: Purchase or rent options are available for Android and iOS via the Google TV/Play Movies app .
Directed by Louis Malle and shot by legendary cinematographer Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman’s collaborator), Pretty Baby is set in 1917 New Orleans. It tells the story of Violet, a 12-year-old girl living in a luxurious brothel run by Madame Nell (Frances Faye). Her mother, Hattie (Susan Sarandon, in an early, raw performance), is a prostitute. When Hattie marries a customer and leaves, Violet is auctioned off to a photographer named Bellocq (Keith Carradine). pretty baby 1978 starring brooke shields portable
But what does "portable" mean in the context of a 46-year-old period piece? It signals a shift in how we consume controversial classics. It is no longer enough to own a dusty VHS or a locked-down Blu-ray. The modern cinephile wants Pretty Baby on their phone, tablet, and laptop. They want it in their pocket. Here is the definitive guide to the film, its star, and the complicated reality of making this masterpiece portable. : Purchase or rent options are available for
: While some, like Roger Ebert , argued it was a sensitive "evocation of a time and place," others viewed it as "child exploitation". 🔍 Key Highlights & Controversies Her mother, Hattie (Susan Sarandon, in an early,
The controversy was immediate and deafening. The MPAA gave it an R rating, but many called for an X. Critics were split. Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling it "one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen." Others decried it as child pornography disguised as art. The flashpoint was the nude scenes of Brooke Shields—scenes that were filmed with meticulous care and a female chaperone present, but scenes that nonetheless placed a pre-teen girl in an impossibly adult context.