“There are different kinds of bad movies. Some are simply wretchedly bad, like well, you know. Others are bad but fascinating and Boom! is one of these.” - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“A collection of small details coming together to make a masterpiece, Elizabeth pulled in her connection to Bulgari to have the Italian luxury fashion house curate all the jewelry for the film. Adding her signature glamor to every look, the influence of Camp aesthetics in the film are unmistakable. Breathing new life into the phrase “so bad, it's good,” the film’s irony has surfaced over years of niche understanding that its willingness to take risks is what makes it an important moment in film and fashion.” - elizabethtaylor.com
Friday, June 13, 8:15 p.m. & Saturday, June 21, 8:00 p.m. | In the riotous BOOM!, the terminally-ill Flora Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor) is visited at her Capri villa by the mysterious Chris Flanders (Richard Burton) who may be the angel of death. Adapted from a Tennessee Williams play, director John Waters, the film’s biggest fan, calls BOOM!, “The other side of camp. It's beautiful, atrocious, and it's perfect.” The production went wildly over budget, in part due to Taylor’s extravagant costumes, which includes a two-foot tall beaded headdress. Sontag wrote, “Camp is a woman walking around in a dress made of three million feathers.” Instead of feathers, BOOM! went with beads.
Summer Camp | June 2025 Specialty Series
In 1964, the essayist Susan Sontag wrote “Notes on Camp,” where she endeavored to define “camp,” an artistic and cultural sensibility. The essence of camp, Sontag wrote, is “its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” In the 60 years since that publication (a brisk, 14-page read), camp has evolved and flourished: in drag culture, the queer community, and the fashion and music industries. In cinema, camp can be found in the extravagance of a sweeping melodrama or the movie that’s so-bad-it's-actually-brilliant, a film may read as “campy” because of its opulence or extreme performances, or we might call a movie a camp classic because its earnest seriousness makes us laugh all the way to the credits. For Summer Camp, we abide by one of Sontag’s most salient points: “Camp is, above all, a mode of enjoyment, of appreciation—not judgement.” Pack your bags, we’re going camping!
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu