|
|
|
| The AV Channel (Australia). Region 4, PAL. 4:3. English DD 2.0. 70 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
 |
| Credits |
Director: Russ Meyer
Starring: Erica Gavin,
Garth Pillsbury, Harrison Page, Jon Evans, Vincene
Wallace
Screenplay: Robert Rudelson
Country: USA |
Russ Meyer, The King LEER of Hollywood, has
been a gigantic influence on cinema, even though
he is usually regarded by mainstream cinema as
little more than a soft core pornographer. To
dismiss Meyer as such is not fair, you can see
his influence almost anywhere, not just in 'alternative'
cinema, John Waters declares his influence regularly,
but even in mainstream cinema: Charlie's Angels,
either the TV show or the movies, probably wouldn't
have existed without him. Tarrantino, the Farrelly
Brothers, John Landis, many comic creators, fashion
designers and others have all singled out Meyer
as a key inspiration within their work. Having
said that though, is not to alter the fact that
Meyer was the first filmmaker to hit the 1 million
dollar mark with his 1959 film the soft core porno The Immoral Mr Teas.
The key icons of his films have always been the
square jaws of ineffectual men, and the bountiful
bosoms of beautiful babes. On a surface level,
Meyer's films may be perceived as sexist
or misogynistic, but in actual fact, it is the
chicks that hold all the power over the fragile
male machismo. Meyer somehow managed to find the
mid point between women's liberation and
exploitation filmmaking, mixed them together with
crazy storylines and almost moronic dialogue,
added his amazing eye for strange camera angles
and exterior cinematography, and came up with
what can only be described as classic films of
American cinema. In 1969, Meyer produced his first
color film, Vixen! This film
was perceived as taking cinema too far, and even
though it features no full frontal nudit it received
an 'X' rating, which opened the door
for Meyer to get even more bawdy with his succeeding
pictures.
This movie is about Vixen (Erica Gavin), a sexual
predator living in the Canadian Mountains with
her pilot husband, Tom (Garth Pillsbury). Tom
is completely oblivious to her wicked ways, which
includes sleeping with all and sundry, including
her brother! What happens to Vixen? Don't
worry; you will probably have dozed off by about
the 40 minute mark!!
Vixen! is probably one of Meyer's
more serious films, delving into subjects of racism,
pacifism and incest, but loses its way with bad
acting and Meyer's trademark nutty dialogue. The
film was so successful though, that Meyer was
approached by 20th Century Fox to direct Beyond
the Valley of the Dolls. This film has
some weird moments, which include a halibut head
job, and the most uncomfortable lesbian scene
ever!
A couple of things to look out for in this film:
Erica Gavin's eyebrows, I am sure Brooke
Shields is insanely jealous of the Groucho's
above this girls eyes, and at about the 18 minute
mark the unintentionally funniest line in any
of Meyer's films: Janet, while disappointed
with her husbands lack of performance, in a jealous
rage exclaims ' I saw you looking at that
girl's fanny all night' (remember,
in the USA, a 'fanny' is a posterior,
not the body part we call that here in Australia). |
| Video |
| The picture is OK, although the image regularly
has heavy areas. |
| Audio |
| This feature is presented in mono only, but is
clear and unblemished. |
| Extra Features |
This DVD has a theatrical trailer for the film
(1 minute 25 seconds).
Woman…or Animal? (19 minutes 26 seconds) is
a quite fascinating chat with Erica Gavin and Harrison
Page discussing their association with Russ Meyer
during the filming of Vixen, and beyond. This interview
is probably more interesting than the film itself.
There is also a commentary with Russ himself, which
as usual, is an amusing collection of stories and
anecdotes about the films production. His opening
comment, which makes reference to this being the
film that put him on easy street, due to its success,
I find ironic, considering it is fairly boring when
compared with his other films.
This disc also has trailers for Faster Pusstcat!
Kill! Kill!, 2046, Show
Me Love and Live Flesh. |
| The Verdict |
This film is slooooooow! The hubbub it received
in the sixties is completely irrelevant now. Seriously,
this may have received an X back in the late sixties,
but I have seen more action in an episode of Medium.
Mind you, Erica Gavin's regularly released
boobies are impressive, but when it comes down to
it, Meyer's following films were much harder.
This should probably be seen just as a comparison
to Meyer's more exciting work. The most confronting
thing about this film is the racist comments, which
are rarely, if ever, seen in cinema anymore. Considering
what came after it, Vixen is dull.
Got something else to say? Spill your guts on the
Digital Retribution Message Forum! |
|
|
 |
|
|
Be the first to comment on this item!