Pink Narcissus

Opened Friday, April 25, 2025

SHOWTIMES AT IFC CENTER

New 4K Restoration!

PLEASE NOTE: OUR ELEVATOR IS CURRENTLY OUT OF SERVICE.  ALL SHOWS OF PINK NARCISSUS FOR APRIL 27 & APRIL 30 ARE ON THE SECOND FLOOR AND ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY STAIRS. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

An extremely handsome, self-involved, brooding young man escapes the realities of his street life through a series of fantasies of incredible beauty. Obsessed with his own perfection, he lives in a dreamworld of fantastic colors, magnificent music, elaborate costumes and strikingly handsome males.

In a series of Walter Mitty-like sequences he imagines himself as a roman slave chosen by the emperor, as a triumphant matador vanquishing the bull (who is really a black leather clad cyclist), an innocent wood nymph gamboling in the woods, a diaphanously dressed harem boy in the tent of the sheik. He imagines his room as an exquisite jewel-encrusted retreat. But reality constantly intrudes through the depraved lives of the other street people, through the harsh and ugly sounds outside and through the visits of his “johns”. His narcissistic enchantment with his own beauty and lifestyle is marred by one great fear – aging and loss of his youth and good looks. And, in a final terrible glimpse of reality, the jaded “john” becomes himself.

Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive from a 35mm internegative, 35mm print and 35mm track negative. Funding provided by Snapdragon Capital Partners. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., Audio Mechanics. Special thanks to Frameline, Mark Grabowski, Marcus Hu, Michael Lumpkin, Strand Releasing and James Woolley.
  • Country USA
  • Year 1971
  • Running Time 71 minutes
  • Format DCP
  • Distributor Strand Releasing
  • Director James Bidgood
  • Cast Bobby Kendall, Charles Ludlam
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.