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Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens is the third film in Russ Meyere's Vixens trilogy. It was the last of his films to have a cinematic release. It is also the worst film he ever made. The film is an unfortunate parody of his previous work. After 93 minutes you'll have seen 50 attempts at shark jumping sexplotation and a main plot that consists of three puerile jokes.

Elements of his other films can be scene in Ultra-Vixens: the red that was a motif for sex is now splatted everywhere and serves no function; the bare wire frame of a mattress is seen 50 odd times in cutaway. Meyer's filmmaking style was characterised by static shot and cutaway. He was a master of the hard cut. The one between Roxanne (Erica Gavin) and the Kelly Affair's singer Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers) at the start of Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls.

Severin Films are releasing Russ Meyer's Vixen trilogy in Uhd, Blu-ray and DVD formats.

The first film, Vixen!, looks great on the 4K Uhd. This version is making use of High Dynamic range but Meyer's film does not derive much benefit from this. Most of the film is shot in a well lit outdoor environment, it's not in black and white or special effects heavy. The contrasts between light and dark are mild and can be adequately displayed without the need for Hdr.

The Uhd version comes with two audio commentaries, the first by Meyer and the second by the star of the film Erica Gavin. Both are entertaining, varied and provide a lot of information about the film. The second commentary by Gavin, the film's star, should put to rest any qualms people may feel about Meyer as a film maker. Despite making exploitation films, Meyer didn't sexually exploit his.

Vixen is a piece of Sixties sexplotation from director Russ Meyer. The film straddles soft core porn, farce and action. It starts with a somewhat innuendos voice over placing the viewer in the Canadian bush. Tom Palmer (Garth Pillsbury) is a bush pilot. In his light plane he connects the isolated communities of the Canadian wilderness. Erica Gavin plays his loving and unfaithful wife, the film's titular - pun intended - protagonist.

While her husband is away, the hypersexual Vixen Palmer plays with almost anyone she can get her hands on. The exception is her brother Judd's (Jon Evans) friend Niles (Harrison Page), a black Vietnam draft dodger to whom she is overtly racist. Just as things are coming to a head between Vixen and Niles, Tom finds a new client, O'Bannion (Michael Donovan O'Donnell). O'Bannion is an Ira terrorist who plans to hijack Tom's plane and take it to Cuba.

Russ Meyer, who singlehandedly put the sexploitation film on the map in 1959 with his pioneering The Immoral Mr. Tees, was a veritable one-man band. He produced, wrote, directed, shot, and edited his own films, which are instantly recognizable by an inimitable aesthetic dominated by cuts delivered at a stupefyingly rat-a-tat pace. Meyer described his personal tastes as centered on “big bosoms and square jaws”, and his films usually traded in stereotypes pushed to the limits of absurdity and the cartoonish. Meyer’s ability to serve up heaping helpings of unabashed sex laced with withering social satire is virtually unrivaled.

So it was a lamentable loss for lovers of film (smut or otherwise) when Meyer’s work, practically ubiquitous in the VHS era, sank into unavailability at the dawn of the DVD era, with the sole exception of his one major studio production: 1970’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. But...

When Severin co-founder and CEO David Gregory signed the deal to release five Russ Meyer movies, he had caught his white whale — and it has one hell of a rack.

For years, the filmography of Meyer has languished in a liminal space between lost and found — Gregory described it as being out of circulation. While many of Meyer’s self-released movies have been available on DVD for decades, they’ve lived there via Sd tape transfers that date back to the ‘80s, originally intended for VHS releases. Aside from 1970’s “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” one of two movies the usually independent Meyer made for 20th Century Fox, his body of work has eluded streaming.

Forget about 4K — many wondered if they’d make it to HD (aside from a long out-of-print Blu-ray of the beloved “Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”). This has been a concern of Meyer fans for...

Severin Films has announced the upcoming release of the Russ Meyer Vixen Trilogy on Blu-ray and Uhd, bringing together three of Meyer’s most provocative works – Vixen, Supervixens, and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens – in meticulously restored 4K editions. The release, scheduled for 27th January 2025, offers a treasure trove of special features spanning nine hours of new and archival content, in partnership with The Russ Meyer Charitable Trust and the Museum of Modern Art.

The trilogy encapsulates Meyer’s unique, irreverent style, from 1968’s Vixen to 1979’s Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens. Known for his boundary-pushing approach, Meyer’s films tackled provocative themes, blurring the lines between art and exploitation and facing intense censorship battles. The Vixen Trilogy release honours Meyer’s legacy as an independent film pioneer, with Severin’s David Gregory describing it as “a celebration of Meyer’s unyielding creative spirit, his fight for artistic freedom,...

Is it hot in here, or is it just the recently announced re-release of three classic sexploitation films from nudie maverick Russ Meyer?

With a legacy rivaling Roger Corman’s, Meyer burst onto the film scene in the 1960s, establishing himself as a B-movie maestro with a penchant for big action and even bigger…well…you know. He would eventually garner wide acclaim for cheeky comedies like “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” and “Beneath the Valley of the Dolls,” the latter of which was scripted by renowned film critic Roger Ebert. However, as a fierce independent, Meyer maintained ownership of all his films until his death in 2004, making it difficult to produce physical copies for wide distribution.

Severin Films is changing that. Partnering with the Russ Meyer Charitable Trust, they are now set to release new editions of “Vixen!,” “Supervixens,” and “Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens” on DVD, Blu-ray, and Uhd.

In the pantheon of 1960s B-movie filmmakers whose work later became reappraised and celebrated for its progressive themes, Russ Meyer has the kind of legacy that rivals Roger Corman. Best known for a series of sexploitation films like “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” and “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!,” Meyer’s pornographic filmography is now viewed by many as boundary-pushing work that brilliantly encapsulates many of the changing social norms of his generation.

Meyer was fiercely independent and maintained ownership of all of his films until his death in 2004, and quality copies of all but his most famous works have been hard to come by in the 21st century. But thanks to Severin Films, fans will now have a chance to own three iconic Meyer films on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Uhd. The distributor has partnered with the Russ Meyer Charitable Trust to release new editions of his trilogy consisting of “Vixen!,...

“Even for criminals you’re just a particularly poor reflection on womanhood.”

Caged Heat screens Friday, June 9th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). This is the first film in their ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’ The movie starts at 8:00pm.

Who doesn’t love a good Women’s prison film? – Chained Heat, Hellhole, Ilsa She Wolf Of The SS, The Big Bird Cage, The Big Doll House, Reform School Girls, and The Concrete Jungle all sit proudly on my Wip (Women in Prison) DVD shelf. One of the very best of this beloved subgenre is Caged Heat (1974), a wonderful exploitation masterpiece and the directing debut of Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme, that has everything you could possibly hope for in a Women-In-Prison movie: nudity, shower catfights, lesbian coupling, race wars, murder, chain-swinging, switch-blade slashing, and shock therapy!

Chained Heat stars Erica Gavin (of Russ Meyer’s Vixen fame) as Jackie,...

This is my film review and it Freaks Me Out!  Girlie-art legend Russ Meyer and then- tyro critic Roger Ebert fashion the most garish, vulgar and absurd satire of wild Hollywood that they can think of, a camp vision of joy straight from the dizzy imagination of a breast-obsessed glamour photographer. All your favorites are here -- Erica Gavin, Dolly Read, Marcia McBroom, Cynthia Meyers, Edy Williams. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls + The Seven Minutes Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1970 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 109 min. / Street Date January 18, 2016 / Available from Amazon UK £17.99 Starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Meyers, Marcia McBroom, Erica Gavin, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett, David Gurian, Edy Williams, Phyllis Davis, Harrison Page, Duncan McLeod, Charles Napier, Haji, Pam Grier, Coleman Francis, The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Cinematography Fred J. Koenecamp Editors Dann Cahn, Dick Wormell Original Music Stu Phillips Written by Roger Ebert, Russ Meyer Produced and...

By Darren Allison

(This review pertains to a region 2 UK release).

Mark Robson’s Valley of the Dolls (1967) became something of commercial success, despite being generally panned by the critics. Following the murder of Sharon Tate, the film was re-released in 1969 and once again proved to be a success with audiences. In December 1969, filming began on Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), a film that was intended as a direct sequel to Robson’s movie. Jacqueline Susann, the original author of Valley of the Dolls had been approached to write a screenplay, but declined the offer. Instead, director Russ Meyer and film critic Roger Ebert, took on and completed the task in just six weeks. Ebert described it as ‘a satire of Hollywood conventions’ while Meyer leant more towards ‘a serious melodrama, a rock musical […]and a moralistic expose of the nightmarish world of Show Business’.

This film is set around a female band,...

Stars: Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett, David Gurian, Edy Williams, Erica Gavin, Phyllis Elizabeth Davis, Harrison Page, Duncan McLeod, James Iglehart, Charles Napier, Henry Rowland | Written by Roger Ebert | Directed by Russ Meyer

Russ Meyer movies may be best known for their nudity and their exploitative nature but they also had something special that raised them above most “skin flicks”. Meyer had a style and he knew how to make a fun movie. Many of his titles became cult hits, especially Beyond the Valley of the Dolls – which has just been given the Arrow Video Blu-ray treatment…

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls has a true b-movie feel to it, almost Grindhouse in style. Following an all-girl rock band as they move to Hollywood we see them sink into the cesspool of decadence which so many fell victim to. As things turn dark though, just...

Caged Heat screens Saturday November 22nd at 8pm as part of The St. Louis International Film Festival. There will also be a concert by Stace England and the Screen Syndicate, who play an album of songs inspired by Roberta Collins, one of the film’s stars. The Venue is Kdhx (3524 Washington Boulevard‎ St Louis, Mo 63103)

I love Women’s prison films – Chained Heat, Hellhole, Ilsa She Wolf Of The SS, The Big Bird Cage, The Big Doll House, Reform School Girls, and The Concrete Jungle all sit proudly on my Wip (Women in Prison) DVD shelf. One of the very best of this beloved subgenre is Caged Heat (1974), a wonderful exploitation masterpiece and the directing debut of Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme, that has everything you could possibly hope for in a Women-In-Prison movie: nudity, shower catfights, lesbian coupling, race wars, murder, chain-swinging, switch-blade slashing, and shock therapy!

Wow! You’re probably...

Caged Heat screens Saturday November 22nd at 8pm as part of The St. Louis International Film Festival. There will also be a concert by Stace England and the Screen Syndicate, who play an album of songs inspired by Roberta Collins, one of the film’s stars. The Venue is Kdhx (3524 Washington Boulevard‎ St Louis, Mo 63103)

I love Women’s prison films – Chained Heat, Hellhole, Ilsa She Wolf Of The SS, The Big Bird Cage, The Big Doll House, Reform School Girls, and The Concrete Jungle all sit proudly on my Wip (Women in Prison) DVD shelf. One of the very best of this beloved subgenre is Caged Heat (1974), a wonderful exploitation masterpiece and the directing debut of Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme, that has everything you could possibly hope for in a Women-In-Prison movie: nudity, shower catfights, lesbian coupling, race wars, murder, chain-swinging, switch-blade slashing, and shock therapy!

Wow! You’re probably...

Oscar bait performances by Reese Witherspoon, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Timothy Spall, a Tenacious Eats “Movies for Foodies” event, and a tribute to the St. Louis-born silent film star King Baggot are some of the many highlights of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Cinema St. Louis announced the 2014 line-up today and it’s the usual hi-quality mix of independent films, foreign films, locally-made films, end-of-year studio awards product, and retro programming.

The 23rd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (Sliff) will be held Nov. 13-23. Sliff will screen 389 films: 89 narrative features, 76 documentary features, and 224 shorts. This year’s festival has 239 screenings/programs, with 69 countries represented. The fest will host more than 125 filmmakers and related guests, including honorees Doug Pray (Contemporary Cinema Award), Katie Mustard (Women in Film Award), and Timothy J. Sexton (Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award).

The festival will open on Thursday, Nov. 13, with the...

Pioneering American sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer was at his best when he was most casually crass. Vixen!, the last movie Meyer made before Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and his vain chase for bigger successes, looks comparatively effortless, and stands as a prime example of Meyer's infantile and sometimes disarmingly protean perversity. The movie, playing as part of "The Glandscape Artist," Anthology's Meyer retrospective, has all of the director's fetishistic quirks, particularly his unabashed love for Rubenesque, sex-hungry women, and naked antipathy for everyone else (draft dodgers, Commies, Irishmen). Dolls star Erica Gavin plays Vixen, the personification of Meyer's femdom fantasies. Vixen inevitably beds everyone in the film, including jealous rival Ja...

The Russ Meyer Show Featuring Kitten Natividad takes place in St. Louis this Friday, June 15th at The Way Out Club. Details at the end of this article.

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Russell Albion “Russ” Meyer was born in California in 1922 and spent WWII as a combat photographer. In 1953 Playboy magazine debuted and Meyer was one of its first centerfold photographers. Meyer had a knack, and a passion, for photographing gorgeous, busty women and felt that the gals in the nudist camp movies that were popular in the ’50s were far too plain-looking for his tastes. In 1959, Meyer scraped together $24,000 and made The Immoral Mr. Teas, a quaint, colorful, and cartoonish movie about a nerdy fellow whose life is constantly interrupted by beautiful large-breasted women in various stages of undress. There was no sex in Meyer’s film and he made no pretense of presenting nudity as a lifestyle choice,...

Fresh off pimping out upcoming Shout! Factory releases, here's my review of one of their recent releases.  This DVD rocks!I'm going to go in reverse order on this one, because I can.  Caged Heat is a fantastically entertaining American Women in Prison film.  It isn't as exploitative as some of the nastier European stuff, but it is really, really fun to watch.  The film stars Erica Gavin of Russ Meyer's Vixen, has a supporting role for an uncharacteristically unattractive Barbara Steele, and was directed by a very young Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), and is a master class in how to make a movie move.The plot is an excuse to stage car chases, show women in showers, and have elaborate emotionally wrenching gun...

While he may be best known for his low-budget, science fiction pictures, nothing truly says Roger Corman or his New World Pictures brand quite like the prison, or in the case of both Jackson County Jail and Caged Heat, women-in-prison, film.

Paired together in a brand new addition to Shout! Factory’s long running DVD line known as Roger Corman’s Cult Classics, the two cult features have finally seen the light of day in a relatively respectable single DVD set, that while the films themselves may not be perfect, they are unlike anything you’ll ever get a chance to check out.

The real star of the set here is the cult classic, Caged Heat. Directed by Jonathan Demme (Something Wild), the film follows Jacqueline Wilson, who is sent to a women’s prison following a conviction on drug charges. Joining a crew of fellow inmates, the team fights against the warden,...

I usually make a point of not commenting on movies that haven’t been made yet, regardless of how promising they may sound. Yet when I learned that director David O. Russell, coming off The Fighter, was in negotiations with Fox Searchlight over the possibility of directing a feature film based on the life of Russ Meyer, the eccentric king of ’60s and ’70s sexploitation B movies, I thought, “Wow, now that is a film I’d love to see!” It sounded like it could be the Ed Wood of sleaze, a celebration of the raw and vital trash underground of American filmmaking.

Encino - One of the joys of life is not in the getting, but the ability to give. For the longest time I thought that sentiment was bullshit. It sounded more like the excuse of plague carrier. How can giving a trophy be better than receiving it? I found myself overblissed while handing hardware to a certain star.

In case you tuned in late to the Icon Celebration special on the Dumont network, that was me on the podium announcing that 2011’s Spirit of Bob Crane Award winner was Charlie Sheen. Tears of joy were shed on the trophy that’s a bronzed Sony Portable camera from ‘77. Who knew Charlie was capable of emotion - especially anyone who bought the DVD of Navy Seals.

Charlie continues the legacy of the late great of Bob Crane. Both starred in completely absurd sitcoms. Crane played Col. Hogan on Hogan’s Heroes. We...

Less a costume movie and more a fashion one, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) is typical of its celebrated naughty director Russ Meyer in all the best possible ways.

Meyer fills the screen with a beautiful cast in cute outfits and expects us to take it all seriously. Thing is, he actually has something serious to say. Emphatically not a sequel to Valley of the Dolls made in 1967 (although that was its original intention), this softcore send-up was filmed soon after the tragic murder of actress Sharon Tate – star of Valley of the Dolls. Here Myer admonishes not only the perils of fame itself, but of believing it.

Bursting with hedonistic fun before a shockingly violent conclusion, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is simply alive with colourful sixties outfits. Mainly designed by David Hayes (as ‘De Graff of California’), it does help that his ensembles are worn by...

There's a prison picture for every mood and inclination, from trashy romps to hard-hitting exposés. Are you craving a little sleazy Wip (that's "women in prison," newbies) action? Feel the need to get your blood boiling with a fact-based story of justice denied? How about a lavish musical set behind bars? There's something on this list for everyone. 10. Caged Heat The quintessential "chicks in the slammer" movie, whose poster really did say it all, promising, "Women's Prison U.S.A. - Rape, Riot & Revenge!" Seventies exploitation starlets Erica Gavin, Roberta Collins, Cheryl Smith, and Desiree Cousteau play mad, bad, and underclad inmates (the only way to better this lineup would be to add Pam Grier), and cult icon Barbara Steele is the wicked warden who eventually gets what's coming to her.9. Escape 2000 This quintessential slice of shameless Oz-ploitation unfolds in a dystopian future where "social deviants" are shipped off...