25 September 2004

Faster Pussy Cat

Hey team, Russ Meyer died last week. Legendary director of Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill; Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; Vixen; Mudhoney. Enduring influence of the indie rock circuit. He was 82, a recluse and suffering from dementia.

Some Meyer trivia, in memorium...
  • Told NY Times that the first time he visited a whorehouse, as a soldier in France during WWII, he was taken there by Ernest Hemingway.
  • In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Meyer described his films as "passion plays. ... Beauty against something that's totally evil."

Leonard Maltin extracts...

The acknowledged pioneer of the sexploitation film began shooting home movies as a teenager, using a camera given him by his mother. He was a combat photographer stationed in Europe during World War 2, an experience he claims molded his outlook and personality. Upon returning to the States, Meyer photographed industrial films, girlie-magazine layouts, and occasionally worked on Hollywood productions. He directed a "nudie-cutie,"The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959), which dispensed with the usual conventions of nudist films and served up a ribald storyline and amazingly endowed women. The overwhelming success of started Meyer on a prolific career in sexploitation films all characterized by a frenetic editing style, a predilection for big-breasted women, and liberal doses of rough violence.

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