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Reviews
The Seven Minutes (1971)
very fun, despite what you may have heard
After scoring a hit at Fox with "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," Russ Meyer plays it straight with a courtroom drama? Well, sort of...
Irving Wallace's novel is a terrific, suspenseful read and Meyer does a good job bringing the story to the screen, completely replacing the "surprise" ending of the novel with one of his own. As you can probably imagine, Meyer can't really play anything straight, so this film is full of Meyer's bright colors and eye-popping, um, camera work. The man is a brilliant cinematographer, and this film looks just as good as any of his others that I've seen. Odd camera angles, fast cuts, bad acting, Edy Williams, and gratuitous cleavage shots are all here and well worth a look.
Beware of the old television print of this film, for sale in some US video outlets. The hack job done by the censors just ruins the film. Fox has a gorgeous print of the film around, as it has been shown on the FX channel in the past, open matte (unlike BVOD, this one wasn't shot in Panavision), fully uncut and looking brand new. Write the folks at Fox and demand a proper video release!
There's Always Vanilla (1971)
Shockingly, compellingly awful!
If you can even get the chance to see this one, you'll be riveted and at the same time shocked at how bloody awful it is! The makers of "Night of the Living Dead" take a stab at early '70s sexually-liberated cool and end up in jaw-dropping oh-my-god-what-the-hell-were-they-thinking territory. Highly recommended.
Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965)
First-rate trash!
"Who Killed Teddy Bear" is irresistible trash, an utterly sleazy film that wallows in B-movie murk without apology. The performances are fine (with the camera leering at the often half-dressed Mineo and Prowse), the script is the stuff of now-extinct 42nd Street grindhouses, and the cinematography seems right out of an early '60s voyeuristic fantasy. This one is guaranteed to touch a salacious chord in anyone with the nerve to sit through.