I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)

77% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
67% of users liked it
(6,049 ratings)

The true story of Valerie Solanas, the radical feminist who became notorious after shooting art world icon Andy Warhol, is portrayed in this fact-based drama. In an attempt to present a fair assessment of her actions, writer-director Mary Harron focuses on Solanas' troubled life, from her childhood… More The true story of Valerie Solanas, the radical feminist who became notorious after shooting art world icon Andy Warhol, is portrayed in this fact-based drama. In an attempt to present a fair assessment of her actions, writer-director Mary Harron focuses on Solanas' troubled life, from her childhood as an abuse victim to her life as teenage prostitute in New York City. These experiences left Solanas (played by Lili Taylor) deeply scarred, contributing to a hatred of men that later found full flower in her famous "SCUM Manifesto," an extremist tract calling for the establishment of a "Society for Cutting Up Men." Deeply troubled, she nevertheless briefly finds hope after befriending young transvestite Candy Darling (played by Stephen Dorff) and discovering herself on the fringes of the wild, colorful world surrounding the eccentric Warhol. She becomes obsessed with the idea that Warhol's support could change her life, only to become violently enraged when the artist and his friends begin to turn away from her. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Mary Harron
Written By: Jeremiah Newton, Diane Tucker, Mary Harron, Daniel Minahan
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: May 17, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Jan 23, 2001
Studio: Hallmark Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The film benefit from Lili Taylor's perfromance and from nice artistic treatment, but Valerie Solanas is simply not interesting enough as a dramatic character to occupy the center of a whole film.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Harron's style and Taylor's unforgettable performance keep us off-balance and engrossed.
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Never as compelling as its central performance, it's still a very good film - and after all, that's a hard performance to live up to.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

William D

A shallow, silly film that portrays all its characters, including Andy Warhol, as ditzy airheads. The only real airhead here is Mary Harron, the filmmaker who created this.
Robert C

Very well done. Really captures the look and feel of (what I would think) that whole "factory period" would have been like. Complete decadence on a totally supercial level. Lili Taylor is brilliant as is the rest of the cast. Don't get me wrong...Solano was… More
Very well done. Really captures the look and feel of (what I would think) that whole "factory period" would have been like. Complete decadence on a totally supercial level. Lili Taylor is brilliant as is the rest of the cast. Don't get me wrong...Solano was completely unstable, but ultimately it's very sad in the sense that most of her "crazy" rantings seem to come true. Self fullfilling prophecy...or perhaps there was a little truth mixed in with her madness?
Anthony L

I have to say this wasn?t the film I was expecting. It did however, exceed my expectations that were already quite high! Mary Harron, is sadly, a very overlooked director.
Leigh R

Would have been okay if I were on acid. Although I love Lili Taylor so she did a fantastic job.
Michael G

Decent but boring.
Mike T

This script does very little for the interesting subject matter and the potential that the film has to offer. The acting is good overall and the story itself is quite interesting, but the writing is redundant and lacks focus.
Laurence C

When Andy Warhol (Jared Harris-- perfect) asks transvestite Candy Darling (Stephen Dorff, astonishing) ''How often do you have your period?'', to which she answers ''Every day. I'm *such* a woman.'', you know the ones behind the camera are… More
When Andy Warhol (Jared Harris-- perfect) asks transvestite Candy Darling (Stephen Dorff, astonishing) ''How often do you have your period?'', to which she answers ''Every day. I'm *such* a woman.'', you know the ones behind the camera are having a wicked good time. Lili Taylor's one woman show is an enormous pleasure to watch, and caked with Harron's edgy-yet-blunt directing, I Shot Andry Warhol is a shot of adrenaline pumped directly into your brain.