Fight Harm (lost footage of unfinished dark comedy film; 1999)

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Fight Harm.jpg

A screenshot of Harmony Korine after a fight during the filming of Fight Harm

Status: Lost

Fight Harm is an unfinished dark comedy film by director Harmony Korine. Described as "the future of comedy" by Korine, in Fight Harm Harmony Korine goes around the streets of Manhattan, New York provoking people into fighting him. He did set a few rules like how the people he had to fight had to be bigger than him, he could not throw the first punch, and the camera crew could not break up the fight until Korine was knocked out. After sustaining multiple injuries, getting arrested, and not having enough footage to make a full movie, the project was shelved. Harmony Korine has gone on to show a select few people the footage, but all of the footage has yet to surface.

Premise

In Fight Harm, Harmony Korine would wander the streets of Manhattan in New York City to provoke people into fighting him. After Korine sought someone out who was bigger than him, he then would proceed to verbally insult the person and provoke them into a fight, though Korine could not through the first punch. During the fights, the camera crew could not interfere until after Harmony Korine was knocked out. The camera crew would then proceed to ask the person who just beat up Korine if they would sign a release form in order to be in the movie.[1]

Production

Production began on Fight Harm sometime in 1999 in New York City. Before every fight, Harmony Korine would get a little drunk. Only nine fights were filmed which only surmounted to seventeen minutes worth of footage. Though no official reason has been given, it is likely that Korine was not pleased with the lack of footage and sustaining multiple injuries. Production was for Fight Harm was shelved around September of 1999.

Availability

Despite the cult following, Harmony Korine refuses to release the film. In one interview, he talks about how a bouncer refused to sign the release form after the fight stating:

“[He] got so sad when he found out… He was like, ‘Oh my God, if I knew this, I never would have touched the guy!’ And so he signs the release form. And the girl beside him is totally in tears, the stripper. She’s like, ‘Don’t sign it! He’s not a director – he needs to be locked up in a mental institute!’”[2]

In 2010, Harmony Korine gave an update as to whether or not he would release to footage stating:

"I go back and forth. My wife is really adamant about me not showing it at this point. She thinks I need to wait another ten [years] for it to be really funny. The only purpose of these fights was to make the world’s greatest slapstick comedy, something that Buster Keaton or The Three Stooges would have been jealous of"

Though at the 2018 Key West Film Festival, Harmony Korine did show a clip to an audience in the first row. The clip was on his phone. This was the first time anyone outside of the production crew saw it.[3] Despite all of the fanfare, possible due to legal reasons from people involved in the fights not signing the release forms, it is unlikely that Fight Harm will be released anytime soon. All seventeen minutes of the film are currently in storage as of the writing of this article with one screen shot surfacing.

References