Tropico | |
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Directed by | Anthony Mandler |
Written by | Lana Del Rey [1] |
Based on |
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Produced by | Heather Heller |
Starring |
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Cinematography | David Devlin |
Edited by | Jeff Selis |
Music by | Lana Del Rey |
Release dates |
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Running time | 27 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Full film | |
Tropico on YouTube |
Tropico is a 2013 musical short film directed by Anthony Mandler, based on the Biblical story of sin and redemption. Split into three chapters, the film was written by Lana Del Rey, who also starred alongside Shaun Ross. Del Rey plays a dual role, portraying the biblical figure of Eve, as well as Mary, the mother of Jesus, while Ross stars as Adam. The film is set to three songs from Del Rey's 2012 extended play (EP) Paradise .
Tropico opened to critical acclaim at its December 4, 2013 premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California. The film was then released digitally on Del Rey's Vevo page the following day. It was also included in the track listing of the film's soundtrack EP, released exclusively to the iTunes Store.
The movie starts out with Adam (Shaun Ross) and Eve (Del Rey) in the Garden of Eden. God (portrayed by a John Wayne character), Jesus, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley are all present with Adam and Eve – as "Body Electric" begins to play. The whole movie is intercut with scenes of Del Rey playing Jesus' mother Mary. At the end of the song, Eve – tempted by the snake – decides to eat an apple from Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. After she eats it, thunder strikes and she faints. Adam then decides to eat from the apple as well in order to join his lover. As a result of this, they are cast out of their "Paradise", the Garden of Eden.
Del Rey then starts to recite Walt Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric" as time flash forwards to a modern-day Adam and Eve living in Los Angeles; Del Rey works as a stripper while Ross is a gang member who also works as a clerk at a convenience store during the day. In this segment – "Gods & Monsters" begins to play. After the song ends, Del Rey recites Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" as a group of wealthy middle aged men are seen surprising their friend on his birthday by bringing him strippers. A couple of minutes after the strippers enter the room, Ross and his gang suddenly show up with guns in hand and steal all their money.
God appears and begins to narrate John Mitchum's poem "America, Why I Love Her" ("You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time. I'll explain. Have you seen a Kansas sunset, or an Arizona rain?"). The Adam and Eve characters then get in their car and end up driving to a country-side wheat field. Clips show the pair being baptised as they begin to undress. "Bel Air" then plays in the sunset. The two characters then ascend back into heaven, having finally redeemed themselves, as flying saucers appear in the sky.
Tropico was filmed in late June 2013; it was directed by Anthony Mandler, who also directed Del Rey's previous music videos for "National Anthem" and "Ride". Via social media platforms, Del Rey released several promotional images for the film, one depicting Del Rey in a mantilla as Mary, Mother of Jesus and another with Del Rey holding a snake and posing as Eve, the biblical wife of Adam from the Book of Genesis. In August 2013, Del Rey announced that the film would have two premieres: one at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles and one in an unspecified location in New York; she referred to the short film as a "farewell". [2] Critics noted that this contradicted other claims by Del Rey that she would release a third studio album, with a demo of the song "Black Beauty" leaking online. On November 22, 2013, an official trailer for Tropico was released; at the end of the trailer, it was announced that the film would be uploaded to Del Rey's official VEVO account on December 5, 2013. [3] On December 3, 2013, it was announced that the film would premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California, prior to its VEVO release. [4] Prior to playing the movie, Del Rey announced the title of her upcoming third album and explained to the audience what she meant when she said that the film is a "farewell", stating: "I really just wanted us all to be together so I could try and visually close out my [Born to Die/Paradise] chapter[s] before I release the new record, Ultraviolence ". [5] [6]
Upon release, Tropico received mostly positive reviews from critics. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard called the film "a work of overflowing, era-traversing passion" and called the climax of the film "pure bliss". [7] Under the Gun took issue with the "somewhat nonsensical" narration throughout the film, but said as a whole the film was "certainly something special". [8] Similarly, Jimmy So of The Daily Beast also criticized the film's narration and compared it to "a campy arthouse movie" and described Del Rey's videos to this point as being "starved of creativity". [9] In contrast, James Caterino of Examiner gave the film a 5-star review writing "The imagery is breathtaking and the voice-over narration so jam-packed with poetic prose that it sears into the soul... She is an artistic force who never fails to fascinate—and to make us feel". [10] In a slightly more critical but equally optimistic review, Sal Cinquemani of Slant added "It's obvious from the big bang that opens the film that Del Rey and Mandler have zero interest in subtlety, but interestingly, Del Rey doesn't position herself among the film's icons of Americana the way, say, Kanye West or Lady Gaga might. Instead, her work continues to serve as both a tribute to an imagined past and a critique of contemporary pop culture". [11]
Tropico | ||||
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EP / soundtrack by | ||||
Released | December 6, 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2012 | |||
Length | 38:55 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Lana Del Rey chronology | ||||
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The film is set to three songs of Del Rey's own songs: "Body Electric", "Gods & Monsters", and "Bel Air". The songs are taken from Del Rey's extended play Paradise (2012), which was also reissued with her debut major-label album Born to Die (2012) as Born to Die: The Paradise Edition in 2012. Del Rey released the songs featured in the film as a short EP, titled after the film. Tropico was released digitally on December 6, 2013 through Polydor and Interscope Records, featuring the songs, as well as the full length film. [12]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Body Electric" |
| 3:53 | |
2. | "Gods & Monsters" |
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| 3:57 |
3. | "Bel Air" |
| Heath | 3:57 |
4. | "Tropico film" | Del Rey | 27:08 | |
Total length: | 38:55 |
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists and albums his songs have appeared on have sold over 250 million copies. In 2020, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Anthony Mandler is an American film, television, and music video director and photographer.
"I Sing the Body Electric" is a poem by Walt Whitman from his 1855 collection Leaves of Grass. The poem is divided into nine sections, each celebrating a different aspect of human physicality.
Shaun Ross is an American model, recording artist, and actor. He is known for his work in the fashion world as the first professional male model with the congenital disorder albinism. Ross has worked with various fashion designers, magazines and campaigns, including Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Vogue, GQ, Nylon and others. In 2018, he collaborated with designer Nina Athanasiou for the "In My Skin" clothing line to bring awareness to albinism. He has also appeared in several videos from music artists, including Beyoncé's "Pretty Hurts", Lana Del Rey's short film Tropico, and Katy Perry's "E.T".
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. Her vintage Hollywood glamour aesthetic is showcased in her music videos. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023, Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", while their sister publication Rolling Stone UK named her as "The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century".
"Summertime Sadness" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her second studio album, Born to Die (2012). The pop ballad was released on June 22, 2012, by Interscope Records as the fourth single of the album. In the spring of 2013, "Summertime Sadness" reached number one in Poland, Ukraine and Armenia. Charting across Europe, the single reached the top 10 in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Trap and house remixes of "Summertime Sadness" helped Del Rey break into the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. That chart is where Del Rey's song became a modest hit and marked her first foray into the chart. On the accompanied Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, the single gave Del Rey her first US number-one single in August 2013. In September 2021, the song was ranked number 456 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"National Anthem" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey for her second studio album, Born to Die (2012). It was released as a single on June 15, 2012, through Interscope Records as the album's fourth single.
Kill Kill is the debut extended play (EP) by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released under her former stage name Lizzy Grant, on October 21, 2008, in the United States through 5 Points Records. The three songs on the EP would later be included on the 2010 album Lana Del Ray. "Yayo" would later be re-recorded and released a third time, on Del Rey's 2012 EP, Paradise. "Kill Kill" was the EP's only single. A music video accompanied the track and was published in 2008.
"Ride" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her third extended play (EP), Paradise (2012). The song was written by Lana Del Rey and Justin Parker, while produced by Rick Rubin, the song served as the reissue's first single on September 25, 2012 through Interscope Records. "Ride" is a soulful ballad that thematically involves parental problems, alcohol consumption, and loneliness. The cover for the song depicts Del Rey on a tire swing, wearing cowboy boots and a denim jacket.
Paradise is the third extended play by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on November 9, 2012, in Australasia and November 11, 2012, worldwide by Polydor and Interscope. It was additionally packaged with the reissue of her major-label debut studio album, Born to Die (2012), titled Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. Grant enlisted collaborators including producers Rick Nowels, Justin Parker and Rick Rubin. The EP's sound has been described as baroque pop and trip hop.
"Burning Desire" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. Initially available for digital download upon pre-ordering Del Rey's third EP, Paradise, "Burning Desire" was released as a promotional single on March 19, 2013. One month earlier, a music video for the song was released on Valentine's Day. Lyrically composed by Lana Del Rey and her long-time collaborator, Justin Parker, the record was produced by Emile Haynie.
"Bel Air" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It appears on her third extended play, Paradise. Featuring clips from the "Summertime Sadness" music video, a promotional video for "Bel Air" was released to YouTube in early November 2012. The video has received much critical acclaim. After the release of Paradise, the song charted in the United Kingdom and France.
"Gods & Monsters" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her third extended play Paradise and the reissue of her second album Born to Die, Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. "Gods & Monsters" was released on November 9, 2012, with the rest of the Paradise EP.
"Young and Beautiful" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey used for the soundtrack to the drama film The Great Gatsby.
Ultraviolence is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on June 13, 2014, by Polydor and Interscope Records. Originally dismissing the possibility of releasing another record after her major-label debut Born to Die (2012), Del Rey began planning its follow-up in 2013. Production continued into 2014, at which time she heavily collaborated with Dan Auerbach to revamp what she initially considered to be the completed record. The album saw additional contributions from producers such as Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Daniel Heath, and Rick Nowels, and features a more guitar-based sound than Del Rey's previous releases.
American singer, director and occasional actress Lana Del Rey has appeared in 55 music videos, one documentary film, six short films, seven magazine films, and three commercials, as well as directing a bulk of her work. Del Rey's first appearance was in the short film Poolside (2010) as Lisa, a rich girl who spends her days smoking cigarettes by the pool. She received top billing for the project. Del Rey then went on to write the treatment for two music films, Ride (2012) and Tropico (2013), which were directed by Anthony Mandler. In 2015, Del Rey served as the executive producer of the film Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston?. She then made appearances as a performer in Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen and in The King as herself.
Ride is a 2012 American short music film directed by Anthony Mandler. The film stars Lana Del Rey as Artist, a prostitute who leaves her opulent family and joins a biker gang on the open road. The film was also written by Del Rey, and is based on her song of the same name, from her extended play (EP) Paradise (2012). The film's supporting cast includes Ian Seeberg, Scott Marlatt, and Kevin Peterson as Artist's lovers, and Josh Kurlups, Brian Harlow, Shawn Donohue, Steve Buchanan, Will Thomas, and Del Rey's brother, Charlie Grant as members of a biker gang. Lasting a duration of over 10 minutes, the film serves as its title song's music video. Aside from featuring the song itself, the film also features "confessional monologues" spoken by Del Rey.
Norman Fucking Rockwell is a 2019 American short music film directed by Chuck Grant, written by her sister, Lana Del Rey, who also stars alongside Ashley Rodriguez and Alexandria Kaye. The film is based on three songs from Del Rey's Norman Fucking Rockwell!, the album's title track, "Bartender", and "Happiness is a Butterfly". It was released on YouTube on December 20, 2019.