Big Bosoms and Square Jaws : The Biography of Russ Meyer - Hardcover

Jimmy McDonough

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224072501 ISBN 13: 9780224072502

Publisher: Jonathan Cape, 2005

Synopsis

Jimmy McDonough's biography of Neil Young, Shakey was hailed as 'one of the most penetrative studies of a rock icon ever written'. bringing his anecdote-and-action-packed biographical style to another renegade of popular culture, McDonough offers a wild portrait of Russ Meyer, the director, writer, producer and commando movie-making force behind such sexploitation classics as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Beginning in 1959, this former combat photographer put his personal sexual obsessions (mostly involving women with huge breasts) on screen, creating a body of work that has influenced a legion of rock bands, filmmakers and even the occasional feminist. Meyer viewed male-female relations in the same way as he viewed World War II - as a fight to the death - and his bombastic, frequently hilarious, sex-and-violence-drenched pictures wowed mainstream movie audiences from drive-ins to arthouses. Rich with wicked observations and memories from Meyer's friends, lovers, leading ladies, fellow filmmakers and fans, Big Bosoms and Square Jaws tells the full story of Meyer's life and career: his volatile marriages, his battles with censorship and his clashes with the Hollywood establishment. What is the key to profitable movie-making, according to Meyer? 'Big bosoms and square jaws.' This is a story of greed, lust and the American way. It will thrill film fans and appeal to anyone who likes a good yard with plenty of sex, booze and rock'n'roll.

About this title

About the Author:

Jimmy McDonough is a journalist who has contributed to Variety, Film Comment, Mojo, Spin and Juggs, among others. But he is perhaps best known for his intense, definitive Village Voice profiles of artists such as Jimmy Scott, Neil Young and Hubert Selby, Jr. He is the author of The Ghastly One: The Sex-Gore Netherworld of Filmmaker Andy Milligan and Shakey, a biography of Neil Young. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Review:

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to violence, the word and the act . . . While violence cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favorite mantle still remains sex . . ." --from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! "A fun, twisted romp through the life of one of America's most celebrated, sordid filmmakers." --Leggs McNeil, author of "Please Kill Me"

About this edition

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0224072501
• ISBN 13: 9780224072502
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256