The Loveless
The Loveless
R | 20 January 1984 (USA)
The Loveless Trailers

Trouble ensues when a motorcycle gang stops in a small southern town while heading to the races at Daytona.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Interesteg

What makes it different from others?

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HottWwjdIam

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

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Anoushka Slater

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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caseymoviemania

Before director Kathryn Bigelow became widely recognizable with her later effort in 1987's NEAR DARK, 1991's POINT BREAK, 1995's STRANGE DAYS and of course, right down to 2009's Oscar-winning war drama THE HURT LOCKER, she made her first feature debut in a low-budget independent drama called THE LOVELESS when she was still studying in NYC as a film student. THE LOVELESS is a stylized and eccentric genre movie that pays homage to 1950s biker movies (notably Marlon Brando's THE WILD ONE) with art-house sensibility. This movie is also notable as Willem Dafoe's first lead role.Set in 1950s, the story centers on Vance (Dafoe), a leather-clad biker who rides into a small Southern town where he supposes to meet up with his fellow motorcycle gang at a cafe somewhere at Highway 17. Their plan is to head over to Daytona Beach for the races, but they forced to postpone for a while when one of their motorcycles breaks down. While waiting the broken motorcycle to get fixed in a nearby garage, Vance and his motorcycle gang hang around at the cafe. Along the process, Vance flirts a bit with a widowed waitress named Augusta (Liz Gans). She also hooks up with Telena (Marin Kanter), the rebellious teenage daughter of a psychotic father, Tarver (J. Don Ferguson).THE LOVELESS is also co-directed by Monty Montgomery, who is best known for producing David Lynch's WILD AT HEART (1990). Both he and Bigelow favors a lot in fetishism (mostly close-up on leather outfit, motorcycle, chrome) that it's quite mesmerizing to watch their stylized eroticization of a '50s biker culture. Somewhere in between, you can also see Bigelow's earlier attempt in lurid direction that will later becoming one of her trademarks in her subsequent movies. Despite its low-budget standard, the visual is adequate enough for this kind of genre, while Robert Gordon's (who also appeared as an actor here, playing one of Vance's motorcycle gang member named Davis) rock soundtrack is a standout. As for Willem Dafoe, he made quite an impression playing a stoic lead character.But most of the movie is a disappointment. Despite clocking at a brief 82 minutes, the movie can be excruciatingly tough to sit through. The pace is deliberately slow to a crawl, especially in the long-winded first hour. Here, the movie lingers in a circle as we watch the characters sit around and talk about nothing in particular. Other times we see them stare silently into space, waiting for something to happen, and all the mundane tasks that goes on and on. The purposefully-stylized dialogues, which meant to be cool, are mostly borderline into self-parody. Meanwhile, the sudden burst of violence that occurs in the final act, fails to deliver any would-be shocking impact.Suffice to say, THE LOVELESS isn't much of a recommended effort, other than those who always curious to see how Bigelow and Dafoe get started during their early careers.www.caseymoviemania.blogspot.com

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gmurphy-1

Actually, I haven't seen "The Wild One" lately, but just re-watched "The Loveless" on DVD. To my thinking, if you like Terrence Malick's movies, this is like finding a "lost" one, although maybe a little less intelligent. "Rumble Fish" would be another close comparison. This is very worthwhile, as long as you're in the mood for mood. Even though it has a story, that's not really the point. It's "biker Noir"...not a whole lot of point to it, but very beautiful. And Willem Dafoe is in it, so that's a sure thing. And Robert Gordon, too. One bonus... the bikers are on their way to Daytona, and there's some actual old Daytona footage, when it was races on the beach, on the sand. That's the kind of authenticity this movie brings, capturing things that really don't exist anymore. If you're a fan of getting a glass Coca- Cola bottle out of a machine, this is for you.

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Woodyanders

1959: A gang of bikers en route to Daytona, Florida who include the surly, disaffected Vance (a smoothly self-assured performance by Willem Dafoe in his film debut) and restless hothead Davis (nicely played by rockabilly icon Robert Gordon) are forced to make an unwanted pit stop in a sleepy Southern hamlet when one biker has engine trouble with his chopper. Complications ensue when Vance becomes involved with tempting teen tramp Telena (a splendidly brassy'n'sassy turn by the cute Marin Kanter), which doesn't go over well with the extremely uptight and intolerant square townspeople.Written and directed by Kathryn ("Near Dark," "Blue Steel") Bigelow and Monty Montgomery (who later produced "Twin Peaks" and "Wild at Heart"), "The Loveless" sure ain't your average trashy B-biker exploitation action romp. Instead it's something much better and more ambitious: a beautifully brooding, stylish and intriguing existential mood piece that's rich in a pungently evocative atmosphere that exquisitely seethes with barely suppressed menace, violence, despair, ennui, malaise, sexuality and homo-eroticism. Doyle Smith's gorgeously glossy, gleaming cinematography, the uniformly excellent acting, the vivid and meticulous recreation of the 50's, Robert Gordon's fantastic rockabilly score, the cool hepcat slang ("We got the scratch"), the deliberately slow pace, and the strikingly grim and tragic conclusion further strengthen the potent and intoxicating spell this film casts on the viewer, sucking you in with a masterful ease that's truly something to behold. This is the kind of supremely subtle and low-key picture which initially doesn't seem like much as you watch it, but has an uncanny way of sticking with you long after you see it.

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cd332-livejournal-com

I think this movie comes closest to what bikers experience while on the road. Boredom, waiting, mechanical problems, prejudice of the locals. I have done many transcontinental motorcycle rides alone, and this one captures it best. You're not going to come across Timothy Leary in the middle of nowhere (Roadside Prophets), or pick up Nicholson and get blown away (Easy Rider). There are long stretches where absolutely nothing happens. There is a scene where Dafoe sits in the bar and it is filmed in real time, security-camera style. Unbearable minutes go by and nothing happens at all, while a gorgeous Brenda Lee song "I Want To Be Wanted" plays in the background.The loneliness of riding alone and coming into town alone is what makes this movie poignant and beautiful in a quiet way.This movie is also a rockabilly heaven. Eddy Dixon's superb opening song Relentless is possibly one of the most difficult songs to find in print. NYC rockabilly singer Robert Gordon also serves up some over-the-top method acting here. DaFoe's narrative voice is already wonderful here, as is Bigelow's filmmaking style. Sometimes I explain this movie to people as one where the tables are turned and men get objectified. It's an interesting dynamic to see what mainstream films have done for so long to women done to men.The plot is about a group of bikers who are en route to Florida to see some auto/bike racing. They are coming from different states and planning to converge at a meeting point. One of the biker's Harleys break down and there is a delay that holds them up in a small Georgia town. Dafoe runs into a daughter of a redneck at a gas station and hooks up there. Everything finally hits the fan at the local bar.Lots of nice shots of vintage bikes. Harley shovelheads and knuckleheads are in effect throughout the movie.

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