Supervixens (5 Stars)

This is something I never thought would happen. "Supervixens" has always been one of my favourite films – in my top 10 – but I've always cursed the poor quality of the DVD. I've been crying out for a Blu-ray release, but now, bang! I'm holding a 4K release in my hand, painstakingly restored from the original negatives by Severin Films. So far, only five of Russ Meyer's films are available on 4K discs, but I'm expecting others will follow.

It's difficult for me to review the film itself, because I've said it all before, especially in this review. That's what you should read if you want to know more about the film. I apologise for the poor quality screenshots from the DVD. Maybe I should go back and replace the images. I'll consider it, if I have time.

Russ Meyer's films are gloriously inappropriate. Who else would show a naked woman lying in the hay doing a Hitler salute?

Many people don't like Russ Meyer's films because they don't understand them. Others dislike his films because they do understand them and disagree with his messages. Whatever they think, Russ Meyer was a visionary genius. His films will live forever. Hopefully in 4K.

Success Rate:  + 168.0

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Blues Brothers (5 Stars)

My readers have missed out. When I first watched this film I said I'd watch it again soon, and if I didn't watch it again within 12 months I'd buy a beer for the first person to remind me. That was four years ago. I'm a person who keeps his promises, but I admit that I'm slow at times.

The films start with images that emphasise how ugly Chicago looks. Jake has just been released from prison and reunites with his brother Elwood. They find out that the orphanage where they grew up will be closed unless a tax bill of $5000 is paid within eleven days. Jake says he can bring the money by tomorrow, but the nun who runs the orphanage refuses to accept money that's been earned by crime.

Despite being Catholics, Jake and Elwood visit Triple Rock Baptist Church. James Brown is a preacher who uses soul to save souls.

This is the sort of church I'd want to belong to. If you look carefully, you'll see that everyone is black, apart from the Blues Brothers who've quietly sneaked into the back. Is it racist if I say that black churches are better than white churches? On the other hand, why do black churches even exist? Are white people too intimidated to walk in and take a seat? If I lived in Chicago, I wouldn't be scared to take part. I'm sure they'd accept me as one of them.

The Blues Brothers have an epiphany, something they never experienced in a stuffy old Catholic church. First Jake, then Elwood sees the light. They decide to reunite their old blues band to play a big concert to earn the money.

James Brown isn't the only famous singer who appears in the movie. Aretha Franklin is the owner of a small restaurant. You know a woman is beautiful if she can be attractive even when she's wearing a dirty apron.

Ray Charles is the owner of a music instrument store, and he plays a song to demonstrate the quality of a keyboard. I've never considered him on of my favourite singers, but based on his performance in "Blues Brothers" I ought to check out some of his music.

You know you're famous when your picture is drawn on the wall of a public toilet. I've never had that honour. By the way, the man on the left is Charles Napier.

In the end the two brothers perform their concert, but they need a long time to get there. They're pursued by the police, white supremacists, angry country and western singers and even a homicidal jilted girlfriend. Talk about overkill. Even though the brothers are unarmed, a whole army battalion is sent to capture them.

It's difficult to believe that I only watched the film because it starred Charles Napier. It has so many other things going for it. There aren't just amazing musical numbers, there are spectacular car chases. I'm sure I'll watch the film again soon, but this time I won't offer any rewards to readers who remind me. You had your chance.

Success Rate:  + 1.8

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Cable Guy (4 Stars)

I haven't watched "Cable Guy" for about 20 years. I have no idea why not. I could still remember most of the details about it. That's the mark of a good film.

Steven Kovacs has recently split up with his girlfriend and has moved into his own apartment. A man comes to install his cable television. He introduces himself as Chip Douglas, but he changes his name several times in the film, so I'll just call him the Cable Guy. The Cable Guy offers Steven friendship, which Steven needs at this time. They meet a few times in the next few days, but Steven finds the Cable Guy too clingy. When Steven tries to break off the friendship, the Cable Guy turns against him and gets him thrown into jail. Don't mess with the Cable Guy!

The film has comical moments, mostly because of Jim Carrey's madcap humour, but it's difficult to laugh. The Cable Guy is very sinister. The comical way he acts in the film is due to his insecurity. In turn, his insecurity has turned him into a stalker.

The film has a message, but it's just added in between the cracks. People watch too much television. There are other things to do, like reading books or talking to your family. I don't watch television as such, but I watch a lot of films. Do I watch too many films? Probably. None of my friends watch as many films as me, although a few of my friends come close. I do read books, but it's a lesser activity. Maybe one book in two weeks, depending on its length. In the same time I watch 15 to 20 films. I talk to family members, but that's not something I can quantify. Some days it's a little, some days it's a lot. What other hobbies do I have? I listen to music. Lately I've been listening to the Stranglers a lot, as my regular readers must have noticed. I also listen to Klaus Schulze and Black Sabbath. I like listening to whole albums, not random tracks. That's the way music ought to be enjoyed.

But, getting back to "Cable Guy", it's a good film. It has an uneasy feeling to it, but that's deliberate. I've read that it's considered a cult film. I've never understood what makes a film qualify as a cult film. I just know that it's one of Jim Carrey's early films that a lot of people have forgotten. I haven't.

Charles Napier has a small role as a policeman. I always sigh when I see him in a film. I consider him to be the most underrated actor of the last 50 years. He should have been a big Hollywood star, but he was stuck in small roles up until his death in 2011. That's tragic. What a waste of such great talent!

Success Rate:  + 0.2

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Supervixens (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #10

There are films that are impossible to file under any one genre. Is "Supervixens" a road movie? Is it a comedy? Is it a political satire? Is it a fairy tale? Is it a sex film? Is it a neofeminist propaganda film?

It's all of them and more.

While anyone who sees the film for the first time might be shocked and confused, fans of Russ Meyer will laugh and say "It's typical Russ Meyer".

The opening credits are accompanied by the Nazi marching song, "Heil Hitler Dir". I wanted to quote the lyrics here, but they're so disgusting that I'm ashamed to post them on my blog. You can easily find them online if you search. Was Russ Meyer a Nazi? Far from it! He frequently spoke out against political extremism on both sides of the political spectrum. By using racist political imagery in his films, he was just acknowledging a fact. Racism exists. We all know that it's bad, but if we don't talk about it, it'll grow stronger.

The film's hero, if he can be called that, is Clint Ramsay. He's a poor, not too intelligent man, who lives somewhere in the South of the USA. "Supervixens" was filmed in Arizona, but it could be anywhere. Clint's curse is that he's irresistible to women. He does his best to fight them off, and he suffers as a result.

Clint works at a gas station owned by Martin Bormann, Hitler's former private secretary. As everyone who watches Russ Meyer's films knows, he survived the war and fled to America, where he became a respected citizen. In this film he's a lowly gas station owner, but in "Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens" he's worked his way up to become the owner of a Christian radio station. In America anything is possible.

At least, that's the theory. Look at the town where they live. The houses look like they've been built in a scrap yard, surrounded by junk and poor farms. There might be an American dream, but this is the American nightmare.

People who take a quick glance at Russ Meyer's films see the naked women with large breasts and shrug them off as films that exploit women. The opposite is the case. The women are in control, and they use their nudity to get what they want. There are three archetypes in Russ Meyer's films, two male archetypes and one female archetype. The men fall into one of two categories.

The first type of man is weak and stupid, but sexually capable.

The second type of man is strong and stupid, but sexually impotent.

The women are all strong, intelligent and sexually demanding.

Women use the first type of men for their sexual pleasure. They ridicule the second type of men. In fact, they ridicule both groups. They demand more and more sex from a man, and when he's eventually worn out they laugh at him.

This is Clint's wife, Super Angel. Do you find the name strange? All the women in the film are called Super. It shows their position in the pecking order. Super Angel is fiercely jealous of Clint. She constantly suspects him of infidelity, even though he fights off women all the time. She's isn't faithful to him. She's quick to jump into bed with any man she likes. That's her privilege as a Super woman.

This is Super Lorna, tempting Clint at the gas station. She wants to drag him into the men's room, but luckily Martin Bormann drags Clint away. Nazis can be useful at times.

Back home, Clint and Super Angel get into a fight over his alleged infidelity. A neighbour calls the police. Along comes Sheriff Harry Sledge, who throws Clint in jail to cool down for a few hours. Super Angel wants Harry as a replacement for her husband, but she's disappointed. Harry belongs to the second type of men. When she laughs at his sexual inability, he kills her and frames Clint.

At the time of Super Angel's death, Clint was sitting in Super Haji's bar getting drunk. She could have given him an alibi, but she was angry with him because he'd refused to have sex with her. So Clint flees, hitchhiking across the USA towards the West. Everywhere he goes he meets Superwomen who want his body.

After turning down Super Cherry, she kicks Clint in the groin so hard that he's left lying unconscious at the roadside.

Clint is rescued by a farmer, but his wife Super Soul needs another man.

Clint flees from the farm and rents a room in a motel, where he's accosted by the motel owner's daughter, Super Eula.

Incidentally, this is her father. As Eddie said in "Jurassic Park: The Lost World", there's not much of a family resemblance.

On the run again, Clint finally arrives at Super Vixen's Oasis. Water in the desert. I told you it's a fairy tale! Until now he's resisted every woman who wanted him, but Super Vixen is different. She reminds him of his wife, which is hardly surprising, because she's played by the same actress, Shari Eubank.

"My name is Supervixen. My friends call me Vix".

Super Vixen gives Clint a job, and they become lovers. And they all lived happily ever after?

Not quite. I have to leave a few things open.

This is an absolutely brilliant film. It's not as culturally significant as "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill", but I still think it's Russ Meyer's best film. For unfathomable reasons it's been out of print in America and the UK for years. It can still be bought in Germany.

Blues Brothers (5 Stars)

I've known about this film for years, but I never watched it until today. All I can ask is, why did I wait so long? It's an incredible film on so many different levels. I love the action, I love the comedy, I love the car chases, I love the music and I love Charles Napier.

The film begins with the petty crook Jake Blues being released from prison on probation. His brother Ellwood takes him to meet the nun who leads the orphanage where they grew up. They find out that the orphanage will be closed because it owes $5000 in back taxes. After visiting a church service they have a religious epiphany and decide that God wants them to raise the money. The nun would never accept stolen money, so they reunite the band that they had before Jake went into prison. If they can play one big concert they'll have enough money.

So far so good. But they have enemies who want to prevent the concert taking place. The police want to arrest Ellwood for driving with a suspended license. A Nazi group wants to kill them for pushing their leaders off a bridge. Jake's ex-fiancee wants to kill him for standing her up at the altar. This leads to ridiculously over-the-top car chases.

There are a few lists online of the best car chases. I don't agree with any of them. I'll make my own list, and this film will definitely make it into the list.

Princess Leia with a big gun? That's enough in itself to make the film worth watching.

I've classified this film as a musical. I don't know if that's technically correct, but it fits my personal definition. The cast breaks into songs at random points, rather than music being performed as in real life. That's why I've classed "Rocketman" as a musical but not "Bohemian Rhapsody", even though they both have the same amount of music in them.

It's always a joy to see Charles Napier in a film, even in a small role. I'll never understand why he didn't become one of Hollywood's greatest stars. Sometimes I think that success in the film business is just a lottery.

The only way I can make up for ignoring "Blues Brothers" for 40 years is to watch it again soon. In my blog "soon" is a vague word. If I don't watch it again within 12 months, I'll buy a beer for the first person to remind me. That's a promise.

Success Rate:  + 1.8

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Austin Powers: The Spy who shagged me (4½ Stars)

I admit it. The main reason why I decided to watch the Austin Powers trilogy this week is to remember Verne Troyer, the actor who played Mini-Me and died last month. The exact cause of his death isn't clear. Early reports claimed that it was suicide, but the official cause of death has been recorded as alcohol poisoning. The truth is probably a mixture of the two.

Some epitaphs written online say that it's wrong to concentrate on his size, he should just be judged as a man. I understand what they're saying, but it's impossible to write about him without mentioning his size. At 2'8" (81 cm) he was the world's smallest actor. Peter Dinklage (4'5", 135 cm) is a giant in comparison. Verne Troyer's height is what he'll be remembered for. That's an undeniable fact. But we should also remember him as a good actor. After seeing him at his audition Mike Myers was so impressed with Verne's acting ability that he rewrote the script to give him more screen time. How many actors can say that about themselves?

The first film takes place in the 1990's (1997), while the second film takes place in the 1960's (1969). Dr. Evil has invented a time machine, with which he travels back in time to steal Austin Powers' mojo while he was frozen. This mojo is the essence that makes Austin what he is, including his charm, his sexual prowess and his skill as a secret agent. Austin Powers travels back in time using a Back-To-The-Future-ish car to challenge Dr. Evil. He's at a disadvantage because he's already lost his mojo, but he receives assistance from Agent Felicity Shagwell, a swinging, free-loving sixties girl who is the exact female equivalent of Austin himself.

In the first film Mike Myers played two characters, Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. In this film he also plays the evil henchman Fat Bastard. Yes, that's his name. Yes, that's really Mike Myers. He's hardly recognisable under all that make up, body padding and whatever else was used to disguise him.

Because Dr. Evil's son Scott wasn't evil enough to be the successor to the Evil Empire a clone has been made from Dr. Evil's DNA. The clone is Mini-Me, played by Verne Troyer, identical in every respect except for his size. Dr. Evil immediately appoints him his successor. This annoys Scott, who now wants to try to be more evil, but it's too late.

I made a mistake in my last review of "The Spy who shagged me". I claimed that it was a blunder that Mustafa and Number Two magically reappeared after being killed in the first film. I should pay more attention. Mustafa was killed in 1997, so it's not a mistake to see him in 1969. It all makes sense. As for Number Two, he's thrown into a fire pit in the first film, but we never see him die. When he returns in this film he has burn marks on his cheek, so we can assume that he was somehow rescued from the pit. He might have burn marks in other places that his fine suits hide from sight.

Overall the film is just as good as "International Man of Mystery", but I have a few small problems with it. I find the humour with the Fat Bastard character unnecessarily vulgar. I also find it strange the way Elisabeth Hurley's character is removed from the film by the revelation that she was always a fembot. If you watch the first film you can see that this was impossible.

Verne Troyer
January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018

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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (5 Stars)

This is a brilliant spy spoof, maybe one of the best parody films ever made. It was written by the comedian Mike Myers, featuring himself in the two main roles. The film makes fun of 1960's spy films, primarily the James Bond films. For fans of the old films it's an opportunity to sit and spot references, but even for the younger generation who have only limited knowledge of the old films it's hilarious. It's also a comedy about the English hippy culture of the 1960's.

Now to the plot. Austin Powers was England's best secret agent in the 1960's. His nemesis was Dr. Evil, a megalomaniac who wanted to rule the world. Isn't that what they all want to do? After failing in an attempt to kill Austin Powers Dr. Evil flees into space. He puts his body in deep freeze, so he can return when Austin Powers is dead or too old to stop him. Austin foils his plan by also letting himself be frozen, ready to be thawed when Dr. Evil returns.

The return is in 1997, the year when the film was made. While the two opponents prepare to clash we see Austin trying to adjust to the modern world. His biggest problem is that free love is no longer practised. He expects women to have sex with him – he uses the word "shag" – immediately after meeting him. It's not so easy these days. He has to be charming and polite and work hard to get women into bed.

Dr. Evil, also played by Mike Myers, has less problems adjusting. He was never interested in free love. All he wanted to do was rule the world. His biggest problem is building a relationship with his son Scott, who was born during his absence using his frozen semen.

A lot of the humour revolves around Austin Powers' social ineptness, but it's wrong to compare him with Johnny English, who is also inept as a spy. When it comes to his job Austin Powers is highly skilled. He knows exactly what he's doing. He rushes into action to take on his enemies with his trusty Walther PPK/S in his hand. This is one of the film's few errors. He's shown using the gun in 1967, but it wasn't designed until 1968.

Austin Powers is a skilled spy, but he has one fatal weakness. When he meets beautiful women he's too confused to think straight. That's understandable. I would have the same problem.

This film was followed by two sequels, both of which were almost as good as the first film. In 2008 he tried to continue with his success by starring in another self-written comedy film called "The Love Guru", but it didn't have the same magic as the Austin Powers films. Let's see if he's able to get his mojo back one day.

If you want to buy this film you'll have a difficult choice. The full version is only available in England. The American version has cut several scenes, some of which are included as "deleted scenes" in the extra features, but not all. In particular, Christian Slater's scene has been removed entirely from the American version. The American Blu-ray release has the film in its original 2.35:1 ratio, but the DVD releases on both sides of the Atlantic present the film in a cropped 2:1 ratio. In England the film has never been released on Blu-ray.

If you've never seen the film before your best choice is to buy the American Blu-ray. It's the best quality you can get for your money. If you're a fan of the film like me – I saw it in the cinema when it was first released – you'll be annoyed by the missing scenes, so you'll be better buying the English DVD.

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The Seven Minutes (4 Stars)

"The Seven Minutes" is one of Russ Meyer's rarest films. It has never been released on DVD in its own right. It was included as an extra feature on a limited edition release of "Beneath the Valley of the Dolls". I was lucky enough to buy it when it was first released, because it's now out of print.

This is one of Russ's most serious films. It deals with a topic that was close to his heart: censorship. Maybe the 1970's were more liberal than the 1950's, but there were still attempts by the moral right wing of America to outlaw everything it didn't like. In this case it's a highly artistic novel in which a woman describes, in seven chapters, the seven minutes she spends in the act of sexual intercourse. But it's a general subject that affected Russ himself. His films, which he made from 1959 to 1979, were considered outrageous by some, but the pinnacle of erotic art by others. It's no secret which side I take in the debate.

The great actor Charles Napier only appears briefly in the film's opening scenes. I consider him to be the most underrated actor who has ever lived. He should have had a breakthrough while he was young, but he spent most of his career typecast as a square-jawed soldier. It's true, he did have a square jaw, but there was so much more to him.

Mora Gray only appeared in three films from 1968 to 1983. This was her biggest role. She's the rather distracting secretary in the lawyer's office. How did anyone manage to get any work done?

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (4 Stars)

"Take away the guilt, who'd ever want to get laid?"

There's something very true about that statement. Guilty sex is the best sex. It's not so much sex as an ongoing act, it's the orgasm itself. An orgasm is the most intense and satisfying when you have the feeling that you're doing something wrong. That's why extramarital affairs feel so good that men are willing to risk a happy marriage for moments of pleasure. I shan't go into this in more detail because it's only a minor aspect of the film, but I encourage comments from my readers on this fascinating subject.

This film was a dream come true for Russ Meyer as a director. He was used to making films on a shoestring budget. He came to the attention of the big studios after the success of "Vixen" in 1968, which was made with a budget of $20,000 but earned $26 million at the box office. 20th Century Fox had recently lost money invested in big budget pictures, so they thought that if they hired Russ Meyer they could make it back. They gave him a budget of $2 million to work with. Russ picked his friend Roger Ebert to write the screenplay. Yes, that's Roger Ebert the film critic.

The film is about a female rock group that moves to Los Angeles when the uncle of the lead singer hears of her uncle's death and goes to collect her share of the inheritance. The girls get caught up in the never ending scene of wild parties with sex and drugs. However, there are negative undercurrents, and not everyone is as happy as they seem on the surface.

This was an ode to the swinging sixties. It could be called a deconstruction of the sixties. Everyone is cool and hip and anti-establishment, but as soon as money is involved greed sets in. Free love is upheld as a way of life, but there's also jealousy. "Free love is cool, but not with my girl". Nevertheless, the most impressive scenes in the film are the parties where the strangest of characters are dancing with wild abandon.

The incredible Charles Napier plays a small but significant part in the film. He's the squarest of the square. He stands in the middle of the hippies dressed in a suit and tie with his tidily combed hair.

The limited edition Blu-ray release is amazing. Apart from the film itself being remastered, the extra features are all new. The interviews and commentaries were all made after Russ Meyer's death, so the actors often digress into emotional eulogies when they talk about Russ. He was a great man, though I don't consider this to be his greatest film. Roger Ebert sees it differently. He claims that "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" is the favourite film of many people. That might be the case, but I far prefer "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill" and "Supervixens".