This late 70s pop flick has Warhol written all over it. Directed by his protégé Ulli Lommel, who later went on to become the infant terrible of Hollywood, after he spent almost ten years making twenty-one films with his former mentor and friend Rainer Werner Fassbinder, COCAINE COWBOYS rocks. The music is super cool, the story, featuring Hollywood legend jack Palance as controversial manager of a cocaine smuggling rock band, zips along like a comic strip of the 70s. Elliot Goldenthal, who later scored an Academny Award for his music for FRIDA, created an inspired score. The camera work by Jochen Breitenstein is flawless and reminds me of the films Peter Fonda made, such as EASY RIDER, which seems like a forerunner to COCAINE COWBOYS. Totally underrated so far, this film deserves a brand new transfer from the original 35mm negative to an HD master, so that the whole world may enjoy this gem. Warhol was right: Ulli Lommel has become a highly fought over director, with countless enemies and many more hard core fans. Yes, Warhol was right, when he picked Lommel in the late 70s as his soup du jour, his new pet artist.
Review of Cocaine Cowboys
