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Roger Ebert was a complicated character. He was the ultimate populist critic, bringing a love of cinema to the masses, but he could also be censorious, savaging films he saw as politically incorrect. Fans who recall his scathing takedown of the future classic Blue Velvet may be surprised to learn that Ebert wrote one of the most extravagant exploitation movies of all time: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a show business satire so extreme that it earned an X rating.

Filmmaker Russ Meyer was famous for witty, gritty independent pictures starring domineering women with outrageous topographical features. Roger Ebert was an early champion of Meyer's films, and together they created what the critic called "a rock horror exploitation musical" that does for music industry melodramas what RoboCop does for action blockbusters. Panned upon release but certified fresh today, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls adds a fascinating dimension...

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

Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens is the final film in the trilogy. Unlike Vixen and Supervixens it is mostly shot indoors. Compered with the fairly neutral backdrops, greens of the pine forest, oranges and browns of the desert, the interiors are complex and vibrant. All three films benefit from being watched in 4K Uhd version but for the first two High Dynamic Range is superfluous. This is not the case for Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens with its deeper contrasts.

The Uhd version comes with an audio commentary by Meyer. As with the other commentaries by Meyer it is fairly entertaining, varied, and provides a lot of information about the film. The disc also comes with an original trailer which is more entertaining than the film itself.

The Blu-ray and DVD.

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.

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.

What once seemed like a pipe dream is on track to become a reality as Severin plans to release brand new 4K restorations of three of Meyer's seminal films, 1968's Vixen!, 1975's Supervixens, and the filmmaker's theatrical swan song, 1978's Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens. Thanks to a new licensing deal struck between Los Angeles-based cult film specialists Severin Films and the Russ Meyer trust, the long thought impenetrable Meyer vault is now accessible. In a deal that has been years in the making, the Meyer trust has agreed to allow Severin access to restore and release at least some of Meyer's films. The initial trio, the very loosely linked Vixen trilogy, pre-order for the set on all major outlets opens in October with...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

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!,...

For the first time in decades, the films of legendary exploitation director Russ Meyer are coming to home video. Severin Films has negotiated the rights to release Meyer's catalog on 4K Blu-ray for the first time. Variety reports that their first release will be a box set of Meyer's loosely-connected trilogy of Vixen!, Supervixens, and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens.

Three films by Russ Meyer, the sexploitation director film critic Roger Ebert described as “the ultimate auteur,” are coming to physical media in December.

The estate of the pioneering independent filmmaker has reached an agreement with media company Severin Films to distribute three of his signature films, “Vixen,” “Supervixens” and “Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens,” on home video for the first time in decades. Working in collaboration with Janice Cowart and The Russ Meyer Trust, Severin’s discs — available in 4K Uhd, Blu-ray and DVD — mark the first remastering of Meyer’s films from the original camera negatives since the early 1980s, and each will be accompanied by both new and archival special features curated exclusively for these releases.

“As a filmmaker, distributor and First Amendment warrior, Russ Meyer is one of the last great icons of American cinema,” David Gregory, co-founder and CEO of Severin Films said in a statement.

Josh Braun, producer of some of the best documentaries in the world, joins Josh and Joe to discuss the movies that have influenced him throughout his life.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Man On Wire (2008)

The Cove (2009)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Encounters At The End of the World (2007)

Winnebago Man (2009)

Spellbound (2002)

Supersize Me (2004)

Tell Me Who I Am (2019)

Apollo 11 (2019)

The Edge of Democracy (2019)

Finding Vivian Maier (2013)

Searching For Sugarman (2012)

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Frat House (1998)

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘N’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

The Exorcist (1973)

Go West (1940)

A Night In Casablanca (1946)

Hello Down There (1974)

What’s Up Doc? (1972)

El Topo (1970)

Pink Flamingos (1972)

Female Trouble (1974)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969)

Gimme Shelter (1970)

Monterey Pop (1968)

Grey Gardens (1975)

Grey Gardens (2009)

Titicut Follies (1967)

To Have And Have Not (1944)

All About Eve...

” For I am Superwoman, and you have spurned her!”

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, as did the nudist camp movies. It was a simple and honest film about...

Filmmakers Cody Jarrett and Siouxzan Perry are raising funds through Kickstarter to complete their documentary Tura!,the Incredible True Life Story of Tura Satana, the Russ Meyer & Burlesque Superstar, Asian American Cinema Pioneer and Ultimate Self-Empowered Female. Read the We Are Movie Geeks tribute to Tura Here

The Kickstarter link can be found Here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1486618309/tura-the-tura-satana-documentary

Here is a video from the filmmakers discussing their project and showing some of the footage they’ve already shot:

“Tura!” is the true life story of cult movie icon & burlesque dancer Tura Satana, chopped straight from the pages of her handwritten memoir. Best known as the star of Russ Meyer’s classic film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Tura stunned 1960’s movie audiences as the sexy, dominant, fast-driving, karate-wielding lesbian gang leader Varla. Her groundbreaking look, attitude, and performance were all years ahead of their time and continue to influence...

From the Pudsey The Dog movie to Joe Cornish and Roger Ebert, what happens when critics make films themselves?

Arts critics tend to get a rough time of it in the movies. Even looking at this year's awards season hopefuls, Birdman casts a wonderfully scabrous Lindsay Duncan as a theatre critic who is determined to kill the hero's play, and Mr. Turner presents John Ruskin as a lisping, pretentious fop, a representation that has led some to take mild umbrage.

To look even further back, at Ratatouille's sneering Anton Ego, or Lady In The Water's film-savvy 'straw critic', or Theatre Of Blood's gleefully murderous tract, there's not a whole lot of love for critics in film. Any of this might give way to the preconception that critics, especially film critics, don't actually like films and that they're out of touch with both the filmmakers whose works they...

Ebert's scripts: 'sexploitation' cult fare As found on the IMDb, Roger Ebert wrote scripts for a total of three movies, "sexploitation" fare directed by maverick independent filmmaker Russ Meyer. The first of those was Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which follows three young (and good-looking) women who find sex (lesbian and straight), drugs (of various sorts), and unhappiness in Hollywood. Distributed by the then-daring 20th Century Fox (Fox also released Raquel Welch and Mae West's Myra Breckinridge that same year), Beyond takes Jacqueline Susann's trashy bestseller Valley of the Dolls and its 1967 Mark Robson-directed filmization to an even higher degree of tacky campiness. Among the movie's cast members were Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom (all three seductive beauties are pictured above), John Lazar, and frequent presence on the Academy Awards red carpet, Edy Williams. The second Roger & Russ collaboration was Up!, a movie whose tagline...

One of the most famed film critics in the world, Roger Ebert, died today. He was 70.

Ebert began his career in 1967, writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times. He remained with that outlet until the very end: his final review, for The Host, ran online on March 27th. Ebert is best known for his syndicated movie review television shows with "crosstown rival" Gene Siskel (Siskel, who was the film critic at the Chicago Tribune, died in 1999 of a brain tumor). The two first paired up in 1975 for a local PBS review show, went syndicated with At the Movies in 1982, and created Siskel & Ebert & the Movies in 1986. This show was where Siskel & Ebert created their "two thumbs up" system, a phrase which they later trademarked and was the rating all movies sought to achieve. Well, not all movies. One of my favorite movies is David Lynch's Lost Highway. When it...

There are few film critics in this world that could actually claim to be an inspiration. Not that Roger Ebert ever would – he was too modest for that. But the man who wrote movies and wrote so winningly about movies has died at the age of 70. The world is a poorer place for it.Born in 1942 in Urbana, Illinois, Ebert was a writer from an early age, working as a school paper sports reporter before becoming an editor and columnist for The Daily Illini at the University of Illinois. From there, he joined the Chicago Sun-Times as a copy boy, but rose up the ranks quickly thanks to his voluminous knowledge of the cinema. He ended up as the paper’s film critic, but unlike many of his contemporaries, Ebert was also a participant in movies. He wrote Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, Up! and Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens...

Rating: Four stars

Consider now the curious character of Dr. King Schultz. He is an itinerant dentist who works from his little wagon, traveling the backroads of the pre-Civil War South. As Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" opens, we see a line of shackled slaves being led through what I must describe as a deep, dark forest, because those are the kinds of forests we meet in fairy tales. Out of this deepness and darkness, Schultz (Christoph Waltz) appears, his lantern swinging from his wagon, which has a bobbling tooth on its roof. Schultz explains himself with the elaborate formality he will use all through the film. He has reason to believe one of the slaves might be of interest to him. This is the slave named Django (Jamie Foxx). He enters into negotiations to purchase Django, who he has reason to believe may help him in finding the Brittle brothers,...

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,...

This article was originally posted in February of 2010 but is being reposted here with updates and to tie in to next week’s Wamg Top Ten Tuesday List “The Best of Russ Meyer”.

Mondo Topless (1966) is Russ Meyer’s send up of the swingin’ 60′s, a pseudo-documentary portrait of San Francisco, and most of all, a tribute to Meyer’s favorite subject; naked women! The 61-minute sort-of-documentary is sparse, even by Russ Meyer standards – just a rock soundtrack by The Aladdins accompanied by an overexuberant announcer who provides double entendre narration as stacked women dance about displaying their figures. Mondo Topless, which seems relatively wholesome now, was definitely a product of its time and requires historical perspective (and, despite the name of this column, it Is available on DVD).

With today’s endless cornucopia of internet porn, it’s hard to believe that less than 50 years ago, there was an...

There have been many portrayals of werewolves and other shapeshifting man/woman-beasts, in the media of film, but I can’t say there has been many memorable ones. With The Wolf Man (1941) Lon Chaney Jr. transformed into a werewolf at the full moon, and created one of the three most famous horror icons of the modern day. Werewolf fiction as since been an exceptionally diverse genre with ancient folkloric roots and manifold modern re-interpretations – from high shcool basketball players to American tourists hiking through the UK. Here is the list of my personal favourites.

#13- El aullido del diablo/ Howl of the Devil (1987)

Directed by: Paul Naschy

Paul Naschy, also known as Jacinto Molina Alvarez, was a Spanish movie actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures—the wolfman, the hunchback, Count Dracula, the mummy—have earned him recognition as the Spanish Lon Chaney.

I long for the days when Women in Prison flicks were a dime a dozen, and although they will never be made as often as they used to, Sugar Boxx is here to bring back that sleazy goodness from long ago! Francesca ‘Kitten’ Natividad has gone back to her roots after working with Russ Meyer in the 70′s on the skinsploitation movie Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens.

Sugar Boxx hits DVD on March 15, 2011.

Sugar State Women’s Prison. An Everglades hellhole where innocent girls are forced to slave in the swamps by day then turn tricks for the warden by night. A prison camp where corruption, brutality, and sexual abuse are all part of the daily routine. But when reporter Valerie March goes undercover inside Sugar State, that’s when the powder keg really explodes! Follow Valerie through prison life – catfights, knife fights, rape, whippings, prostitution, and the “hot...

Michel Levesque worked in the film industry as a production designer and art director from the late 1960s. He was best known as writer and director for the 1971 biker horror film Werewolves on Wheels.

Levesque was born in Pennsville, New Jersey on August 22, 1943. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and began his film career working as an assistant on Roger Corman’s 1967 cult classic The Trip. He teamed with David M. Kaufman to write and direct Werewolves on Wheels, and also directed the 1972 women’s prison exploitation film Sweet Sugar. He worked as art director on several Russ Meyer films in the mid-1970s, including Supervixens (1975), Up! (1976), and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979). Levesque also worked as an art director and production designer on the films Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976) and The Incredible Melting Man (1977).

Levesque died of cancer at his home in...

The film critic Roger Ebert and actress Demi Moore are looking to write their memoirs. Ebert has set a deal with Grand Central Publishing for a book that will include his run with At the Movies co-host Gene Siskel, the battle against cancer that robbed him of speech but not his fire as a writer, and his stints as the screenwriter of the films Beneath the Valley of the Dolls, and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens. I always felt that Ebert’s appreciation of B-fare has been one of the reasons his intelligent reviews aren't condescending. That book’s coming in [...]...

Mondo Topless (1966) is Russ Meyer’s send up of the swingin’ 60’s, a pseudo-documentary portrait of San Francisco, and most of all, a tribute to Meyer’s favorite subject; naked women! The 61-minute sort-of-documentary is sparse, even by Russ Meyer standards – just a rock soundtrack by The Aladdins accompanied by an overexuberant announcer who provides double entendre narration as stacked women dance about displaying their figures. Mondo Topless, which seems relatively wholesome now, was definitely a product of its time and requires historical perspective (and, despite the name of this column, it Is available on DVD).

With today’s endless cornucopia of internet porn, it’s hard to believe that less than 50 years ago, there was an entire industry based on a glimpse at women’s breasts. In the 1950s, when healthy male movie fans wanted to see females naked on-screen, their only choice were ‘nudist camp movies’ – a genre...