The Brown Bunny (2003)

Director:

Vincent Gallo

Writer:

Vincent Gallo (written by)

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Professional motorcycle racer Bud Clay heads from New Hampshire to California to race again. Along the way he meets various needy women who provide him with the cure to his own loneliness, but only a certain woman from his past will truly satisfy him.

Plot Keywords:

Motorcycle | Love | New Hampshire | California | Loneliness

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Vincent Gallo	...	Bud Clay
Chloë Sevigny	...	Daisy (as Chloe Sevigny)
Cheryl Tiegs	...	Lilly
Elizabeth Blake	...	Rose
Anna Vareschi	...	Violet
Mary Morasky	...	Mrs. Lemon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rick Doucette	...	Featured Racer (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincent Gallo

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Vincent Gallo		written by

Produced by
Vincent Gallo	....	producer

Cinematography by
Vincent Gallo

Film Editing by
Vincent Gallo

Production Design by
Vincent Gallo		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Vincent Gallo		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Vincent Gallo		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Vincent Gallo

Makeup Department
Vincent Gallo	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Art Department
Vincent Gallo	....	set designer

Sound Department
Marc Fishman	....	sound mixer
Tony Lamberti	....	sound mixer
Jon Mete	....	sound editor
Edward Tise	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
John Clemens	....	camera operator
Vincent Gallo	....	camera operator
Toshiaki Ozawa	....	camera operator
Toshiaki Ozawa	....	gaffer
Toshiaki Ozawa	....	grip

Other crew
Cat Doran	....	support

Production Companies

• Kinetique
• Vincent Gallo Productions
• Wild Bunch

Distributors

• Mars Distribution (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmes do Estação (2005) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Wellspring Media (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Arccades Vidéo (2010) (France) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Kinetique
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Gallo Effects

Also Known As:

"Бурый кролик" - Russia
"A barna nyúl" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Brown Bunny" - Brazil
"I apoleia tou erota" - Greece (DVD title)
"The Brown Bunny" - Greece
"The Brown Bunny" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"The Brown Bunny" - Italy (DVD title)

Runtime:

93 min | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | France:119 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Japan | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (DVD rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) (DVD rating) | Italy:VM18 | Brazil:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Portugal:M/18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Not Rated | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Best Western Inn - 6141 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Kinetique

Trivia:

When Roger Ebert first viewed the movie in May 2003, he stated that he thought it was the worst movie in the history of the Cannes Film Festival. In August 2004, after watching an edited-down, shorted version of the film, Ebert gave it a thumbs up on his show, stating its editing changed the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first shot that clearly shows Lilly at the rest area, she uncrosses her legs & then re-crosses them, right-over-left. In the next shot they are left-over-right, then another cut shows them right-over-left again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Bud walks up to a young woman, working behind the counter in a gas station store]
Bud Clay:Hi.
Violet:Hello... Did you just come from the race track?
Bud Clay:Mmhm.
Violet:Did you win?
Bud Clay:No.
Violet:Oh.
Bud Clay:How much is this?
Violet:$2... Will you be racing again?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Extremes (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Smooth

Definitely an acquired taste

If you can endure a 90 minute portrait of brooding self loathing with virtually no dialog and uninspired cinematography, this film is for you. The notorious scene with Daisy is incongruous. Perhaps, I am dense, but in my view, the emperor has no clothes. To be successful, this film should have elicited a strong interest in the lead character. But in the end, you have learned little about someone who is shallow and unappealing. This film portrays the journey of a motorcyclist tormented by demons vaguely hinted at in mysterious stops he makes in route. You see that he is attracted and repulsed by women. (Cheryl Tiegs, for those of you old enough to remember her from the 1970s is perfect in what amounts to a cameo.) But his encounters with women are so fleeting and glancing that you learn little until the end of the journey. Then, what you learn is too trite to support your having endured the trip with him. I believe Vincent Gallo had a serious idea, but the idea is unrealized.