625 Eating Raoul

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Jeff
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
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625 Eating Raoul

#1 Post by Jeff » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:41 pm

Eating Raoul

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A sleeper hit of the early 1980s, Eating Raoul is a bawdy, gleefully amoral tale of conspicuous consumption. Warhol superstar Mary Woronov and cult legend Paul Bartel (who also directed) portray a prudish married couple feeling put upon by the swingers who live in their apartment building; one night, by accident, they discover a way to simultaneously realize their dream of opening a little restaurant and rid themselves of the “perverts” down the hall. A mix of hilarious, anything-goes slapstick and biting satire of me-generation self-indulgence, Eating Raoul marks the end of the sexual revolution with a thwack.


Disc Features

- New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Gary Thieltges, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentary featuring screenwriter Richard Blackburn, art director Robert Schulenberg, and editor Alan Toomayan
- The Secret Cinema (1968) and Naughty Nurse (1969), two short films by director Paul Bartel
- Cooking Up “Raoul,” a new documentary about the making of the film, featuring interviews with stars Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, and Edie McClurg
- Gag reel of outtakes from the film
- Archival interview with Bartel and Woronov
- Trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic David Ehrenstein

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The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:35 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#2 Post by The Narrator Returns » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:50 pm

I can only hope this means Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is coming soon.

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domino harvey
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#3 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:51 pm

The Narrator Returns wrote:I can only hope this means Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is coming soon.
If only! I'm saddened that Criterion didn't license Bartel and Woronov's cameo as their Eating Raoul characters from Chopping Mall

EDIT: Since everything is on YouTube, you can see their scene here (They come in after the initial two minute demo of the security robot)

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vertovfan
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:46 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#4 Post by vertovfan » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:54 pm

I'm excited to upgrade my copy of The Secret Cinema from the VHS copy I've had for ages!

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domino harvey
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#5 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:58 pm

The Secret Cinema was later remade by Bartel for Amazing Stories, too bad that couldn't be arranged either. Dear Criterion, hire me to run Paul Bartel supplement ideas past you, I have lots more

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swo17
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Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#6 Post by swo17 » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:08 pm

They may legitimately not know about all of what's out there. You should email them.

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domino harvey
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#7 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:16 pm

Good advice, I just did!

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#8 Post by Ashirg » Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:20 am

I don't see how they can do it and still stay within the price range. A clip from Chopping Mall would have to be licensed from Lionsgate and Amazing Stories episode from Universal.

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bainbridgezu
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#9 Post by bainbridgezu » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:43 am


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domino harvey
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#10 Post by domino harvey » Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:01 am

Yowza, I didn't know the film's stock could look so good. Can't wait for people to (re)discover this gem!

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manicsounds
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#11 Post by manicsounds » Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:29 am

Just watched Paul Bartel in "Rock N Roll High School" and "Gremlins 2". I guess I have to see "Eating Raoul" and "Death Race 2000" now...

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mfunk9786
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#12 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:47 pm

It looked fabulous on Hulu Plus, so I had a feeling this release would be a video quality standout. Will certainly be in my Top 5 at the end of the year unless Criterion drops a December bombshell on Monday!

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Anhedionisiac
the Displeasure Principle
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:25 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#13 Post by Anhedionisiac » Sun Sep 30, 2012 2:02 am

Does anybody know if The Secret Cinema includes subtitles for the hearing-impaired? That alone would be worth a buy in my case!

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oldsheperd
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 5:18 pm
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#14 Post by oldsheperd » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:16 pm

The packaging for the liner notes is a nice touch!

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JamesF
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:36 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#15 Post by JamesF » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:34 am

Got this in the post yesterday. It's an amazing package and presentation of the film, with one fairly major exception - Naughty Nurse, the second short, is presented in black-and-white when it in fact is supposed to be in colour. The original VHS release had it in colour, so I wonder why Criterion were only able to access it in b&w?

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PfR73
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:07 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#16 Post by PfR73 » Mon Dec 02, 2013 4:23 pm

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/20 ... raoul.html

This past weeks' episode of the podcast The Projection Booth focused on Eating Raoul & features some interesting interviews with Richard Blackburn, Mary Woronov, & Susan Saiger. An interesting Criterion-related tidbit is that Richard Blackburn reveals Criterion had interested in licensing Lemora-A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural, but for various reasons he decided to go with Synapse.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#17 Post by therewillbeblus » Sun Mar 08, 2020 11:56 pm

Rewatching this years later it was somehow even funnier, with even the less clear gags landing hard (the salesman declaring his favorite food as veal coincidentally and Bartel’s awkward need to solve this as a problem is hilarious, and hardly a ‘joke’ in the conventional sense).

I’ve never sought out Bartel’s other work, mostly because I didn’t like Death Race 2000 and called it a wash, but I’m curious if there are any favorites more in line with this?

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Big Ben
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#18 Post by Big Ben » Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:30 am

Not really in my opinion. The characters from Eating Raoul make an appearance in the Roger Corman produced Chopping Mall which is most certainly not on the same level as this film unless you're looking for some incredibly corny sleaze. The only other Bartel film I can think of is Lust in the Dust which I would argue isn't even a cult film despite having Divine in it.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#19 Post by knives » Mon Mar 09, 2020 12:35 pm

I like all his films to be fair so I'd recommend them all, but as Ben seems to indicate only really Lust in the Dust plays with a similar tone.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#20 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 09, 2020 12:51 pm

Really? It appears that a few of his films are dubbed as, and appear at least in brief blurbs, like black/absurdist comedies: Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, Private Parts, The Longshot, and Not For Publication are all different vibes?

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#21 Post by knives » Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:20 pm

All of his films are certainly black comedies, but I was making a differentiation between the wryness of Eating Raoul and the more medium dependent sensibility of Death Race which you said you didn't like.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#22 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:59 pm

Fair enough, I guess I'll check out the ones I've mentioned gradually unless anyone has a clear favorite to throw out there, or anything not on my list. I also thought The Secret Cinema was great.

As for Eating Raoul, I find the "trail mix" flavor non-joke at the sex shop is sticking with me most.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#23 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 09, 2020 7:17 pm

knives wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:20 pm
All of his films are certainly black comedies, but I was making a differentiation between the wryness of Eating Raoul and the more medium dependent sensibility of Death Race which you said you didn't like.
I’d definitely say that Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills contains that wryness, even if it is a bit more animated in tone toward John Waters, but I think they’re similar enough in comedic delivery to cite a greater overlap

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knives
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Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#24 Post by knives » Mon Mar 09, 2020 8:48 pm

(I haven't seen that one so it wasn't on my mind; I should change that).

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: 625 Eating Raoul

#25 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:02 pm

I’d highly recommend it and think it’d be up your alley

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