Customer Reviews

Myra Breckinridge

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Seldom seen since theatrical release in 1970, MYRA BRECKINRIDGE has become a byword for cinematic debacles of legendary proportions. Now at last on DVD in an unexpectedly handsome package, it will be of interest to film historians, movie buffs, and cult film fans--but it is as unlikely to win wide audiences today as it was when first released.

Gore Vidal's 1968 bestseller was a darkly satirical statement on American hypocrisy, Hollywood fantasies, and changing sexual mores. Most filmmakers felt that the novel's story, structure, and overall tone would not translate to film, and industry insiders were surprised when 20th Century Fox not only acquired the rights but also hired Vidal to adapt his novel to the screen. But studio executives soon had cold feet: Vidal's adaptations were repeatedly rejected and novice writer-director Michael Sarne was brought in to bring the film to the screen.

Studio executives hoped that Sarne would tap into the youth market they saw as a target for the film, but Sarne proved even more out of synch with the material than the executives themselves. Rewrite upon rewrite followed. The cast, sensing disaster, became increasingly combative. In her commentary, star Raquel Welch says that she seldom had any idea of what Myra's motives were from scene to scene or even within any single scene itself, and that each person involved seemed to be making an entirely different film. In the accompanying "Back Story" documentary, Rex Reed says that MYRA BRECKINRIDGE was a film made by a bunch of people who hid in their dressing rooms while waiting for their lawyers to return their calls.

The accuracy of these comments are demonstrated by the film itself, which contains a host of good ideas that work individually but never consolidate into anything that approaches a cohesive film. The basics of Vidal's story are there, but not only has the story been shorn of all broader implications, it seems to have no point in and of itself. Everything runs off in multiple directions, nothing connects, and numerous scenes undercut whatever logic previous scenes might have had. And while director Sarne repeatedly states in his commentary that he wanted to make the film as pure farce, the only laughs generated are accidental.

Chief among these accidents is Mae West. It is clear from Sarne's commentary that he idolized West; in her own commentary Welch flatly states that West had carte blanche to do what she wished, be it write her own lines or demand the inclusion of two musical numbers or not work before five in the afternoon. It is true that West is unexpectedly well preserved in appearance and that she had lost none of her way with a one-liner--but there is no getting around the fact that she is in her seventies, and her conviction that she is the still the sexiest trick in shoe leather is extremely unsettling, to say the least. But worse, really, is the fact that West is outside her era. Her efforts to translate herself into a hip and happening persona results in one of the most embarrassing self-characatures ever seen on film.

The remaining cast is largely wasted. Raquel Welch, a significantly underestimated actress, plays the title role of Myra very much like a Barbie doll on steroids; non-actor Rex Reed is unexpectedly effective in the role of Myron, but the entire role is essentially without point. Only John Huston and cameo players John Carradine, Jim Backus, William Hopper, and Andy Devine emerge relatively unscathed. Yes, it really is the debacle everyone involved in the film feared it would be: fast when it should be slow, slow when it should be fast, relentlessly unfunny from start to finish. It is true that director Sarne does have the occasional inspired idea--as in his use of film clips of everyone from Shirley Temple to Judy Garland to create counterpoint to the action--but by and large, whenever Sarne was presented with a choice of how to do something he seems to have made the wrong choice.

The how and why of that is made clear in Sarne's audio commentary. Sarne did not like the novel or, for that matter, the subject matter in general. He did not want to write the screenplay, but he needed the money; he emphatically did not want to direct the film, but he need the money. He makes it very clear that he disliked author Gore Vidal and Rex Reed (at one point he flatly states that Reed "is not a nice person"), and to this day he considers that Vidal and Reed worked in tandem to sabotage the film because he refused to play into their 'homosexual agenda'--which, when you come right down to it, seems to have been their desire that Sarne actually film Vidal's novel rather than his own weirdly imagined take-off on it.

Although he spends a fair amount of commentary time stating that the film is widely liked by the gay community, Sarne never quite seems to understand that the appeal of the film for a gay audience arises from his ridiculously inaccurate depiction of homosexual people. When taken in tandem with the film itself, Sarne emerges as more than a little homophobic--and quite frankly the single worst choice of writers and directors that could have been made for this project.

In addition to the Sarne and Welch commentaries and the making-of documentary, the DVD includes several trailers and two versions of the film: a "theatrical release" version and a "restored" version. The only difference between the two is that the final scene in the "restored" version has been printed to black and white. The edits made before the film went into general release have not been restored, but the documentary details what they were. The widescreen transfers of both are remarkably good and the sound is quite fine. But to end where I began, this is indeed a film that will most interest film historians, movie buffs, and cult movie fans. I give it three out of five stars for their sake alone, but everyone else should pass it by.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Gore Vidal's hilariously funny satiric novel was more or less transferred to the silver screen with a good deal of the story intact, but thanks to the hopeless mess made of the screenplay by the director, Michael Sarne, none of it makes a great deal of sense. Still, the film has lots going for it. I believe it was unmercifully and unfairly savaged by the critics as much for its revolutionary queer message as for its failures as a narrative. Myra is not only a transsexual (Myra was filmed only a few years after the world's first sex-change operations made headlines) but her self-proclaimed mission is to "realign the sexes" by turning macho heterosexual boys into homosexuals - her way of saving the world from over-population. No wonder the critics ran from the theatres, covering their crotches as they fled! Myra is shrewd, witty, beautiful, talented, intelligent AND she is a woman who used to be a man - in short, she was everything that queer / transgender people were NOT supposed to be in 1970. I happen to think that Raquel Welch gave the comic performance of her (early) career in this movie. Sarne had the presence of mind to insert old film clips as a running commentary on the plot (signifying Myra's obsession with classic films) and that portion of his vision was sheer genius. The film clips work just fine, providing many of the laughs. Each time a perfectly innocent film clip was used as a commentary to the high jinks in this movie, it usually yielded an extremely funny but admittedly tasteless moment. For instance, then President Richard Nixon reportedly had the studio delete a clip showing Shirley Temple milking a goat and getting sprayed in the face with milk. What's so bad about that? Well, it's inserted in a scene where Myron is having a masturbatory fantasy that Myra is performing fellatio on him (in the movie, Myron frequently substitutes for or has conversations with Myra - to remind us that they are the same person). But so what? The tasteless sexual jokes are half the fun, and they are generally a little classier than say, Pink Flamingos.

Gore Vidal reportedly sued to have his name removed from the credits, but a good deal of his dialogue and lots of his satire is still intact. Despite all the bad things you can say about this picture, I felt that the spirit of Vidal's book runs through every frame. Farrah Fawcett is young enough to be practically unrecognizable, and the young manly hunk who plays Rusty (what ever happened to Roger Herren, anyway?) is dreamy enough to justify sitting through this curiosity. Myra / Myron is such a queer revolutionary that the film seems way before its time, and in some ways, still does. A 77 year-old Mae West had lost none of her famous timing, but the director reportedly cut about 20 minutes of her scenes. I recall reading a rumor at the time that Sarne was incensed when he overheard a studio boss's remark that Fox was banking on Mae West's name to bring in the audience, and who the hell ever heard of Michael Sarne anyway? I vividly recall a television reviewer remarking that Mae West had the only really funny lines in the picture, and that it was worth seeing for her appearance alone (she reportedly wrote her own portion of the screenplay). Her quip to the cowboy after he answers her question, "How tall are you without your horse?" is not only the funniest moment in the whole film, it's classic Mae at her best. The reported feud between Mae West and Raquel Welch made interesting items in the gossip columns of 1970, with Welch accusing West of making her own mini-movie within a movie (which is exactly what she did) and Mae retorting, "Rachel? She's a sweet thing - she has a scene or two in my picture, I believe". Mae got top billing, despite Raquel playing the lead character, which couldn't have made Raquel very happy, I'm sure.

Some of the cameos are funny in themselves just for their casting -Myron's surgeon is played by John Carradine, who counsels Myron, "Are you sure you wouldn't like circumcision? It'd be cheaper..." and Mae West's first conquest in the picture is a practically pubescent Tom Selleck. She plays an actor's agent - for men only - who auditions all of her clients on the four-poster bed in her office. Mae and Tom trade a few very funny lines - she dismisses him from her office / boudoir with the comment, "You've impressed me immensely - I'll keep you in mind as a summer replacement. NEXT!" I was a 16 year-old gay man when this movie opened, and I not only appreciated her conquest, I envied her attitude.

And Rex Reed, a leading film critic of the sixties and seventies, proved (as Myron) that no matter what kind of critic you are, it doesn't mean you can act. As far as I know, he never did another picture, unless you count his one line, two-second cameo in Superman: The Movie, eight years later. Myra Breckinridge is pure camp - wait until you see Raquel decked out as Marlene Dietrich, or Mae West singing Otis Redding's HARD TO HANDLE, flanked by a chorus line of handsome African American studs in tuxedos. Why is a talent agent singing in a nightclub? Who cares - trust me, it's pure camp. John Huston as Uncle Buck is absolutely perfect casting, and if you bother to spend a few hours reading the novel before you screen the film, the movie will make much more sense and be far more enjoyable. The scene where Myra rapes Rusty in the infirmary was, in the novel, one of the most erotic passages I have ever read in a non-pornographic novel. I loved this movie when it came out - despite its shortcomings - and I love it all the more on DVD.

WHAT?! The uncut version?! And in widescreen?! With Raquel's commentary and that fantastic AMC documentary?!

The DVD gods have truly delivered. The only thing left to hope for is the lost reels of "The Magnificent Ambersons."

So many "bad movies" fail to really live up to their reputations. This movie delivers. Originally rated "X", it is in excruciatingly poor taste (two words: Mae West), and would be offensive if it weren't oh so very, very terrible.

Twentieth Century Fox actually made and distributed this film, which has since been very difficult to find. Watch the documentary first, to fully appreciate what you are witnessing.

I have only seen the cut version on the Fox Movie Channel, and even that version has the scene with Raquel strapping on the...well, I'll let you found out that detail for yourself.

Gather your friends around, and enjoy one of the great cinema bombs. (then hold a candlelight vigil that Fox will release that OTHER X-rated studio classic in their vaults: "Beyond The Valley of The Dolls").

"I am Myra Breckinridge whom no man will ever possess..." So began our literary introduction to one of the most remarkable characters ever invented. Gore Vidal's dark and twisted tale of a Hollywood-inspired beauty and her plan to upset the patriarchy, realign the sexes and restore the balance of power was spiritual nourishment of divine order to the sexual revolution of the late nineteen-sixties. Vidal's Myra revealed her personal thoughts and wry observations about society and sex in such an intimate manner on the page that she was soon inside the reader's head and taking us on the wildest of rides.

In the late sixties when news of the filming began, fans of the book wondered how such an outrageous story would translate to film. Foremost in people's minds was the lengthy and very graphic scene of Myra's sexual exploration and rape of a handsome young man.

The advance publicity for Myra the film heralded a glamorous Hollywood treatment with pop casting of the highest and somewhat surreal order. Raquel Welch, the leading sex symbol of the day would portray Myra. The ever provocative Mae West, the goddess of sex herself was signed to play Leticia Van Allen, a talent agent for men and Myra's newfound buddy. Oddly, real life film critic Rex Reed would portray [...] film critic Myron. Filming was troubled; the main problem was director Mike Sarne. Vidal has suggested that the director of a film is almost unnecessary when everyone else does their job, and one can imagine Myra a far better film had Sarne been fired and the actors and cameraman carried on without him.

For the uninitiated this film can only be confusing and hard to follow. Entire chunks of the script were not filmed, or left on the cutting room floor leaving the viewer to guess what happened. If there is real pleasure to be gained from watching this film it may be best enjoyed after reading Vidal's book so you might imagine what the film should contain, or considering the script by David Giler, who loved Vidal's original work and provided everything needed to make Myra Breckinridge a unique film classic. In the 1972 book, The Screenwriter Looks at the Screenwriter by William Froug, screenwriter David Giler revealed a great deal about the dynamics behind the filming of Myra.

The double sided DVD present two versions of the film a "Special Edition" and a "Theatrical Version." Accompanying the "Special Edition" is a commentary by Michael Sarne, which proves (as Vidal himself said) that Sarne was the very worst possible choice as director for this film. Sarne is so full of himself and so full of nonsense that is next to impossible to listen to the full commentary. He repeatedly expresses his contempt for the material and the actors. Sarne attempts to take credit for the use of film clips interspersing the film but David Giler said they were in the script before Sarne got his hands on it. The two "editions" are almost identical; one difference being the film clips that replaced the notorious use of a clip of Shirley Temple (being squirted in the face while milking a goat in "Heidi") inserted into a gratuitous scene of fellatio. In one version we now see a canon go off, in the other a champagne bottle erupts. The only other difference is the last scene in the "Special Edition" is now in black and white with Sarne going to some length to explain his "artistic" reason for this.

Raquel Welch obviously took her role very seriously; her interpretation of Myra is earnest and impassioned. Considering Sarne's inept direction what Welch manages to get across here is a tribute to her talent. Theodora VanRunkle's fabulous costumes convey a great deal of style and contribute to some of the most sublime images of Raquel Welch on film. Welch's commentary on the DVD is interesting; it would have been good to hear more on her interpretation of the role. Her scenes with John Huston are very sharp and conjure the spirit of the book.

Mae West holds her own as Leticia Van Allen, though it would have been amazing to see her play the character as written. West looks beautiful at 76 years old, its unfortunate that she and Welch didn't get along. In the book their characters' friendship helps carry the plot. One wonders what happened to the scene between them at Leticia's beach house. Production stills from it survive, as does a witty line by Mae, included on one of the trailers. It would have been satisfying for film buffs to see these deleted scenes or other outtakes as extras on this DVD.

There is an interesting documentary included, Backstory: Myra Breckinridge. In many ways this half-hour film is better than the feature.

Apparently Mike Nichols was initially discussed as director, with Anne Bancroft as Myra. That would certainly have yielded a very different result from what we have here. Although Hollywood rarely if ever attempts to remake a flop and try for a success it would be very interesting to see this story re-filmed by someone sensitive to the original and unique message of Vidal.

Almost unconditionally perfect!

Raquel Welch, sci-fi pinup extraordinaire, is well-placed in the title role ("and don't you ever forget it, you -"; her 'dance' sequence (in the hottest imaginable white dress) under the credits alone is worth full admission. West, cadaverously regal, is also a boon, croaking out prehistoric ditties and generally having fun with lines like, "Everyone's poppin' pills and smokin' grass!" No doubt, mama. The only real hangup with this flick is the poisonous presence of Rex Reed, whose inability to 'act' (even remotely campily) didn't prevent him from imposing upon the script his personal stamp of homophobia (thus, the core of Gore Vidal's disenchantment). In the main, the narrative follows the book reasonably well; the oft-criticized retro film clips, btw, are appropriate given the popcult snobbery of Myra (a major subtext).

There's a few lags here & there (such as the unappetizing food scene), but, hey, we're talkin' Raquel and Mae in a TS romp!

Heaven on earth (almost)!

I wonder how many people so quick to call this the desecration of a great novel actually read the book. As film adaptations of novels go, it's actually quite faithful to the material (except for its abstruse, cop-out non-ending, and the omission of a catfight between Myra and Letitia). Trashy movie? Okay, but so was the book.

Since the whole point of the book was to satirize sleazy, depraved 1960s Hollywood, cheerfully devoid of ethics or morals, where even low-budget "B" movies of yesteryear could attain cultural status as camp ("During the years 1935 to 1945, no unimportant film was made in Hollywood," Myra instructs), what choice did the film version have--made by the self-same sleazy, depraved 1960s Hollywood, mind you--but to be exactly what this movie is?

It's sad to find out what a painful experience filming was for the cast, because they're all wonderfully effective within the helter-skelter framework. (It seems only John Huston understood the material enough to have had fun with it.) Raquel Welch at least seems to be having a ball as Myra. Of course it's absurd for 73-year-old Mae West to believe she was the star (and demand top billing) and to be given two--count 'em, two--songs to do, but who else could have delivered the line "Get your resumes out" quite like that? Tom Selleck and Farrah Fawcett, their TV stardom ahead of them, are both breathtakingly lovely. The inspired use of old film clips to comment on the action (a device stolen by the 1980s cable sitcom "Dream On") lifts the film to something perilously close to art.

It's a great movie to watch with friends and drinks on New Year's Eve (more fun than paper hats and getting trashed among strangers). At the very least, "Myra" is a class act compared to today's show-biz parodies.

i have been walking past this movie for years in the video store and passed it up as many times... except this last time.
of course raquel is a steammy dream in her flashy and skimpy get-ups [a bonus] but the story is equally as fun to watch unfold. since i don't like to give away too much on a review, i will leave you with a few tidbits to ponder:
1] watch it for the cast (raquel welch, farrah fawcett, rex reed, mae west, tom sellek, etc.)
2] stay for the mildly eyebrow-raising plot.

there is a strap-on.
there is a nurse with a bullwhip.
there are fabulous costumes made with scant amounts of fabric.
there is an acting ranch.
there is gender questioning.
there is gender non-answering.

but for your own good i will leave you with a quote:
"i like it when you touch me... up to a certain point."
that's farrah's character to raquel's character. it is what you think.

not convinced? you must have no camp in your veins. too bad.

I'm inexplicably drawn to this movie. I always watch it when it's on the Fox Movie Channel. I know it's supposed to be one of the worst movies of all time, but I always enjoy it. I thought Raquel was funny and charming (she went all out with her performance, not to mention that she was such a knock-out). Seeing John Huston in such a ridiculous role was a kick. Farrah Fawcett is not one of my favorite actresses, but even she had her moments in this movie. I don't know what to say about Mae West, my God! "Myra" is a movie I should be embarrassed to have in my collection, but I'm quite happy it's there.

bought this for my dad. there is a seen with a cowgirl sign in vegas that my grandfather made and my dad helped him when he was young. i haven't watched the movie but i know it made him happy.

Wow what to make of this? I'm still unsure - its high camp and actually very funny.

Based on the novel by Gore Vidal about a man who has or wants a sex change operation and becomes a woman. A very beautiful woman (Raquel Welch). The film also features Mae West, John Huston, and early appearances by a very young Farrah Fawcett and Tom Selleck.

The most controversial scene at the time was the 'rape' of Roger Herron by Myra (Raquel) with a strap on - interspersed with scenes from early B+W movies. These clips appear throughout the movie and are creatively handled.

The DVD comes with two versions the 'theatrical release' and 'directors cut' which are hardly different at all and commentaries by Raquel (self depracating and funny) and Director Mike Sarne.

Fits under the category of "BAD MOVIES WE LOVE"