| Hedwig and the Angry Inch | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Cameron Mitchell |
| Written by | John Cameron Mitchell |
| Based on | |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Frank G. DeMarco |
| Edited by | Andrew Marcus |
| Music by | Stephen Trask |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema (throughFine Line Features[1]) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 92 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $6 million[3] |
| Box office | $3.6 million[4] |
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 Americanmusicalcomedy-drama film written for the screen and directed byJohn Cameron Mitchell. Based on Mitchell's andStephen Trask's 1998 stage musicalHedwig and the Angry Inch, it accompanies Hedwig Robinson, agay[5]East German rock singer.[6][7] Hedwig subsequently develops a relationship with a younger man, Tommy, becoming his mentor and musical collaborator, only to have Tommy steal her music and become a rock star. The film follows Hedwig and her backing band, the Angry Inch, as they shadow Tommy's tour, while exploring Hedwig's past and her forcedsex reassignment surgery. Mitchell reprises his role as Hedwig from the original production.
Despite largely positive reviews from critics and audiences, the film's limited release only grossed $3.6 million from an estimated $6 million budget. The musical has since developed a devotedcult following.[8]
In 2001, the film won the Best Director and Audience Awards at theSundance Film Festival as well as Best Directorial Debut from theNational Board of Review, theGotham Awards, and theLos Angeles Film Critics Association. Mitchell received aGolden Globe nomination forBest Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and thePremiere magazine Performance of the Year Award.
Hansel Schmidt is a gay,East German teenager who loves rock music and is stuck in East Berlin until he meetsSergeant Luther Robinson, an American soldier. Luther proposes marriage to Hansel, persuading him to havesex reassignment surgery in order to leaveCommunist East Germany forthe West as his wife, because that was the only legal solution. Hansel's mother, Hedwig, gives her child her name and passport and finds a doctor to perform the genital surgery. The operation is botched, however, leaving Hansel – now Hedwig – with a dysfunctional one-inch mound of flesh between her legs, the titular "Angry Inch".
Hedwig goes to live inJunction City, Kansas as Luther's wife. On their first wedding anniversary, Luther leaves Hedwig for a man. That same day, it is announced that theBerlin Wall has fallen and East Germans are flooding freely into the West, meaning as material gains go, Hedwig's sacrifices have been for nothing. Hedwig recovers from the separation by confidently accepting her identity as a woman, picking up some "odd jobs," and returning to her "first love" of music by forming a rock band composed of Korean-born Army wives. Babysitting for "the commander of the nearby fort," she befriends Tommy Speck, a shy and misunderstood teenager questioning his Christian upbringing. For six months, she teaches him "rock history, lyrics, grooming, and vocal training" taking him from playing the occasional guitar masses to the two of them "out-grossing monster trucks in Wichita." Hedwig gives him the stage name "Tommy Gnosis" (stating thatGnosis is the Greek word for "knowledge") for his graduation. Upon discovering her "inch," Tommy leaves Hedwig and goes on to become a wildly successful rock star by stealing Hedwig's songs.
Hedwig and her band, the Angry Inch (now composed of Eastern Europeans including her husband, Yitzhak), are forced to support themselves by playing in a chain of failing seafood restaurants called Bilgewater's and other small venues. Hedwig is following Tommy's tour while pursuing a copyright lawsuit. In between songs, she reflects on her life's story through flashbacks and stories told directly to either uninterested restaurant patrons or her small, but loyal group of fans.
Throughout the film, Hedwig refers toAristophanes' speech inPlato'sSymposium. This myth, retold by Hedwig in the song "The Origin of Love", explains that human beings were once round, two-faced, four-armed, and four-legged beings. Angry gods split these early humans in two, leaving the separated people with a lifelong yearning for their other half.
Near the end of the film, Hedwig is down and out, her band and manager having abandoned her in disgust after she tears up Yitzhak's passport. While working as a streetwalker, she finally reunites with Tommy and they reconcile. After the two of them accidentally drive Tommy's limo into a news truck, paparazzi burst onto the scene, Hedwig becomes famous and Gnosis' popularity tanks. Reunited with her band, Hedwig performs atTimes Square, culminating in a violent removal of her drag.
Entering the final chapter of the film, it seems to take place in a non-real space, perhaps Hedwig's mind. Now in male form, Hedwig discovers herself alone in front of Tommy on a huge stage. Tommy sings to Hedwig, pleading forgiveness and saying goodbye; she realizes that she created her "other half" from within herself. Hedwig then finds herself back at Times Square, but the space seems transformed, with ambient white lighting. The band members, dressed all in white, are already in their places on stage. Hedwig gives Yitzhak her blonde wig, allowing Yitzhak to take her place, and sings in solidarity with "all the misfits and losers" of the world. A brief animated sequence symbolizing the union of the separated Platonic halves leads to the final shot: Hedwig walking naked down a dark alley and into the street.
For the soundtrack, Hedwig's songs were recorded byJohn Cameron Mitchell (lead vocals),Stephen Trask,Miriam Shor,Bob Mould (ofHüsker Dü), Ted Liscinski, Perry L. James, Alexis Fleisig, andEli Janney.
Tommy Gnosis' songs were recorded by Trask (lead vocals), Shor, Mould, Liscinski, James, Scott McCloud, Janney, Fleisig, and Johnny Temple.
In 2003, a CD of the film'ssong covers by such artists asYoko Ono andCyndi Lauper was released. It benefited theHetrick-Martin Institute and was named after one of the musical's most popular songs "Wig in a Box".Goth-metal bandType O Negative recorded a cover of "Angry Inch" on their 2003 albumLife Is Killing Me.
Mitchell had been approached during the Off-Broadway run of the musical with the offer to adaptHedwig into a film. He developed parts of the script at theSundance film labs, notably the trailer scene with Tommy Speck. Later, the film was entered into theSundance Film Festival.
According to theDVD commentary, most of the lead vocals were recorded "live" as the scenes were shot, to capture the intensity of a live performance.[9] The live recording of "Hedwig's Lament" is the version on the film soundtrack despite most of the songs being studio recorded for the album.[10]
Mitchell had to shave constantly during the course of the film shoot, often using an electric razor between shots while still in full makeup. Also in the DVD commentary, Mitchell mentions that Pitt was somewhat uncomfortable with their prolonged kissing scene, complaining about being scratched by Mitchell's stubble. Mitchell mentioned Pitt consuming onion and garlic directly before shooting the scene.
Mitchell and Trask performed twice onThe Rosie O'Donnell Show (the second time withDean DeLeo ofStone Temple Pilots). At first, the studio objected to a "drag" performance on the daytime family show, but relented at the insistence of O'Donnell. Mitchell and his band performed "The Origin of Love". A clip from this show was used in theHedwig film, with O'Donnell's blessing.[9]
Mitchell said that his performance on theLate Show with David Letterman as Hedwig was interesting: "During rehearsal, a disembodied voice emanating from the control booth gently told me that I couldn't rip my wig off during the song ("Tear Me Down"). I asked why, but there was only silence from on high. So when we taped, I ripped it offafter the song. They edited it out. I think they wanted people to think I was a woman, and not a man in drag."[11]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch may very well be the nextRocky Horrormidnight movie. It not only knows how to rock, but Hedwig's story has an emotional poignancy."[12] On the review aggregator websiteMetacritic, the film had an average score of 85 out of 100, based on 29 reviews from film critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[13]
Kevin Maynard from Mr. Showbiz wrote that film "[s]tomps the summer movie competition with heart and humour."[14] Ed Epstein fromThe Wall Street Journal commented "This extraordinary flight from the humdrum is not to be missed."[14] Chris Kaltenbach fromThe Baltimore Sun wrote "This is Mitchell's show, and his performance lives up to his triple billing as writer, director and star."[14]
The film earned an initial domestic theatrical total of $3,644,200 from a $6 million budget.[15] The film opened in the U.S. in 9 theaters on July 20, 2001, and made $156,724 in its opening weekend, ranking #28 in the box office.
The film's release expanded through September,[4] whichJohn Cameron Mitchell later said affected the film's prospects because of theSeptember 11 attacks. Shortly after the attacks, theaters offered free tickets to moviegoers, although many people did see the film, the free entry meant thatHedwig And The Angry Inch did not make any money upon its release.[citation needed]
The film has gained an international cult following and has appeared on many 'Best Films' lists.
The film was released onDVD on December 11, 2001,[16] complete withdeleted scenes, anaudio commentary by Mitchell and Director of Photography Frank DeMarco, a full-length documentary "Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story of Hedwig," and the original theatrical trailer.
The deleted scenes mostly expand on the characters around Hedwig; we learn more about Yitzhak (he was once a drag queen called "Krystal Nacht", a pun onKristallnacht), how he met Hedwig in aCroatian drag bar, and we see his preparing to audition for the role ofAngel inRent. We also learn that Hedwig's manager, Phyllis, has a cell phone surgically implanted in a tooth. When she gets hit in the head with a dryer door, she is unable to hang up her phone. Krzyzhtoff, whom Hedwig has just yelled at for putting her bra in the dryer, attempts to help Phyllis by pressing on her tooth.
The Criterion Collection re-released the film on DVD andBlu-ray Disc on June 25, 2019. The release includes new and archival special features.[17]
| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Berlin International Film Festival | Best Feature Film (Teddy Award) | Won | |
| Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize | Nominated | ||
| Audience Award (Dramatic) | Won | |||
| Directing Award (Dramatic) | John Cameron Mitchell | Won | ||
| National Board of Review, USA | Best Debut Director | Won | ||
| Gotham Awards | Open Palm Award (Best Debut Director) | Won | ||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | New Generation Award | Won | ||
| Deauville Film Festival | CineLive Award | Won | ||
| Critics Award | Won | |||
| Grand Special Prize | Won | |||
| Gijon International Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | ||
| Montreal Comedy Festival | Special Jury Prize | Won | ||
| Provincetown International Film Festival | Best Feature | Won | ||
| San Francisco International Film Festival | Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature | Won | ||
| San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival | Best First Feature | John Cameron Mitchell | Won | |
| Seattle International Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | ||
| Stockholm International Film Festival | Honorable Mention | Won | ||
| 2002 | Golden Globe Awards | Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | John Cameron Mitchell | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | Best Feature | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography | Frank G. DeMarco | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | John Cameron Mitchell | Nominated | ||
| Best First Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| Best Male Lead | Nominated | |||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Use of Previously Published or Recorded Music | Won | ||
| L.A. Outfest | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | John Cameron Mitchell | Won | |
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Miriam Shor | Won | ||
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Songs | Won | ||
| Newcomer of the Year | John Cameron Mitchell | Won | ||
| GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Film (Limited Release) | Won | ||
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