Here are some pictures from Sir Knight’s 1959 Annual Bonus Issue which featured a written and pictorial piece on The Immoral Mr. Teas as a preview before its theatrical release. It features some photography by Russ Meyer himself, mainly promotional shots that would become iconic of the publicity materials, but most of the pictorial is shot by Ken Parker, Meyer’s friend and stills photographer on set (Parker would also appear in Eve and The Handyman, Heavenly Bodies and Lorna, as well as be an assistant to Meyer on set). It’s a standard feature on the film mentioning those involved and the plot of the film, whilst reviewing it and also taking about the emergence and growth of sexploitation films.
Last year I declared that Gareth Edwards cinematic debutMonsters contained the sexiest scene of 2010 I had seen. Multiple viewings later and after much heated discussion amongst my peers, I still agree with my first impressions. Monsters contains one of the steamiest, most tension filled sex scenes I have seen so far in cinema – and it doesn’t even involve two people. Needless to say, the film absolutely stumped me in trying to find my sexiest scene of last year. 2011 had some great moments but a majority of the images I was remembering came from films I had watched that had been released in the 1960s and 70s. And then, out of nowhere, came two contenders.
Narrowly missing out on the top spot is a scene from series one of my current favourite television shows, The Walking Dead. Out in the woods and away from the rest of their camp, survivors of the zombie apocalypse Lori and Shane end up getting down and dirty in one of the most sexually charged romps I have seen in television. It’s not explicit, nor is there a copious amount of nudity, but the short clip is full of eroticism and a passion fuelled by haste that comes from the natural urges to reproduce and survive. This coupled with the potential danger that they are in, the feeling of being ‘alive’ and ‘in the moment’ and the animalistic position that they are in (on all fours and from behind) all add up to visuals that arouse the primal instinct in the audience. Short, sweet and to the point. If this had been in a film, it would have been a clear winner for me.
Instead, the successful contestant is Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive. Now, I know a lot of you will be asking why but to me, it’s really obvious. The film has an undercurrent of sex and desire running throughout it’s entirety; a good-looking cast, an arousing soundtrack and camera and editing work that fetishises and beautifies everything on-screen. It’s ability to capture the feelings and moments that occur when you first meet someone and are attracted to them are more pronounced and honest than other cinematic examples. It’s distillation of dreamlike desire a pure one.
Unlike Monsters, there isn’t a single scene in Drive that epitomizes all of the feelings it produces. It’s more that the film itself is a collection of memories, ones that resonate with the audience, ones that we have all been through, that we all understand. The first time you set your eyes on that special someone, the first time you get to hang out with them, knowing that you are the reason behind the smile of their face, spending time in their company without having to say any words, the first time you touch, escaping the world in the hope you’ll see them, being so close to each other and yet so far, the constant occupation of your mind… And then there’s the kiss between the two leads, Irene and the Driver, in the lift. Forceful, passionate, tender, lingering. The one time when the existence of the rest of the world no longer matters. My sexiest scene of the year.
A romanticized outlook of the film? Of course, but valid none the less. The film is a perfect example of eroticism and emotion in film without exploitative or gratuitous sex scenes. Sometimes the desire for each other in those early moments outweighs any rush to the bedroom. It’s hard for me to put it exactly into words but for those who have seen the film, I hope you understand why I chose this film. For those that haven’t, I’ve included two videos that perfectly encompass what I’m trying to say. The perfect marriage of feeling, visuals and music.
Anyone who’s seen Monstersby Gareth Edwardswill know just how much of a little cinematic gem it is. Released last year, the film’s guerilla shoot and tiny budget (rumoured to be less than $500,000) generated a lot of interest during the festival circuit. Not to mention the fact that Edwards wrote, shot, directed and did all of the 250 special effects shots featured in the film by himself. It’s a visually beautiful film to watch and shows that some really good and interesting effects can be done on smaller budgets, much like the effects in District 9. Take note Michael Bay…
The film centres around the two characters of Andrew and Sam who live in a near future where alien life forms have developed on Earth after a NASA deep space probe crashes into the sea. The creatures spread and mate across the Mexico-American border and so Northern Mexico has become a quarantined area. Andrew is a photographic journalist who is hired by his boss to escort his daughter Sam back to the United States and so we follow their journey through the quarantined zone to get home.
During their travels, Sam and Andrew eventually realise that they have fallen in love, made all the more real by the casting of real life couple Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy. Edwards wanted a real couple to play the lead roles to generate genuine chemistry and the two are fantastic. A scene where McNairy helps Able bandage her arm by a campfire is incredibly tender and their last night together by some temple ruins is full of bittersweet emotion that is downplayed to believable effect. The slow realisation that they have fallen for each other at the end of the film is both subtle and moving, made all the more so by the final reveal of the creatures just moments before.
Waiting to be rescued by the US military in an abandoned petrol station, the two leads witness two creatures coming together in the night to mate. The scene is stunning; the creatures wrapping themselves in and around each other generating beautiful biochemical electricity which lights up the dark. After blindly feeling for each other, they mate and disappear. Mirroring Andrew and Sam perfectly, the creatures sexual encounter substitutes as a sexual scene that may have been an obligatory, emotionless one had the film been in the hands of someone else. Instead, it relieves the audience of the sexual tension between McNairy and Able that has been steadily building throughout the picture. Just like the creatures, Sam and Andrew have met out of nowhere, fallen in love and are parting with the implied possibility that they may never see each other again. The importance and impact of their meeting on each others lives is shown in two telephone calls intercut with each other a few minutes before. They are both phoning the most significant people in their lives whilst realising that their relationship is more meaningful and honest. Sam calls her fiance who she seems reluctant to marry, replying to his ‘I love you’ with a monotonous response that is clearly meant for Andrew (she is staring at him whilst she says it). Andrew calls his son who isn’t aware of his real parentage, sobbing as he realises that he can never be honest or have an honest relationship with him like the one he has developed with Sam.
The final parting between Sam and Andrew is both joyous and heartbreaking in their admission to each other of their feelings and the realisation that it might be too late. ‘I don’t want to go home’ is met with one passion-filled, lingering kiss which is far more powerful than any other physical sex scene could be. Sexiest scene of 2010? Without a doubt.
Miss Meyer 