A Clean Breast

Hurrairah bin Sohail|hurrairah@gmail.com
the ridge transmedia
A NUSSU Publication

Russ Meyer (21 Mar 1922 – 18 Sep 2004)

Filmmaker Russ Meyer with film critic Roger Ebert.

Picture credit: www.giantmonster.tv

As the story goes, Russ Meyer was serving as a combat cameraman in World War II when he met Ernest Hemingway at a French brothel. On hearing that the young lad was still a virgin, the gracious Hemingway offered to buy him a lay of his choosing for the night. Meyer chose the one with the biggest breasts.

This personal preference is probably one of the most prominent features of Meyer’s art, movies, films and photography which he almost single handedly produced, edited, finished and distributed himself.

Meyer, with his first films took pornography from being an exercise in science and Naturism or a perverted, grainy, black and white self indulgence, to a commercial and viable art form. The soft-core, erotic nature of his films achieved with sterling detail to cinematography and innovative camera angles (many of which are the main constituents of hackneyed, formulaic, present day pornos) that extra finesse that separates art from smut.

With a slew of movies trying to cash in on the success of pornography, the “nudie cutie” genre swiftly descended into “sexploitation”. It was once again Meyer who brought about a paradigm shift in “skin flicks” by reverting back to black and white, reintroducing emphasis on the storyline and overly theatrical violence. The new vision incorporated themes dealing with social taboos like hypersexuality, nymphomania and the morality of carnal desires. And with the archetypal Meyer busty, buxom, narrow waisted, go-go dancing female lead ever present, the result was a series of cult classics.

Combining elements of camp, kitsch, sex and satire, his body of work can be considered a shrewd capitalization on the primal, baser instincts of men. But when a pair of female breasts accompanied by a pedantic narrative condemning the immoral is capable of inspiring future filmmaker and gay activist John Waters, satisfy Roger Ebert’s high standards and draw support rather than ire from feminist movements, the artistic merit is unquestionable.

Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Picture credit: www.cinemasterpieces.com

A rare feature from Russ Meyer that actually contains no nudity, the movie deals with escapades of three bountifully blessed, voluptuous babes who are on the run after an altercation results in murder. Shot in black and white, the storyline revolves around the domineering female leads while the male characters are insipid, handicapped (either mentally or physically) and pale in comparison, which was common of Meyer films from this time period. The film is revered as a cult favorite and has been used as a pop culture reference multiple times, the most notable one being the music video for Somebody Told Me by The Killers which pays homage to this classic.

Vixen! (1968)

Picture credit: www.madman.com.au

For this movie, Russ Meyer dropped his usual setting of the Mojave Desert and situated the story instead in the heart of the Canadian wilderness. The movie tells the tale of Vixen, the main character after whom the movie is named. Suffering from hypersexuality, nymphomania and thoroughly sexually unsatisfied, Vixen goes on a rampage. She racks up a list of misdeeds ranging from seduction, manipulation, racism, adultery to incest. And into this tale of seemingly endless debauchery, Russ Meyer still has time to weave in political satire about the communist threat. As was expected of films from the era, Vixen eventually has to atone for her sins and pay the price for her profligate ways.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Picture credit: www.wigcity.org

Intended as a sequel to the movie The Valley of the Dolls, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls turned out to be completely divorced from the original. The movie seems like a version of the seminal This is Spinal Tap bereft of all rhyme, reason and common sense seeing that a female rock band, a lesbian designer, a porn star, a heavyweight boxing champion, a law student and an inheritance are all part of the storyline. The campy style of comedy and the unbelievable plot makes Beyond the Valley of the Dolls satirical to the point of insanity. Fans of the movie insist that the movie was intended to be as ‘bad’ as it is and is hence a masterpiece. Meyer was contractually obligated to produce an x-rated film for 20th Century FOX and the end of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls provides visual confirmation that he kept his end of the deal.