Kicking the Pricks

by Derek Jarman

The shockingly honest journals of the acclaimed filmmaker and gay rights activist.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Biography, Queer

300 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 1996

About the author

Derek Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, artist, and writer.

Reviews

[Lisa]

It's been a long time since I've read a personal memoir as good as this. I could throw out words like "visionary" and "genius", but I believe, sadly, Jarman died with his best work yet to come.

[Beñat Uribe-Etxebarria]

Cogí este libro de manera bastante aleatoria, cualquier cosa en relación al director de cine Derek Jarman me hubiera bastado. Pero qué buena intuición tuvo mi mano. La realización de su película "The Last of England" es una mera excusa y una amable transición entre capítulos más personales que nos llevan a despertares sexuales tardíos, traumas de la infancia, la reivindicación del vídeo casero como cine verdadero y padres cleptómanos. Hacia el final se me ha hecho pesado, pero es lo suficientemente alentador para seguir explorando la obra y vida de este icono del cine queer británico.

[Michael]

Written during the making of his apocalyptic film “The Last of England,” this mix of personal recollections, travelogues, and interviews gives us Jarman's esthetic perspective as an artist, stage designer and film director, his struggle with his sexual identity and escapades during the sexual revolution, his difficult relationship with his father, and his opinions on the British cinema and its reactions to his controversial films.

[Brendan]

As always with Jarman, this is beautifully written and a joy to read. The heartbreaking elements of his later journals are largely absent here, as the writings collected focus mostly on The Last of England. A bit scattered and disjointed at times, this is the closest thing to a print version of one of his films, and is just as enthralling.

[Xavier]

This is fun read for anyone interested in knowing about Derek Jarman as an artist. You know, he directed some Smiths videos and other really cool british films....

[Sheryl]

see at your own risk review.

[Valentina]

Obscure..I got lost several times.
Jarman seems to refer to Italy in the sixties as the tripude of free society and Pasolini as a semigod..mhhh??

[Dan Humphrey]

Jarman's published diaries can Beas good as any of his films. This--along with DANCING LEDGE--is the best.

[Matt JL]

This book was so so so great. It really puts you there with him in his recollections. I found myself re-reading many of them. I would only say that it gets a little slow during the section of film analysis, which halted the momentum in which I had previously been engrossed. But this was only a light portion of the book. For that I will give it a 4.5, but it was damn near perfect..

[Nicole Atkinson]

‘It’s hard to fight against passion, for whatever it wants it buys at the expense of soul’


Will I ever be disappointed by a Jarman memoir? Likely no. Favourite part was his scathing review of Channel 4, which I will absolutely be using in my thesis (knew I’d be able to include him somehow ha ha !)

[Martin Raybould]

Not quite an autobiography and not really a reflection of filmmaking in the UK but a cut and paste version of both. There are some insights into Jarman's background and his later movies (mainly The Angelic Conversation & The Last of England) but not enough to be wholly satisfying.

[Elisa Martin]

"Di quali prove hai bisogno per convincerti che il mondo si sta arricciando come una foglia in autunno?
La tempesta arriva per soffiarla via nell'ultimo inverno. Non senti che le giornate si accorciano?"

[a l n]

mainly a film journal for the last of england, but always so comforting and enlivening to read jarman—his love of beauty and vulgarity, his political acuity and aesthetic passion comes through so clearly

[C]

Never Dull, Always a Joy. The humor that comes through sometimes makes me think of William Burroughs.

[Lance Grabmiller]

Thoughts, reminiscence and diatribes while editing THE LAST OF ENGLAND (1987).

[Giuliana Marangoni]

LOVED IT!

[Kevin S]

4.5

[Wendyfoleybtinternet.Com]

I saw a one man show based on his life and then found this book
The show was brilliant, but I found the book really hard to read
I have not seen Last of England which didn't help