The Bodacious World Of Russ Meyer Busting Out For A New Generation

Before there were genre-porn romps like Ricky Greenwood’s recent country porn musical Alive, and his Cherie DeVille-starring sci-fi thriller Project X, or the score of porn parodies we have all enjoyed, there was Russ Meyer. The innovative fiercely independent filmmaker of such ‘classics’ as Vixen, Supervixens, and Beneath the Valley of the Dolls, directed what certainly are genre-(bust)ing, cult classics setting female empowerment on its head, and thrilling even the most causal fan of exploitation and skin.

Now we get a chance to see Meyer in way we never have before.

Severin steps in

Keeping with the iconoclast that he was it’s no surprise that Russ Meyer retained the rights to all the films he produced. But since his death in 2004, the fate of his catalog has been undetermined. Surely his films could be purchased and there were the occasional weekend-long retrospectives (this author caught one in the late 90’s in NYC) but not much has been seen of the Meyer oeuvre.

Severin Films with exec assistant Janice Cowart of The Russ Meyer Charitable Trust announced this week that they will restore Meyer’s movie trilogy, Vixen, Supervixens, and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens. This marks the first time these films have been remastered from their negatives in over four decades. The new versions, to be released in 4K UHD, Blue-ray and DVD in December, will feature the ubiquitous “special features.”  

The Meyer aesthetic

Director/producer/screenwriter/cinematographer/editor Russ Meyer surely had a ‘type,’ to put it bluntly. His ‘sexploitation’ films featured wild action, stunts, ridiculously campy one-liners and sight gags, and the Meyer feminine archetype female…a large-breasted, hypersexual woman not afraid to use her fists or feet or putdowns. Starring the likes of Japanese American actress/vedette Tura Satana, topless dancer/actress Erica Gavin, and Barbarella Catton, known in Meyer’s movies as Haji, these ladies and plenty more conquered across Myer’s high-octane stories.

Meyer’s first feature, 1959’s The Immoral Mr. Teas, made for $24,000, grossed more than a million dollars when it was shown across U.S. independent/exploitation cinemas (often called ‘grindhouse’ theatres). It was from this start that Meyer earned the moniker “Kink of the Nudies,” with "Teas" considered the first of the 'nudie-cutie' movies that became popular at the time.

In addition to this, very much like Larry Flynt’s efforts, Meyer kept the flag flying for free speech and anti-censorship through his work. "As a filmmaker, distributor, and First Amendment warrior, Russ Meyer is one of the last great icons of American cinema,” said David Gregory co-founder and CEO of Severin Films in this Variety piece about the new releases.

Beyond the valley

The fate of other well-known Meyer films, such as 1965’s Mudhoney and Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, (the inspiration for American glam metal band Faster Pussycat’s name) and 1970’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is not yet known.

Dolls does seem a likely candidate for updated treatment though.

Hoping to catch some of the success from how unexpectedly independent (and cheaply) made Easy Rider, producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, of 20^th Century Fox studio, sought out Meyer for his low budget/high-profit touch. They signed the filmmaker to produce and direct the sequel to the successful 1967 Valley of the Dolls, fulfilling Meyer's desire to direct for a major Hollywood house. The film was scripted by Roger Ebert, when his main job was working as film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. The making of Dolls cemented a friendship between Ebert and Myers the men would maintain for the rest of their lives and mark Meyer's most mainstream project.

As stated, this film surely might benefit, even more than the above-mentioned trilogy from the Severin effect.

No matter what Meyer films might be considered in the future, for a new generation of film lovers, viewers who have never experienced movies that were so influential on soft core porn, and that surely speak to a feminine power mystique not so popular presently will surely be inspired, entertained and some, even ‘triggered’ by what they see in these new releases.

Which is all we can ever hope for from art.