Mae West in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Mae West in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 16, 2022

For a star who was perceived to be such a voluptuous female sex symbol, Mae West had, well, swagger. Just look at the way she gallivants, even marauds, physically through her scenes, walking almost like a prize fighter observing some prey she's just devastated. She frequently has a masculine mien in her gait, hands on hips almost threateningly, and with a kind of pugnacious attitude that nonetheless never completely masks a rather unexpectedly sweet and kind aspect to many of her characters, even if those characters are just as apt to be tough as nails. Specifically in terms of West's memorable saunter, if none of her other unforgettable aspects, one of the commentaries included with this set calls West's distinctive stride a "shimmy" that West supposedly overtly stated was culled from watching black women, though some may jokingly wonder if West was also watching black men for a few pointers. What is kind of fascinating about West's ineluctable allure in terms of behaviors and mannerisms, though, is how she manages to be slyly seductive and ridiculously overheated almost simultaneously, but it's instructive to note that this layering of attitudes and demeanors, as well as "mere" physical presence, was part and parcel of West's own writing and character building acumen, since it seems only obvious that West was more than aware that she was putting on a show on any number of levels. West's proclivities as "another" kind of auteur, one who crafted a series of films that frequently were based on West's own ideas and/or writing, are rather prominently on display in this handsome new(ish) set from Powerhouse Films' Indicator imprint, which aggregates together ten features ranging from 1932 to 1943.

For reviews of the ten films in this set, please click on the following links:

Night After Night Blu-ray review

She Done Him Wrong Blu-ray review

I'm No Angel Blu-ray review

Belle of the Nineties Blu-ray review

Goin' to Town Blu-ray review

Klondike Annie Blu-ray review

Go West Young Man Blu-ray review

Every Day's a Holiday Blu-ray review

My Little Chickadee Blu-ray review

The Heat's On Blu-ray review

Mae West in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Mae West in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Mae West in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements included on each disc are detailed in the above linked reviews. Powerhouse Films has packaged this release with several discs offering two films, and so the reviews of those films include a complete list of supplements for that particular disc. Additionally, this is an exceptionally handsomely packaged release, with digipacks offering original art for the films, and a rather epic perfect bound booklet with a ton of additional information on the films and West.

Mae West in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Powerhouse Films offers fans a quick and easy way to obtain a nearly complete collection of Mae West films, with only Myra Breckenridge and Sextette missing (which may actually be a positive, and, yes, that's a joke). Technical merits are a bit variable at times, but the supplemental package is outstanding. Recommended.