Is it possible for a struggling independent film director to make a science fiction film today for less than a million dollars? It doesn’t seem likely but it could be possible if the director is driven, highly creative and blessed with a team of uniquely gifted collaborators. That was certainly the case for Russian émigré Slava Tsukerman in 1982 when he embarked on his American feature film debut, Liquid Sky. Made for approximately $500,000 and produced during a 28-day shooting schedule, the film became an overnight sensation, winning special awards at film festivals around the globe and attracting adventurous filmgoers to a long run at New York City midnight movie screenings.
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French Twists

Marina (Romy Schneider) and Claude (Gabriele Tinti) have a violent argument after leaving an inn in the French countryside. A pistol is fired, Claude roughs up his girlfriend and the couple speed off in a convertible. The car leaves the main road and races along the cliffs of the Brittany coastline until it plunges over a ledge into the sea below with Claude at the wheel. Among the hillside rocks, we see Marina, who miraculously escaped from the car and is the only witness at the scene. All of this unfolds under the opening credits of Qui? (1970), a rarely seen French film which offers some odd twists and turns in its brisk 73-minute running time (In some regions it was released under the title The Sensuous Assassin, which is completely misleading in regards to the actual storyline).
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