People have been photographing sex since the invention of cameras. But the distribution of moving images that depict actual sex acts only became possible in the early 1970s. X-rated films shown in theaters were subject to prosecution into the 1980s. As content moved into home-use formats, and then to computers, the genie was out of the bottle and prosecutions shifted to underage films. Before the advent of commercially distributed depictions of people having sex, there were films that relied on the novelty of women in various forms of dishabille. Russ Meyer made his first “nudie cutie” in 1959. This was a genre that mostly teased, and which might offer a glimpse of however much Playboy magazine could get away with showing.

Pandora Peaks cover.

If you’re reading an art magazine, the Meyer titles you might know are Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. From 1959 to 1979 Meyer was a prolific filmmaker who operated as a sole proprietor auteur. His movies didn’t feature sex, but there was plenty of sexy. They mostly varied on the theme of wholesome big-bosomed gals getting the better of lantern-jawed men. Since he wrote, directed and produced them all, Meyer owned his oeuvre outright and made a fortune on the home-media market. His work is aging well enough to rate a boxed set in the U.K., and much of his work remains in print. While they can look like they come from a more innocent time, they never look dated or quaint. When Meyer retired from filmmaking in 1979, he left them wanting more.

It was a surprise to everybody when he announced a new venture in 2001. What had suddenly changed? As it turns out: Alzheimer’s. Although the diagnosis wasn’t secret, many people didn’t make the connection that this might be a different sort of Russ Meyer film. The online reviews were (and still are) pretty savage. But taking a step back, it turns out that in Pandora Peaks he produced a masterpiece of Film Brut. What it lacked in his usual wit, was replaced by a purity of vision, and a transcendent honesty. Here was a man in the twilight of his years narrating his purest desires. What were these desires? In his own words, they were “fishin’ and tittin’.” The most startling thing about watching this film is the sound design. Any time a breast is touched, we are treated to the sound of a squeaking balloon. Cartoon sound effects are used liberally. There isn’t much plot. Pandora was an adult star who caught Meyer’s fancy. She dresses and undresses. He narrates. She narrates. Other women come and go and dance and narrate, but Peaks is the focus. There is a lot of Russ Meyer quick editing, and some documentary exploration of Palm Desert. He also reconnects with a war buddy for some fishin’. This film is so personal that it feels like a visit to the interior of Meyer’s psyche. Which turns out to be a nice place to visit.