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The Big Shave
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Directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese's experimental short, The Big Shave, materialized during one of the director's harrowing bouts with depression -- a time when he had trouble shaving. An anonymous young man (Peter Bernuth) enters a pristine white bathroom and begins shaving to the tune of Bunny Berigan's 1939 recording of "I Can't Get Started." The man shaves slowly and methodically, stoically piercing through his skin and bloodying his surroundings. Shot on ten rolls of Afga color film donated by the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, The Big Shave was originally conceived for the weeklong anti-Vietnam protest "The Angry Arts Against the War." The man's self-destructive obsessive behavior stands as a metaphor for the United States' involvement in the conflict. The six-minute picture premiered instead at Jacques Ledox's 1968 Festival of Experimental Cinema in Belgium, where it won Le Prix de L'Age d'Or. Beware; it is not for the faint hearted! ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
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JakeStevensJakeStevens Interesting Beginning For Scorsese
by JakeStevens in JakeStevens Blog
is neutral about it.
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"I watched this and "What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This?" back to back (they're less than 20 minutes long coupled together). Martin Scorsese made these shorts when he was a film student at NYU, but they definitely show a lot of potential, especially What's A Nice Girl Like You. Not available on DVD or VHS (as far as I can tell), but I just watched them on YouTube.com. You can, too! It's worth the time. " [More]
chesterfilmschesterfilms Fresh Blade
by chesterfilms in chesterfilms Blog
liked it.
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"Very intersting. It seems like a stupid idea for a short, but I cant help but to enjoy watching this film. Maybe it's because the guy shaving dosen't seem to be harmed in anyway while his skin is being ripped off his face, or maybe it's because it's a film by a young Scorsese. Either way this film works for me. " [More]
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Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
Martin Scorsese's The Big Shave takes place entirely in a small, claustrophobic bathroom. The confines of the space required that Scorsese's camera remain close to its subject and that the director use quick static cuts rather than long traveling takes. The Big Shave focuses solely and tightly on the young man's gory work, changing rapidly from shot to shot, but never offering respite from the gruesome sight. For some, sitting through the film's bloody grooming is a harrowing exercise of the will. For others, the film's unrelenting and straight-faced masochism is a comedy in disguise. Whatever the immediate effect of The Big Shave, its brief six minutes are a searing and eternal comment on mankind's systematic self-destruction, whether it be on the personal level of depression, or on the mass level of war. The young man's ruthless mutilation of his own face candidly acknowledges a sense of self-hatred and obsession to which mankind is horribly inclined. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
 

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