Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Product Description
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 of 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 Deans 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.
DVD Features: Audio Commentaries with Filmmakers and Salton Sea Locals Lost Interviews Deleted Scenes LEONARD & THE MOUNTAIN Short Film MIRACLE IN THE DESERT Real Estate Promotional Film FRUIT OF THE VINE Vignette on the Salton Sea Skateboarding Scene LSD A GO GO Short Film CONSUMING FIRE Music Shot at the Salton Sea Filmmaker Biographies Short Film on Friends of Dean Martinez
Rate Points :4.5
Binding :DVD
Brand :New Video
Label :NEW VIDEO GROUP
Manufacturer :NEW VIDEO GROUP
MPN :NVGD9918D
ProductGroup :DVD
Studio :NEW VIDEO GROUP
Publisher :NEW VIDEO GROUP
UPC :767685991831
EAN :0767685991831
Price :$26.95USD
Lowest Price :$16.49USD
Customer ReviewsThe Anti Tourist Video
Rating Point :3 Helpful Point :0
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea is sort of an anti tourist video. The film chronicles the story of Californias Salton Sea from tourist destination in the 1950s and 60s to its present state of ecological decay.
Narrated by John Waters, the film interviews people who live in the various towns surrounding the Sea and they discuss what the area once was compared to what it is now and on to what it may yet become in the future.
I did not find this to be the powerful documentary that many claimed it was. In fact I was a little disappointed. Yes there is an ecological disaster happening at the Salton Sea and I know I should be concerned. I just wasnt really interested in the area or the folks who live there and the film did not make me care more about them.
There is really nothing wrong with this film it just didnt do a lot for me.
Truth is stranger than fiction
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :1
Ive been to this place several times in the last 6 years. Could it be I am addicted to dead Tilapia or is it the mystique, desolation and strange beauty of the area?
The documentary becomes surreal after you have visited.
I have watched the film so many times I am embarrassed to say.
It has a really good feel and is thought provoking. I wonder what ever happpened to the mostly aging characters.
I wonder why the DVD cost $2 more here than on their web site
Excellent Documentary!
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :0
I watched this on the Sundance Channel and had to buy it immediately. Well done and found the residents to be very interesting people. Definitely not your run of the mill video.
First half is funny, second half is real
Rating Point :3 Helpful Point :1
Ive watched this DVD several times now and even took it out to the Salton Sea with me, where a small group of us camped near Niland and watched it using a projector. The first half is funny and got a lot of laughs because of the strange people and interesting history. However as the movie went on the content became more serious and less interesting. Dont get me wrong, its a good documentary film, but the expectations of the film as a funny and interesting documentary are not met in the second half, and the film eventually ends on a low note. Its still a great documentary for those seeking to learn more about the Salton Sea, just not solidly entertaining all the way through to the end.
Good and Wierd
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :1
John Waters: Historian. He does a great job. Makes me want to visit the Salton Sea someday myself.
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