Poison (film)

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Poison

DVD cover
Directed by Todd Haynes
Produced by Christine Vachon
Written by Jean Genet (novels)
Todd Haynes
Music by James Bennett
Cinematography Maryse Alberti (color)
Barry Ellsworth (black-and-white)
Editing by Todd Haynes
James Lyons
Distributed by Zeitgeist Films
Release date(s) January 1991 (Sundance)
April 5, 1991 (limited release USA)
Running time 85 min.
Country USA
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Poison is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Todd Haynes. Composed of three intercut stories that are partially inspired by the novels of Jean Genet. With its gay themes, Poison is considered an early entry in the New Queer Cinema movement.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The three intercut stories that comprise Poison are:

  • Hero: A young boy shoots his father and then flies away. The story is told in the style of a documentary film.
  • Horror: Told in the style of 1950s drive-in sci-fi movies, Horror is about a scientist who isolates the "elixir of human sexuality" and, after drinking it, is transformed into a hideous murdering monster.
  • Homo: The story of a prisoner who finds himself attracted to another prisoner whom he had known and seen humiliated as a youth in a juvenile facility.

[edit] Exhibition

Poison was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991 and later received a limited release in the United States. It was released on Region 1 DVD on October 26, 1999.

[edit] Cast

  • Edith Meeks as Felicia Beacon
  • Millie White as Millie Sklar
  • Buck Smith as Gregory Lazar
  • Anne Giotta as Evelyn McAlpert
  • Lydia Lafleur as Sylvia Manning
  • Ian Nemser as Sean White
  • Rob LaBelle as Jay Wete
  • Evan Dunsky as Dr. MacArthur
  • Marina Lutz as Hazel Lamprecht
  • Barry Cassidy as Officer Rilt
  • Richard Anthony as Edward Comacho
  • Angela M. Schreiber as Florence Giddens
  • Justin Silverstein as Jake
  • Chris Singh as Chris
  • Edward Allen as Fred Beacon

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Chameleon Street
Sundance Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
1991
Succeeded by
In the Soup