Pink Narcissus (1971) by James Bidgood
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 10:00 pm
James Bidgood: Pink Narcissus
Presented by Frameline49
Presented in association with Frameline49
Admission: $19.50 General / $18 Cinematheque Members
Event tickets here
The world is watching—and so are we. Get your tickets now for Frameline49— eleven days of world-renowned queer films, singular performances and must-attend parties. When you show up for queer and trans stories on screen, you’re showing up for the LGBTQ+ community’s past, present, and future. This year, as part of Frameline49, San Francisco Cinematheque is proud to co-present Pink Narcissus by James Bidgood.
Pink Narcissus (1971): A young hustler (Bobby Kendall) escapes from the harsh realities of street life and into a series of lushly erotic dream worlds while waiting for his next client in James Bidgood’s legendary underground classic. Hand-constructed and shot in Bidgood’s New York apartment over the span of seven years, Pink Narcissus was famously taken from its creator’s hands and finished by a team of editors hired by his financial backers. Unhappy with the results, he demanded that his name be taken off of the final film, which was released without much fanfare in 1971. Despite never being “completed” to Bidgood’s satisfaction, the film nonetheless has become a cornerstone of queer visual aesthetics whose influence can be seen in the work of Pierre et Gilles and thousands of gay Tumblrs. Having first resurfaced at Frameline9 in 1985, Pink Narcissus’s years-in-the-works (and Frameline co-funded) 4K restoration at last brings Bidgood’s stunningly beautiful erotic dreamscapes to life as they never have before. And if this is your first time experiencing it: prepare yourself.
The cast of Pink Narcissus includes Bobby Kendall, Charles Ludlam, Don Brooks. Pink Narcissus has been restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive from a 35mm internegative, 35mm print and 35mm track negative with funding provided by Snapdragon Capital Partners and Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., Audio Mechanics. Special thanks to Frameline, Marcus Hu, Michael Lumpkin, Strand Releasing and James Woolley.
As part of Frameline49, Cinematheque is also proud to co-present Dennis Cooper & Zac Farley’s Room Temperature. Details here.