I WANT TO LIVE! God, sometimes I wish I'd never been born

February 8, 2013 7:32 PM

The Dark Side of the Sun (Wiki) was Brad Pitt's first starring role in a movie. Made in Yugoslavia in 1988, the film was apparently lost until after the Croatian War of Indepedence. When Brad Pitt became famous the film was somehow rediscovered and released, straight to video, in 1997. The story concerns a man who has a rare skin disease that could kill him if he is exposed to light. For much of the movie, Pitt appears in full leather, covering his whole body, including his face. Here's Part 1 of 12, but if you just want to see a very young Brad Pitt, start at Part 6.
posted by twoleftfeet (14 comments total)

Oh dear. Was hoping for "good" bad, but it was mostly just the regular kind.
posted by The Minotaur at 8:41 PM on February 8

Yeah, I couldn't make it through even half of part 6 there but it's neat to see so many of Pitt's mannerisms present at such a young age.
posted by dobbs at 8:43 PM on February 8

With Finnish subtitles, no less.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:56 PM on February 8

I'm not a movie star, but I can imagine movie stars worrying about their early films - the terrible ones that should never see the light of day. Given that, it takes some serious precognition to play a character that can't see the light of day.
posted by twoleftfeet at 9:09 PM on February 8 [1 favorite]

it's neat to see so many of Pitt's mannerisms present at such a young age.

Is he snacking in every scene?

(seriously, the guy is ALWAYS munching on junk food*)



*mostly applies to the "Ocean's" movies, but still
posted by ShutterBun at 9:48 PM on February 8

Not going to pretend I watched the whole thing, but can't help but comment that young Brad Pitt and the Croatian War of Independence are the light and dark sides of my younger self's passions.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:06 PM on February 8

What a twink.
posted by Goofyy at 11:58 PM on February 8

Hey, it's microwave girl from Pump Up the Volume! Wait. Wasn't she also the babysitter who slept with Pitt on Michael and Hope's sofa on thirtysomething?
posted by steef at 4:25 AM on February 9

I see even then he felt the need to twitch and look about constantly and fiddle with shit as characterizations.
posted by nathancaswell at 4:40 AM on February 9

If you want good bad for a career starting performance, I'd recommend Sean Penn.
posted by markkraft at 5:59 AM on February 9

Floyd
posted by goethean at 6:00 AM on February 9

Leonardo DiCaprio's first role... gets his ass kicked by a girl. (But executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola.)
Tom Cruise's very squeaky first role.
Crispin Glover's first role.
posted by markkraft at 6:46 AM on February 9 [1 favorite]

Holy crap, I've been looking for that Best of Times pilot forEVER! Hadn't seen it since it first aired, but all I remembered was Crispin being obsessed with Talking Heads.

"It sounds like elephants!"

(also notable for being Nic Cage's first credited role, btw)
posted by ShutterBun at 10:51 AM on February 9

Not a first movie, but remember the sitcom with Tom Hanks in drag?
posted by radwolf76 at 11:12 AM on February 9