Russ and Roger - Extra Material
While discussing the biographies of Russ Meyer and Roger Corman I acknowledged that they were both highly influential filmmakers, even if their films weren’t always high quality. They had their similarities… both worked quickly, made films on small budgets, and developed long lasting love-hate relationships with their talent. But there were also significant differences.
Corman’s great skill was his ability to read the mood and the tastes of the public and produce the films they were interested in seeing. As a result he was like a chameleon filmmaker who over his long career made a large number of often quite different films, of which the vast majority made a profit.
Meyer, in contrast, had very specific tastes, made very similar films and bet that significant numbers shared his interest in large breasts and violence. and for most of his career he was spot on. Meyer still has many fans… a fairly cursory internet search will reveal a number of not just fans but devotees of Meyer, such as here and here.
I’m not a Russ Meyer fan. Beyond very good cinematography, there is literally nothing to recommend. His best film (though still not very good) is Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. While I find the film’s story to be of a similar standard to a TV soap opera, I’d encourage you to make up your own mind by checking the film out for yourself.
While Meyer made about 35 films, most as writer/director/producer, Roger Corman made over 500 films, though only 56 of those as director. Most of his films, despite being money-makers, were terrible, however those he directed were by far the best. Admittedly I haven’t seen all Corman’s films (I wouldn’t want to), but of those I have seen I’d recommend two.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Classic Film Experience to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.