Black arm-band...

Russ Meyer is dead. Here's my tribute:

I don’t remember much about my childhood – but there are moments that stand out.

I remember being young- no idea how old, but young – and being walked through the streets of Leeds by my parents. Not an unusual event. It happened many times I suspect, but this one time sticks in my mind.

We must have been looking for something specific, cos I don’t recall seeing these streets again - but I spotted something that stuck with me forever.

While being walked, up there in the distance somewhere I saw a sign. It was, as you might say – a religious experience.

What did the sign say?

XXX – Vixen – Super Vixen – Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixen.

Yes – one of them sleazy old porno theatres. The kind you only now see in 70’s movies.

Now - maybe this stuck with me for a different reason. See, back then we had the X rating. The X rating is now more commonly known in the UK as an 18 rating. Obvious really – you need to be 18 to see this movie.

So my young mind goes to work. Thinking about it – I might have been annoyed that I was to young to see Alien (another event that sticks in my young mind) so maybe this is all taking place around 1979.

Wait - I digress. Back to the plot

Now my young mind went to work.

I was obviously annoyed at being too young to get into an X rated horror movie. But now I see XXX. I started doing that math. 18 x 3. 54? Would I REALLY have to be 54 years old to see these movies? Screw that!

Years later my next re-introduction to Russ Meyer was through Jonathan Ross and the wonderful TV show – The Incredibly Strange Film Show – where one of the episodes was about good old Russ.

I guess maybe Russ Meyer and me share a common interest in women of a certain shape. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not as obsessive as Russ on the measurements, but there is something about a woman who has - *sigh* - gargantuan breasts.

Okay – stop the tape for a moment. Those of you who know me KNOW that I am about as politically correct as they come. And maybe this is why I love Russ.

Russ Meyer celebrated women. In all his films, the women were strong and in control, and damn right. So before I get labelled something I’m not, think about that. In these days with ya sleazy FHMs and Loaded mags where you get women who flaunt it cos they can, think back to the 60s and how far we have come. Russ made women powerful, and beautiful – and I was a paying customer.

So anyway - where was I?

Okay – my next introduction to Russ Meyer was at the legendary Scala cinema in Kings Cross, London. Don’t look for it, it’s no longer there. It re-opened some years ago, but only as a nightclub.

The Scala was a cinema lovers wet dream. 3 movies every night, linked by theme. Could be a trilogy like say the Indy Jones movies, or a night of obscure lesbian cinema – it didn’t matter. The Scala was and will always be the greatest cinema house that ever lived. And this is where Russ Meyer’s vision and me finally came face to face.

I must have been 22, maybe 23. It was my birthday and as my treat, my then girlfriend took me to see Vixen, Super Vixen, and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixen.

My life came full circle, and I wasn’t even 54 years old.

That night I realised that Russ Meyer had it all. He had turned a perversion into an industry, and you gotta love that really.

Although Russ Meyer’s stopped making films in 1979 – he did enough to be a cinematic legend. A true independent whose work will be remember forever.

I tip my glass of red wine in remembrance of a man who lived.

You’ll be missed Mr. Meyer. If there’s an afterlife, God knows how stacked those angels are gonna be now!!!

Nic.

posted by Nic @ 4:17 PM 0 comments