Severin has detailed its upcoming 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases of Vixen (1968), Supervixens (1975), and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979). The releases are scheduled to arrive on the market in January.
Amid the cultural chaos of 1968 and armed with a budget of only $70,000, producer/director/cinematographer Russ Meyer transcended sexploitation by crafting this "bosomacious melodrama" (Time Magazine) about racism, communism, bush pilots, draft dodgers and a ferociously free-spirited wife named Vixen (the incredible Erica Gavin of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and CAGED HEAT). Despite attempts at censorship that included one of the first-ever X ratings and 23 separate U.S. prosecutions for obscenity, it became one of the year's top-grossing movies, forever transformed independent film and remains the creative template for Meyer's unapologetic vision of American cinema. VIXEN is now scanned in 4K from the original negative restored by The Museum of Modern Art with over 3 hours of new and archival Special Features curated by Severin Films in conjunction with The Russ Meyer Trust.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
DISC ONE - 4K BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
HDR10 PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Archival Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Co-Editor/Director Russ Meyer
Audio Commentary With Actress Erica Gavin
Trailer
Optional English subtitles for the main feature
DISC TWO - BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
1981 Censor Prologue (Theatrical Re-Release)
Archival Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Co-Editor/Director Russ Meyer
Audio Commentary With Actress Erica Gavin
Woman... Or Animal? – Interviews With Actors Erica Gavin And Harrison Page
David Del Valle's The Sinister Image With Guests Russ Meyer And Yvette Vickers
Entertainment... Or Obscenity? – Marc Edward Heuck On The Film's Historic Cincinnati Censorship Battles
Following the 'serious' features THE SEVEN MINUTES and BLACK SNAKE, this 1975 return to form written, photographed, edited, produced and directed by Russ Meyer remains perhaps his most over-the-top and savagely entertaining epic of all: When a hot-blooded wife (Shari Eubank) and a psychotic cop (a startling performance by Charles Napier of THE BLUES BROTHERS fame) come together, it will ignite a cross-country odyssey of violence, vengeance and relentless coitus. John Lazar (BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS), Uschi Digard (BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS) and Haji (FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!) co-star in Russ' "super-sexy live-action Road Runner cartoon" (Empire), now restored by Severin Films in conjunction with The Russ Meyer Trust and scanned in 4K from the original negative stored at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
DISC ONE - 4K BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
HDR10 PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Archival Audio Commentary With Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Producer/Director Russ Meyer
Trailer
Optional English subtitles for the main feature
DISC TWO - BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Archival Audio Commentary With Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Producer/Director Russ Meyer
Russ Meyer Versus The Porn-Busters – Mike Carroll Interview With Russ Meyer
The Return Of Harry Sledge – Interview With Actor Charles Napier
The Incredibly Strange Film Show Season 1, Episode 5: Russ Meyer
The final feature produced, photographed, edited and directed by Russ Meyer is a wicked take on Our Town, co-written by Meyer and Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert (BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS). Russ' latter-day muse Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad stars – along with Uschi Digard, Ann Marie, June Mack, Candy Samples and Russ himself – in this unwashed look at Small Town, U.S.A., complete with faith healers, war criminals, bosom buddies and the loin-girding quest for sexual salvation. Because the original elements for BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS had been stored in less-than-optimal conditions, Severin Films devoted months to the painstaking restoration of its weather-damaged negative before scanning it in 4K and compiling over 2 hours of new and archival footage, all with the blessing and cooperation of The Russ Meyer Trust.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
DISC ONE - 4K BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
HDR10 PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Archival Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor/Director Russ Meyer
Trailer
Optional English subtitles for the main feature
DISC TWO - BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Archival Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor/Director Russ Meyer
The Latin Brünhilde – Interview With Actress Kitten Natividad
Talk It Over – Ellen Adelstein Interviews Russ Meyer For Her Tucson Talk Show In 1979
Still Talking It Over – New Interview With Ellen Adelstein