Supervixens Blu-ray Review

It’s quite impossible pinning down Russ Meyer’s Supervixens as a movie critic or exploitation fan. The messy, disjointed sexploitation adventure flick features Hollywood character actor Charles Napier (The Blues Brothers) as a psychotic, impotent rogue cop and a bevy of buxom beauties led by Shari Eubank. There’s “fun” sexy and then there is Supervixens, an off-kilter psychosexual maelstrom only Russ Meyers could have cooked up.

Supervixens is shockingly violent and dark exploring its themes, as Meyers taps into circulating exploitation trends which began running hot by the mid-70s. Light humor and a little romance aside, Meyer explores the downsides of unchecked sexual liberation among other battle-of-the-sexes issues in the freewheeling Supervixens. There’s nothing particularly coherent in the plot as the loose narrative is constructed around increasingly improbable sexual encounters. Some funny perhaps, others more dark and twisted.

Supervixens is a challenge if you’re hoping for a mindless, b-movie guilty pleasure

The misadventures of hard-working man Clint Ramsey (Charles Pitts) drives the action in Supervixens. Clint lands in trouble with his jealous nymphomaniac wife Angel (Shari Eubank), sparking a cross-country odyssey meeting a variety of well-endowed women desperate to boink him. Working at a gas station, Clint is hit on by a flirty vixen (Christy Hartburg), sending Angel into an explosive rage that sees one of the unintentionally funniest scenes in Meyer’s films as she destroys Clint’s pickup truck with an ax.

A rogue cop named Harry Sledge, dutifully played by Charles Napier (Rambo: First Blood Part II among many other notable supporting roles), takes a keen interest in Clint’s amorous wife. Setting off the movie’s descent into gritty thriller territory which ultimately leads towards Clint getting framed for murder. Clint goes on the run, hiking his way across America while meeting a string of well-endowed women such as a farmer’s much younger mail-order bride from Austria.

While Meyer was known for making films that emphasized sex and liberated female sexuality, Supervixens goes further by blending overtly sexual scenes with incredibly violent and degrading moments. There’s a ridiculous murder scene that could have been plucked from any low-budget giallo. It’s an uncomfortable mix which makes the campy sexploitation b-movie less fun than other movies in Meyer’s career.

The negative energy hanging around Supervixens is present throughout its haphazard narrative. Poor Clint is used and abused by a series of horny women. It’s hard telling if Meyer is purposely inverting traditional gender roles or he simply finds the situations comical. Supervixens swings wildly between humor, sleaze, and violence, sometimes without clear transition. This tonal inconsistency leaves viewers unsure of Meyer’s intentions, whether it’s a satirical take on exploitation films or if he’s simply indulging their tropes without critique.

Supervixens is a challenge if you’re hoping for a mindless, b-movie guilty pleasure. While the actresses are beautiful, the sexploitation content is actually tamer than Meyer’s preceding career in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The battles with censors clearly affected Meyer’s willingness to push the envelope in the messy low-budget production. Supervixens leans into graphic violence against women without any payoff.

Supervixens has been restored by Severin Films in conjunction with The Russ Meyer Trust and scanned in 4K from the original negative stored at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The main feature runs an uncut 105 minutes on a BD-50, encoded in high-bitrate AVC. The 1.85:1 presentation at 1080p resolution doesn’t quite compare to the magnificent 4K restoration done for Russ Meyer’s earlier Vixen. However, Supervixens receives a steady and pleasing effort, giving the film a huge boost in overall video quality.

The movie was scanned from the 35mm original camera negative at Illuminate Studios Hollywood, with color and restoration work handled this time by Severin Films themselves. Unlike the pristine workflow for Vixen’s 4K restoration, Supervixens’ slightly messier transfer displays hints of minor filtering. That doesn’t broach its warm, inviting contrast and strong color saturation. The resulting Hi-Def presentation is sharp with crisp definition.

Supervixens’ elements are in fairly nice condition with excellent color rendition. A tick of ringing pops up here and there but otherwise this is a decently film-like reproduction of the source material with an intact grain structure. Detail could be stronger in certain scenes, which indicates mild low-pass filtering has been applied to “clean” up the video.

The 1975 indie production has never looked this good before on home video as Severin’s transfer is several leaps above earlier DVDs. The picture quality is quite fine in clarity and consistency. Black levels are excellent and flesh-tones exude healthy shades. Fans should be super impressed by the Blu-ray video’s tasteful aesthetic which doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel.

Supervixens’ monaural mix heard in 2.0 DTS-HD MA is more disappointing. Audio fidelity is thin and lackluster, most prominently in the musical score. The serviceable dialogue reproduction is adequate but nothing special. Dynamics are mildly limited and the sound design underwhelms when the action heats up.

There are moments when you’ll wish the soundtrack had more punch and vigor. Up against the nicer sonic restoration heard in Vixen, this is a step down.

Optional English SDH subtitles play in a white font.

Making its Blu-ray debut worldwide, Severin Films issues Russ Meyer’s Supervixens uncut in a single-disc BD edition and 2-disc UHD edition. Both releases share the same special features. Severin has put the same BD out in several territories, including the UK. The Blu-ray is coded for all three regions. The archival special features are a nice touch.

An exclusive 6-disc limited edition with all three Russ Meyer 4K releases is available at Severin Films’ website. Supervixens is part of the labels’ Bosomania releases celebrating Russ Meyer’s filmography.

Archival Audio Commentary With Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Producer/Director Russ Meyer

Russ Meyer Versus The Porn-Busters: Mike Carroll Interview with Russ Meyer (23:54 in SD) – Dated November 20, 1990, Meyer discusses the rising crusade against adult-rated films across society.

The Return Of Harry Sledge: Interview with Actor Charles Napier (18:45 in SD) – Another archival interview though I don’t believe it has surfaced before. The veteran Hollywood character actor discusses how he broke into show business and his career.

The Incredibly Strange Film Show – Season 1, Episode 5: Russ Meyer (39:17 in 1.33:1 SD) – Taken from a British television show covering B movies which ran in 1988, host Jonathan Ross details Russ Meyer’s distinct talents.

Supervixens Trailer (02:03 in HD)

Supervixens TV Spot (00:33 in SD)

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided by the label for review. This has not materially affected DoBlu’s editorial process. For information on how we handle all review material, please visit DoBlu’s about us page.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 38 full resolution, uncompressed HD screen shots ripped directly from the Blu-ray: