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Released
1985 · FILM

Dances Sacred and Profane

Directed by
Runtime
90 min
Documentary

Synopsis

""Charles Gatewood is a photographer and anthropologist who specializes in ""subcultures."" On the evidence of ""Dances Sacred and Profane,"" Mark and Dan Jury's documentary about Mr. Gatewood, he is drawn particularly to Mardi Gras revels, gatherings of nudists and sex clubs. Bare breasts, elaborately tattooed bodies and bizarre behavior are featured in his work, and in the movie. Addressing those who may find his subject matter ""revolting and disgusting,"" Mr. Gatewood asserts that it ""tells us something about ourselves."" He sees ""important statements being made there,"" about ""liberation through excess"" and ""some kind of actualization of transcendence.""

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 6

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Dan JuryScored by Larry Gelb

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