Variety (1983)
Directed by Bette Gordon
100 minutes
VARIETY stars Sandy McLeod as a writer who takes a job selling tickets at a porn theater and then becomes obsessed with the films being shown and the people who watch them. Amid this tawdry atmosphere her own sexuality is piqued. Emerging from the underground New York arts scene, Gordon made her mark by putting ideas about feminism and pornography under a microscope (through the lens of cinematographer Tom DiCillo), and by taking control of the power of voyeurism. The iconic talents she assembled include musician John Lurie, who scored this landmark film. Kino Lorber's 2020 2K restoration enabled a new release.