RUSS MEYER'S VIXEN (1968) Severin Films Blu-ray Screenshots + Review

Russ Meyer's
VIXEN (1968)

Label: Severin Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 71 Minutes 1 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Russ Meyer
Cast: Erica Gavin, Harrison Page, Garth Pillsbury, Peter Carpenter, Robert Aiken, Vincene Wallace, Jon Evans, Michael Donovan O'Donnell

Russ Meyer's Vixen (1968) follows the wildly nymphomaniac exploits of the titular Vixen (Erica Gavin, Caged Heat), the lusty wife of Canadian bush pilot Tom Palmer (Garth Pillsbury, Malibu High), who is often away on chartered flights transporting fisherman and nature lovers to the Canadian bush, some of them even staying at the small lodge operated by Tom and his curvy wife. Vixen loves her husband, truly, but she also has a voracious sexual appetite, and he seems pretty oblivious to her dalliances outside their marriage. Loving her husband though doesn't stop her from shamelessly trying to (and usually succeeding) in fucking every man in the vicinity, starting off with a hunky Canadian Mountie (Peter Carpenter, Point of Terror) and even a couple, Dave (Robert Aiken, Love Camp 7) and his wife Janet (Vincene Wallace, The Ecstasies of the Women), who stay at the lodge. The lovable nymphomaniac first lays Dave while on a river fishing excursion, and later when her husband and Dave are out hunting she sets her sights on his jealous wife, introducing her to the pleasures of woman-on-woman coitus while the men are away. Her lust even transcends family ties, laying her own biker brother Judd (Jon Evans, Aphrodisiac!: The Sexual Secret of Marijuana), but she draws the lines at his black pal Niles (Harrison Page, TVs Sledge Hammer), an American 'Nam draft dodger. Vixen makes clear her disdain for black folk, calling Niles all manner of racist names, which is rather unpleasant. Only Meyers would follow-up the incestual sex with with her brother with some black on white rape, while a very pleased brother cheers his friend on. Somehow Meyer's pulls this off, not tastefully, but humorously and entertainingly, the film having a bit of naughty comic book feel to it.

Later Vixen and Niles get to put aside their differences when an Irish communist radical named Mr. O'Bannion (Michael Donovan O'Donnell, Satan's Cheerleaders) attempts to recruit Niles to the communist cause and hijack Tom's plane in an effort to get to Cuba, and Niles intervenes, and all the racism and rape is forgiven, 'natch. It's quite a boisterous and at times mean-spirited sex-romp, the rare skin flick that offers a mix of the racial commentary, sexual liberation, and comical exploitation, but with Meyer's campy touch and a playful veneer that somehow takes the edge off, without ever condoning the unsavory elements. The star here is clearly Erica Gavin who was a bit small chested for a Meyer's protagonist (only a D-cup), but full of lust and sexual fervor, and she looks terrific onscreen during her many nude sex scenes, loving up the men (and a woman), but also dishing out some eyebrow-raising overt racism, but it ends with a fun freeze frame that indicates her racism has suddenly evaporated, and turned her onto a new sexual kink for her to feed her ravenous sexual appetite.

The film is a reflection of the cultural chaos of 1968, and Meyer's crams in a lot of radical stuff; we get racial bigotry, communism, draft dodgers and of course the very sexy Erica Gavin, whose hyper-sexuality is just burning-up the screen, so much so that the film found itself slapped with one of the first-ever X ratings and two dozen prosecutions for obscenity. Even still, it became one of the year’s top-grossing movies, and was the first in what became an unofficial trilogy of Vixen flicks for Meyers, all of which were wildly successful independent films.

Audio/Video: Russ Meyer's Vixen (1968) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Severin Films, scanned in 4K from the original 35mm negative and the 35mm internegative, restored by The Museum of Modern Art, framed in 1.66:1 widescreen. This is a gorgeous restoration from the ground up, grain levels look terrific, fine detail and texture are are pleasing of never really razor-sharp; skin tones are warm, supple and perfectly dialed-in, and the colors really pop, including the reds of the Mounties' uniform, greens of the forest, and Vixen's sexy yellow bikini - there's a bit of softness inherent to the source, but noticeably colors are reinvigorated by the new scans from the OCN and internegative - this is Vixen as it has never been seen before, easily blowing away all previous editions. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono, the track is clean and well-balanced, dialogue sounds terrific and the groovy music cues are good and punchy, optional English subtitles are provided.