What Is It?
| What Is It? | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Crispin Hellion Glover |
| Written by | Crispin Hellion Glover |
| Produced by | Crispin Hellion Glover Matt Devlen Ryan Page Mike Pallagi |
| Starring | Crispin Glover Fairuza Balk Steven C. Stewart Michael Blevis Rikky Wittman John Insinna Kelly Swiderski Lisa Fusco |
| Cinematography | Wyatt Troll |
| Edited by | Crispin Hellion Glover |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Volcanic Eruptions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 72 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
What Is It? is a 2005 American surrealist film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Crispin Glover and starring Glover, Steven C. Stewart and the voice of Fairuza Balk.
What Is It? is the first entry in a planned trilogy directed by Glover, followed by It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007) and continued with It Is Mine.[1][2]
Synopsis
[edit]The "adventures" of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home, who is tormented by a hubristic, racist inner psyche.[3]
Production
[edit]Production of the film started in 1996 as a short film that was to be used as a proof of concept for the as of yet unproduced third film in Glover's It trilogy, It Is Mine. After completing the filming of the initial short, Glover decided to turn it into a feature-length film and filmed an additional eight days over two years.[4] Although the edit was picture locked around three years after the initial shoot, post-production lingered on for six more years due to a technical error related to the SMPTE timecode and also because of Glover focusing on the production of the second film of the trilogy, It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007), which started filming in 2001 to accommodate the declining health of the film's lead actor and writer, Steven C. Stewart.[5]
The majority of actors who appear in the film have Down Syndrome, but Glover has stated they are not necessarily portraying characters with Down Syndrome and the film is not about Down Syndrome. Featuring taboo content and imagery, Glover sees the themes of the film relating to his "psychological reaction to the corporate restraints that have happened in the last 30 or more years in filmmaking. Specifically, in that anything that can possibly make an audience uncomfortable is necessarily excised, or the film will not be corporately funded or distributed."[4]
Release
[edit]The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and played at several other film festivals. Aside from this, it has only been shown at independent theatres, typically accompanied by a question-and-answer session, a one-hour dramatic narration of eight different profusely illustrated books as a slideshow, and a meet-and-greet/book signing with Glover.[6]
Reception
[edit]The film had received a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Goodbye, McFly: Crispin Glover’s ‘It’ Trilogy and the Cinema of Reaction·Senses of Cinema
- ^ "Glover's 'What Is It?' aptly describes film". The Salt Lake Tribune. July 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
- ^ Brows Held High What Is It HD - Internet Archive
- ^ a b "Everything is Fine with Crispin Glover". Vanity Fair. October 2, 2015.
- ^ "Interview: Crispin Glover". TheShiznit.co.uk. April 25, 2014.
- ^ Taboo You: Crispin Glover and What Is It?-Film/TV-The Stranger
- ^ "What Is It? (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
External links
[edit]¥
- 2005 films
- Films directed by Crispin Glover
- 2005 directorial debut films
- American independent films
- American avant-garde and experimental films
- 2000s avant-garde and experimental films
- Down syndrome in film
- Films about insects
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s American films
- English-language independent films