Happy 50th birthday,Pink Flamingos. Director John Waters, 76, is enjoying theonce-shocking films newfound respectability acceptance last year into the National Film Registry, alongside Casablanca andCitizen Kane, and itsnew Criterion 4K restoration. And hes also making news for the release of his recent novel, Liarmouth, andtheThe Pope of Trash,a major exhibition coming next year to the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.In fact, Waters is moderately shocked at trading notoriety for mainstream adoration at this stage in the game.

The nattily dressed so-called Pope of Trash (aka Duke of Dirt and Prince of Puke) told AARP all about it during Massachusetts Provincetown International Film Festival, which showcased the still shockingPink Flamingos, a tale of murderous Baltimore mayhem starring the legendary late drag queen Divine. His reaction to his new respectability is bemused, considering that the film is probably worse than its ever been, in todays standards.

While its wonderful to be considered the elder statesman of filth, Waters is genuinely moved. Im greatly honored that all these things have happened with no irony. But the movie itself with all of todays political correctness and everybody being so touchy about everything is probably even more hideous than it ever was. Hes been touring with the film, where the audience is the youngest its ever been, he says. He often asks: How many people here are seeing it for the first time? More than half always raise their hands.

Divine stars in "Pink Flamingos."

Courtesy Everett Collection

Waters finds this and the fact that the movie still plays to an audience amazing in a good way. Pink Flamingoswasnt ever supposed to just shock. It was supposed to make you shocked and to make you laugh about it. And people still do laugh.

Although it may sometimes feel that the movie rose out of the 1970s pop cultural ooze, like Venus from her shell, the filmmaker says he was influenced by art films and, because they broke all the censorship laws, by Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman and all that. And by underground movies like those of Andy Warhol. I made exploitation films for art theaters. Thats what mine were, and they still are.

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John Waters Reflects on 'Pink Flamingo' and 'Liarmouth' - AARP