Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972) is a short film written and directed by Martin Brest, then a film student at New York University. The short film features Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman in her acting debut.[1]
Plot
In this short film, DeVito plays a photographer who is determined to capture visual magic and fame. He concocts an intricate plot to explode the Statue of Liberty and sets his camera to record the Statue of Liberty's explosion as it was broken into pieces.
Production
It was filmed in New York City in black and white on 16 mm film. Rhea Perlman played the woman on a ferry, while Martin Brest played the man on a ferry. The scene of the Statue of Liberty's head exploding was incorporated during the final scene. Brest and Randolph Herr are credited with doing the special effects. This short film was inspired by the Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937.
Reception and legacy
In 2009, it was one of 25 films selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures."[2][3][4]
References
- ^ Grimes, William (17 January 1993). "FILM; So, You Wanna Be a Director?". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Michael Jackson, the Muppets and Early Cinema Tapped for Preservation in 2009 Library of Congress National Film Registry", Library of Congress (December 30, 2009)
- ^ "Thriller and 24 Other Films Named to National Film Registry", Associated Press via Yahoo News (December 30, 2009)
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
External links
- Hot Dogs for Gauguin at IMDb
- Hot Dogs for Gauguin essay by Daniel Eagan In America's Film Legacy, 2009-2010: A Viewer's Guide To The 50 Landmark Movies Added To The National Film Registry In 2009–10, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2011, ISBN 1441120025 pages 135-138 [1]
- Saturday Night Live: Hot Dogs for Gauguin – Three-minute version aired in 1980
