Popatopolis – DVD Review

The Documentary:

You will never hear me complain if a filmmaker likes to ‘Pop a Top’ or few in his genre films. However, lately the formula has been turned upside down and things have become too Russ Meyer for their own good. Case in point, the majority of movies that cult favorite Jim Wynorski has made in the last decade. From the early days to around the mid-90′s, Jim churned out quality late night classics that fans remember fondly to this day. Chopping Mall, 976-Evil 2, The Return of Swamp Thing, and Not of this Earth never forgot the B-movie basics that monsters, aliens, and madmen come first, and ditzy actresses later.

When those take a backseat to bimbos who cannot act worth dick, then you take the heart and soul out of why most people would watch them in the first place. We get a first hand look at Wynorski trying to make The Witches of Breastwick in the ungodly time of three days! As you might expect from such a rushed afffair, the production has: no make-up department, no hairdresser, and no time for Jim to rehearse with a long-time actress when she continues to struggle with her lines.

Half of this documentary is a retrospective of the formative years of Jim’s career with conversations with Roger Corman, Andy Sidaris, Lloyd Kaufman, and Julie Strain. Hearing them talk glowingly about their friend and what a passion he has for cinema makes me wish for the good old days when he made extraordinary spoofs like Transylvania Twist and Deathstalker II, and not floaters like The Bare Wench Project and Cleavagefield. We get to visit Jim’s home and see the badass posters of his best known films, and you get the inkling he knows those are higher quality and the way it should be done.

The DVD:

Audio Commentary: There are two commenaries. One with Antonia Dorian and Monique Parent, and a second one with the Director, Editor, and Composer.

Deleted scenes

Gigi Ernetta interview

Paul Coufos on The Lost Empire

Jim’s mom on Spaghetti Movies

Jim on Chopping Mall

Jim on Deathstalker II

Jim on breaking into Hollywood

Jim on movie budgets

Theatrical Trailer

Killbot Bonus Video

Conclusion: This is really a great documentary, one that balances the past and present work of  J. Andrews | Jay Andrews | H.R. Blueberry | Harold Blueberry | Bob E. Brown | Daniel Fast | David Gibbs | Heny Henri | Noble Henri | Nobel Henry | Noble Henry | J.R. Mandish | Tom Popatopolous | Rob Robertson | Salvadore Ross | Arch Stanton | Jamie Wagner | Thaddeus Wickwire really well. I would have preferred a straight-up career retrospective, but overall Popatopolis delivers the goods, and my screener even came with a ’johnson’ sock actors use in sex scenes. Bust a nut!

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: