Christmas really has come early for Russ Meyer fans this year with news that the Russ Meyer Trust have finally released his early films on one DVD set. Not seen since original theatrical circulation and long believed by Meyer himself to be films of his that would never be available to fans, Russ Meyer’s Vintage Bodies set see’s four of his early films collected together for the first time. The set includes 1960 short This Is My Body (attributed to 1959 by Jimmy McDonough in his superb biography Big Bosoms And Square Jaws), 1961 release Erotica and 1963 release and co-feature Heavenly Bodies and Skyscrapers and Brassieres.
This is a massive step for those in charge of the Russ Meyer estate, long considered by friends and fans to not really care about the directors work or the wealth of materials they inherited since his death. These four films provide the last batch of his catalogue that had never been released before and which fans presumed they would never be able to see. According to the Russ Meyer website, the Trust had the films digitally restored especially. A must-have for fans of the Nudie Cutie genre, sexploitation film genre and of Meyer himself, this box set will finally let audiences catch a glimpse of how the auteur developed his well distinguished cinematic style. Sadly, Meyer’s first real foray into filmmaking, The French Peep Show, isn’t included although one hopes that Meyer had a print somewhere that will eventually surface.
Reviews and features on the films included in the set will be included in this blog as part of next years ‘Meyer Month’.
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