COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - RUSS MEYER'S SUPERVIXENS (SEVERIN FILMS BLU-RAY)
Legacy can be a tricky thing, as it often is only partial up to the individual to create it. It’s a combination of the work one has created and the public reception to it that creates a “legacy,” which leaves some of the attributes aligned to a person and their legacy up for debate. What can’t be argued is that some legacies are more significant than others, and some of that is driven by the artist themself. In the case of the legacy of Russ Meyer, one take could be that he was a man emboldened by his confidence in his interests and unwillingness to compromise his vision. A vision that is absolutely niche, but at the same time able to be appreciated regardless of opinion. Meyer made a career out of proving that there was a market for nudie films that walked the line between pornography and on-screen sexuality, and thanks to The Russ Meyer Trust and Severin Films the Meyer catalog is getting released for the first time in HD, this time we talk about “Supevixens.” Is this Meyer at his best, or just big boobs bouncing for 106 minutes?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A hapless gas station attendant evades arrest by the psychopathic cop who murdered his unfaithful wife and encounters a bevvy of busty babes until he meets his ideal woman.
HOW IS IT?
If you read the above synopsis, you’d be inclined to believe that this is a revenge-laced thriller about a man avenging the death of his wife, but that’s not the case here…like at all. “Supervixens” is more akin to a live-action Tex Avery cartoon by way of Robert Crumb and is as audacious as it is absurd. Pivoting sharply from the social commentary infused “Vixen,” “Supervixens” shares no relation to the former film save for the aesthetic of large-breasted women and a chorus of male dufuses surrounding them and deals in a kind of comedy that is more than just an acquired taste, it’s a sleazy delicacy to which few have the palette for. What makes it most intriguing isn’t the caricature-esque characters as much as the wild tonal shifts from sex to violence and then slapstick comedy. It’s so jarring that one is apt to get cinematic whiplash, which makes this a far more divisive film than “Vixen.”
It’s a fool's errand to try and summarize the plot of “Supervixens” as for a good chunk of the film it doesn’t have one. The film follows Clint (Charles Pitt) and his wife Super Angel (Shari Eubank) who is murdered by Officer Harry Sledge (Charles Napier) and then sets out on the road to find him. During his travels, he meets a cadre of couples where all of the women have the prefix “Super” before their name, like Super Lorna, Super Haji, and Super Soul to name a few. The thing is, these women can’t seem to keep their hands off of Clint, much to the chagrin of their male partners, which leads to Clint constantly being chased off and moving from one locale (and couple) to another. All of this is done with such wreckless abandon in a world where everyone is horny AF and even angrier. You see, alongside a heavy dose of sexual intercourse and innuendo, there is also heaps more bigotry and homophobia this time around. While “Vixen” was jarring for how normally it traded in slurs, “Supervixens” is practically littered with mostly homophobic slurs that in today’s context don’t fly. We can agree that is to be judged under the context and time when it was made, but even this feels more antagonistic than periodically “appropriate.” This leads us to the violence…
Genre fans are used to the juxtaposition of sex and graphic violence, but tone dictates how we should receive this in the context of the film. “Supervixens” throws this right out the window of a moving car only to get hit by a large semi-truck right after. One moment, Harry Sledge and Super Angel are partaking in some “heavy petting” and the next he is, quite literally, stomping her face and body in while she’s in the bathtub. It’s not the only scene like this, but it is certainly the most intense because all the while Super Angel is smiling and goading Sledge on. In a way, it feels like Eubank’s performance would be the influence for Patricia Arquette’s scene with James Gandolfini in “True Romance.” Alongside the big breasts and naked flesh, there is also a heavy amount of domestic violence occurring. While most of it ends with the abuser getting what’s coming to them, it is handled so lightly that it throws you as a viewer. The violence is so unseriously executed, but the actions themselves are brutal. It leaves you feeling conflicted on the film because while it may not mean any harm, and is certainly a product of a different time, it also doesn’t hold up as well because of these things. Sure, one could laugh at how implausible it all is and how darkly funny (?) it is how many hits these women can take, but it reaches a point where one has to question the intent of this being so prominent, especially when it doesn’t add to the plot 90% of the time. With this in mind, “Supervixens” is a hard film to recommend to anyone outright. It isn’t as playful as “Vixen” even though it’s technically more competent at showcasing Meyer as a filmmaker, but fans of Meyer’s unique brand of art will find lots to love.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
While “Vixen” received a restoration courtesy of the MoMA, the other films from Meyer’s estate that Severin has acquired are in-house restorations. Which means that “Supervixens” looks stunning. The restoration work is another in the many upcoming collaborations between The Russ Meyer Trust and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where they provided the original camera negative that Severin scanned in 4K for this release. Like “Vixen” the colors here retain their vintage look and grading, but the image itself looks impeccably clean with very few artifacts of wear and tear. Honestly, this work should win Severin some kind of award and is another benchmark for how to preserve and enhance old film for modern technology. Images from this release are used throughout this review, and please note, that these are from the Blu-Ray, not the 4K UHD edition.
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
Severin’s audio source for this release came from the original 35mm track negative, the same source for the video as well, and is brought over into a 2.0 DTS-HD track. Like “Vixen” before it, the audio is clean and while not as robust sounding is more than sufficient for the release. The balance between the catchy soundtrack and the cutting dialogue is done well so you’re not struggling to hear one over the other.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
The real star of this package isn’t the film itself, but the special features included. Like the “Vixen” release, Severin has gone to the vault (proverbially speaking) to get a series of archival material including a commentary track with Meyer and a handful of old interviews from various TV appearances. The first feature we reviewed was Russ Meyer Versus The Porn-Busters – Mike Carroll Interview With Russ Meyer, a 23-minute interview that sees Meyer commenting on the current state of adult film and sex shops in 1990. Meyer recounts and laughs about how Charles Keating, the driving force behind many of Meyer’s woes in Ohio, was currently getting lambasted for his role in the savings and loan scandal and calls the city of Cincinnati a bunch of “German Catholic toughies” who made his life hell. Meyer also touched on how his films now are shown on German TV, uncut and during the late afternoon when kids can watch them. He goes on to speak about not allowing his films to be shown cut due to some issues he had with this in his younger years. Capping it all off, Meyer boasts (rightfully so) about how his films never lost money and there is something admirable about that regardless of what you think of the end product.
The next feature we reviewed was an 18-minute, newly produced interview, The Return Of Harry Sledge – Interview With Actor Charles Napier. Napier speaks confidently and candidly about how he got into acting by chance, and even more coincidentally how he got involved with Meyer after accompanying a female friend to an audition where he met Meyer and landed a role with little more than a few exchanged words. Ironically, his friend who he was there with didn’t get the role. Napier speaks highly of Meyer, even when he recounts how strict and belittling he could be on set, but also comments on how convincing Meyer is. In particular, he calls out how Meyer got him to run mostly naked through the desert in “Cherry, Harry, and Raquel” and how Meyer reminded Napier of this in their later years. It’s a wonderful interview that offers a lot of context to Meyer as a filmmaker and person, while also giving Napier some room to pay homage to how his involvement with Russ changed his life, quite literally. A full list of special features is listed below.
Bonus Materials
Disc 1: Blu-ray
Archival Audio Commentary With Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Producer/Director Russ Meyer
Russ Meyer Versus The Porn-Busters – Mike Carroll Interview With Russ Meyer
The Return Of Harry Sledge – Interview With Actor Charles Napier
The Incredibly Strange Film Show Season 1, Episode 5: Russ Meyer
Trailer
TV Spot
LAST RITES
“Supervixens” may be a step down from “Vixen,” but there the extras included along with the quality of the restoration work make this a hard film to pass on, particularly for exploitation completists and collectors who are keen to explore the wild, wacky, and large-breasted world of Russ Meyer.
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends over at Severin for providing a review copy for the crypt! Russ Meyer’s Supervixens! is available NOW and can be purchased via Severin Direct!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky!
