Born in Flames
United States • 1983 • 1h 20m
Director
#1277Criterion Collection →Synopsis
A blistering rallying cry issued loud, clear, and unapologetically queer, Lizzie Borden’s explosive postpunk provocation is a DIY fantasia of female rebellion set in America ten years after a revolution that supposedly transformed the country into a democratic socialist utopia. In reality, racism, sexism, and economic inequality are as virulent as ever, and a band of radicals—led by Black, lesbian, and working-class women—join forces to fight back. Told through a furiously fractured, kinetically edited flurry of television news broadcasts, pirate radio transmissions, agitprop, and protests shot guerrilla-style on the streets of New York City, BORN IN FLAMES is a shock wave of feminist futurism that’s both an essential document of its time and radically ahead of it.
Synopsis
A blistering rallying cry issued loud, clear, and unapologetically queer, Lizzie Borden’s explosive postpunk provocation is a DIY fantasia of female rebellion set in America ten years after a revolution that supposedly transformed the country into a democratic socialist utopia. In reality, racism, sexism, and economic inequality are as virulent as ever, and a band of radicals—led by Black, lesbian, and working-class women—join forces to fight back. Told through a furiously fractured, kinetically edited flurry of television news broadcasts, pirate radio transmissions, agitprop, and protests shot guerrilla-style on the streets of New York City, BORN IN FLAMES is a shock wave of feminist futurism that’s both an essential document of its time and radically ahead of it.
Credits
Crew
DirectorLizzie Borden
WriterLizzie Borden
CinematographerEd Bowes, Al Santana
EditorLizzie Borden
ProducerLizzie Borden
Cast
Honeyas Honey
Adele Berteias Isabel
Jean Satterfieldas Adelaide Norris
Florynce Kennedyas Zella Wylie
Pat Murphyas Newspaper editor