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If you haven't already a filmed or written an explanation on what happened to this project, I would love a video which outlines what happened to this screenplay. In an interview you did with Justin Odisho, you said this project was a giant colossal failure but a hell of a ride at the same time. I'd love to know more!
I was searching documentaries about Bataille for my thesis, and just find out someone who understands, finally, what I'm thinking for years about this man. Thank you for this video.
I read The Story of the Eye last night and the requisite essays (in the Penguin edish), and spent the better part of the night trying to explain to my friend in the bar that sense of "whahhh?" between yes and no, and obscenity and regularity, and eggs and bloodshot balls and toilets and moons. I'm not sure I understand, but I went to bed last night sure I was finished, and woke this morning peeling back the pages for answers. I'm grateful for this limbo, and for you steering me here.
Your french accent is pretty good! (as a French, my English sucks and I hope you will understand what I say below) I do research on Georges Bataille's Madame Edwarda and Story of the Eye at the french Unniversity and all you said in your video is true. When we read Bataille, we experience the freedom to feel something. the state of experimentation is a great part of Bataille's work. according to him, we have to try religion, eroticism (as an intellectual sex) and to feel ourself as human. here in France, we read him as Philosopher and Litterature, as you may know, we do a strict separation between these two discipline and because the erotiscism we don't read Bataille as much as we should. I hope people will read him, because he is all I think we need to read to feel litterature. He wrote an essay called litterature and evil: in fact litterature is the only discipline where you can study evil, and feel evil, and become a viewer of evil. you have to experiment evil to feel human. that's what we all do, and that's what make us close to the sacred.
Léo Pailloux Very interesting, thank you so much for commenting, Literature and Evil is a great essay - There's much to be said about it, more soon, thanks for watching!
I would respectfully disagree. One can study, feel and become a viewer of evil by walking down skid row. One does not need to experiment evil to feel human, humanity is evil. Evil is only close to the "sacred" as the Anti-Christ is as close to Christ. One must choose which "sacred" to follow. Paedophilia never did a thing for me, except to teach me what is truly evil. The baby is divine. The raper of the aforesaid is not "sacred", unless you're an extremely sick fuck.
This is the most powerful video I've ever seen in the entirety of RU-vid, ever. I'm currently writing a 2-piece novella while researching for a literary theory I'm developing, or trying to, based on Deleuze's thought. This video alone made me reconsider at least half of my plans of work and methodologies, which are now reforming into including the thought of Bataille (whom Deleuze disagreed a lot). After reading Bataille and researching more into it, I found myself not a Deleuzian anymore, but someone that found some kind of glister, a new voice arising from a possible harmony between the two as my own, because, man, I tell you, your passion made me order books from and on Bataille. I hadn't known about Bataille before and I know about Deleuze (that is only about now becoming sort of a big figure). Your work with this video and with your movie is probably the most inspiring thing I've seen this year and I hope I can be part of it somehow too, even if by distant contributions. My novellas and meta-theoretical approach to literature will now include Bataille (because there are problems with posstmodern pragmatism, now I know) and I'll make sure to include at least one quote from this video in the finished thesis (not even caring if I have to change the entire argumentative form to quote RU-vid videos and add public web links in the bibliography). I'm subscribing to your Patreon and gomping on everything. I know I don't have to say this, but please never stop. It's passion like yours (and, if I can say this without being pretentious) and mine that help change de literary canon and plucks masterpieces out of the smashing obscurantism of their language, complex constructs behind the language or simply misunderstandings of a lazy readership. You just changed the course not only of my research but of my life, and I'm deeply grateful for this - and, following your traces, I want to do the same. You may expect a letter from me in the future, If I’m successful in my publications.
"I force myself to contradict myself so as to avoid conforming to my own taste." -Marcel Duchamp. I believe that this quote mirrors the physicality of Bataille's work. Just want to share the quote. I kind of view it as a mantra.
You have what it takes. The words that you spoke from 28:15-29:10 is something that, not only every filmmaker must understand, but also what every human must understand. Also Christopher Doyle is the perfect cinematographer for this film! Congrats man!
I both received and finished my copy of Story of the Eye today and I’ll admit for the first few pages I was skeptical, but soon I realized what I was dealing with, around the time of the Orgy. Much like innocent young Marcelle I felt like I had been driven mad once my brain put the pieces together in the following chapters. In so many things for the rest of the day and probably for the rest of my life now I can’t help but see Bataille and I’m both amazed and disturbed by how easily chaotic debauchery and sexuality can pervade everything. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a novel shake me in such a way. Thank you Sargent. Thank you for convincing me to read this and many other world shaking books. It took me a while after this review to convince myself to read it but I am glad I did.
I understand you. You showning me this book change my life. Thank you for doing this. Im an amateur surrealista writer/poet from Brazil and discovering George Bataille changed it all. THANK YOU
the reason I really loved your channel is that I feel we have a similar artistic sensibility, so I really take your recommendations seriously knowing that I will likewise love the book.
None of my philosophy-nerd friends have ever even heard of Bataille, and they all generally think I'm crazy when I try to explain it to them. It's cool to see someone else is so passionate about his works. I hope this is still in production. If I weren't just a lowly part-time dishwasher I would absolutely contribute.
I experienced that same sense of really *feeling* the thoughts of a thinker when reading Deleuze and Guattari’s “A Thousand Plateaus”. I’ve been itching to read Bataille, especially considering they mention him often, and I definitely will be doing so now. Thanks for the lucid thoughts :)
Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita was such an experience for me. Society as a whole did this book so fkn dirty. It's so fascinating, the absolute grip and control Nabokov has on the concept of language in general and what it can do in this book and he's an absolute genius for writing the narrator the way he did simply BECAUSE of the squicky feelings that arise while reading. Recommend reading the prologue LAST however - I read it that way and it just made every single puzzle piece fall together so perfectly to me. Absolutely phenomenal, supremely dark and just overall an unbridled mindfuck in the absolute best/worst/most effective way I've ever come across.
Love. I have been searching too long for this book during my book store travels and I've noticed it is not often carried...I may just have to make an online purchase. I really find your literary tastes to be immaculate. I really appreciate you and your videos. Thank you.
SO EXCITING! This seems so legit. Have you seen any of Philippe Grandrieux's films? Probably the closest any filmmaker has come to channeling the spirit of Bataille, I think. The images from Sombre and La Vie Nouvelle are incredibly febrile. They never leave.
I can't believe I've missed it - though someone told me to watch earlier Bruno Dumont because the script reminded them of moments in 'L'Humanite', which I loved. Much quieter but still intense.
I finished this roman today as a part of my french studies. And though I don't yet have the capacity to relate it to myself (in a sense) but rather as simplicity of practice, this vid definitely confirmed what I've read and then bound it to a sense I can relate to. Thanks for this!
I really like that you say TSOTE isn't about eroticism. It's about an attempt for the infinite. It's Icarus flying into the sun. And yes, at it's core it's a love story. What other book besides The Catcher in the Rye manages to so accurately depict the raging hormones of teenage love, lust and desire?
Congrats on the 2 year anniversary! This is so incredible, your passion for the film and the book is so palpable that it's almost contagious (especially when you can't find the words so you resort to doing that frenzy motion with your hands). I finally ordered the book after a long time of waiting (no book store near me stocks it).. your thoughts on the Story of the Eye are communicated so eloquently and I really can't wait to revisit this video and fully engage with your ideas after I've read it. Best of luck with everything!
I heard about this book in a goodreads review of another French book called Moravagine (heard it was similar to Journey to the End of the Night), which also mentioned The Torture Garden. And now I'm here lol I love all these surreal and dark French books, it's a particular flavor you can't find anywhere else. I hope you review Moravagine some day, man, it seems like a book you'd review. Also your passion is contagious!
You should somehow get Elias Bender Ronnenfelt from Iceage and Marching Church to get on board with this somehow. If I remember correctly you seem to be familiar with those guys and the whole Copenhagen scene over there. Elias is also a big fan of Bataille by the way, it'd be pretty cool. But yeah this is totally awesome, coming from a fan of Bataille and Doyle I'm really looking foward to this. Cheers
I was actually interested of reading this book before seeing this, now I need to immediately read it as soon as I can!! LIMITS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN!!!! Btw good luck with the film and make sure you put the fucking effort into bringing the book into life!!
Finished Story of the Eye today. Wow. Powerful book. Havent excitedly sped through a book like this since The Old Man and the Sea. Going to have to re-read it. Thank you so much for keeping this novella in the light of day.
I see Bataille as one of the genuinely important voices of his time and place, but he is not of course an ultimate definer of “reality”. In fact, one of the major premises of Bataille’s work is that reality cannot ultimately be conceptualized and therefore articulated and defined. Nietzsche’s suggestion that there is ultimately no reality is saying the same thing. Nietzsche’s primary problem with the idea of “transcendent” non-material reality, such as is found in Platonic philosophy, is that it functions as a concept of ultimate reality and creates a sort of circular stasis that actually serves to evade reality. Nietzsche’s insistence on a strictly material reality is actually just a defensive reaction to this decadent tendency in humanity to try to curtail reality into a comfort zone of unchallenged ideas and behaviors. This evasion gets fused with religion and becomes sacrosanct and a taboo is generated concerning the any questioning of it. One of the problems I have with Bataille himself is that he seems to believe that getting rid of “God” as a functioning concept creates a freedom from conceptualizing itself. It doesn’t. Atheism is loaded with conceptual thinking and therefore a filtering of “reality” through concepts. And no matter how far one goes in pornographic transgression of bourgeois norms, it doesn’t remove the human functioning of conceptualizing. Ultimately what Bataille wanted was to destroy the, for him intolerable, human condition and enter a radically different super-human reality. Not as spiritual transcendence, which would of course still be human-all-too-human, but as something beyond conceptualizing. But he couldn’t do it. He remained human no matter what he thought or did. His project with his associates to create a practice of human sacrifice proved this. All of the members of this association were willing to be the victims of this sacrifice, but none of them were willing to be executioners of it. Why? Because they discovered, when actually confronted with the opportunity to do this, a certainty in themselves that somehow the act would be impure and not what they actually desired it to be. None of them were pure enough to properly carry it out and simply doing it would not make them pure enough. They knew intuitively that it would be simply a “religious” fraud that would not break through into the super-human. Bataille himself admitted that he was incapable of shaking his radical sense of evil and he agreed with Nietzsche that the goal was beyond good and evil. My own view is that Bataille made an error in becoming an atheist/materialist. That itself was a conceptual move that laid a trap for him. What he should have done instead was to replace God with Reality without even concerning himself with whether Reality was material or non-material. Reality is what is, and what is, is endless and beyond concept. There is no Reality versus Illusion. Spiritual versus Material. The only concept of contrast here that can possibly function in a proper way would be one of Infinite versus Finite without any “good and evil” overtones. And, in fact, if Bataille had taken this path, he would have been able to infiltrate and undo Christianity from the inside because the Infinite God that “incarnates” is precisely an Infinite/Finite issue. And from this perspective Jesus Christ can be seen as the anti-bourgeois radical human who actually overcomes the human and destroys all the effects of the eating of the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil. This is not done by spiritual transcendence, but by God/Infinite becoming Human/Finite so that both God and human disappear into a third new reality that is neither spiritual nor material, infinite nor finite, good nor evil. Of course, Bataille would have been branded a heretic and driven out of the Church. But he would have planted a seed in the concept of God that would have germinated into the undoing of God by the very will of God and also the undoing of the human. And all this could have been philosophically justified by Patristic teaching. Oh, well, I guess I’ll have to just do it myself.
Yes indeed , your comment was profoundly enlightening for me. It really helped me to wrap it up and put a bow on it, so to speak. Do you have a channel bc I could listen to or read your thoughts endlessly.
Thanks for making me aware of George Bataille. I have not got around to reading him yet, as I am in the midst of a pretty full on reading list (Homer, Dante, Eco, Burroughs, The Egyptian Book Of The Dead amongst others) but I have looked into this man's work, and on first impressions, he might just have been a genius. Enjoy your channel too, cheers for the good reviews. You also got me investigating In Praise Of Shadows. And 2666. Your reviews may ultimately end up being responsible for raising my IQ a few points (which would not be a bad thing believe me).
Ok, I haven't watched this video yet and I will definitely write another comment, but I must tell you how excited I am about this video since I had to read this book at the end of last year and write a dissertation on it. I got more than 90%. It was quite a disturbing read, I wouldn't say it's my favourite book (The Perfume is), but what I find interesting is that my male teacher, Jean-François Chénier, was also obsessed with this book. It was his favourite and he even wrote a whooole book dedicated to it called "Communiquer l'incommunicable: Une lecture des œuvres de Georges Bataille et de Pierre Klossowski" (Communicate the incommunicable: A read of the works of...). I would often think about you when he would speak. He's the French-Canadian version of you, actually. :P
I needed to watch this review, especially since it's been so long that I have watched your genuinely thought-provoking and well-spoken reviews (my old account, neverwintermute, I remember when you started this channel!). After viewing this, I am absolutely inspired to keep writing my novel that I have been writing for over 6 years - but first, I must read this book, something I should've done a long time ago... especially since the book I am writing shares a common theme: what does it mean to be human? Seriously, you need to rename your channel to Better Than Therapy. It goes without saying, but I appreciate you taking the time out of your life to share your thoughts and passions with us. I know it's been nearly a year since this was published, but I wish you the best of luck on the film.
Hi! I've come across your channel recently as I've joined youtube with my own channel. I found you because you were reviewing House of Leaves which I like alot. One of a kind sort of book, isn't it? Now, on regards to The Story of the Eye, I have read it in about 3 hours after I watched more than half your video and realised I better read the book and come back afterwards to finish watching your review on it. Must say, while I was reading it, I was trying to imagine how are you going to make this movie. It's such a crazy, twisted story. I like Bataille's writing style. Twisted but well written. If you manage to find your 'Simone' to play the part, that's a great start. Bumpy road ahead but must be exciting. Good luck in your attempt!!
It's 3:18 AM and I've just been slapped in the face. That type of slap that puts your life into perspective when you've just about lost it. I've been falling into this unfortunate slump of absurd excuses and loss of motivation. This is exactly what I needed at the moment. Congratulations on the accomplishments thus far; I am excited to see the progression of the project transgress that of establish boundaries.
Great video. I started reading Bataille last year. Story of the Eye was the first book I read by Bataille and reading him changed me as a person and changed my life
Hey man, really been digging your reviews, I'm a fairly new subscriber. After watching this, I went to a little independent bookstore in town and asked for Story of the Eye, but they had just sold the only copy to someone 10 minutes earlier. They had Blue of Noon though, and I decided to get it. Man... MAN. Your descriptions are so apt. The amount of times I found myself thinking "Why does this make absolutely NO sense, and yet I think I 'get' it, but just can't articulate it". I see why no one graduates Bataille. Have you read Blue of Noon? Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for the sick videos dude, keep them coming =).
New to the channel, and the video is still currently playing but I had to say: every so often I revisit Story of the Eye and find myself getting lost in internet search results where I end up finding great content! (This video included.) If you or anyone reading this isn’t familiar with the work of Suehiro Maruo, I highly recommend it! He’s a manga artist that has referenced Story of the Eye a number of times, but most prominently in his “Ultra Gash Inferno”. :) Also, I realize it’s been a few years since this video was posted but I do still hope the film gets made! If Lars Von Trier can put out something like “Nymphomaniac”, which was utterly brilliant imo, you can certainly adapt Georges’ book into a film! Cheers xx
After having finished the video, I’d be very interested in reading the script you have adapted, if at all possible. I’m an avid film enthusiast and am curious to see how you have envisioned it for the screen!
I think what Bataille expresses, is an absolute actualization of A PASSION within any given context, regardless of the overall "meaning of" ONE'S PASSION, and the relationship between ABSOLUTE EXPERIENCE and the actualization felt in relation to the END OF ONE'S TOTAL EXPERIENCE (that is, EXPERIENCE transcends "YOU"). Therefore, whatever "meaning" is ascribed to one - both of which relate to an absolutism within all personal experience (BEING) and total end of that absolute (ONE'S DEATH). If anyone has ever "clung to life" like I have (not in a sexual context- serious disease as a kid), Bataille's principles, and their implications are directly relatable - which is not to say I revel in death itself. I know what it's like to "see THE end" and LIVE (that is, NOT DIE) in a way that wasn't "OF MY OWN SELF". however, lucidly I "personally" recall it... Cool stuff, love a lot of the books you review (you're the one who turned me on to Bataille btw. :) prolly went full tard a min ago.... Aww Dem dems dun is dun replace dis shit like eleventy-five times. Hmu man :).
you know what would be really cool of you to review (still in the Halloween mood)? The Giles Corey book. It's a little artsy, somewhat experimental book that comes with the vinyl for the self-titled album (Giles Corey is a musical project originally). It blurs the line of what's real and what's only in the book's universe in such a way that it WILL leave you with an existencial crisis. It's full of spirits, nihilism, witchcraft, depression.... really heavy stuff. You can download it with the album here: gilescorey.bandcamp.com/album/giles-corey (((((or you can read it here sssssssshhhhhh) vk.com/doc55478464_395156705?hash=55e7a181f51365bc32&dl=247bc9d7e895be6800
Your review is really enlightening. I am currently reading Bataille. Bataille , I think like other so called mad artists like Gauguin or van Gogh or many many others , is not understood by many. He needs to be read and reread to understand his purpose, his philosophy. He is a beautiful philosopher. Love Bataille.
I'm not a fan of the book either, but at the time I posted this comment the review hadn't been out long enough for anyone to watch more than a few minutes of it.
Im waiting for this book to arrive in my mail . I just can't wait to read it even though i don't really know what it is about . First time i heard about it was in a song by a band called Of Montreal and it's called the past is a grotesque animal . I had no idea it was a book but thos lines just stuck with me . He sang "i fell in love with the first cute girl that i met that could appreciate georges bataille" and then he sang about discussing the story of the eye with the girl . I never searched for it . Then i found this channel and found out it was your favorite book so i never even watched this review because i don't want to know anything about this book . I just really want to read it . I live in Poland and this book was expensive as hell because it's just so rare but when i found it online i just had to buy it . I can't fucking wait to read ,i want this sooo bad .
I just read this book. It fell flat for me - perhaps because I find eroticism gratuitous unless it has purpose. This one, seemingly had none. I suppose it did have something I took away from it: the evil consequences of debauchery and vice. But this is something I already knew. I really appreciate your review, and I found it to summarize the book in a manner more satisfying than actually reading the book. That said, I will certainly watch story of the eye when it does eventually end up being released. And I love your passion for the book.
Some people like sex, some people are generally prudes. Some will kill for sex. Some will kill not to have sex. I find it fascinating that people prattle on and on about sex or prattle on and on about how destructive sex can be. Possibly if the film can explain why eroticism plays such an important aspect into lives, whether fully embraced or avoided with repulsion, then maybe that would make for a good movie.
after hearing you review. I got the book, reading it now. excited for you and your adaptation of this book into film. great job! all my support! cannot wait to see your work.
The passion and inspiration you have for this thing. Awe inspiring and insane. Manifestations made real by your words and jokes and challenges of transformation and perversions. If I were to underline the essential adjectives of my comment here, they would be of the conceptual sort. All seen through the eye of philosophers, the writer, the poet, the director and most importantly the pervert.
Have you ever heard of Momus? My sister discovered Momus on Halloween. She listened to Hippopotamomus. Momus has been described as the "David Bowie of the art pop underground". She really likes the track "Bluestocking", which mentions "Story of The Eye", because she's read most of the texts mentioned.
Just goofing around with something related to this book based on you saying it’s your fav - at least 7 years ago. And I bumped into references to a 2004 film by Andrew Repasky McElhinney. Really enjoy your channel!🙏
Love this book. When I was a teen I read an interview with Bjork. She said it was her favorite book. I read it. Then reread it then ever couple of years reread it again.
I just realized that one of my favorite artists based one of his works off the eyeball scene in this novel that some illuminati shit (the artists is Suehiro Maruo btw)
i just read this book a few days ago...... honestly astounding. i can't stop thinking about it. you expressed very well what i haven't been able to in your review. congrats on the film as well! i have high hopes for you, and would love to contribute in some way. where are you planning to film?
I love to see someone on fire with the passion of their work. Best of luck with the project, but remember - sleep. Sleep will restore those energies and help give time to your brain as it sorts through so much. Fire burns, sleep heals.
I totally agree on all counts here. The book is all about the territory we have not entered because of our fear of behaving in ways that are not oriented towards gaining greater capital within our social groups. We have this fear because we are terrified of the idea of not having any social capital and being seen as a freak and an outcast. Story of the Eye didn't make me aware of this, a book called Good Sex Illustrated by Tony Duvert did, but as soon as I really began to grasp the extent to which I have limited myself I instantly thought of that confusing, disturbing, overrated book I had read a couple of years before called Story of the Eye and I am now in an awesome reread. This book is so profoundly deep and incredibly efficient, and articulates enormous ideas that as you have said in the video are very hard to actually discuss. I wonder does the real answer to the mysteries of mental health and disease fall under the glimpsed ideas that Bataille has identified as being repressed and crushed? It strikes me that the enormous repressions we undergo every single day of our lives, which in my case and in many cases I would assume are unwitting until one makes a conscious effort to actually try to push themselves into the mental unknown, are probably the reason that we have become so sick as a society. The rendering of harmless impulses as rotten and base does nothing but create guilt and self-loathing in the individual. The main character's relationship with Simone is perfect. They were born for each other and they touch each other in the places of consciousness that they need to be touched in, and that no other seems to be able to do for them. It is truly a love story of colossal, universal significance and beauty. But in the context of our society they are harmful, sick, perverted, low. They are problems that need to be stamped out. They are in dire need of rehabilitation. We have limited ourselves to a crippling mental zone of repression masquerading as normality and we will not lower our standards by satisfying our need for what is called taboo, which is really only taboo because we have decided to participate in a closed system of our own making. But somewhere in us our minds and our bodies still need what is not permitted in that system and every time we turn away from what we know we want (and we all know what we want even if we're afraid of our lives of it because we perceive that we would have enormous deficits in our social capital if we did it) we do ourselves a little more damage. Then we become depressed, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. All we want is to be as we truly are but society's concept of individualism only gives us choices of different manifestations of the same repressive principles. I loved your review of this Cliff, we're very much of the same mind on this.
This is beyond fantastic and it hits me fucking hard so thank for the introduction. I have no time. It will definitely be a birthday gift to myself. By the way, I was born on All Souls Day, so I'll definitely re-watch the Under the Volcano review. I never leave for school without Under the Volcano in my bag. I hope I'll never leave for school without Story of the Eye in my bag by next week.
Oh my god I can't believe you got Christopher Doyle involved!! That's fucking amazing!! Best of luck for the project, and congratulations with the channel :)
the review we've been waiting for! I read the story of the eye because of your recommendation and loved it, and got death and sensuality on my desk to read. I am just a poor autodidact reader with nothing to offer, but I enjoy your videos very much and would be interested in any of your projects. the fucking cinemetographer of in the mood for love-like really? thats amazing-im hesitant to talk up my contemporaries, but go for it cliff! so awesome. I will only add that your relationship with bataille seems similar to my absolute obssesiom with Wittgenstein.
Really nice review as always! You should check the band Deathspell Omega, a french avant-garde black metal band. Their lyrics often refers to Bataille's work. Check out "Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum".
You can watch a scene on youtube: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tVq7Q-7qXR8.html Were you aware of this before you bought the rights?
Better Than Food: Book Reviews - they wouldn't take it seriously until there was a director, producer, budget ...etc. But can defo give you a list of names/emails. We also have the best actors in the world ;) #biased
Better Than Food: Book Reviews - i'm a freelance assistant, still a beginner. So I bounce around different offices. Will send list through to the cliff email.
I wrote a one-act play based on this novella. The setting is a pigsty. It is basically rutting in filth and onomatopoetic dialogue of grunting and groaning, oinking, and competing flatulence. It is equally profound. I had writer's block until I binge-watched eight hours of Beavis and Butthead. Thank you for the recommendation.
