Go Go Tales | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Abel Ferrara |
Written by | Abel Ferrara |
Produced by |
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Starring | Willem Dafoe Bob Hoskins Asia Argento Riccardo Scamarcio Sylvia Miles Stefania Rocca Matthew Modine |
Cinematography | Fabio Cianchetti |
Edited by | Fabio Nunziata |
Music by | Francis Kuipers |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Countries | Italy United States |
Language | English |
Go Go Tales is an independent 2007 film by Abel Ferrara. [1] Ferrara based the film on The Killing of a Chinese Bookie , directed by John Cassavetes. [2] It stars Willem Dafoe as a strip club owner and co-stars Bob Hoskins, Asia Argento and Matthew Modine. [3] Ferrara had the cast improvise much of their lines. [2] He described the film as his "first intentional comedy". [4]
Ray Ruby, who manages Ray Ruby’s Paradise, is worried about fewer tourists visiting the establishment so he decides to hold a lottery to bring them in. Ray is running out of money but people expect to be paid, including the pole dancers. A landlady by the name of Lillian plans on using the spot for a Bed Bath & Beyond location if she does not receive rent money.
Desperate for money to keep the establishment open, Ray tries to find the winning ticket of his own lottery. His brother Johnnie helps keep the strip club open. The film shows the lives of people who depend on the strip club and what the lack of money does to them.
The part of Ray Ruby was offered to Christopher Walken and Harvey Keitel. [5] [6]
When the film came out, Asia Argento said she regretted she did it because everyone was only talking about the infamous dog-kissing scene. But both director Abel Ferrara and actress Stefania Rocca confirmed that it was Asia herself who wanted to do that scene. [7]
It was screened out of competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. [8] It has been seen only at selected film festivals, including the Montréal World Film Festival where it competed for the "Grand prix des Amériques". [9] Despite being filmed by an American director, the film rights were never bought in the United States. Its only other United States airing besides the Cannes Film Festival and New York Film Festival was at the Anthology Film Archives, as part of a program titled "Abel Ferrara in the 21st Century". [4] The film was released on DVD in Australia. [10] The film was also screened in May 2019 as part of a 27-film Abel Ferrara retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 68%, based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 5.80/10. [11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12]
Ed Gonzalez, writing for Slant Magazine , praised the acting and the music. [13] Robert Koehler, of Variety , said that "Ferrara is in a wonderfully loose and comedic mood after the complex spiritual dramatics of 'Mary.'" [2] A review by The New York Times said, "A lovely drift of a movie, “Go Go Tales” commands your attention even as it lulls you along. Conspicuously inspired by John Cassavetes’s Killing of a Chinese Bookie among other touchstones, it is a sincere and inspired meditation on art and creation, but in a loose, funny key". [4] Simon Miraudo, of Quickflix, said that "all anyone wanted to talk about was the sequence in which Asia Argento’s exotic dancer tongue-kissed a dog onstage". [10] It is a Critics' Pick of The New York Times. [14] Cahiers du Cinéma placed Go Go Tales 7th in its list of top 10 films of 2012. [15]
William James "Willem" Dafoe is an American actor, also holding Italian citizenship. Known for his diverse roles in film, he is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and four Golden Globe Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers.
Asia Argento is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with appearances in XXX (2002), Land of the Dead (2005) and Marie Antoinette (2006). Her other notable acting credits include Queen Margot (1994), Let's Not Keep in Touch (1994), Traveling Companion (1996), Last Days (2005) and Islands (2011). Argento is the recipient of several accolades, including two David di Donatello awards for Best Actress and three Italian Golden Globes. Her directorial credits include The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) and Misunderstood (2014).
New Rose Hotel is a 1998 American erotic science fiction drama film co-written and directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento. It is based on William Gibson's 1984 short story of the same name.
Bad Lieutenant is a 1992 American neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the titular "bad lieutenant" as well as Victor Argo and Paul Calderón. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actress-model Zoë Lund, both of whom appear in the film in minor roles. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
Abel Ferrara is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best known movies include the New York-set, gritty crime thrillers The Driller Killer (1979), Ms .45 (1981), King of New York (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992) and The Funeral (1996), chronicling violent crime in urban settings with spiritual overtones.
Last Days is a 2005 American drama film directed, produced and written by Gus Van Sant. It is a fictionalized account of the last days of a musician, loosely based on Kurt Cobain. It was released to theaters in the United States on July 22, 2005 and was produced by HBO. The film stars Michael Pitt as the character Blake, based on Cobain. Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, Scott Patrick Green and Thadeus A. Thomas also star in the film. This is the first film from Picturehouse, a joint venture between Time Warner's New Line Cinema and HBO Films subsidiaries to release art house, independent, foreign, and documentary films. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a 1976 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara. A rough and gritty film, this is the second of their three collaborations, following Husbands and preceding Opening Night. Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Morgan Woodward, Meade Roberts, and Azizi Johari appear in supporting roles.
Mary is a 2005 drama thriller film, written and directed by American director Abel Ferrara. The film stars Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine and Heather Graham.
The Card Player is a 2004 giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The film stars Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham and is Argento's second giallo feature of the decade.
The Last Mistress is a 2007 French-Italian film based on the novel Une vieille maîtresse by the French writer Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly. It stars Asia Argento and Fu'ad Aït Aattou as the two main characters. The movie was directed by the French filmmaker Catherine Breillat and was selected for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
The Blackout is a 1997 American drama film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Matthew Modine. It was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
Chelsea on the Rocks is a documentary film directed by Abel Ferrara about the Hotel Chelsea. The film features Ferrara interviewing people who have and had lived at the hotel, intercut with dramatized footage of some famous events that took place there. During the film's interviews and docudrama Gaby Hoffmann, Dennis Hopper, Robert Crumb, Adam Goldberg and Bijou Phillips make appearances.
4:44 Last Day on Earth is a 2011 apocalyptic drama film written and directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh, Natasha Lyonne and Paul Hipp. An international co-production of the United States, Switzerland, and France, the film received mixed reviews from critics upon release.
Misunderstood is a 2014 Italian drama film directed by Asia Argento. It was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Welcome to New York is a 2014 French-American drama film co-written and directed by Abel Ferrara. Inspired by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair when the prominent French politician was accused of sexual assaulting a hotel maid, the film was released on 17 May 2014 by VOD on the Internet as the film failed to secure a place on the Official Selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, nor was it picked up for theatrical distribution in France.
Pasolini is a 2014 English-language internationally co-produced drama film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Maurizio Braucci about the final days of Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. It was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
Tommaso is a 2019 internationally co-produced drama film, written and directed by Abel Ferrara. It stars Willem Dafoe. The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2019. It was released in the United States on 5 June 2020 by Kino Lorber.
Siberia is a 2020 psychological thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, where it premiered on 24 February 2020.
Alive in France is a 2017 French documentary film about American filmmaker Abel Ferrara touring and performing rock and roll with his band. The documentary was directed by Ferrara. It premiered as part of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight.
Padre Pio is a 2022 biographical film co-written and directed by Abel Ferrara. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Padre Pio, an Italian priest who received the stigmata, and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. During its production, as a result of his spiritual experiences, LaBeouf converted to Catholicism.