"Uncle" Russ Meyer
thanks again for the kind words, p310.
i never met Russ but i knew people who did. they said he was very much "stuck in the 60s" and as he got older, got more ornery. it happens. but this is a self-taught guy who created films out of whole cloth: he wrote/produced/directed/shot/edited his films himself. he married two of his leading ladies. the production values were excellent and he believed in shot-by-shot color-correction even in early VHS days: his transfers were PRISTINE.
if an RM fan, you must buy the double-disc special edition DVD of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970). it was made by 20th Century Fox who've always disowned the film, although it made them lots of money and is still a classic. it has two audio commentaries: one by the stars and one by Roger Ebert. although Ebert is better known as a film-critic, he wrote the screenplay for BVD, one of the few screenplays Meyer didn't write himself. Ebert's commentary is excellent, non-stop, and considering his recent surgeries have left him unable to speak, an archival treasure.
i saw BVD when i was just a brat in 1973, and it was a life-changing moment. i just knew from then on that most of what my parents and teachers had been telling me was WRONG: there was a big bright wild world out there and to get there, i would have to find my own path. for that alone i must thank Uncle Russ. but there's much more to this legendary director to BVD.
some Russ factoids:
- the film lab ruined a quarter of his footage rushing HELLO DOLLY (1968) into production, so only 3/4ths of CHERRY, HARRY AND RAQUEL exists. but rather than scrapping the project, Russ hired buxotic actress Uschi Digard (who speaks five languages and appeared in SUPERVIXENS and ILSA: HAREM-KEEPER OF THE OIL SHEIKS, among other classics) to act out scenes "evoking" the missing footage. that's why the film's so surreal. still made money tho...Russ fans are diehards!
- actress Erica Gavin (aka VIXEN) plays a lesbian in BVD. Gavin, who also appeared in several early Jonathan Demme, is actually a lesbian. Demme told me that himself. i don't care: she still gives me The Horn.
- Meyer won as many Best Director Oscars as Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles: ZERO. roll that around your brain for awhile.
JtB
just for kicks, some BVD leading ladies, and Edy Williams ("In a Rolls...no, not in a Bentley...in a ROLLS!!!")...
[ Last edited by JackTheBat at 9-2-2011 00:01 ] | |
