Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat Kill!..kill!

Black & White/83 MinutesIncludes Four Rare TrailersFASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL! KILL! is the story of a new breed of SUPERWOMEN emerging out of the ruthlessness of our times. We are introduced to three BUXOM Go-Go girls: VARLA, ROSIE, and BILLIE, wildly dancing the Watusi before the leers, jeers and lecherous come-ons of their drooling all-male audience. The violence, implicit in the girls' tease, is quickly moved out of the microcosmic bar into the outside world as they literally let go of themselves, embarking on a wild, violent, deadly journey of vengeance on all men. VARLA, the outrageously abundant KARATE MASTER leader of the pack, breaks the arms and back of one man, runs her Porsche over two others, grinds a fourth, a muscleman, against a wall and, eventually, deliberately goes down the path of her own self-destruction, dragging her two BUXOTIC cohorts along with her. Product Description

Go! Baby, Go!!

How dare you consider yourself a cult movie fan if you've never seen this film! Well, it is forgivable considering that in order to see this movie you either have to A) have forty bucks lying around to make a purchase on a film you've never seen, or B) have a video store in your vicinity that actually rents stuff like this out. Neither of these are very likely. But if you happen to catch this movie, it is a treat. Meyer's early 60s work is quite different than the goofball sex pictures he'd do down the road. In Faster Pussycat, three go-go dancers(led by the yummy Tura Satana) out for a joyride end up killing a guy and taking his girlfriend hostage. Then they catch wind of a crippled old hermit who has a bunch of money stashed away on his land. They devise a plan to seduce the two sons of the man and make off with the money. They soon realize that the old man is just about as crazy(if not crazier) than they are. Like I said, this is different than the later Meyer films. There's actually a bit more plot. In fact, the plot is almost something you could see the Cohen Brothers doing. There's no nudity or sex(plenty of innuendo), but the three lead women just ooze sexuality regardless of what they may be doing, whether eating dinner or beating the snot out of a guy. Especially Tura Satana, who looks so sexy, yet so dangerous that you're not sure if she'll throw you in bed to do the deed or break your neck. I'm sure it was rather risque for the time though. Exploitation films from this time period have the coolest look about them. The women, the fashions, the music, the muscle cars. It's easy to see why this film is such an inspiration to bands like White Zombie and The Cramps(if you're not familiar with Meyer, but happen to be a Cramps fan, it'll give you an idea of the movie to think that this is what a film directed by The Cramps would look like). If you come across it, or have forty bucks lying around with nothing to do, check this one out. Meyer's style may not be your bag, but at least you'll be able to say you've seen the film. Plus, you don't really know 'til you see it, right? December 3, 2007

You call this acting?

This movie is black-and-white. In color, this film would have been much worse.

I am an unabashed, unashamed Russ Meyer aficionado. For the past four decades, my mantra has been: "What's her bra size?" Russ Meyer fans never truly grow up. Sorry, ladies.

Now to this movie. Russ Meyer is not much of a script writer. He did have a keen eye for action and lust, though. Early on in his career, Mr. Meyer decided that women would be the heroes in his flicks. The guys would be virile, reasonably good-looking, and dumber than dirt.

The action choreography is this film's highlight. The action is provided by the sports cars, not the actors. In fact, the cars are the best actors in this flick.

Honestly, if I were not a Meyer-phile, I would have walked away from this movie. The actors are unsympathetic, and character development is given short-shrift. This DVD is a faithful, high-fidelity transfer, though.

Watch this movie for the cars. November 30, 2007

A mid-sixties masterpiece of shock and schlock...,

Most B-movies produced for the drive-in market are watchable once or twice. This is one of a handful that improve with repeated viewings. And speaking of handfuls, let's look at the Pussycats themselves. First, there's Tura Satana as Varla. She must have taken a deep breath before every take, because she belts out almost every line of dialog with amazing force and menace. The only time she speaks at all rationally is when she's lying. Then, her whole persona changes to a shrugging deadpan. Lori Williams as Billy is the weakest of the three, though she would have dominated a normal drive-in flick. And her drunk scene is pretty much of a blast. But it's Haji's performance as Rosie that's the secret gem of this movie. She has the perfect undefinable latina accent-- neither Italian nor Spanish. In fact, she's a Canadian, and had to learn the accent. Hers is a wonderfully mannered, sneering performance I can't take my eyes off of.

Of the men, Stuart Lancaster chews the scenery brilliantly as the rich, crippled, cantankerous old letch. Leering and sneering, and drinking heavilly at lunch. And his hulking yet mentally challenged son The Vegatable is great fun to watch, too. Squinting with concentration before each halting line of dialog. Secretly gentle, despite the vile things the old man wants him to do. And, like most of the characters in Pussycat, he seems like he could have been written by Tenessee Williams on LSD.

Most of the dialog is quotable, and just about every frame could be enlarged to hang on the wall. This and Meyer's equally brilliant Beyond the Valley of the Dolls have had unestimable influence on directors as diverse as John Waters and Quinton Tarrantino. But, despite having been strip-mined over the years, retain a strange and often shocking vitality. As Richard Corliss said of Dolls, they mix evrything generally associated with both "good" and "bad" movies. And, while I take a break evey once in a while (you can't have candy for dinner every night) every time I come back to these flicks, my appreciation of them grows.

The presentation on this disc really is kind of lack-luster. I hear there's a double disc out in England with interviews with the Pussycats, etc. It might be worth getting an all-region player just for that. September 28, 2007

Russ Meyer, now with extra cheese!

Faster, Pussycat, Kill, Kill! (Russ Meyer, 1965)

So I've finally gotten round to seeing Russ Meyer's magnum opus, and I have to say that, despite the basic Russ Meyer cheesiness, it wasn't all that bad. It's a bit of fluff, to be sure, but an amusing one. The plot: three strippers (led by Irma la Douce's Tura Satana) have some fun in the desert. "Fun," for these pussycats, involves mayhem, murder, and fast cars. But will they meet their match in the family of weirdos they find in the middle of nowhere?

Really, there's no more to it than that. I'm kind of wondering, even after having seen it, how Meyer managed to drag this thin premise out to over eighty minutes. It's the Meyer formula of speed, sex, and violence at its purest. I'm not sure I'll be watching it again any time soon, but I'm glad I've finally seen it. ** ½ September 17, 2007

SUPERWOMAN of a century passed

Well, this movie is a sarcastic work about still modern SUPERWOMAN-which might be forgiven from a view of the timing it was created in the sixties of the last twentieth century.

Violence mixed with lust where every female shown had got something very personal toward sex on a mind while a boyish seemingly strong country man depicted as a semi-idiot living off his paralyzed father's advice.

Sexually-predatory aggressiveness is a very moving force of these emancipated women as cowboy-looking men are incapable to follow even a shadow of desire.

It would be a western style comedy if not all pretty females have been killed at the end-and no sorrow at all for.

Please, excuse such a viewer's wooden heartednessless.
January 23, 2007

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