The Switchblade Sisters [Blu-ray]

Director: Jack Hill Jack Hill

Overview

In this low-budget exploitation crime drama, a band of bosomy female gang members engage in violent rivalry with another gang. The film is also known as The Jezebels and Playgirl Gang.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/27/2021
UPC:	0760137519287
Original Release:	1975
Rating:	NR
Source:	Arrow Video
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	18,964

Special Features

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation; Original mono audio; Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; Brand new Audio Commentary by historians/critics Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger; We Are the Jezebels, an archival documentary featuring actor Jack Hill, Producer John Prizer, Casting Director Geno Havans, Production Designer B.B. Neal, Stunt Coordinator Bob Minor, and stars Joanne Nail, Asher Brauner, and Chase Newhart; Gangland: The Locations of Switchblade Sisters, an archival documentary in which Jack Hill and filmmaker Elijah Drenner revisit the shooting locations of Switchblade Sisters; Jack Hill and Joanne Nail at the Grindhouse Film Festival, a 2007 archival interview with the Director and Actor; Interview with Jack Hill, Robbie Lee, Joanne Nail, and archival 1990s interview with the Director and stars in conversation with Johnny Legend; Galleries of behind the scenes stills, international posters, video covers, and lobby cards; Theatrical trailers; Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robbie Lee	Lace,Lace's Mother
Joanne Nail	Maggie
Monica Gayle	Patch
Asher Brauner	Dominic
Chase Newhart	Crabs
Marlene Clark	Muff
Kitty Bruce	Donut
Janice Karman	Bunny
Michael Miller	Hammer
Don Stark	Hook
Don Marino	Guido
Helene Nelson	Cherry
Bill Adler	Fingers
Paul Lichtman	Mr. Clutch
J.S. Johnson	Principal Weasel
Kate Murtagh	Mom Smackley
Bob Minor	Parker
Clint Young	Rizzo
Frances Williams	Haiti
Roy Engel	Jobo
Jeri Woods	Toby
Betty Maguire	Tonie
Jack Lukes	Fred
Jeannie Epper	Matron No. 1
May Boss	Matron No. 2
John Volstad	Runt
Robert Bryan Berger	Einstein
Roger Richman	Gang Guy No. 1
Ninette Bravo	Ginny
Gay Guildstrom	Gay

Technical Credits

Jack Hill

Jack Hill	Director,Screenwriter
Jeff Begun	Executive Producer
Geno Havens	Casting
Bob Minor	Stunts
Frank Moreno	Executive Producer
John Prizer	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Switchblade Sisters is considered to be one of Jack Hill's crowning achievements by his fans and it is easy to see why; rarely has a B-movie been so funny, smart, or slyly subversive. The key to these unexpected attributes lies in the film's style, which uses a campy pop art approach that makes the viewer vulnerable to the ambitious themes that underpin the material. Jack Hill's clever script (co-written with F.X. Maier) delivers the exploitative goods while also working in subtle elements of leftist and feminist commentary into their story's stylized landscape. Note that all the male characters are portrayed as either weak or short-sighted and the all bastions of civilized society (schools, the police, the welfare system) are painted as hopelessly corrupt. Hill also turns in some fine work from the director's chair, infusing the film with a comic book-inspired visual style and deftly weaving unexpected dramatic moments into the film's otherwise campy tone to shake the audience up. Switchblade Sisters further benefits from performances that match the film's highly stylized tone. Joanne Nail and Robbie Lee deliver colorful performances in the leads, but it's Monica Gayle who steals the show with her wild-eyed, larger-than-life turn as Patch. The end result isn't Shakespeare and is definitely too over-the-top for anyone not experienced with drive-in movies, but its delirious style and politically charged undertones make it an ideal choice for anyone interested in the high points of drive-in cinema's last golden age.