Desperate Living
Following the unrepentant outrageousness of Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, director John Waters brought his notorious trash trilogy to a fittingly twisted close with this antifascist fairy tale. After hysterical housewife Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) murders her husband with the help of her fed-up housekeeper (Jean Hill), the newfound “sisters in crime” escape to the bizarro shantytown of Mortville, a depraved penal colony presided over by a despotic queen (Edith Massey) whose tyranny pushes her subjects to shocking revolt. Deviant cops, death by dog food, DIY surgery—Waters unleashes all this and more in an at once relentlessly warped and oddly moral vision of queer rebellion.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Waters and actor Liz Renay
- Optional Italian dub track
- New conversation between Waters and film programmer Cristina Cacioppo
- Back to Mortville, a tour of the film’s main Baltimore location, led by Waters
- New interview with actors Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Mink Stole
- Interview with production designer Vincent Peranio
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Grace Byron
Cover based on an original theatrical poster featuring photography by Peter Hujar
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Waters and actor Liz Renay
- Optional Italian dub track
- New conversation between Waters and film programmer Cristina Cacioppo
- Back to Mortville, a tour of the film’s main Baltimore location, led by Waters
- New interview with actors Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Mink Stole
- Interview with production designer Vincent Peranio
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Grace Byron
Cover based on an original theatrical poster featuring photography by Peter Hujar
Cast
- Liz Renay
- Muffy St. Jacques
- Mink Stole
- Peggy Gravel
- Susan Lowe
- Mole McHenry
- Edith Massey
- Queen Carlotta
- Mary Vivian Pearce
- Princess Coo-Coo
- Jean Hill
- Grizelda Brown
- Brook Blake
- Bosley, Jr.
- Karen Gerwig
- Beth
- Jay Allan
- Kid
- Al Strapelli
- Doctor Evans
- George Stover
- Bosley Gravel
- Turkey Joe
- Cop
- George Figgs
- Herbert
- Cookie Mueller
- Flipper
- Pat Moran
- Bathroom pervert
- Sharon Niesp
- Shotsie
- Dolores Deluxe
- Nurse
Credits
- Director
- John Waters
- Written by
- John Waters
- Filmed by
- John Waters
- Editor
- Charles Roggero
- Director of photography
- Thomas Loizeaux
- Costumes and makeup
- Van Smith
- Art director and set director
- Vincent Peranio
- Sound
- Robert Maier
- Assistant camera
- David Insley
- Assistant lighting
- Kevin Weber
- Assistant sound
- Richard Ellsberry
- Production manager
- Pat Moran
- Hairdresser
- Chris Mason
- Music composed by
- Chris Lobinger
1/11
A scene from Desperate Living
2/11
3/11
4/11
5/11
6/11
7/11
8/11
9/11
10/11
11/11