Customer Reviews

Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat Kill!..kill!

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most B-movies produced for the drive-in market are watchable once or twice. This is one of a handful that improve with repeated viewings. And speaking of handfuls, let's look at the Pussycats themselves. First, there's Tura Satana as Varla. She must have taken a deep breath before every take, because she belts out almost every line of dialog with amazing force and menace. The only time she speaks at all rationally is when she's lying. Then, her whole persona changes to a shrugging deadpan. Lori Williams as Billy is the weakest of the three, though she would have dominated a normal drive-in flick. And her drunk scene is pretty much of a blast. But it's Haji's performance as Rosie that's the secret gem of this movie. She has the perfect undefinable latina accent-- neither Italian nor Spanish. In fact, she's a Canadian, and had to learn the accent. Hers is a wonderfully mannered, sneering performance I can't take my eyes off of.

Of the men, Stuart Lancaster chews the scenery brilliantly as the rich, crippled, cantankerous old letch. Leering and sneering, and drinking heavilly at lunch. And his hulking yet mentally challenged son The Vegatable is great fun to watch, too. Squinting with concentration before each halting line of dialog. Secretly gentle, despite the vile things the old man wants him to do. And, like most of the characters in Pussycat, he seems like he could have been written by Tenessee Williams on LSD.

Most of the dialog is quotable, and just about every frame could be enlarged to hang on the wall. This and Meyer's equally brilliant Beyond the Valley of the Dolls have had unestimable influence on directors as diverse as John Waters and Quinton Tarrantino. But, despite having been strip-mined over the years, retain a strange and often shocking vitality. As Richard Corliss said of Dolls, they mix evrything generally associated with both "good" and "bad" movies. And, while I take a break evey once in a while (you can't have candy for dinner every night) every time I come back to these flicks, my appreciation of them grows.

The presentation on this disc really is kind of lack-luster. I hear there's a double disc out in England with interviews with the Pussycats, etc. It might be worth getting an all-region player just for that.

How dare you consider yourself a cult movie fan if you've never seen this film! Well, it is forgivable considering that in order to see this movie you either have to A) have forty bucks lying around to make a purchase on a film you've never seen, or B) have a video store in your vicinity that actually rents stuff like this out. Neither of these are very likely. But if you happen to catch this movie, it is a treat. Meyer's early 60s work is quite different than the goofball sex pictures he'd do down the road. In Faster Pussycat, three go-go dancers(led by the yummy Tura Satana) out for a joyride end up killing a guy and taking his girlfriend hostage. Then they catch wind of a crippled old hermit who has a bunch of money stashed away on his land. They devise a plan to seduce the two sons of the man and make off with the money. They soon realize that the old man is just about as crazy(if not crazier) than they are. Like I said, this is different than the later Meyer films. There's actually a bit more plot. In fact, the plot is almost something you could see the Cohen Brothers doing. There's no nudity or sex(plenty of innuendo), but the three lead women just ooze sexuality regardless of what they may be doing, whether eating dinner or beating the snot out of a guy. Especially Tura Satana, who looks so sexy, yet so dangerous that you're not sure if she'll throw you in bed to do the deed or break your neck. I'm sure it was rather risque for the time though. Exploitation films from this time period have the coolest look about them. The women, the fashions, the music, the muscle cars. It's easy to see why this film is such an inspiration to bands like White Zombie and The Cramps(if you're not familiar with Meyer, but happen to be a Cramps fan, it'll give you an idea of the movie to think that this is what a film directed by The Cramps would look like). If you come across it, or have forty bucks lying around with nothing to do, check this one out. Meyer's style may not be your bag, but at least you'll be able to say you've seen the film. Plus, you don't really know 'til you see it, right?

I was surprised and amazed at how good this movie was after the first few minutes kicked in. What started off as a loud, dancing "another boobie movie" turned out to be a fantastically shot and incredibly well paced old school action movie also with humor, horror, suspense and sensuality. And believe it or not, all of the nudity is implied (there are no female frontal nude shots). This makes it all the more interesting to have three "bad" ladies bursting out of their shirts along with the innocent cutie, and yet we're left to only imagine. Great camera work and editing, bold acting and in-your-face directing. I can't imagine anyone being bored if they really give this one a chance! Classic!

Ok so we know the movie but what about the dvd? Well I purchased this dvd and I recommend it to everyone who has seen this movie but here are the facts the dvd comes with a cool lobby card that also on the reverse side serves as the dvd menu guide and also included is a color russ meyer mini-booklet/oderform covering some other dvd's available as far the film is concerned if your running a 4:3 standard TV expect to have the side cuts off you will notice this most on the opening title sequence where the "F" and "!" after kill kill are slightly cut off also on the cast titles all the cast first letters are cut off..its kinda annoying but miner please note I have a 16x9 samsung TV and there is no cut off of any title sequence as far as the transfer I think its great truth be told I was kinda hoping for pops and lines to give this flick an old grindhouse feel but none were present.Now for the extras on the dvd none worth mentioning just a list of Russ Meyer films and some trailers of other Meyer Films which after you watch two of the them they all tend to be the same sadly no Faster Pussycat Kill Kill trailers The dvd menu it self is top shelf live action and the famous pussycat kill played in the background

This is surely the mother of all cult films. Russ Meyer's FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! has everything you could ever want in a movie - fast cars, even faster women, violence, sex, dirty old men, dimwit girls, and the Watusi.

Go-go dancers Varla (Tura Satana), Rosie (Haji) and Billie (Lori Williams) head off into the desert with their cars for a few kicks. Meeting up with a preppy amateur speed-racer and his whiny teen girlfriend Linda (Sue Bernard), Varla challenges him to a race, which ends in his death and the young girl's kidnap. Varla and her gang then move on to an isolated house belonging to a wheelchair-bound old lech and his two yokel sons, whom they plan to rob; not quite realising that the old man is every bit as depraved and cunning as they are...

It's not every movie that you find yourself cheering on the "villain", but that's precisely what happens in FASTER, PUSSYCAT! (1965). Tura Satana's Varla is every cult movie fan's ultimate dream woman. She's sexy, she's stacked, she can kill you with her pinky finger. And she can spew out one-liners like nobody's business. Russ Meyer really hit the jackpot with Ms Satana, who at the time was just beginning to break into the movies (she was Suzette Wong, one of Shirley MacLaine's colleagues, in Billy Wilder's "Irma la Douce"), had trained in martial arts, and also worked as a real striptease dancer, so her role in FASTER, PUSSYCAT! wasn't entirely far-fetched for the late actress. It's a real pity that Meyer and Satana didn't continue their screen collaboration - any other director would have spun Varla off into an entire series of movies.

Haji is dynamite as Varla's partner (a subtext in the script paints Varla and Rosie as lesbian lovers, but Russ Meyer wisely didn't let the ladies in on the secret until filming wrapped!). Lori Williams is the "odd one out" in the trio of thrill-happy harlets. Known primarily for dancing in Elvis Presley and "Beach Party" movies, Williams contrasts dramatically with Satana and Haji, not only in her blonde looks, but also because she clearly doesn't hail from the same background in showbusiness. The less said about Sue Bernard's role of Linda the better. She's so annoyingly over-the-top that I wished Varla had slapped her more often. The men in the film serve only to act as the ladies' punching bags and bed-buddies; they are so cardboard that they make Varla and the girls seem even more full-blooded.

Recommended.

I absolutely adore Tura Satana, and while I thoroughly enjoy her roles in ASTRO ZOMBIES and THE DOLL SQUAD, nothing matches her portrayal of Varla in FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL! KILL! Her blisteringly hot, savage persona just leaves me breathless! As the leader of a thrill-seeking, criminal trio including Rosie (Haji) and Billie (Lori Williams), Varla is a violent, exotic wonder to behold! She fights! She smokes cigars! She kills w/ her bare hands! Yep, Varla is the genuine article! If you love tough chicks, then do yourself a favor and bow to their queen!...

I love this movie. Russ Meyer is a genius. Look for the UK edition, it has more features and is cheaper! Just be sure to download VLC player if you're watching it on your computer. Most dvd players cannot play foreign DVDs but VLC can!

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (UK Faster Pussycat! Wham! Bang! Faster, Pussycat! Go! Go! [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - United Kingdom ]

There are B-movies and then there are Grade-A B-movies and this girls gone wilding adventure from Russ Meyer is every bit the definition of a cult classic; so much so, that rumor has it that Quentin Tarentino is going to direct a remake starring Britney Spears....but we will see.
The film stars Tura Satana ("The Doll Squad"), the living definition of voluptuousness, and she delivers some of the sauciest dialogue since Mae West. Like West, Satana uses her physique to add the exclamation point to her words. The story is laden with camp and characters who are all-too familiar: the dim-witted stud, the cranky old desert dweller, and a trio of go-go dancers who follow their sadistic leader into the desert where they encounter the aforementioned cast of cliches.
There are enough fast cars, double entendres and girl fights to fill two films. This is action and humor rolled into one 83-minute, classically cool trip and I can state honestly that only Tarantino's "Death Proof" has done it better.

I bought this out of curiosity. I had heard of the movie before but knew nothing about it. I was very surprised at how good it is. I expected a really cheesy, kind of stupid movie but it has become one of my favorites.

Absolutely the best action, tits and female domination of the archetypal not-so-bright macho dude. Wonderful trashy exploitation. The three bountiful beauties are all real strippers that Russ cast as vixens in fast cars. Tura Santana is unforgettable.