| Review by: J.R.
McNamara |
| Date:
26/12/05 |
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Director: Russ Meyer
Starring: Tura Satana,
Lori Williams, Haji, Susan Bernard
Screenplay: Jack Moran
Tagline: Superwomen!
Belted, buckled and booted!
Country: USA
Year: 1965
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Faster Pussycat!
Kill! Kill! |
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| There is no other way to say it; ex World War
2 combat photographer and Playboy photographer,
the late Russ Meyer liked big boobs…real big
boobs…actually massive boobs. His first film
was a documentary in 1950 called The French
Peep Show, followed in 1955 by a 60 odd
minute film titled The Desperate Women,
but it wasn't until 1959 with his film The
Immoral Mr. Tease that he really started
making a name for himself as a purveyor of 'saucy
films'. His career spanned over 25 films of
which all focused on his favorite subject…buxom
women reigning supreme over men. He is best known
for the four black and white films that he made
between 1964 and 1965: Lorna, Mudhoney,
Motor Psycho and this feature:
the unforgettable Faster Pussycat! Kill!
Kill! Faster Pussycat! Kill!
Kill! is about three buxotic Go-go dancers,
Varla (Tura Satana), Rosie (Haji) and Billie (Lori
Williams), who leave the leers of the men at the
bar they dance at and take their violent passion
for fast cars and men on the road, leading them
down a path of mayhem, kidnapping, murder and
self destruction.
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!,
for the uninitiated, is like watching a violent
spiteful episode of the 60s Batman TV show, but
with arousing vixens bursting their voluptuous
way out of man's clutches. The acting is
overdone, the script is underdone, the fighting
scenes feel like you are watching a cat fight
in High School, but it is such a stylish action
filled adventure that you can't stop watching
it, and the sexy full-figured women don't
make that too difficult either. Russ Meyer's
abilities as a photographer really show in the
way he sets up shots and presents visual contrasts
between characters and situations.
Presented with a great retro cover, and with
a concise but thorough biography and filmography
of Meyer, Madman has created an awesome package
for this film. Sometimes perceived as a pornographer,
and not a groundbreaker (he was probably both),
it is great to see this director given the respect
he deserves, when you consider his influences
on everyone from Waters to Tarrantino, in being
part of Madman's 'Director's
Suite' films, which also includes such names
as offbeat indie hero Todd Solondz and noir legend
Jules Dassin. |
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| Video |
| This Black and white film is presented in its
original full frame 4:3, but is clear as a bell. |
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| Audio |
| The audio is in its original mono, but as with
the picture, is perfect. |
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| Extra Features |
Directed and written by David Gregory (Deathdreaming),
Go! Pussycats! Go! is a 25 minute 27 second documentary
featuring interviews with antagonists Tura Satana,
Haji, Lori Williams and victim, Susan Bernard.
An interesting recollection by these three super
women about Meyer, and the filming of Faster Pussycat!
Kill! Kill! This retrospective documentary is
excellent, and has some great recollections of
the filming, the times and of Russ Meyer himself.
There are two commentaries on this disc. The
first is by Russ Meyer himself. Meyer discusses
the motivations of the characters explores some
of the subtleties that may be overlooked by even
the devout fan of this flick. His commentary is
informative and entertaining and contains some
great behind the scene tales. The second commentary
is by the superwomen themselves: Tura Satana,
Haji and Lori Williams, with assistance by John
Cregan which discusses their respective careers
and their experiences on this film. At times this
seems more like a radio interview, with the occasional
anecdote upon visual cues from the film, but is
still informative and engaging.
The trailer (2 minutes 44 seconds) is one of
those great "SEE! HEAR! WATCH AS…!"
type trailers that is obvious of the era of cinema,
when trailers were more like carnival barkers. |
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| The Verdict |
| If I may quote John Waters, who described this
movie best: '(Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Is) beyond a doubt the best movie made ever. It
is possibly better than any film that will be made
in the future.' Waters was pretty close to
the mark with that comment, with fast cars, fast
sexy women and really weird fight scenes, Faster
Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is easily the greatest
cult film ever made and this disc has some really
excellent extras. Top shelf for fans of 60s cult
flicks!! |
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| User Comments |
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0 user comments have been posted so far |
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| Regional Coding |
4 |
| Format |
PAL |
| Aspect Ratio |
4:3 |
| 16x9 Enhanced? |
No |
| Audio Options |
English DD 2.0 Mono |
| Subtitles |
None |
| Country |
Australia |
| Distributor |
Madman |
| Running Time |
83 minutes |
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