This nifty little documentary covers the seamy world of exploitation cinema in a refreshingly tasteful and straightforward manner from the early days of black and white road show items to the wild'n'heady heyday of the turbulent 1960's. While this doc could have benefitted from being a tad longer and more comprehensive (the gloriously sleazy 1970's aren't even mentioned), the stuff contained herein is loads of trashy fun to both behold and learn about. Covering everything from racy foreign fare to nudie cuties, there's a little something for everyone featured herein. Moreover, the interviews with such top exploiters as Roger Corman (as smooth and eloquent as ever), rascally David F. Friedman, feisty Doris Wishman, a surprisingly laid-back Harry Novak, and the especially sharp and astute Sam Arkoff are delightful and illuminating in equal measure. The lively interview with Maila Nurmi (a.k.a. Vampira) rates as another definite highlight; she was still full of life and humor even at an advanced elderly age. Best of all, this doc does a convincing job of showing how various social upheavals and traumatic events created an ideal climate that enabled exploitation movies to come into being and proliferate throughout the decades. Recommended viewing for fans of exploitation fare.
