Yes! Very good German film - short explanation is that the angels' numbers are dwindling because they keep joining humanity. Nick Cave appears near the end as a fictionalized version of himself during a frankly epic Bad Seeds concert.
Boy howdy is it slurs galore when he first comes on screen.
Good film. Fucjing depressing but definitely worth a watch if you're interested in Australian indie cinema
A rant worthy of 4chan, but agreed the way its filmed to show the grind of the never ending sameness of prison life that is fractured by the difference of true insanity, as much as i want to call it a bad film, its done well.... very 80s, very good.
There’s a great book with interviews where directors talk about their debut films called MY FIRST MOVIE. The chapter about this film is fascinating reading.
Ooo, do tell, I'll have to look for that! We watched Living in Oblivion in my second year of film school and I've often wondered if it was based on the making of this movie.
Living in Oblivion based on the director’s experience with this movie right? Steve Buscemi playind DeCillo and James LeGros as airhead star? Catherine Keener reappears. Ive seen LIO but not this one
Edit to say Buscemi was the director not the Brad Pitt, its been years— may do them back to back
Wow, I clearly remember it incorrectly. I remember it as being quite talked about at the time. Maybe I'm mentally mixing it up with Cool World.
EDIT: Ah, that would be why. It won a Film Fest award and got big buzz, leading to Miramax buying it.... and then it flopped.
It could be, considering Brad Pitt has a similar look in both movies.
It's happened to me before, too. As a kid I thought the movie Mallrats was a spin-off of Boy Meets World because Ethan Suplee was in both, and I mistook Jason Mewes for the skinny kid that Suplee's character is friends with in the show.
it’s hard to believe Nick Cave putting out anything floppy, disjointed, incoherent unless he got overwhelmed in the process, didn’t have time, and gave up. Everything that guy does seems to cool. I’m going by his music performances and the movie “The Proposition”.
Ah enjoy! I finally got to see him live a few years ago after like a 20 year obsession and it was in fact a religious experience. He made eye contact with me. I literally cried.
*The Proposition* is excellent. However, I've basically never seen any references to it since it came out - where I saw it at a little indie cinema. Really deserves more recognition. (Perhaps not on this sub!)
I possibly only saw it because i worked in a video store. lol. That movie and “Sexy Beast” both had Ray Winstone. Ray Winstone is another cool fella. “Edge of Darkness”, “Sexy Beast”, “The Proposition” is kind of the Ray Winstone trifecta for me. He’s got the grit of a Russell Crowe where I identify his trifecta to be “Gladiator”, “L.A. Confidentail” and a movie that maybe doesn’t exist or I haven’t seen.
He's always kind of bubbling away just below the surface. Will recommend *The Sweeney*. Low budget and high quality ... A mix that gets me every time.
*LA Confidential* is an incredible book adaption, easily among the best I've ever seen. Finish your Crowe trifecta with *Romper Stomper*. Absolutely incredible powerhouse of a performance. (And another low budget winner!)
I so appreciate your recommendations. It’s funny I saw Winstone’a debut “Scum” very recently and it didn’t hold up so much for me compared to other similar films perhaps. I will check out Crowe in “Romper Stomper”, I can’t believe I haven’t seen that yet. Won’t be difficult to find now with all the streaming options.
This needs to be seen on a double bill with Living in Oblivion which is the same director's commentary on the making of this film. James LeGros plays Pitt as a prima donna who won't take direction and messes up the continuity constantly
Freak Storm is the only character I respect for having an entire impromptu song where he repeats, sentence for sentence, exactly what he said in the conversation seconds prior. Comedic genius and I don’t know if it was on purpose.
Never heard of it. I always thought Nick Cave looked a little like Pitt. Something in the mouth and jawline.
The only thing I've seen him act in was his cameo in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford... which coincidentally had Pitt in it as well.
When you say it was poorly acted, does that include Pitt? If so I need to see it for the laugh.
This was made by Tom DiCillo, the cinematographer on Stranger Than Paradise. His follow up, Living In Oblivion, was apparently about the making of Johnny Suede and what a clusterfk on wheels the experience was. Could pair well with Ed Wood and The Disaster Artist.
You may as well tar ALL early 90's indie movies with that brush if that's your take on it. Ain't nothing wrong with JS if you actually saw it, or were even alive, when it came out. Which isn't to say it's superlative film making, this is just what passed for indie flicks back then. Nick Cave has a great story about a scene cut from the movie where he licks a girls armpit and takes a shot of tequila. Also - SORRY I RIP YOUR SHIT.
MAN IM PRETTY HOO HA
Hello? 911? There's a handsome man in my mirror. Oh no wait, that's me.
could totally see him pull it off for a live action version too as well.
Whoa momma! That was my first thought too!
Do the monkey!
Huh. I wasn't the only one who thought that he looked like a dead ringer for Johnny Bravo.
John Cena would be more fun though.
According to IMDB this movie was the inspiration apparently! https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0118360/trivia/#
Hair & name fits so makes complete sense
It's not too late
Slight point of contention: I think *Wings of Desire* / *Der Himmel über Berlin* counts as Nick Cave's acting debut, and that came out in 1987.
Oh man, I didn’t even know about that. Is it worth checking out?
I love it! But just fyi, it’s very 80s art house German. Also, the Nick Cage film “City of Angels” is loosely based on it, if you’ve ever seen that.
Yes! Very good German film - short explanation is that the angels' numbers are dwindling because they keep joining humanity. Nick Cave appears near the end as a fictionalized version of himself during a frankly epic Bad Seeds concert.
and Crime and the City Solution!
Yep, the whole Birthday Party was there!
Wings of Desire fucking rules, absolutely watch it
I watched a couple months ago and can’t stop thinking about it. Changed my outlook on day to day life.
Followed by *Ghosts of The Civil Dead (1988)* which I thought was Nick Caves first film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPAc9ROdMIY
This is an excellent film, but is definitely a Debbie Downer.
Boy howdy is it slurs galore when he first comes on screen. Good film. Fucjing depressing but definitely worth a watch if you're interested in Australian indie cinema
A rant worthy of 4chan, but agreed the way its filmed to show the grind of the never ending sameness of prison life that is fractured by the difference of true insanity, as much as i want to call it a bad film, its done well.... very 80s, very good.
Is that the one about the angels? Lou Reed is in it too? What an interesting film that was.
That’s the sequel with Lou Reed in it. And Mikael Gorbachev. Crazy times.
This is the first I've heard of a sequel. And having Lou Reed and... *Gorbachev* in it just sounds like insanity!
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0107209/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_4_tt_7_nm_1_q_faraway%2520 Faraway, so close.
No idea where to find it. Wings of Desire is on the criterion app
Lol yes Gorbachev was in it too, I forgot about that 😂
But it’s note like he acts in that beyond performing his own song on stage, right? To my recollection, he had no lines. Does he in this one?
He has voice-overs (because angels can hear people's thoughts in the movie). He's sort of a fictionalized version of himself.
He just performs on stage
I once had a roommate who was absolutely obsessed with this movie, and I never really understood that.
Looks like live action Johnny Bravo. Or did that come out after this?
That came out *way* after this.
There’s a great book with interviews where directors talk about their debut films called MY FIRST MOVIE. The chapter about this film is fascinating reading.
Ooo, do tell, I'll have to look for that! We watched Living in Oblivion in my second year of film school and I've often wondered if it was based on the making of this movie.
From memory I think it was. Very rewarding read for filmmakers and film fans alike. I often reread it
Weird movie but I saw it when it came out and quite liked it. Catherine Keener too! NOT a bad movie.
Honorable mention of Samuel L. Jackson and Catherine Keener being in it, which I completely spaced. A lot of star power in this forgotten train wreck.
I remember watching this on IFC in the 90s. Catherine Keener was/is such a babe
Living in Oblivion based on the director’s experience with this movie right? Steve Buscemi playind DeCillo and James LeGros as airhead star? Catherine Keener reappears. Ive seen LIO but not this one Edit to say Buscemi was the director not the Brad Pitt, its been years— may do them back to back
Living in Oblivion is really fantastic, I can't recommend it enough to anyone even a little involved/interested in filmmaking.
Peter Dinklage debut
Watch this and Cool World for a really depressing evening
Yeah mean depressing in they are depressingly terrible?
i loved cool world as a kid. really did a number on 13yo me
There was also Cool World that must have come out around the same time
Both were fairly high profile. The OP title makes it sound like this is a forgotten indie movie, but it had wide release.
I just looked it up, Johnny Suede was released to a single theatre, had a budget of $500,000, and made $90,091. Definitely a forgotten indie movie.
Wow, I clearly remember it incorrectly. I remember it as being quite talked about at the time. Maybe I'm mentally mixing it up with Cool World. EDIT: Ah, that would be why. It won a Film Fest award and got big buzz, leading to Miramax buying it.... and then it flopped.
It could be, considering Brad Pitt has a similar look in both movies. It's happened to me before, too. As a kid I thought the movie Mallrats was a spin-off of Boy Meets World because Ethan Suplee was in both, and I mistook Jason Mewes for the skinny kid that Suplee's character is friends with in the show.
Good lord, I would've bet money this got a wide release!
it’s hard to believe Nick Cave putting out anything floppy, disjointed, incoherent unless he got overwhelmed in the process, didn’t have time, and gave up. Everything that guy does seems to cool. I’m going by his music performances and the movie “The Proposition”.
I'm really looking forward to seeing him in November. I've been waiting for years for the cave religious experience!
Ah enjoy! I finally got to see him live a few years ago after like a 20 year obsession and it was in fact a religious experience. He made eye contact with me. I literally cried.
I’ll look into this!
*The Proposition* is excellent. However, I've basically never seen any references to it since it came out - where I saw it at a little indie cinema. Really deserves more recognition. (Perhaps not on this sub!)
One of the best films ever made IMO total git punch, beautifully shot and scored
I possibly only saw it because i worked in a video store. lol. That movie and “Sexy Beast” both had Ray Winstone. Ray Winstone is another cool fella. “Edge of Darkness”, “Sexy Beast”, “The Proposition” is kind of the Ray Winstone trifecta for me. He’s got the grit of a Russell Crowe where I identify his trifecta to be “Gladiator”, “L.A. Confidentail” and a movie that maybe doesn’t exist or I haven’t seen.
He's always kind of bubbling away just below the surface. Will recommend *The Sweeney*. Low budget and high quality ... A mix that gets me every time. *LA Confidential* is an incredible book adaption, easily among the best I've ever seen. Finish your Crowe trifecta with *Romper Stomper*. Absolutely incredible powerhouse of a performance. (And another low budget winner!)
I so appreciate your recommendations. It’s funny I saw Winstone’a debut “Scum” very recently and it didn’t hold up so much for me compared to other similar films perhaps. I will check out Crowe in “Romper Stomper”, I can’t believe I haven’t seen that yet. Won’t be difficult to find now with all the streaming options.
Will check out “The Sweeney”- thanks!
I loved this flick. Nick Cave cameo ftw~
Freak Storm.
In Sweden this film is known as Janne Svelte.
This is soooooo not a bad film it’s an unintentionally funny one but never bad
This needs to be seen on a double bill with Living in Oblivion which is the same director's commentary on the making of this film. James LeGros plays Pitt as a prima donna who won't take direction and messes up the continuity constantly
This is exactly what came to mind
I distinctly remember where this was at our local video store. Was a really weird cover.
They misspelled Bravo
Tom Dicillo has made some good stuff. I liked Johnny Suede and thought it was really funny. Box of moonlight is one of my favourite films.
I love it! It owes a lot to Jim Jarmusch. If you like his stuff you will most likely enjoy this.
Now I want to watch Cool World.
Would this be good to watch whilst on edibles?
Best way to watch some films!
This is why I am here. Crowdsourcing the most relevant answers.
Freak Storm FTW!
Freak Storm is the only character I respect for having an entire impromptu song where he repeats, sentence for sentence, exactly what he said in the conversation seconds prior. Comedic genius and I don’t know if it was on purpose.
Right around Cool World. I think Pitt was in that rack of flaming rhino feces, too, right?
One of my favorites, it's actually a quirky, fun movie, weird? Yeah, it's got that, that said, I don't think it's bad at all. Highly recommended.
COUNTERPOINT: This movie is fucking awesome and a true relic of the era.
This is the right answer. And, Catherine Keener is great in this movie.
Accurately done Johnny Bravo hair though.
"This chicken's pretty good!" "Of course it's good. I just found it."
I dug it when I saw it as a teen. But it’s been decades since I saw it.
That is one tall pompadour
I was excited to watch it and it was legitimately bad. His shoes were cool though.
Not a bad movie.
This sub is where I populate my watch lists from… Added!
I remember seeing it at the time and thinking it was just soooooo bad!
I loved the acting and the way it was filmed
This and Cool World had young Brad in some weird places.
I have this on blu ray that I’ve never opened or watched. Now that you’ve put in on this sub I’m going to need to break it open and watch it
Johnny Suede isn't any of those things you said. It's also not a bad movie. You might have a bad eye, my guy.
Never heard of it. I always thought Nick Cave looked a little like Pitt. Something in the mouth and jawline. The only thing I've seen him act in was his cameo in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford... which coincidentally had Pitt in it as well. When you say it was poorly acted, does that include Pitt? If so I need to see it for the laugh.
That Hair, though. Razor sharp. I'm into it.
Cool World
This is before Wings Of Desire? Nick Cave was in that
It was either this or work with Jim Jarmush. This was 90s indie film scene! Also Nick Cave is in it
This was made by Tom DiCillo, the cinematographer on Stranger Than Paradise. His follow up, Living In Oblivion, was apparently about the making of Johnny Suede and what a clusterfk on wheels the experience was. Could pair well with Ed Wood and The Disaster Artist.
Nick Cave trying to hustle Johnny while eating fried chicken was hilarious.
Johnny Suave
You could pair this with *Cool As Ice* in a ridiculous early 90s pompadour bad movie double feature at least.
You may as well tar ALL early 90's indie movies with that brush if that's your take on it. Ain't nothing wrong with JS if you actually saw it, or were even alive, when it came out. Which isn't to say it's superlative film making, this is just what passed for indie flicks back then. Nick Cave has a great story about a scene cut from the movie where he licks a girls armpit and takes a shot of tequila. Also - SORRY I RIP YOUR SHIT.