Vixen!

Amid the cultural chaos of 1968 and armed with a budget of only $70,000, producer / director / cinematographer Russ Meyer transcended sexploitation by crafting this “bosomacious melodrama” (Time Magazine) about racism, communism, bush pilots, draft dodgers and a ferociously free-spirited wife named Vixen (the incredible Erica Gavin of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Caged Heat.) Despite attempts at censorship that included prosecutions for obscenity and one of the first-ever X ratings, Vixen became one of the year’s top-grossing movies, forever transformed independent film and remains the creative template for Meyer’s unapologetic vision of American cinema. (Severin Films)