Los Angeles—Independent filmmaker Russ Meyer—who retained rights to all the films he produced—passed away in 2004. Following his death, the fate of his film catalog became unknown, while his movies remained virtually unseen and unattainable by modern audiences.
In 2023, independent film studio Severin Films approached The Russ Meyer Charitable Trust and Meyer’s longtime executive assistant Janice Cowart, the last remaining trustee and person responsible for preservation efforts in the years following Meyer’s death.
Severin Films, working in collaboration with Cowart and the Trust, has announced that it will restore Meyer’s movie trilogy, Vixen, Supervixens, and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens. It will be the first time the films have been remastered from their negatives since the early ‘80s. The new editions will include updated and archival “special features” curated for each title.
"As a filmmaker, distributor, and First Amendment warrior, Russ Meyer is one of the last great icons of American cinema,” said David Gregory, co-founder and CEO of Severin Films. "We’re grateful for the support of The Russ Meyer Trust as we begin what we hope will be an ongoing and bountiful partnership. The Severin Films team is enormously proud of our work in restoring these legendary titles for a new generation of fans and look forward to bringing Russ’ classic catalog back to the bosom of cinéastes everywhere.”
"Russ Meyer’s biggest requirement was quality,” Cowart said. "RM Films is overjoyed that Severin Films took on this gargantuan effort to meet Russ' expectations, and we are delighted his films will once again be available."
Other titles produced by Meyer included cult classics Mudhoney (1965), Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970).
