Product Details

• Actors: Carmen Argenziano, John Landis, Roger Corman
• Directors: Mark Hartley
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Dark Sky Films
• DVD Release Date: November 1, 2011
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004XZ99W8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,093 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Karate-kickin' midgets! Paper-mâché monsters! Busty babes with blades! Filipino genre films of the '70s and '80s had it all. Boasting cheap labour, exotic scenery and non-existent health and safety regulations, the Philippines was a dreamland for exploitation filmmakers whose renegade productions were soon engulfing drive-in screens around the globe like a tidal schlock-wave! At last, the all-too-often overlooked world of drive-in filler from Manila gets the Mark Hartley (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD) treatment in Machete Maidens Unleashed!. This is the ultimate insiders' account of a faraway backlot where stunt men came cheap, plot was obsolete and the make-up guy was packin' heat.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great insight into the history of true b-movies April 4, 2012

By DaisyMags

Format:DVD

This is a very entertaining and informative documentary. Directed by Mark Hartley, who also headed up the Ozploitation documentary Not Quite Hollywood, you'll get great insight into how American filmmakers came to work in the Philippines during the 1960s and 1970s, bringing the world hundreds of cheap, low-quality but highly entertaining movies. They capture the crazy conditions under which these movies where made, making this a time capsule of schlocky goodness.

The iconic Roger Corman serves as the starting point for these films, as many of them were made under his New World imprint. Corman brings his usual dry sense of humor and bottom line/all about the money efficiency. John Landis is hilarious and serves as the perfect hyperactive foil to Corman's coolly detached straight man. Joe Dante comes in and out with how the trailers for these films were cut--because with sleazy cinema like this, it's all about how you sell it to the audience. Getting butts into the drive-in stalls and grindhouses for beasts, breasts, and blood was the name of the game.

A lot of actors, directors and writers are here, giving their take on what it was like to be part of these wacky films. Pam Grier, Sid Haig, Dick Miller, Jack Hill, R. Lee Ermey, and many more tell their stories. They all acknowledge that with the exception of Grier, no one became a major star and her stardom came in part because she had been freshly discovered by Hill. But they seem okay with that and were essentially happy coming along for the ride. No one is jaded or nursing old wounds. Everyone is in good spirits and quick to point out the absurdity of the movies. No one was under any illusions that what they did was high art. Such self-awareness makes for enjoyable viewing.

The true highlight of the film is listening to the Filipino directors who headed many of these films. Eddie Romero, Cirio Santiago, and others give unique perspective into their sincerity for giving A-list effort to otherwise B and C, Y and Z-list movies. Their earnestness is charming and allows you to appreciate their work, no matter how cheesy.

The doc is edited to move fast, much like the movies it highlights. While that makes for good watching, it doesn't always allow for much insight. Topics, such as how little money/regard was given to Filipino stunt actors and the living nightmare that was the making of Coppola's Apocalypse Now sort of get a quick brushing over. It would have been nice to learn more about those topics.

All in all, Machete Maidens Unleashed is a very good primer to anyone interested in film history and b-movies in general.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Australia January 12, 2013

By The Chief

Format:DVD

I never feel as though I can truly explain the appeal b-movies have for me. I usually end up mumbling something about how unpredictable they CAN be (although sadly, not often enough), or that, in the midst of an otherwise unbearable film, there may be one crystalline moment that is so good in relation to the surrounding badness that it has an extra pop that rarely happens in mainstream films. Whatever; even re-reading what I just wrote sounds like pure justification for guilty pleasures, gratuitous nudity, and mondo extreme filmmaking.

Luckily, as films like American Grindhouse, Not Quite Hollywood, and Machete Maidens prove (along with several others I haven't had a chance to see yet), I'm not the only one who has an appreciation for these flicks. Like the other two I mentioned, this one also concentrates on the underground/ b-movie industry of a particular country rather than a specific genre, in this case the Philippines. So we get clips from early 60's to late 70's horror, blaxploitation, war films, women's prison films, and, strangely, spy/kung fu/midget movies. Meanwhile, those actors and filmmakers who are still around comment on their roles in the industry, and there is usually some film critic to put the output in context.

The formula for these documentaries is fairly simply; if you've seen one, you'll know what to expect from the others. That isn't a knock against them - I don't know anything else that would be more effective. In Machete Maidens, we hear from stars Pam Grier and Sid Haig, and filmmakers Roger Corman and John Landis to name a few that might be more recognizable, plus some of the Filipino directors such as Eddie Romero and Cirio Santiago.

Another reason this film may seem familiar in its structure is because director Mark Hartley also directed Not Quite Hollywood, which examines the b-movie output of Australia, and had previously made a career out of 'behind the scenes' documentaries of films that one usually finds in the special features section of DVD releases. Now, if that sort of minutiae about b-movie film and fringe filmmaking is in any way interesting to you, you are going to like Machete Maidens. Even if not, they are still entertaining - most of the best, strangest, and most humorous parts of the films are shown in short, easily digestible clips. My wife, who usually rolls her eyes when I reach for my stack of as-yet-unwatched DVDs, enjoyed Not Quite Hollywood, and would have probably like this one as well. If I had anything bad to say about the film, it would be the absence of an interview with the great stalwart Filipino actor Vic Diaz. We see him in a few clips, but his name is never even mentioned in passing, which makes me wonder if there wasn't some sort of legal reason for the snub. As far as I know, Diaz is still alive, although supposedly in ill health; it's too bad he couldn't have been a part of this. He played in so many of these films, it would be interesting to hear what he thought of them.

Recommended for film enthusiasts of all kinds, and for anyone who would like to be exposed in a minor way to some strange and often outlandish films.

Trust the Chief.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical November 21, 2011

By Unknown Warrior

Format:DVD

If it weren't for the movies in the Philippines we may not have seen the movies we now have today. Quenten Tarantino owes his creativity and inspiration to Filipino Exploitation movies. It's all about the unknown Filipino Ninjas.... Mabuhay ang Eskrima.....