Release
Pennebaker tried to convince Mailer not to put Wild 90 into theatrical release because of the problematic nature of its soundtrack. Mailer disregarded that suggestion and went forward by self-distributing the film. He also promoted the film extensively, which included writing a self-congratulatory essay on the film that appeared in Esquire magazine.
Reviews for Wild 90 were overwhelmingly negative. Renata Adler, writing in The New York Times, opined: “It relies also upon the indulgence of an audience that must be among the most fond, forgiving, ultimately patronizing and destructive of our time.” Robert Hatch, reviewing the film for The Nation, stated that the film was “rambling, repetitious...incoherent and inept.” Stanley Kauffmann, writing in The New Republic, said that “I cannot say that Mailer was drunk the whole time he was on camera. I can only hope he was drunk.”
Mailer responded to the bad reviews by including them in the original theatrical poster. Wild 90 was a commercial failure, but Mailer followed up the production with two additional improvised experimental films, Beyond the Law (1968) and Maidstone (1970).
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Famous quotes containing the word release:
“The steel decks rock with the lightning shock, and shake with the
great recoil,
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