Myra Breckinridge

Amazon.com

We can safely call it one of the most notorious films in Hollywood history: Myra Breckenridge, the wild, tasteless, legendary disaster. Sprung from a novel by Gore Vidal, Myra tells the tender tale of a man (damply played by film critic Rex Reed) who has a sex-change operation and goes to Hollywood as a woman--played by Raquel Welch. Mae West creaked out of retirement to play a man-hungry agent (one of her meals is young Tom Selleck), and John Huston is an aging cowboy star, Myra's nemesis. To say the movie endorses the destruction of sex roles in modern society would be giving the rampant incoherence too much credit. Old film clips, plus footage (all too apt!) of atomic bomb tests are spliced into the action, to puerile effect. Almost everybody involved with the film disowned it, especially a horrified Vidal. Is there a cult for this movie? They can have it. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Mae West was never really a sex symbol.......2007-08-16

She was a comedienne who mocked sex. She was the only thing worth watching in this confusing movie.

The best movie ever!!!.......2007-07-31

Ok, due to a lot of negative votes on my reviews, I understand that people don't want an honest critique of a film, they want to hear only good things about it or they get their feelings hurt. So here goes my new method of review.

Ahem. Myra Breckinridge is without a doubt the finest contribution to cinema that ever was. It begins in an operation room where our hero is about to get his penis lobbed off. He is in no way sedated, but he's perfectly calm as he begins to croon a little tune to himself, "Secret place" "I've got a secret place, known to none but me/And in my secret place you can beg and torture me!" A woman in the background is cracking a whip for no apparent reason. Well, after his jimmy is removed the crowd cheers and it's onto the credits.

Our hero is know joined by the sexy Raquel Welch and they dance in the street together to a Shirley Temple song. It is a beautiful song, "You've got to S-M-I-L-E"

Now we're given a short monologue that to most people wouldn't make any sense, that's because they're homophobes. And our Heroine(he's no longer a he remember?) ends the monologue with her classic line, "And don't you ever forget it you mother fu**ers!

I don't want to spoil the rest of this beautiful film, but the plot involves our heroine's attempt to take over her uncle's film school. It's filled with sexual hyjinx. At one point an old relic is dug up- Mae West, and she signs that awesome tune of yesteryear-"Sweet little thing let me light your candle"

The "climax" of this movie involves our heroine strapping on a dildo and taking a young man's manhood. It's a hoot.(and a holler! LOL)

If you're looking for a film the whole family can enjoy with excellent plot, acting, and cinematography, you're sure to enjoy Myra Breckinridge.

Pretty dull despite some good acting!.......2007-07-21

I usually love these kind of movies but this one was a letdown. Nowhere near as good or campy as Beyond the valley of the dolls or other schlock movies like Death Race 2000 etc. Welch is great and sexy and Mae west has some classic lines- its occasionally funny but disjointed and grows tiresome. I bought this and after one viewing and will most likely resell. Not as notorious as the bio makes you believe- it doesnt even fall into the" so bad its good" category. See it once and judge yourself before buying.

big question mark.......2007-05-28

I have no idea of what the story is about. The main reason that I purchased the title was for Raquel Welch but this is a bomb of a picture

Messterpiece.......2007-05-22

Almost unconditionally perfect!

Raquel Welch, sci-fi pinup extraordinaire, is well-placed in the title role ("and don't you ever forget it, you -"; her 'dance' sequence (in the hottest imaginable white dress) under the credits alone is worth full admission. West, cadaverously regal, is also a boon, croaking out prehistoric ditties and generally having fun with lines like, "Everyone's poppin' pills and smokin' grass!" No doubt, mama. The only real hangup with this flick is the poisonous presence of Rex Reed, whose inability to 'act' (even remotely campily) didn't prevent him from imposing upon the script his personal stamp of homophobia (thus, the core of Gore Vidal's disenchantment). In the main, the narrative follows the book reasonably well; the oft-criticized retro film clips, btw, are appropriate given the popcult snobbery of Myra (a major subtext).

There's a few lags here & there (such as the unappetizing food scene), but, hey, we're talkin' Raquel and Mae in a TS romp!

Heaven on earth (almost)!

Raquel Welch Collection (One Million Years B.C. / Bandolero! / Myra Breckinridge / Mother, Jugs & Speed / Fathom)

Average customer rating:

Raquel Welch
Way overpriced..........
Buy the best movies individually
NICE COLLECTION OF RAQUEL WELCH "CLASSICS"!!!

Raquel Welch Collection (One Million Years B.C. / Bandolero! / Myra Breckinridge / Mother, Jugs & Speed / Fathom)
Starring: Raquel Welch
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

ASIN: B00018D418
Release Date: 2004-03-09

Description

Disc 1: One Million Years B.C. Disc 2: Bandolero Disc 3: Myra Breckenridge Disc 4: Mother, Jugs and Speed Disc 5: Fathom

Customer Reviews:

Raquel Welch.......2007-01-11

Excellent collection. Good stories. Well acted. Worth the money. A lot more humor, than you might otherwise expect.

Way overpriced.................2005-05-24

A collection of way overpriced RW videos............that you can get in the bargin bins at Walmart for $5 each.

Buy the best movies individually.......2004-05-07

Not knowing ALL of Raquel's work, but always enjoying "Bandolero", "One Million Years BC", "Fantastic Voyage" and the "Musketeer" movies, I bought this boxed set hoping for the best. I got some of that...and some of the worst, too.

"Myra Breckenridge" - not since "Babe, Pig in the City" have I hated a movie so much, I turned off a movie before it was over. This has to rate with "Howard the Duck" as one of Hollywood's all time stinkers. [If you absolutely MUST, the transfer is beautiful....too bad to waste it on such a bad movie.]

"Fathom" - Entertaining....for one viewing. It's obvious, Raquel wasn't quite in the groove yet, acting-wise, on this one. The dialogue is pretty stilted. Still, there are some entertaining parts, and it's a fun movie all around. The transfer on this movie was not the best, however. Both the left and right side appeared to be compressed...such that if a person or object moved into these areas, it suddenly became skinny.

"Mother, Jugs, and Speed" - Again...okay for one viewing, but not one to keep in your film library. A terrible transfer on this one....lots [I mean LOTS] of grain.

"One Million Years B.C." - Okay...so there are arguments that this isn't the complete version...available in Europe. Regardless, this is a real fun movie, and one you'll want to see again and again. Buy it on its own. The transfer is relatively clean, and Ray Harryhausen's special effects are wonderful.

"Bandolero" - Not really a "Raquel" movie, per se....the real stars here are Martin and Stewart. And that's just fine with me, as they are pure class, no matter what the movie. Definitely a keeper. The only real negative is...it's hard to picture Dean and Jimmy as brothers. But I guess odder things have happened. Nice transfer, too.

All in all....I'd recommend buying "Bandolero" and "One Million", and skipping the rest of the set. Spend your money on "Fantastic Voyage" and "The Three Musketeers" instead!

NICE COLLECTION OF RAQUEL WELCH "CLASSICS"!!!.......2004-03-13

For fans (like myself) of Raquel Welch, THE #1 "Sex Goddess" of the swinging 60's and super 70's, this is a must have collection of 5 of her better films. The only major disappointment in the set is the lack of supplementary material (interviews, commentaries) and the fact that the "major" film of the set, "ONE MILLION YEARS B.C." is the shorter U.S. theatrical version. But these are disappointments I can live with as long as I get to ogle the beautiful Miss Welch.

To the films:

Yes, as I stated, "ONE MILLION YEARS B.C." is the shorter version released by 20th Century Fox in 1966. The US version is listed as 91 minutes (closer to 92, as I timed it last night), while the UK version is 100 minutes. Missing is a sexy dance by Nupondi the Wild One (Martine Beswick) and some shots of Ray Harryhausen's animation. While it is too bad that Fox didn't release the longer version, folks, this film is NOT "CITIZEN KANE". As it is, at 91 minutes I feel the film is about 10 minutes too long! So while I do miss the footage (hopefully Fox will make things right and put the longer version out on dvd some time in the future), I really can't complain. Rocky looks beautiful in this film, Harryhausen's dinosaur's are still a sight to behold and every bit as good as the CGI fx of such big time Hollywood blockbusters as "JURASSIC PARK" (and maybe even better) and the music by Mario Nascimbene is fantastic. One mistake of continuity I noticed in the film itself: when we first see Raquel by the sea she kneels down on a rock and we see her feet are bare. A few seconds later when she runs up the hill and kneels next to Tumak she is wearing her fur booties. A few seconds later, her feet are again bare! I notice things like that, I have a foot fetish (ha)! Also, one question I have, when it is clear that Loana (Raquel) has the hots for Tumak (John Richardson), why does he spend so much time fighting with Ahot for possession of his oodala (spear)? Does that make sense to you?

Picture and sound are very pleasing on this disc (I have no complaints).For some reason I like the mono sound over the stereo, but that's just me. I'm weird. The only extras are trailers for this film and several other Fox sf titles and a restoration comparion (boring).

"MYRA BRECKINRIDGE" is a very weird, often unpleasant, film. Rocky is the only real saving grace. Mae West is awful, the script stinks, and the film put me to sleep! Picture and sound are fine. This is the only disc with some interesting extras. In fact, the extras are better than the film! Included is the AMC "BACKSTORY" episode about the making of this turkey and an often funny and insightful audio commentary with Miss Welch in which she reveals that when she first met her legendary co-star Mae West, she thought Miss West was "a man in drag"!!!

Of the other three films, "FATHOM" (an enjoyable spy spoof) was previously released by Fox, but "BANDOLERO" and "MOTHER, JUGS AND SPEED" are new to this set.

"BANDOLERO" is an entertaining western featuring James Stewart and Dean Martin as bank robbing brothers who kidnap Miss Welch when they are on the run from Sherrif George Kennedy and the law. The stars are all good and the script is often touching and quite funny. The score by Jerry Goldsmith is one of his best! Again, sound and picture quality are very good on this fine dvd. The picture of Rocky on the cover is actually from another Fox/Welch oater, "100 RIFLES" that Welch later made with Burt Reynolds and Jom Brown.

"MOTHER, JUGS AND SPEED" is a very funny comedy about an inept bunch of ambulance drivers. It co-stars Bill Cosby, Harvy Keitel and Larry Hagman. Pic and sound are good.

To wrap it up, if you are a fan of Miss Welch chances are you have already bought this fine box set, and to everyone else, I do recommend it. I feel you won't be disappointed. The films are all very entertaining and Rocky is always a pleasure to watch! I have always felt that she is a very under-rated actress. I believe she is very talented and intelligent as well as beautiful, but if your a woman and beautiful in Hollywood, you're never taken seriously (especially when you start out your career wearing a fur bikini in a silly caveman movie). -George Bauch.

DVD:

DVD

DVD