Working Girls (1986) - July 13, 2021

[dylrichard02]

https://www.criterion.com/films/31084-working-girls

Sex work is portrayed with radical nonjudgment in Lizzie Borden’s immersive, richly detailed look at the rhythms and rituals of society’s most stigmatized profession. Inspired by the experiences of the sex workers Borden met while making her underground feminist landmark Born in Flames, Working Girls reveals the textures of a day in the life of Molly (Louise Smith), a photographer working part-time in a Manhattan brothel, as she juggles a steady stream of clients, balances nurturing relationships with her coworkers with the demands of an ambitious madam, and above all fights to maintain her sense of self in a business in which the line between the personal and the professional is all too easily blurred. In viewing prostitution through the lens of labor, Borden boldly desensationalizes the subject, offering an empathetic, humanizing, often humorous depiction of women for whom this work is just another day at the office.

- New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director Lizzie Borden, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 2007 featuring Borden, director of photography Judy Irola, and actor Amanda Goodwin
- New conversation between Borden and filmmaker Bette Gordon
- New conversation with actors Louise Smith and Amanda Goodwin, producer Andi Gladstone, and first assistant director Vicky Funari
- New conversation with sex workers Antonia Crane, Daphne Nguyen, Selena the Stripper, and Jo Weldon
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by author So Mayer and excerpts from a 1987 interview with Borden by film critic Scott MacDonald

Release Date: July 13, 2021

[erlinmeyer]

Some thoughts from Lizzie Borden on the movie:
https://womenandhollywood.com/lizzie...n-its-origins/

[drownsoda]

I bought this a blind-buy, and was surprised by how watchable it was. It's a great slice of late-'80s New York, and its depiction of prostitution is straightforward and at times funny.

[Katatonia]

I watched it the other day, after not having seen it in 25+ years. That would have been on HBO/Cinemax/Showtime, which I honestly can't even recall anymore. I do remember that I liked the movie though.

It was great revisiting it though, and I still liked it a lot. The claustrophobic 80's apartment setting gives the movie a unique vibe.

The new 4K transfer looks great too... it's almost hard to believe it was shot on 16mm.

[chocolat]

Originally Posted by drownsoda

I bought this a blind-buy, and was surprised by how watchable it was. It's a great slice of late-'80s New York, and its depiction of prostitution is straightforward and at times funny.

Yep. This and Smithereens would make a wierdly appropriate double feature. And coincidentally I picked those two up during this current sale.

[defwarrior4000]

I had the Anchor Bay DVD of this and got the Criterion on Tuesday. Need to get time to watch it again, but I did skim through to see what the transfer was like. Looks great! The new extras seem good too. It's a film I didn't see until around 2015, but the themes are still very relevant today if not more than they were in the 80's.

It's unfortunate that Borden got dealt a bad hand after this film. Love Crimes had potential, but interference from the powers that be ruined it. I can understand why she disowned it.