Vixen (1968)

Severin Films are releasing, on 4KUHD and Blu-ray in both the UK and the US, three of exploitation auteur Russ Meyer's movies as part of a planned ongoing partnership with The Russ Meyer Charitable Trust, with all transfers taken from negatives restored by The Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with Severin themselves.

If you're not familiar with the works of Russ Meyer, perhaps the first thing you notice (apart from them featuring ladies with large gravity-defying breasts) is just how good a film-maker Meyer is. There's a technical skill on display here that puts him leagues above exploitation contemporaries like Herschell Gordon Lewis, such that if you're in two minds as to whether you're going to end up watching intermittently tedious trash be assured that's absolutely not the case.

First up on Severin's release slate is 1968's VIXEN, and as soon as you press play prepare to have your eyes popped out, both in the way Mr Meyer intended but also by just how gorgeous and crisp and beautiful this new transfer is. The film almost looks as if was made yesterday - admittedly it's an 'Anna Biller LOVE WITCH'-type yesterday, but that's how vibrant and colourful the image here is.

We're in British Columbia, with the beautiful locations shown off their best advantage on Severin's UHD disc. Vixen (Erica Gavin) is married to a local pilot who takes couples on fishing-cum-swinging trips (or at least that's how it seems) while Vixen also satisfies her free-loving / nymphomaniac urges with Mounties and others. There's a little bit more plot towards the finale that involves the plane being hijacked which really just serves as a bit of extra seasoning to the film's raison d'etre, which is to display the physical attributes of both Ms Gavin and co-star Vincene Wallace as much as possible. 

Extras include an archival Russ Meyer commentary with an intermittently chatty director, and a new one with star Erica Gavin that's moderated by Severin's own David Gregory. These and a trailer are included on the UHD disc. You need to go to the Blu-ray for the rest which include the 1981 censor prologue (just a minute and a half of text scrolling that's a bit of a rant), archival interviews with stars Gavin and Harrison Page (20 minutes), an edition of Davd Del Valle's The Sinister Image TV show with guests Russ Meyer and Yvette Vickers that could previously be found on Arrow's (now out of print) Blu-ray of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (21 minutes), and a piece on the film's censorship battles in Cincinatti (13 minutes). 

Vibrant, sexy, well-paced and well made, Severin's excellent transfer of VIXEN is a very much the place to start if you're unfamiliar with the oeuvre of Russ Meyer. And if you're already a fan of his work that you'll likely be blown away by just how good this looks. 

Russ Meyer's VIXEN is out from Severin Films in either a UHD  / Blu-ray combo or just the Blu-ray on Monday 27th January 2025