| Phallus in Wonderland | ||||
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| Video by GWAR | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal, punk rock | |||
| Length | 60 min | |||
| Label | Metal Blade Records | |||
| Director | Distortion Wells & Judas Bullhorn | |||
| Producer | Dean English | |||
| GWAR video chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
Phallus in Wonderland was GWAR's first attempt at a commercially released, long-form movie. The plot tells the tale of GWAR's conflict with the Morality Squad, after the theft of Oderus Urungus' "Cuttlefish of Cthulhu" (or penis). Meanwhile, the giant T-Rex, Gor-Gor is born and helps GWAR defeat the Morality Squad. The video was nominated for a Grammy in 1993 (which they lost to Annie Lennox for Diva, as mock-mentioned in the 1994 song "Jack The World").
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Phallus in Wonderland was released on VHS in 1992, and DVD in 1999, but has been out of print in either format since 2002 (some sources give 1994 as the year for the VHS). Metal Blade and Slave Pit both carry the remaining VHS copies, and neither have the DVD. There is some confusion as to who actually owns the rights to this film, with Metal Blade saying that Slave Pit is the owner (and that they are in the re-negotiation process), and Slave Pit stating the exact opposite.
Because of this, copies of both have been hard to find and has led to some cases of people selling them for as much as $120.00.
On January 8, 2008, Metal Blade Records re-released the DVD. The DVD special features include instant scene access, options to play songs only and curtain call.[2] The DVD's come in a variety of colors, such as blue and black, and also have a phallus etched onto them.
"Distortion Wells" is the pseudonym for Bill Morrison, who would later direct the music video to "Saddam A Go-Go." "Judas Bullhorn" is Canadian Director/Musician Blair Dobson. Despite being nominated for a Grammy,neither Dobson or Morrison were ever paid for months of work on the project and Dobson, after initiating the project between his company and Slave Pit /Metal Blade left halfway through shooting.
In the Bohab Central forums, Mike Bishop (who played Beefcake the Mighty at the time) claims that this use of outside directors led to serious tension between himself (it was his doing) and Hunter Jackson (the founder of Slave Pit), and was a major factor in his departure the following year.
As with the album America Must Be Destroyed (upon which this film is based), Phallus in Wonderland does not have a distinct Flattus Maximus character. A friend of the band's, nicknamed "Stretch," filled the role for the few scenes in which Flattus appears, and is killed in the "Gor-Gor" video.
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