Remix: Buffalo ’66 with Wanda
click pic to play video (note: there is nudity and violence. Duration: 29:42), Flash version available here.
Buffalo ’66 and Wanda are two films that contain some of the most resonant scenes in cinema. Buffalo ’66 was directed by Vincent Gallo and released in 1998. It wasn’t a box office hit but was recieved as a great work. Gallo followed this with an absolute disaster of a film, the Brown Bunny, this did not diminish the greatness of Buffalo ’66, if anything, Gallo now just appeared as an arrogant prick. But if you have not seen Buffalo ’66, you got no excuse, it is quite an incredible achievement.
However, if you have not seen Wanda, you have a very good excuse — it is not available on DVD or even VHS (not sure). This is quite tragic. This is a great film, directed by Barbara Loden who would never direct again. Loden was married to director Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, East of Eden). She had success as an actress but seems to have been stifled as a director by her husband. She died tragically in 1980 at the age of 48. When watching Wanda, it felt like Loden was desperate to say something but had no resources but herself and the camera. This film is being forgotten and doesn’t deserve to be.
