George Kuchar
Date of birth: 1942-08-31
Place of birth: New York, New York
Known for: Directing
Also known as:
Biography
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.
Movie Credits
Web of Fire
Short film.
Arizona Byways
2001-01-01
A cactus-strewn desert becomes the backdrop for this series of filmic stopovers. Great natural beaut
The Warming of the Hell House
1990-01-01
A trip across the bay to Concord yields a harvest of non-fruit-like beings who celebrate a housewarm
Foto Spread
1991-01-01
A photographer comes to my home to take pictures and gets a lensful. His mouth and his shutter snap
Kiss of the Veggie Vixen
1990-01-02
A portrait of Marion Eaton, film and stage actress, etched with a green thumb and a brown nose.
Christmas 85
1985-12-25
Another Holiday Diary film from George Kuchar
All Smiles and Sadness
1999-01-01
McGuire constructs a murky black and white soap-opera world of endless, timeless, and placeless limb
The Shadow Glass
1976-01-01
The Shadow Glass is roughly based on Ewers' 'Student of Prague'. It concerns a young man who, feelin
River Windows
1966-01-01
"A film counterpointing the hard reality of the present with the fantastic actuality or imagining of
Andy Warhol's Unfinished Symphony
1975-01-01
A clarification of the '60s and its plastic society; taking archetypes of the American landscape to
George and Mike Kuchar
1977-01-01
Portrait of siblings George and Mike Kuchar, who have made a name for themselves in the US undergrou
A Night with Gilda Peck
1974-01-01
A vehicle for the talented Mrs. Kathleen Hohalek, as the tenant of the Pyramid Penthouse, with Georg
The Craven Sluck
1967-12-21
A desperate, married woman meets a mysterious man who she blatantly desires. Through some twists and
Sins of the Fleshapoids
1965-01-04
One million years in the future, the human survivors of a nuclear war are served by robots called "f
Brakhage
1998-09-17
BRAKHAGE explores the depth and breadth of the filmmaker’s genius, the exquisite splendor of his fil
I, an Actress
1977-12-09
An actress and a director run through a melodramatic scene, speaking to a mannequin.
(ir)reverence
2013-04-10
"George Kuchar meets my mother."
Wild Night in El Reno
1977-09-06
"In the late spring of each year the Great Plains states of the U.S. experience a season characteris
Sherman Acres
1992-01-01
A drama in six episodes involving psychological breakdowns, marital showdowns, and messy obsessions.
Taboo: The Single and the LP
1980-01-01
Blend of documentary and domestic melodrama featuring a series of sexually charged vignettes inspire
Nudes: A Sketchbook
1974-01-01
A series of vignettes illustrating sexual fantasies.
Anita Needs Me
1964-03-11
An overheated tale of lust, guilt, and Mom, made as a response to the French New Wave.
George Kuchar: An Interview
2005-01-01
Since the 1980s, Kuchar has been creating brilliantly edited, hilarious, and often diaristic tapes m
Return to the House of Pain
1988-01-01
Return to the House of Pain documents my walking through the turf and sludge of the Big Apple and ma
Weather Diary 1
1986-01-01
George Kuchar travels to Oklahoma in search of tornadoes, spends most of his time watching TV and ea
Galaxie
1966-09-03
In March and April of 1966, Markopoulos created this filmic portrait of writers and artists from his
Born of the Wind
1964-03-04
A tender and realistic story of a scientist who falls in love with a mummy he has restored to life.
Vault of Vapors
2009-01-01
One of Kuchars weather diary series out in Oklahoma. The tone is wistful, the surroundings wispy (wi
The Butchered Beefcake
2011-01-01
This video diary visits two sites that exhibited Kuchars visual works this past year, culminating at
Vintage Visits
2010-01-01
Another edition to Kuchars weather diary series, this particular one has more social intercourse occ
Tummy Ache Times
2010-01-01
It's the season of joy once again and this video depicts the tasty and the troublesome in big, heapi
The Nutrient Express
2010-01-01
A trip to Winnipeg introduces the viewer to moments of Canadian cuisine and to the easily digestible
Delectable Destinations
2010-01-01
This time, the call of the west sends Kuchar packing to Oregon, California and Arizona. You too can
Calorie Cottage
2010-01-01
Encompassing both Thanksgiving, Christmas and the exploding New Year's Eve celebrations, this holida
Hitchcocked!
2006-08-11
A tribute to the work of Alfred Hitchcock, featuring contemporary filmmakers, writers, performers, a
Underground New York
1968-01-01
A rare behind-the-scenes view of the exploding New York “underground” in the late sixities, a turbul
The Unclean
1967-08-12
Lost film featuring vignettes of individual couples in a bathtub
Weather Diary 3
1988-01-01
Set in and around an El Reno motel, the tape records George's growing friendship with a young weathe
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton
2013-03-09
A chronicle of the iconoclastic life of gay poet, filmmaker, and spiritual visionary James Broughton
The Mongreloid
1978-09-21
A man, his dog, and the regions they inhabited, each leaving his own distinctive mark on the landsca
George
1976-01-01
George (1976, revised in 1988) is a portrait of George Kuchar composed on a J-K optical printer with
Confessions
1972-03-15
Curt McDowell has a confession for his parents. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
Boggy Depot
1973-01-01
Two men hypnotize their roommate and attempt to force him to fall in love.
Sparkle's Tavern
1985-06-01
Siblings hide their ownership of a bordello from their mother. When she is visited by a man who shar
East by Southwest
A trip to Boston to visit a local filmmaker in his studio is followed by a journey to the cinematic
Peed Into the Wind
1972-01-01
An hour-long saga of Mick Terrific, rock 'n' roll star, and the cast of 50 he encounters on his sear
True Blue and Dreamy
1974-01-01
"A surreal meditation on a cigarette billboard using a very strange ballerina as an allegory for som
Eat My Makeup!
2010-04-10
With George Kuchar, Marie Losier, Jason Livingston, Paul Shepard. Five winsome damsels picnic on the
Sunset After Dark
1996-01-01
A struggling screenwriter finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation.
Video Album 5: The Thursday People
1987-01-01
The comings and goings of the late underground filmmaker, Curt McDowell—and the people and activitie
Beaver Fever
1974-01-01
A short comedy by Curt McDowell. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
Wieners and Buns Musical
1972-05-12
A musical about an unhappy couple and the man that stands between them. Preserved by the Academy Fi
Electrocute Your Stars
2004-01-01
In this dream portrait, George Kuchar travels through snow confetti, strobe flashes and artificial w
365 Day Project
2007-12-31
This exhibition focuses on Jonas Mekas’ 365 Day Project, a succession of films and videos in calenda
Lust for Ecstasy
1964-03-04
“LUST FOR ECSTASY is my most ambitious attempt since my last film…. I wrote many of the pungent scen
Confessions of Babette
1963-01-01
An early masterpiece by Mike Kuchar, in which Babette tells all, leaving no turgid stone unturned.
The Slasher
1958-01-01
An insane, deformed killer stalks the grounds of a resort house, bringing sudden violence to those o
Night of the Bomb
1962-01-01
The film combines teenage lust and deranged delinquency to create a cautionary tale for the ages.
George Kuchar: The Comedy of the Underground
1983-04-01
A documentary portrait of filmmaker George Kuchar conducting a tour of his apartment where he displa
Hold Me While I'm Naked
1966-04-23
Presented as loosely autobiographical, Hold Me While I’m Naked centres on the tribulations of an ind
Divine Trash
2000-03-31
The life and times of Baltimore film maker and midnight movie pioneer, John Waters.
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life
1986-02-22
A film collage tracing the story of the lives, loves, and deaths within the artistic community surro
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
2007-04-11
In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Sm
Swamp
1990-01-01
Swamp uses the soap opera format to play with the structure and expectations of the family melodrama
It Came from Kuchar
2009-09-22
It Came from Kuchar is the definitive, feature documentary about the legendary, underground filmmaki
Meet The Kuchar Brothers
2006-01-01
Provides a rare glimpse into the world of George and Mike Kuchar, underground filmmaking brothers fr
Gastronomic Getaway
1991-01-01
Writes Kuchar, "The magnificent Mono Lake becomes the centerpiece for this car trip through Yosemite
Pictures at an Exhibitionist’s
1989-01-01
A wide-ranging look at pictures I collect on my walls and in my head. A look at pictures I concoct w
Migration of the Blubberoids
1989-01-01
"The whiteness of winter cannot bury the blubbery things that splash and frolic among the frozen mem
Cellar Sinema
1994-01-01
A descent into the blackness of the projected image and the curators who flick the switches and grea
A Passage to Wetness
1990-01-01
An island. A mountain. A City of Angels who scoop up the pellets dropped by other winged creatures.
Indian Summer
1991-01-01
The colors of fall are muted by the fog of a lingering summer and the memory of that which is dark a
Rainy Season
1987-11-19
Thanksgiving in California is the setting in which the viewer experiences "the depression inherent t
Fill Thy Crack with Whiteness
1989-01-01
A music-filled tour of Christmas good cheer overtakes this gastronomically oriented excursion throug
Tootsies in Autumn
1963-09-23
[A] cautionary tale about past-their-prime thespians caught up in a typically Kucharian vortex of ma
The Secret of Wendel Samson
1966-07-01
A young man's struggle with his sexuality overtakes his life, driving him deep into his subconscious
Urchins of Ungawa
1994-01-01
In a garden of roses and memorabilia from darkest Africa, a man and woman ponder the joy of cooking
Portrait of Ramona
1971-01-01
This movie was made mostly in Brooklyn during some very hot and empty evenings. Since the evenings w
The Creeping Crimson
1987-10-31
A short film by George Kuchar.
Chigger Country
1999-01-01
Pastures filled with the bounty of a meateater's fantasy fill the screen with bellows of bovine orig
Visitation Rites
2003-01-01
Alone in an Oklahoma motel room with a mute companion, the talkative one speaks the language of memo
3 Stories About Evil
2008-03-26
A very black mix of comedy about relationships, the media, children's beauty pageants, sex change op
Chili Line Stops Here
1989-01-01
A journey that begins in a Kansas City hotel and ends up in New Mexico. The bumpy ride is fuelled wi
Precious Products
1989-01-01
In Precious Products we are subtly reminded of this country’s obsession with consumerism and narciss
Oh Hi Anne
2017-01-01
An epic tale of love and loss. Made using voicemails the Kuchar brothers left on her home answering
Weather Watch
1991-01-01
A window or two on the outside world is not enough, especially when you have such a lousy view of th
That Woman
2018-08-06
That Woman uses as source material the original Barbara Walters interview with Monica Lewinsky, whic
Bill's Hat
1967-01-01
"The whole film are non-art portraits of people in which they do what they want with this hat – and
Chronicles
1969-01-01
Mike Kuchar'ss lyrical portrait of everyday life, from making art to making love, all as the Vietnam
Portrait of Genie
2008-01-01
An ex-student of mine opens up in the privacy of her home and shows me her etchings (watercolors) as
Secrets of the Shadow World
1999-08-31
This three-part mini-series explores the mysterious and the mundane in a splash of digital dioramas
Webtide
2010-01-01
Once again a seaside serenade of sloshing oils and simmering scallops fills the crannies of Cape Cod
Water Sports
2007-01-01
A trip to the Marin headlands at the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay headlines this video diary. Th
Encyclopedia of the Blessed
1968-01-01
" ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BLESSED culminates my involvement with artist Red Grooms and Mimi Gross. It i
Cult of the Cubicles
1987-01-01
Writes Kuchar: "It's New York in the summer and I set out to track down some high school friends who
500 Millibars to Ecstasy
1989-01-01
The dark and sloppy side of touring college towns with your work. An internal expose of external sec
Burnout
2003-01-01
A metropolis awash in electrical overdrive crashes in the heat of summer and sends a Bronxite into t
The Kingdom By The Sea
2002-01-01
The spirit of poets permeates the space/time occupied by an assortment of dinner engagements that oc
Scarlet Droppings
1991-08-01
Taped in Normal, Illinois, during the height of autumn, a snapshot of a young girl triggers a medita
Rocky Interlude
1990-01-01
A trip to a barren landscape of jagged peaks and deep crevasses becomes a playground for an over-dre
Point 'n Shoot
1989-01-01
A lavish home is visited, shutters click, bottoms are exposed, water splashes and a welcome wetness
Award
1992-01-01
A behind-the-scenes look at the man behind the trophy and the poisons that taint an otherwise jubila
Snap 'n Snatch
1990-01-01
A sort-of music video that focuses on and under young women and men engaged in focusing video and mo
Uncle Evil
1996-01-01
The young and the innocent at the mercy of a palpable presence oozing menace and scarlet-stained goo
Supercell
2004-01-01
Clouds abound in this short meditation on vaporous masses that flow across the borders of our window
Song of the Whoopee Wind
2005-01-01
A California Christmas season ushers in an array of holiday visuals designed to feed the hunger of s
The Inmate
1997-01-01
The splendor of a mountain lake is clouded by the musings of a brain in memory mode. The head relive
Metropolitan Monologues
2000-01-01
The New York City summer is fueled by the sultry emanations of hot air that tumble off the tongues o
The Hairy Horror
2009-01-01
A chance encounter with a sober student reveals the mystery of a woodland wonder that has left a mar
Screamplay
1984-11-02
A talented writer, Edgar Allen, arrives in Hollywood with big dreams but is quickly pulled into a wo
Thundercrack!
1975-12-29
An eccentric and alcoholic widow hosts a motley assortment of travelers - four men, three women and
Coven of the Heathenites
2008-01-01
A summer sojourn is fleshed out for maximum solar exposure in this video travelogue of sun, sea and
Law of Desire
1997-01-01
The story of Trelita, a Chicana sex worker with an abusive boss and a dead boyfriend (who she may or
Going Nowhere
1992-01-01
Writes Kuchar: "It was my 50th birthday this year (1992) and my friend's birthday, so I explored our
Season of Sorrow
1996-01-01
Ice falls from the sky as tears plip-plop onto wall-to-wall carpeting. No degree of renovation can e
Xmas 1987 New Years
1988-01-01
A sweet and savory journey in the company of George traveling from Christmas to New Years, stopping
Domain of the Pixel Pixies
1998-01-01
Sort of a portrait of the videomaker Anne McQuire, who surfaces midway from this waterlogged landsca
Bongwater
1998-04-18
David is an artist and a pothead. He's fallen in love with the beautiful and sexy Serena, and things
Xmas 1986
1986-12-25
"In Xmas 1986, George Kuchar’s mother Stella has come to stay with him for the holidays. After a ser
Maggots and Men
2009-06-21
A utopian re-visioning of the Kronstadt Uprising of 1921, featuring film history's first cast of ove
Tropical Vulture
Tropical Vulture is a cross-generational project which highlights the artistic influences between Ge
Dingleberry Jingles
1994-01-01
In Dingleberry Jingles, George discusses all things Christmas with his cat, attends a wedding, and o
Tomorrow Always Comes
2006-01-01
A 1940s campy film noir sex romp comedy thriller. Harlem, Chinatown, Park Ave. It’s the same old sto
Vermin of the Vortex
1996-01-01
Alienation in academia beneath the chandeliered opulence of a political correctional facility that c
Bayou of the Blue Behemoth
The waters run deep as massive jaws chomp and bubbles burst in a world gone mad with technological d