Even within the wild and extravagant world of exploitation cinema there are only a few directors that are truly unique. Doris Wishman was unique, although not necessarily for the right reasons. Hershel Gordon-Lewis was unique. And, of course, Russ Meyer was unique. There never was another filmmaker like Meyer; - not before him and most certainly not after him. Anno 2020s, it's even downright unthinkable that any director would consider making films like the ones on Meyer's repertoire. He/she would be instantly lynched by the politically correct social media mob. His movies are completely absurd, preposterous, tasteless, idiotic, offensive to everyone ... but oh-so-entertaining!
Russ Meyer was a pervert but also a genuine feminist. Think about it! The women in his movies may appear to be purely objects of lusts, but they are strong. They are determined. They waltz over men and make them look pathetic. In short, the women in Russ Meyer's movies are totally in control. Okay, there are also nymphomaniacs with luscious curves and enormous blouse-bunnies, but they are primarily power-women.
"Up!" is my 2nd favorite Russ Meyer movie, I daresay. Not quite on par with the amazingly amusing "Supervixens", but a solid runner up, and in my humble opinion a lot more fun than the slightly overrated "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" and "Faster, Pussycat. Kill! Kill!". The plot doesn't really matter, and it often raises the impression it was penned down by a horny 12-year-old (while it was actually co-written by none other than Roger Ebert). You could state the story revolves around the search for who killed the kinky German sex-fetishist Adolf Schwartz in his bathtub with a piranha. Then again, Schwartz hardly gets mentioned anymore after his death, and the film focuses on the outrageous sexual escapades of a bunch of hormone-overloaded people in and around a roadside diner. The perplexingly charismatic Raven De La Croix steals the show, inarguably, but every (female) cast member here is worth praising: Janet Wood, Su Ling, Kitten Natividad, Foxy Lae, etc...
I particularly love the many and long-lasting montage sequences of two people having sex in various unusual outdoor places! I always imagine myself what a ludicrous sight it must have been for the actors and actresses to continuously move around naked simply to shoot a couple of seconds of fake Snu-Snu footage!
Russ Meyer was a pervert but also a genuine feminist. Think about it! The women in his movies may appear to be purely objects of lusts, but they are strong. They are determined. They waltz over men and make them look pathetic. In short, the women in Russ Meyer's movies are totally in control. Okay, there are also nymphomaniacs with luscious curves and enormous blouse-bunnies, but they are primarily power-women.
"Up!" is my 2nd favorite Russ Meyer movie, I daresay. Not quite on par with the amazingly amusing "Supervixens", but a solid runner up, and in my humble opinion a lot more fun than the slightly overrated "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" and "Faster, Pussycat. Kill! Kill!". The plot doesn't really matter, and it often raises the impression it was penned down by a horny 12-year-old (while it was actually co-written by none other than Roger Ebert). You could state the story revolves around the search for who killed the kinky German sex-fetishist Adolf Schwartz in his bathtub with a piranha. Then again, Schwartz hardly gets mentioned anymore after his death, and the film focuses on the outrageous sexual escapades of a bunch of hormone-overloaded people in and around a roadside diner. The perplexingly charismatic Raven De La Croix steals the show, inarguably, but every (female) cast member here is worth praising: Janet Wood, Su Ling, Kitten Natividad, Foxy Lae, etc...
I particularly love the many and long-lasting montage sequences of two people having sex in various unusual outdoor places! I always imagine myself what a ludicrous sight it must have been for the actors and actresses to continuously move around naked simply to shoot a couple of seconds of fake Snu-Snu footage!