Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press

"If you want to know who I am, look at the books I published," ~Barney Rosset.

LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER D.H LAWRENCE NAKED LUNCH WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD TOM STOPPARD SEXUAL PEVERSITY IN CHICAGO DAVID MAMET A PERSONAL MATTER KENZABURO OE THE SUBTERRANEANS JACK KEROUAC TROPIC OF CANCER HENRY MILLER WAITING FOR GODOT SAMUEL BECKETT, THE THIEF’S JOURNAL JEAN GENET THE HOMECOMING HAROLD PINTER BAAL BERTOLT BRECHT CITY OF NIGHT JOHN RECHY POEMS OF FIVE DECADES PABLO NERUDA BLOOD AND GUTS IN HIGH SCHOOL KATHY ACKER A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN HUBERT SELBY JR MANUAL OF ZEN BUDDHISM D.T SUZUKI JUSTINE, PHILOSOPHY IN THE BEDROOM AND OTHER WRITINGS MARQUIS DE SADE THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X.

A FILM ABOUT THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CULTURAL FIGURE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF.

OBSCENE is the definitive film biography of Barney Rosset, the influential publisher of Grove Press and the Evergreen Review. He acquired the then fledgling Grove Press in 1951 and soon embarked on a tumultuous career of publishing and political engagement that continues to inspire today’s defenders of free expression. Not only was he the first American publisher of acclaimed authors Samuel Beckett, Kenzaburo Oe, Tom Stoppard, Che Guevara, and Malcolm X, but he also battled the government in the highest courts to overrule the obscenity ban on groundbreaking works of fiction such as Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Tropic of Cancer and Naked Lunch. Ultimately he won and altered the course of history, but not without first enduring lawsuits, death-threats, grenade attacks, government surveillance, and the occupation of his premises by enraged feminists.

But the same unyielding and reckless energy Rosset used to publish and distribute controversial works such as Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, the Swedish film I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW), and the provocative Evergreen Review, also brought him perilously close to destruction. Featuring music by Bob Dylan, The Doors, Warren Zevon, and Patti Smith, and never-before-seen footage, OBSCENE is directed by first time filmmakers Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O’Connor.

Featuring Barney Rosset, Amiri Baraka, Jim Carroll, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Al Goldstein, Erica Jong, Ray Manzarek, John Rechy, Peter Rosset, John Sayles, Gore Vidal, John Waters, Lenny Bruce, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller and Malcolm X. With music by Bob Dylan, The Doors, Warren Zevon and Patti Smith. 97 mins. Rated M.

See www.anode2009.com and www.speakeasycinema.com.au for more info.

Presented by Speakeasy Cinema and Anode