Born in Flames
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Synopsis
A blistering rallying cry issued loud, clear, and unapologetically queer, Lizzie Borden’s explosive postpunk provocation is a DIY fantasia of female rebellion set in America ten years after a revolution that supposedly transformed the country into a democratic socialist utopia. In reality, racism, sexism, and economic inequality are as virulent as ever, and a band of radicals—led by Black, lesbian, and working-class women—join forces to fight back. Told through a furiously fractured, kinetically edited flurry of television news broadcasts, pirate radio transmissions, agitprop, and protests shot guerrilla-style on the streets of New York City, Born in Flames is a shock wave of feminist futurism that’s both an essential document of its time and radically ahead of it.
Picture 7/10
The Criterion Collection presents Lizzie Borden’s sophomore feature Born in Flames on Blu-ray, framed in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on a dual-layer disc. The 1080p/24hz high-definition presentation comes from a 2K restoration completed in 2016, sourced from a scan of the 16mm internegative (the original 16mm A/B rolls are unfortunately lost).
All things considered, this looks quite good. Shot independently over several years on an extremely limited budget (Borden filmed whenever she could gather enough money to pay her crew) one wouldn’t have been surprised if the film looked far rougher today. Yet the restoration team has pulled off something of a small miracle, especially given that the restoration itself was likely done on a modest budget.
Print damage is still fairly consistent throughout, with scratches and marks appearing frequently and sometimes quite heavily. It fits the film’s gritty, guerrilla look, though it’s just as likely that cost concerns, or the risk of over-scrubbing the image, led to leaving them in. Even so, the presentation maintains a pleasing, film-like consistency, with the heavy grain rendered faithfully. Detail levels are surprisingly high, sometimes razor-sharp when allowed, and colors appear accurate for a film of the era, very much what you’d expect from late-’70s/early-’80s 16mm photography. Black levels can look a little murky at times, likely a result of the original lighting conditions, but the image is still easy to see.
Overall, it’s an impressive effort. It may not be the cleanest presentation imaginable, but it captures the scrappy energy of the film to a tee.
Born in Flames - Screen Captures
Audio 7/10
The monaural soundtrack, presented in lossless PCM, sounds considerably better than expected. Dialogue is generally clean and clear with decent range, but the film’s music has a surprising amount of punch, especially the title track, which recurs throughout and gives the mix an unexpected kick of energy.
Extras 8/10
Criterion includes several significant features, starting with a new commentary led by Lizzie Borden and featuring interviews with cast members Adele Bertel, Hillary Hurst, Sheila McLaughlin, Pat Murphy, Marty Pottenger, and Jeanne Satterfield, along with cinematographers DeeDee Halleck and Chris Hegedus. Despite the film’s brief 80-minute runtime, this is a dense and engaging track. Borden covers the film’s challenging production, from developing its story and structure to contextualizing it within the political and social climate of the time, while also reflecting on its continuing relevance. The commentary cuts between Borden’s narration and newly recorded interviews (some conducted over the phone). Hegedus and Halleck discuss the learning curve and technical difficulties that came with the shoot, while the actors share memories from the production and how they approached their roles. There are also lively anecdotes about the New York artist community of the period, where everyone seemed to pitch in on each other’s projects (and even general living conditions). Though Borden reads from a prepared script, the track maintains a brisk pace and is consistently informative. An excellent listen overall.
Criterion also includes a short 12-minute interview with Borden, originally recorded for the Criterion Channel. In it, she talks about her move to New York, her involvement in the downtown art scene, and how she eventually turned to filmmaking. It serves as a fitting lead-in to the release’s most notable addition: her long-unavailable debut feature, Regrouping (1976), an experimental 75-minute documentary.
As best as I can gather, Regrouping originated as Borden’s attempt to document a close-knit group of women artists and activists—one she was not actually part of—as they discussed issues central to second-wave feminism. The film (as it was originally intended) apparently captured candid and sometimes tense exchanges about sexuality, identity, and inclusion, particularly around lesbianism and its uneasy acceptance within the feminist movement. According to So Mayer’s essay in the included booklet, these conversations reflect larger divisions that would soon fracture the movement itself. Complicating matters further, a recently deceased former member of the group, an out lesbian who had relationships with two of the women, became a point of contention. After Borden screened an early edit, the women objected to how they were portrayed along with the mention of their deceased friend, and refused permission for the film to be shown. Borden then restructured the project, allowing them to use whatever footage they wished for their own work while she built her film around the remaining material.
The version presented here seems to incorporate that footage alongside additional material Borden shot with her own friends and figures from the feminist art world, including Barbara Kruger and future filmmaker Kathryn (Kathy) Bigelow. The result is a fractured, self-reflexive montage of conversations, contradictions, and political debate. It an incredibly disjointed portrait of the movement, though intentionally so I assume to capture the fractures that could appear. Dialogue plays over unrelated imagery, often to ironic or unsettling effect; one sequence, for example, pairs a woman’s voice deriding lesbian sex with explicit footage of the act itself, shot in Borden’s apartment. The editing is jagged, the sound mix frustrating, and the perspective constantly shifting, raising questions around (just for starters) authorship and representation.
I’m sure I missed some of what Borden intended or misinterpreted it in its entirety, and Regrouping is easily her most demanding and difficult film to engage with, at least of what I've seen (Born in Flames is also not easy but at least has a more straightforward narrative). My limited knowledge of the finer points of second-wave feminism probably doesn’t help, either. Still, it’s an impressive first feature, particularly in its editing and conceptual design. It’s not easy viewing, even at 75 minutes, but its release here is significant. Long unavailable (Borden had kept it out of circulation for decades), the new 4K restoration looks remarkably good, arguably better than Born in Flames itself. While it’s understandable that the film wasn’t given a standalone release, pairing it with her follow-up makes perfect sense.
The included booklet features two essays: one by Mayer, offering essential context for Regrouping, and another by Yasmina Price, focusing on Born in Flames and its political undercurrents. It’s a strong special edition overall. I do wish there were more material directly addressing Regrouping (perhaps a commentary with Borden) but simply having the film available at all is pretty significant.
Closing
Criterion's new Blu-ray shines a light on Lizzie Borden's underseen early works, delivering two solid presentations and a couple of insightful features.
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