Now this is an unusual man. He lives in Baltimore and makes all his films there. His films always have very colorful casts and have a lot to say about our crazy world. Until his death, Divine, a 300-pound transvestite, starred in most of Waters' films. All of his films are comedies. The earlier ones are wild, weird and trashy. Pink Flamingos (1972) probably being the most classic of those (warning - "not for everyone"). Polyester (1981) was Water's first kind of mainstream film. It was was released in "Odorama", the audience was given scratch-and-sniff cards to go along with various scenes in the movie. This is probably my favorite John Waters film. Hairspray (1988) is a joyful masterpiece and one that even little kids could watch. John Waters is a very lovable guy. I've seen him on Letterman a few times and he is always very interesting. I rented the DVD of Pecker and watched it a second time with Waters' commentary, which was very interesting and gives a lot of insight into his filmmaking. He's also written a few books (listed below). He is also a photographer and prefers to keep that separate from his life as a filmmaker. There are a lot of websites dedicated to John Waters, so I'll leave it to them to provide more info.
Links to Some John Waters Sites:
John Waters Worship Page Links Page
John Waters Photography on HotWired
The Lipstick Beauty Salon (John Waters chatroom and message forum)
Filmography:
Mondo Trasho (1969)
Multiple Maniacs (1971)
Pink Flamingos (1972)
An exercise in bad taste. Most people will find this unwatchable.
Amazon
Female Trouble (1975)
Desperate Living (1977)
Amazon
Polyester (1981)
Amazon
My favorite Waters film.
Hairspray (1988)
Rikki Lake, Divine
Amazon
Very fun.
Cry Baby (1990)
Johnny Depp, Amy Locane
Amazon
Iggy Pop is in it!
Serial Mom (1994)
Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston
Amazon
This is in a much different style than other Waters films and it is
definitely my least favorite.
Pecker (1998)
Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci
Amazon
Excellent.
Cecil B. Demented (2000)
A Dirty Shame (2004)
Books:
Shock Value
Amazon
Trash Trio: Three Screenplays: Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living, Flamingos Forever
Amazon
Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters (1987)
Amazon
Slade's Movie Page
Slade's Home Page
Revised 07/03/05 Links checked/corrected 09/01/01