"(Not the Pixar Disney Film...Obviously)"
...although Russ Meyer was tagged in publicity of the period as 'The Walt Disney of Skin Flick'. Anyway, the film the producer-director-cinematographer-editor and all-round auteur made in between SUPERVIXENS (1975) and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS (1979) is now getting to join those two movies in getting a 4K UHD and Blu-ray release from Severin Films, scanned and restored from the original 35 mm negative.
UP! was obviously conceived as a follow-up to SUPERVIXENS in its attempt to recreate another crazy world filled with sexually-inspired daftness featuring women with enormous breasts. The mix isn't quite as successful this time around, but if you like Meyer's other films and have a penchant for his singular and colourful take on storytelling then this will satisfy your desire for more of the same quite nicely.
After some extremely dubious sexual shenanigans Adolf Hitler is murdered in his bath by a black-gloved piranha-wielding killer. Meanwhile immensely busty Margo Winchester (Raven de la Croix) arrives in the small American town where Hitler was 'hiding out' (in his castle on the hill). Who was responsible for Hitler's death swiftly takes second place to Margo's interactions with all the men in the immediate area in yet another of Meyer's depictions of weird small town life in rural America.
We do find out who killed Hitler in a crazy climax that features as much large-breasted naked running through countryside as the rest of the film (which is a lot). Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad acts as a kind of bouncy naked Greek chorus to regularly remind you what's supposed to be going on. Before the climax there's some surprisingly graphic business in a bar that culminates in the use of both an axe and a chainsaw. All this plus almost as many shots of wobbling fried eggs as wobbling breasts to keep the discerning viewer entertained.
As with the other films they have released, Severin's 4K transfer is absolutely stunning, with colours at least as eye-popping as some of the camera angles. Extras on their UHD / Blu-ray set include an archival interview with Raven de la Croix which goes some way to explaining why she wasn't cast in Meyer's next film. New to this release is a commentary track from film, academic and UP! enthusiast Elizabeth Purchell which spends a good 20 minutes talking about Meyer's career up to the film before getting stuck in to the action.
Russ Meyer's UP! is out from Severin Films in a UHD / Blu-ray combo or just the Blu-ray on Monday 28th April 2025