Trailer
Assistive Technologies

Desperate Living

Runtime
1hr 30mins
Directed by
John Waters
Featuring
Liz Renay,
Mink Stole,
Susan Lowe,
Jean Hill

Showtimes

Fri 11/29
Available for online purchase
Sold out/unavailable
Body

Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) and Grizelda Brown (Jean Hill) escape arrest by running away to Mortville, a fantastical, trash-filled slum ruled by the fascist Queen Carlotta (Edith Massey), where they receive alarming makeovers. 

Van Smith, a Dreamland regular, designed the makeup and costumes, amalgamating the film’s garish outfits with drastically clashing textures and colors for a full-on assault on the eyes—and taste—of the audience. The third in John Waters’s so-called "trash trinity" that started with Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974), Desperate Living’s fantastical sets were designed by his frequent collaborator Vincent Peranio with literal trash from Baltimore streets for a truly tasteless look. - Academy Museum

Sponsors

This Week

  • The new thriller from Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. 

    Showtimes
  • Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

    Showtimes
  • Journalist Shiori Ito investigates her own sexual assault, seeking to prosecute the high-profile offender.

    Showtimes
  • The new film from director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), starring Saoirse Ronan. 

    Showtimes
  • From writer/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East.

    Showtimes
  • Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother.

    Showtimes
  • Paris is Burning

    Jennie Livingston's documentary offers an intimate portrait of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag ball scene.

    Showtimes
  • From director John Crowley (Brooklyn) and starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. 

    Showtimes
  • cecil b demented with John Waters

    Featuring an introduction and Q&A with 2024 Coolidge Award honoree John Waters! 

    Showtimes
  • The Coolidge is thrilled to announce legendary filmmaker, author, and visual artist John Waters as the recipient of the 2024 Coolidge Award. 

    Showtimes
  • Julian Schnabel’s stunning debut, presented in black & white, starring Jeffrey Wright and David Bowie.

    Showtimes
  • Nice girls don't wear cha-cha heels.

    Showtimes
  • After every screening, join us for a Rewind! afterparty in our brand new Education Center for themed fun, food, and drinks!

    Showtimes
  • David Lynch’s seductive and scary vision of Los Angeles’s dream factory is one of the true masterpieces of the new millennium.

    Showtimes
  • Mona, a Syrian refugee in Berlin, joins a competitive girls' football team where she learns the value of teamwork for success.

    Showtimes
  • the lady from shanghai

    You'll forget there ever was a woman like Gilda...when you meet the Lady From Shanghai!

    Showtimes
  • Post-film discussion led by Northeastern professor Nathan Blake!

    Showtimes
  • Students will learn the technical approaches & reasoning behind some of the most treasured moments of moving image storytelling.

    Showtimes
  • Composer Jeff Rapsis will perform live his new piano score to the Douglas Fairbanks fantasy epic. 

    Showtimes
  • Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie), the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.

    Showtimes
  •  

    He was all things to all men ... but only one thing to all women!

    Showtimes