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Shelf Life (film)

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Shelf Life
Directed byPaul Bartel
Written by
Produced by
  • Anne Kimmel
  • Bradley Laven
Starring
  • O-Lan Jones
  • Andrea Stein
  • Jim Turner
CinematographyPhilip Holahan
Edited byJudd H. Maslansky
Music byAndy Paley
Distributed byNorthern Arts
Release date
Running time
81 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Shelf Life is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Bartel. The final film Bartel directed before he died in 2000, it stars O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, and Jim Turner.[1]

Plot

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Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, a Californian family head to their nuclear bunker. The film returns thirty years later and 40 feet underground with a typical day for the children, Tina, Pam and Scotty, still in the bunker, together with their now dead parents.

Cast

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Production

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The film originated as a stage show, written and performed by Jones, Stein and Turner.[2] Bartel saw the show at the Lex Theater in Hollywood and the film went into production six weeks after the show ended. The film was shot on a very low budget.[3]

The film is dedicated "For the Garys" in reference to the founders of Filmex who died in 1992.[2]

Release

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A work-in-progress was screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 1993.[2] The film was rejected by the Toronto Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.[3]

Reception

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Todd McCarthy of Variety called it a "microcosmic commentary on vaunted family values and media generation" and that it "features some of the best direction in any of [Bartel]'s films".[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Shelf Life (1992) - Paul Bartel | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  2. ^ a b c d McCarthy, Todd (February 9, 1993). "Film reviews: Shelf Life". Daily Variety. p. 14.
  3. ^ a b Flew, Thomas (April 2022). "Lost and Found". Sight and Sound. p. 99.
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