Vixen! — Vixen!(Blu Ray)
Vixen! was the fourteenth film from American writer/ director Russ Meyer. The 1968 film was the first film that truly clarified his distinctive mix of large breast-focused softcore, drama, and playful satire, with light touches of action ‘n’ thrills. Here from Severin film is a long deserved/ first ever Blu- Ray and UHD release of the film- it’s available as either a dual disc UHD & Blu Ray release, or a stand-alone Blu Ray- I’m reviewing the second of these.
The new release takes in a crystal clear/ wonderfully defined new 4k scan of the film, and around three hours of extras- taking in both new and archive things.
Vixen! ( aka Russ Meyer's Vixen! ) was filmed between Mirinda California and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. With the backdrop of towering evergreen forests, rushing rivers, and log cabins. The film was Meyer's first huge US box office hit- leading onto him become the most notable/ recognisable figures to come out of the US Sexploitation/ indie film genre- going on to become a household name.
The film runs at a fairly snappy and eventful seventy-one minutes- with Meyer weaving in more serious subjects of racism and communism into his sexy romp. It focuses on large-breasted/free spirted Vixen Plamer( Erica Gavin) and her laid-back/pipe-smoking bush pilot husband Tom(Garth Pilsbury). The pair run a woodland set hunting lodge.
After the panning shots of Vancouver Island's wild landscape and a brief injection from Mr Voice over. Things kick off with a yellow two piece bikini wearing Vixen romping through the woods and near by rivers, as a red short wear man follows- as she calls and teases him- fairly soon the bikini top is removed and the mans on top of her….all of a sudden she jumps up, mischievously saying she’s got to go. He gets dressed and we find out he’s a Mountie….and not her husband.
As things unfold, we find out that Vixen will pretty much sleep with anyone- with her husband either turning a blind eye/ completely believing she is loyal. Vixen has a sharp/ sure of her self-tongued- often speaking her mind, aside from a free spirted ways we find out soon enough she is also racist- with the focus of this going on Niles( Harrison Page) a black American who has fled the USA for Canada, and is best friends with Vixen’s slightly younger/ motorbike riding brother Judd( John Evans).
With-in the films run we find a blend of big breasted softcore encounters- some of this getting fairly bizarre/ edgy for time- most notable the erotic fish dance, and the awkward shower scene. Soapy and campy drama- which later gets a bit more explosive/ edgy, and in the last quarter of the film we get action and some fairly tense thrills added into the mix.
Vixen! certainly stands as the most approachable of Meyers big-bobbed romps- with the directors more wacky/ ridiculous elements largely subdued. I’d certainly say it’s one of the best place to start with the directors work- as it distil everything that made him such a distinctive talent.
This new region free Blu Ray features a new 4k scan- and boy it's great, with lovely bold, clean and crisp colours. The only moments it looks a bit too good, is when we get rather unflattering close-up of the actresses make-up.
On the extra side we get a good enough selection of new and archive stuff. First up on the new side we get a commentary track featuring lead actress Erica Gavin and Severin's David Gregory. They begin by talking about the films amazing new scan which was done by The Museum Of Modern Art, and now sits in it's permanent collection. We find out Erica last saw the film some ten years back, and they briefly talk about how tame it is for a X film/ that it’s still banned in Ohio(more on this later). She talks about how her feet got battered & bruised from the open romp through the forest shot- as Meyer insisted she wore no shoes, even though you don’t see her feet. She discusses what it was like working with each actor as they appear on screen. They talk about the film's key filming location- the wooden cabin, woodland, and waterways of Miranda in Northern California. She talks about the provocative fish dance in the film, and how Russ loved it so much. Later on she talks about how after the film's release she got a lot of letters from women- not trying it on, but congratulating her on her role. They touch on the full-on rape scene that was going to be in the film at one point, and she discusses her interaction with other Meyer women. All in all a most interesting/ informative track.
Otherwise on the new side we have: Woman... Or Animal? (20.04) on film interviews with actress and actor Erica Gavin and Harrison Page. Entertainment... Or Obscenity? (13.34) which sees Marc Edward Heuck discussing how/ why the film ended up banned in Ohio. Both of these are well worth a play, though the second was the most fascinating.
On the archive extras side we have: a commentary track from Russ Meyer. David Del Valle's The Sinister Image (21.27) featuring interviews with Russ Meyer And Yvette Vickers.
It truly is wonderful to (finally) see a release of Vixen! on Blu-Ray, and what better label than Severin to reissue it? This new release features a truly beautiful crisp and clean new scan of the film, and a good selection of extras.