Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

(On DVD, December 2009) There are a few movies out there that I really should have seen earlier, and Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill was one of the most obvious ones.  A deliberate and unapologetic blend of speed, sex and violence, this exploitation film remains gripping even almost 45 years after its release, even as its most respectable contemporaries have fallen into obscurity.  This probably says a lot about how our base impulses are universal ones while the rest is just masquerade, but never mind philosophical considerations when pure movie-making fun can explain so much:  From the very first lines (“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to violence, the word and the act.”), there’s a mesmerizing quality to the film, one that transcends busty beauties and schlocky acts of violence.  Even in revolving around a trio of truly independent women, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Still feels somewhat edgier than more modern fare.  The plot itself isn’t particularly important when compared to seeing actresses such as Tura Satana and Haji (who, strangely enough, was born in Québec) on-screen, biting into bigger-than-life dialogue –some of which recognizable from the strangest places.  There’s a reason why this film endures as a cult classic: it’s almost compulsively interesting even today.  At the very least, it lives up to its amazing title.