β Scribed by Dean DeFino
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) is an enigma. A box-office failure when initially released on the grindhouse circuit, it has since been embraced by art-house audiences, and referenced in countless films, television series, and songs. A riot of styles and story clichΓ©s lifted from biker, juvenile delinquency, and beach party movies, it has the coherence of a dream, and the improvisatory daring of a jazz solo. John Waters has called it the greatest movie ever made, and Quentin Tarantino has long promised to remake it. But what draws them, and so many other cult fans to Pussycat? To help answer that question, this book looks at the production and critical reception of the film, its place within the cultural history of the 1960s, its representations of gender and sexuality, and the specific ways it meets the criteria of a cult film.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction. Russ Meyer and Me
1. The Pussycats Gear Up
2. The Pussycats Find Their Audience
3. Seeing America First
4. Pussycats and Satyrs
5. A Velvet Glove Cast in Iron
Notes
Bibliography
Index
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
Dean DeFino is Associate Professor of English and Director of Film Studies at Iona College, New York. His publications include The HBO Effect (2013) and essays on a wide range of topics, from detective cinema to mock-documentary.