Pioneering auteur. Pervert. America’s first feminist director. Misogynist exploiter of buxom women. The terms that swirl around independent film icon Russ Meyer are by turns confirmed and contradicted by a career that takes in over 20 feature films spanning from the buttoned-up 1950s to the gritty, hardcore-sex-laden late 1970s and beyond; from cheesecake erotic frivolity through mean and moody monochromatic melodramas to explosive pop art slapstick Looney Tunes sexcapades.
To celebrate his centenary, I'm joined by film programmer and writer Patrick Crain, of the Oklahoma FIlm Society and The Apollo Twin, to introduce and discuss the entire filmography of a director who I’ve become hopelessly obsessed with. Covering early ‘nudie cuties’ like The Immoral Mr. Teas, through the phenomenal Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, via smash-hit sex comedy Vixen!, through to the gloriously bonkers Beyond the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens, we discuss his origins, his peccadilloes, and his place among his peers and the firmament of all-time great directors - a position put under direct threat by the myriad availability issues surrounding these seminal works.
Head to rewindmoviecast.com for an extended accompanying essay from your host, Devlin (me), with a film-by-film primer guide, more information about his life and works, links to further resources, and much much more. You can find Patrick’s film-by-film analysis of Russ Meyer’s entire filmography at apollotwin.com. My Vixen and Faster, Pussycat! Shirts can be found at my Teemill store, and a limited edition poster is available at Etsy. All related artwork can be found at devlindoesdrawing.com.
See below for timestamps:
Introduction, the 'nudie cuties': 00:00:00
Fanny Hill: 00:28:14
The Gothic Period (Lorna, Mudhoney, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Motorpsycho!): 00:31:08
Mondo Topless: 01:26:53
Color Melodramas (Common Law Cabin, Good Morning...and Goodbye!, Vixen!, Cherry, Harry and Raquel!): 01:33:15
The Hollywood Movies (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, The Seven Minutes): 02:29:39
Return to the Independents (Black Snake, Supervixens!, Up!, Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens): 02:45:35
Pandora Peaks, later years, legacy: 03:30:18
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