Working Girls (1986 film)

Working Girls is a 1986 independent film, written, produced and directed by Lizzie Borden.[2] It depicts a day in the life of upper class prostitutes in a small Manhattan bordello, and was considered by some a feminist portrayal.[1]

For the 1988 film starring Melanie Griffith, see Working Girl. For other uses, see Working Girl (disambiguation).
Working Girls
Directed byLizzie Borden
Produced byLizzie Borden
Written byLizzie Borden
StarringLouise Smith
Deborah Banks
Liz Caldwell
Production
company
Alternate Current (studio)
Distributed byMiramax
Release date
May 28, 1986 (Cannes Film Festival)
February 27, 1987 (United States)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It was nominated for the 1987 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and won the Special Jury Prize.[3]

Production

The film was the second feature film directed by Lizzie Borden. Working Girls depicts the lives of sex workers, maintains some of the stylistic and thematic features of her debut, but is more mainstream in its approach. The film was inspired by some of the women who participated in the making of Born in Flames, who coincidentally supported themselves through prostitution.[4] Although Working Girls addresses the subject of prostitution in great detail, Borden prefers the film to be discussed as a narrative fiction film rather than as a documentary.[5] The film was intended to be a "backstage" look at prostitution. In a New York Times review, Vincent Canby writes, "Working Girls, though a work of fiction, sounds as authentic as might a documentary about coal miners." The film portrays prostitution as an often tedious, sometimes depressing, occasionally interesting or funny job. The main character, Molly, claims to have a degree from Yale University and is a lesbian in her private life." Roger Ebert gives it a thumbs up and Sheila Benson calls it "funny and insightful."

Borden wrote, directed, and produced the film and it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight. The film won Best Feature at the Sundance Film Festival and was sold and then distributed by Miramax Films. After the Weinsteins sold Miramax, the film was distributed by First Run Features for a decade. All American prints had been lost or misplaced by Miramax, but European prints were shown in screenings of the film in Brussels, Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastian in 2016 and at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2018. A British print screened at The Quad Cinema in July, 2018 as part of their series, "New York Woman." The film has been shown as a fund-raiser to help workers in the sex industry.

References
  1. Canby, Vincent (February 27, 1987). "Working Girls (1986) FILM: 'WORKING GIRLS'". The New York Times.
  2. Ebert, Roger (March 13, 1987). "Working Girls". Chicago Sun-Times.
  3. "Sundance Film Festival Films Honored 1985-2008" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. Lane, Christina. Feminist Hollywood: From Born in Flames to Point Break. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000.
  5. Redding, Judith M., and Victoria A. Brownworth. Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors. Seattle: Seal Press, 1997.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/working-girls-1987 http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-27/entertainment/ca-291_1_lucy http://www.spectacletheater.com/working-girls-lizzie-borden/


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.