Pandora Peaks

Russ Meyer returns to film-making for the first time in twenty years with this documentary about mega-busty stripper/nude model Pandora Peaks. It follows a similar basic template to Meyer's earlier stripper documentary Mondo Topless (1966), although with a focus far more squarely on one girl, despite appearances from other models, including Candy Samples. It's typified by lots of sexy routines from Peaks accompanied by biographical voice-over material. There's also quite a lot of (lame) humour.

With this film Meyer essentially achieves what I had always thought was impossible in that he makes large breasts kind of boring. Don't get me wrong, I find Ms Peaks very attractive and the idea of watching her strip through a series of routines sounds like a pretty good idea to me. But the problem is, that in order to make that kind of stuff work you really need to keep things simple and just point the camera and watch but Meyer being Meyer he is simply unable to do such a thing and can't help but use his usual rapid fire editing style, which works so very well in is idiosyncratic narrative films but which is so useless in a film that should essentially just be soft-core erotica and nothing more. So what we end up with is the worst of both worlds with a series of well shot scenes with Pandora Peaks edited so frantically you can't really enjoy them properly. Meaning that, you are left with the film as a documentary but it's hardly riveting stuff on that front and, in any case, is offset by an alarming amount of annoying humour which brings things down a peg or two further still.

I am a fan of Meyer's work but he always achieves his best results when working with an actual story. When he doesn't have one, his style can grate a bit and here is no different. Pandora Peaks is gorgeous of course but it's a pity Meyer didn't provide her with something better suited to his talents as a film-maker. She deserved better from him.

Pandora Peaks (2001)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Russ Meyer "documentary" about Pandora Peaks and her triple-H breasts. The German woman's breasts keep this from a BOMB rating but I guess those breasts are the point to this movie. There's no real story and no real documentary, although Meyer talks about various California cities in between all the nude shots. After a while it just gets tiresome. I've heard this is unlike any other Meyer movie and I certainly hope that's true.

Leave this one alone and check out some of the director's classic titles.

There's actually not much to tell about this movie and definitely nothing to spoil. There was no plot, just sequences after sequences where Pandora Peaks gets undressed and dressed again while some music is playing in the background. But, if you wanna see Pandora Peaks naked (you can see every inch of her body in this one) or you're just a die-hard-fan of Russ Meyer stuff (although this one is very different than his real movies), this is the one for you. Otherwise, avoid this one.

I would give it 2 out of 10, and in Russ-Meyer-o'-meter 4 out of 10 (even though this one can't really be compared with his other stuff).

This documentary was written, produced, and directed by Russ Meyer (1922-2004). Filmed over a period of time in the early nineties, it was released in 2001, when Pandora Peaks was at the peak of her popularity. This turned out to be the final film of Russ Meyer, who was admittedly past his prime when this was made. There is no storyline, but there is narration provided by Mr. Meyer himself. The footage of Pandora, who is breathtakingly beautiful, is well worth the price of the DVD. Considering how few films she appeared in before retiring, this much footage of Pandora is a rarity. As if that weren't enough, this documentary also includes footage of the legendary Candy Samples. Forget the deeper meaning displayed in Russ Meyer's earlier classic films, and enjoy the eye candy on display in this documentary.

Extremely similar to Russ Meyer's abysmal 'Mondo Topless' some 30+ years earlier, there's not a hint of a plot in this film, and even the rampant nudity gets redundant after a while. Pandora Peaks fills the screen with her fit body (thanks to Trimax exercise equipment -- she actually shills for the company for almost two straight minutes!) and obviously enhanced breasts, and she tells moderately uninteresting stories while we get to look at everything she has to offer. If you prefer natural breasts, Hungarian Tundi appears in numerous clips that were apparently filmed more than a decade before the film was released. Russ Meyer, meanwhile, incessantly rambles on about various places in California (particularly in the desert) and Germany, and sophomoric sound effects routinely play whenever a pair of large breasts are unleashed on the screen.

Overall, it's easily one of Russ' worst efforts. His plot-driven films weren't always great, but at least they had more than big breasts and boring commentary. The frequent nudity MIGHT be enough to please teenaged boys, but in today's internet-driven world, I doubt it.

It's SLIGHTLY better than his nudie-cuties from 50 years ago, but that faint praise is the best that I can say about this mess.