More "High Art"



Since it appears we have fellow Durranie fans here at Vivaville, I've decided to post another Duran video--the classic "Girls on Film"--the UNEDITED version. Yes, the one with the boobies. If you haven't seen it, here's your chance! Boys, grab a tissue. Har har.

I still hold fast to my opinion that those Duran boys were pervs and this video, although tame by today's standards, caused quite the hoopla back in the day. At least in my house.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a story to go along with this particular video:

I was 13, and obsessed with All Things Duran. My dad and I were in the local video store one night and I found the Duran Duran video compilation and BEGGED my dad to let me rent it. My father was spent after a two-hour commute home from work and not in the mood to argue with a whiny teenager. He relented and I was rampant with joy.

But of course, this was not good enough for me. Before I watched the video, I told my dad I wanted a copy of the tape. Dinosaurs like me will remember that, back in the day, copying a videotape required the dreaded "Double VCR" set-up--one to play the video, the other to tape what was playing. There were no DVD burners then--no siree. And we walked to school, shoeless, in the snow, uphill, both ways, every day.

Again, my father--tired and wanting a cigarette--relented and went to disentagle our other VCR from my parents' bedroom, cursing quietly all the way up the stairs.

Many wire configurations and "goddamnit"s later, my very grumpy father began copying the video, while I sat in anticipation, not knowing the "surprises" which laid in store. Anyhow, all went well until the "Girls on Film" video came on.

At first, there was an uncomfortable silence when those two chicks in their nighties came across the bridge. My eyes were rounder than moons, and I sucked in my breath sharply. I was going to GET IT for this one. Maybe, I thought in vain, the rest of the video wouldn't be that bad.

My father, until this point, had been commenting on how much makeup Duran Duran were wearing and asking if they were fags. The girl in the see-through panties sliding along the pole covered with whipped cream pretty much answered his question.

More silence ensued, as the cowgirls, sumo sluts, naughty nurses, g-stringed drowning girls, ice-cubed nipples, and boobed-out mud wrestlers crossed the screen. Remember now, I am 13, and watching this with my father. The mortification level, I cannot even tell you. The silence grew even more awkward.

My father's eyebrows raised, and he looked as horrified as I was. As the video ended, he finally spoke.

"What the hell is this crap?"

"Uh, Dad, it's ART!"

"Art?!?! Art, my ass. I spent an hour setting up the VCR to tape trash like this? What the hell is wrong with you?

"But Dad, they're ENGLISH! It's not a big deal over there!"

"Goddamned waste of my time...does your mother know what is on this video???"

To my dad's credit, he never ratted me out to my mother. He also let me keep the video, since he spent about 4 hours trying to figure out how to make a copy in the first place. Ironically enough, I think I only watched it one more time after that. At 13, I had the attention span of a gnat. At 34, I still do.

I still have that videotape somewhere around here--I should put it up on e-bay!