th, 2007.
[edit] Response
In screening at more than 200 festivals in twenty countries, Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea has won 32 awards for Best Documentary and received the following accolades in the press.
"One-of-a-kind documentary... A startlingly funny portrait of Gothic Americana." - Christian Science Monitor - June 1st, 2007
"Droll, deadpan... A fascinating, nutty story, a kind of Chinatown gone wrong (or gone more wrong.)" - Chicago Tribune - June 1st, 2007
"Historically thorough and thoroughly hysterical." - LA Weekly - April 19th, 2007
"A heartbreaking, sidesplitting parade of humanity." - The Village Voice - July 18th, 2006
"Four stars! Offering you a vacation like you've never had before... in this charming, yet sad documentary." - Film Threat - September 23rd, 2005
[edit] References
- Metzler, Chris and Springer, Jeff - Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea - Tilapia Film, [2006] - Thorough history of the first 100 years at the Salton Sea and the prospects for the future - www.saltonseadoc.com.
