Shelf Life (film)

Shelf Life is a 1993 film directed by Paul Bartel. The final film Bartel directed before he died in 2000, it stars O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, and Jim Turner.[1]

Shelf Life
Directed byPaul Bartel
Written by
Produced by
  • Anne Kimmel
  • Bradley Laven
Starring
  • O-Lan Jones
  • Andrea Stein
  • Jim Turner
CinematographyPhilip Holahan
Edited byJudd H. Maslansky
Music byAndy Paley
Distributed byNorthern Arts
Release date
Running time
81 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, a Californian family head to their nuclear bunker. The film returns thirty years later and 40 feet underground with a typical day for the children, Tina, Pam and Scotty, still in the bunker, together with their now dead parents.

Cast

Production

The film originated as a stage show, written and performed by Jones, Stein and Turner.[2] Bartel saw the show at the Lex Theater in Hollywood and the film went into production six weeks after the show ended. The film was shot on a very low budget.[3]

The film is dedicated "For the Garys" in reference to the founders of Filmex who died in 1992.[2]

Release

A work-in-progress was screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 1993.[2] The film was rejected by the Toronto Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.[3]

Reception

Todd McCarthy of Variety called it a "microcosmic commentary on vaunted family values and media generation" and that it "features some of the best direction in any of [Bartel]'s films".[2]

References
  1. "Shelf Life (1992) - Paul Bartel | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  2. McCarthy, Todd (February 9, 1993). "Film reviews: Shelf Life". Daily Variety. p. 14.
  3. Flew, Thomas (April 2022). "Lost and Found". Sight and Sound. p. 99.


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