Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens
Directed by Russ Meyer
Written by Roger Ebert, Russ Meyer
Starring Kitten Natividad, Ken Kerr, Ann Marie, Stuart Lancaster, June Mack
Running time 1 hour and 33 minutes
Rated X

Available on 4K Blu-ray now from Severin Films

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, Podcast Director

Synopsis:

The final feature produced, photographed, edited, and directed by Russ Meyer is a wicked take on Our Town, co-written by Meyer and Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls). Russ' latter-day muse Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad stars-- along with Uschi Digard, Ann Marie, June Mack, Candy Samples, and Russ himself-- in this unwashed look at Small Town U.S.A., complete with faith healers, war criminals, bosom buddies, and the loin-girding quest for sexual salvation. Because the original elements for Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens had been stored in less-than-optimal conditions, Severin Films devoted months to the painstaking restorations of its weather-damaged negatives before scanning it in 4K and compiling over 2 hours of new and archival Special Features, all with the blessing and cooperation of The Russ Meyer Trust

What Features Make it Special:

• Archival Audio Commentary with co-writer/producer/cinematographer/editor/director Russ Meyer

• The Latin Brünhilde - interview with actress Kitten Natividad

• Talk It Over - Ellen Adelstein interviews Russ Meyer for her Tuscon talk show in 1979

• Still Talking It Over - new interview with Ellen Adelstein

• Trailer

Why You Need to Add it to Your Media Library:

There are a lot of reasons to own Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens, just as a film. It's director Russ Meyer's last narrative feature before his de facto retirement. It's his last collaboration with Roger Ebert (who not only wrote this film, but also Up! (1976) and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) for Meyer). It's the final installment of the loosely-defined Vixens trilogy. But more than any of that, it's arguably the best one. If you've read my Disc Dispatches on previous installments Vixen (1968) and SuperVIXENS (1975), you may be expecting a bit of a heads up here, but there isn't much of one. Aside from some of the tropes common to sexploitation from this era (nonconsent, age-play, etc.) this is pretty easy-breezy.

The humor in this one works the best overall (it's a parody of Our Town!), the performances are right in the sweet-spot vis-à-vis cheesiness, and the sexiness is the right tone for the most part. It's well-shot, never slows down and has a running gag-- The Man From Small Town U.S.A. played by Stuart Lancaster, who just pops up and narrates. It's also the most playful, ending with a fourth wall breaking cameo from Meyer himself who, semi-heartbreakingly, announces that he intends to return with another installment that never materialized: Jaws of the Vixens!

Finally, once again, the special features assembled by the Severin team and The Russ Meyer Trust are really enlightening. I'm a sucker for basic cable interview shows, and for preserving otherwise potentially lost media, so the Talk It Over segment from Tucson in 1979 (as well as other archival interviews included on some previous discs) are fascinating to me in their own right. And as with the other Vixens trilogy releases from Severin, this one looks and sounds fantastic. Film history should be preserved, even-- or maybe especially-- when it makes us uncomfortable, and I honestly feel very blessed to live in an era when so much of it is being made available.

With the death of so much print media and meaningful journalism, it is important now more than ever to support the writers and outlets you love.
If you enjoyed this article, show your support by donating to our writer. All proceeds go directly to the writer. Recommended donation is $5.