George Kuchar
Known for: Directing
George Kuchar (August 31, 1942 – September 6, 2011) and his twin brother Mike began making films as teenagers in the 1950s, with 8mm film being their weapon of choice. After shocking their local amateur filmmaking club with their over-the-top stories of lust and angst, they became stars of the NYC underground scene in the 1960s, befriending the likes of Jonas Mekas and Jack Smith. Always working with the constraints of minuscule budgets and nonprofessional actors, the Kuchar’s inspiration comes from classic Hollywood melodrama. Their cheaply made pictures, rather than being held back by lack of funds, blossomed in the shackles of poverty; the garish colors of the cheap makeup and sets were perfectly complemented by the bold color range afforded by Kodachrome reversal stock. The wild (and sometimes the inverse of wild) acting, use of stock music, lack of synch sound, hyperbolic narration, and primitive special effects all combined to make tiny gems unlike anything seen before or since. The Kuchars are cited as major influences by such filmmakers as John Waters, Todd Solondz, and David Lynch.
Filmography
Film
Hitchcocked!
Self
2006
Film
Bongwater
Homeless Man
1998
Film
Screamplay
Martin
1984
Film
Divine Trash
Self
2000
Film
It Came from Kuchar
Self
2009
Film
365 Day Project
Self
2007
Film
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton
Self
2013
Film
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life
Self (archive footage)
1986
Film
Bill's Hat
1967
Film
Nudes: A Sketchbook
1974
The Secret of Wendel Samson
1966
Film
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
Self
2007
Film
Underground New York
Self
1968
Film
Galaxie
Self
1966
Film
Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore
Banquet speaker
1998
Film
I, an Actress
Director
1977
George
1976
Film
Sparkle's Tavern
Mr. Pupik
1985
Film
Maggots and Men
2009
Film
Sins of the Fleshapoids
Prince Gianbeno
1965
Film
Brakhage
Self (archive footage)
1998
Film
Taboo: The Single and the LP
1980
Wild Night in El Reno
1977
Film
3 Stories About Evil
2008
Film
Law of Desire
1997
George and Mike Kuchar
Self
1977
Film
Xmas 1986
Himself
1986
Film
Swamp
Uncle George
1990
Film
Meet The Kuchar Brothers
2006
Film
Meow Meow
1970
Film
Chronicles
1969
Film
The Craven Sluck
Morton
1967
Film
River Windows
1966
Film
The Creeping Crimson
1987
Confessions of Babette
1963
Tomorrow Always Comes
2006
Film
Video Album 5: The Thursday People
1987
Film
Portrait of Ramona
1971
Film
Rainy Season
1987
Film
The Gates of Gomorrah
Self
2002
Film
Supercell
Himself
2004
Film
George Kuchar: The Comedy of the Underground
Himself
1983
Film
Award
Himself
1992
Film
Peed Into the Wind
1972
Sunset After Dark
George Kilman
1996
Film
Confessions
1972
Film
Beaver Fever
Hunk
1974
Film
Secrets of the Shadow World
Himself
1999
The Slasher
1958
Film
The Mongreloid
Himself
1978
All Smiles and Sadness
Monologue Narrator
1999
Film
A Night with Gilda Peck
1974
Lust for Ecstasy
Father Nelson
1964
Film
Going Nowhere
Himself
1992
Film
Xmas 1987 New Years
Himself
1988
Film
Hold Me While I'm Naked
1966
Film
Eat My Makeup!
2010
L.A. Screening Workshop
1988
Film
Electrocute Your Stars
2004
Film
Water Sports
Himself
2007
Film
Precious Products
Himself
1989
Film
Weather Diary 3
1988
Film
The Inmate
Himself
1997
Film
Wieners and Buns Musical
Forrest
1972
Visitation Rites
2003
Film
Kiss of the Veggie Vixen
Self
1990
Film
Boggy Depot
Damon
1973
Film
Weather Diary 1
Himself
1986
Film
A Passage to Wetness
1990
Film
Why Are You Weird?
Professor
2009
Film
Fill Thy Crack with Whiteness
1989
Film
Burnout
Himself
2003
Film
Metropolitan Monologues
Himself
2000
Film
Oh Hi Anne
Himself
2017
Film
Gastronomic Getaway
1991
Film
Domain of the Pixel Pixies
Himself
1998
Film
Urchins of Ungawa
1994
Film
Tropical Vulture
Dean
Film
The Hairy Horror
Himself
2009
Film
Andy Warhol's Unfinished Symphony
1975
Film
Webtide
Himself
2010
Film
Cult of the Cubicles
Himself
1987
Film
Dingleberry Jingles
Self
1994
Night of the Bomb
1962
The Unclean
Himself
1967
Film
Born of the Wind
1964
Film
The Nutrient Express
2010
Anita Needs Me
1964
East by Southwest
1987
Film
Point 'n Shoot
Himself
1989
Film
Snap 'n Snatch
Himself
1990
Film
Sherman Acres
Ira
1992
Film
Weather Watch
1991
Film
Coven of the Heathenites
Self
2008
Film
The Unmentionables
2009
Return to the House of Pain
Self
1988
Film
Migration of the Blubberoids
1989
Bayou of the Blue Behemoth
1993
Film
Tummy Ache Times
2010
Film
True Blue and Dreamy
1974
Indian Summer
1991
Tootsies in Autumn
1963
Film
Chigger Country
1999
Film
Chili Line Stops Here
Himself
1989
Film
That Woman
Barbara Walters
2018
Film
500 Millibars to Ecstasy
Himself
1989
Film
Bloodrape
Grandpa
2011
Film
Calling Dr. Petrov
Mecca of the Frigid
1988
Film
The Shadow Glass
1976
Film
George Kuchar: An Interview
George Kuchar
2005
Film
Portrait of Genie
Himself
2008
Film
Rocky Interlude
Himself
1990
Film
Arizona Byways
Self
2001
Film
The Warming of the Hell House
Self
1990
Film
Foto Spread
Self
1991
Christmas 85
Self
1985
(ir)reverence
2013
Film
The Butchered Beefcake
2011
Film
Vintage Visits
2010
Film
Calorie Cottage
2010
Film
Pictures at an Exhibitionist’s
1989
Encyclopedia of the Blessed
1968
Film
Scarlet Droppings
Himself
1991
Film
Song of the Whoopee Wind
Himself
2005
Film
Vault of Vapors
2009
Film
Delectable Destinations
2010
Film
Cellar Sinema
1994
Film
The Kingdom By The Sea
Himself
2002
Film
Season of Sorrow
Himself
1996
Film
Vermin of the Vortex
Self
1996
Web of Fire
Film
Uncle Evil
Himself
1996
Film
Thundercrack!
Bing / Medusa
1975
Film
Lumps of Joy
2004
George Kuchar Goes to Work with Today's Youth
1992
Ann Arbor
1993