A day that I know many are not looking forward to, but I certainly am.
The first watch is one that will surprise anyone who has heard that about the wilder side of Jess Franco's filmography.
BAHIA BLANCA (1984)
Amid all the trash and genre craziness he was creating in the 1980s, there is this reflective and melancholic drama about passions erupting in a small seaside Spanish town. When the body of a fisherman is found in the sea with a bullet in his head, events bring together a p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e and her sister, the local lawman, the grocer’s daughter and a corrupt local official. The focus is on the characters rather than exploitative elements, and the vibe of a quiet Spanish coastal life before the tourism boom permeates the mood. Things go down but happen at their own pace. Being a low-budget film, there are aspects that feel cheap, but there is so much is that done well here. Franco’s cameo role is one of his best in my opinion. It is nice to be amazed that Jess Franco still had this kind of film in him.
I watched the Severin blu-ray, but I do not believe it is streaming anywhere. That will be the case with most of his 200 directing credits.
The only thing I'm not looking forward to are battles with Blogger AI over censoring. I'm on my fifth pass trying to clean-up the words as best I can to get them published. This sucks! :-(
SHE KILLED IN E@STA$Y (1971, FAWESOME) DRACULA, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN (1972, YOUTUBE with ads) LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN (1977, YOUTUBE)
Every few dozen productions he directed the stars would randomly align for Jess Franco, resulting in a good premise, great locations, decent actors and passable-to-good music coalescing around a watchable movie. "She Killed in E-c-s-t-a-s-y" is one of these happy accidents. It showcases Franco muse Soledad Miranda (who'd tragically died in a car accident the year before this was released) epically flunking the Bechdel Test as the widow of a doctor (Fred Williams) who offs himself after being blacklisted by a medical panel for his perceived-as-unethical work. So 'Mrs. Johnson' seduces/dispatches the three men and one woman she holds responsible for hubby's death. A laidback police inspector (Horst Tappert) somehow knows that Dr. Johnson's dead (55:30 min.) even though Mrs. Johnson is sleeping next to (and often d*****ng) "it" in the bedroom where he... crossed over! (I hate Blogger-induced synonyms) Gorgeous Spanish locations, Miranda showcasing her gifts, a couple of not-so-tasteful p$n@_ctom^es and under-80-minute running time. What's not to love? Ending's a major cop-out but that's Jess Franco for you. 3.65 JOHN LE CARRE's 'A SMALL TOWN IN GERMANY' PAPERBACKS (out of five).
On paper "Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein" (which has received a modern PG-13 rating, making this a rare family-friendly Franco pic) sounds like a promising monster rally feature. Things start decent with Dracula (Howard Vernon) terrorizing the locals in a nameless European town. The local doctor (Alberto Dalbés's Seward) disptches the vampire in his coffin, but soon after he's revived by Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price), his assistant Morpho (Luis Barboo) and the monster (Fernando Bilbao, who's often shorter than the men/women he stands next to) with the life essence of a female singer. That's a real bat drowning/freaking out on-camera to trigger the return of Count Dracula, perhaps the nastiest thing I've seen this month so far. I should feel thrills and excitement when Dr. Seward returns to finish Drac once and for all, or when a "mystical" woman conjures up a werewolf to even the odds against Frankenstein's creatures. But the cheap make-up/monster effects, hammy acting and tons of dead space where nothing happens bored the hell out of me. Cool castle, though... I mean, sanitarium. 2 HORSES' A-S-S-E[T]S (LITERALLY!) (out of five).
That same Portuguese castle seen in "D,POF" returns in "Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun," framed and photographed (along with everything/everyone else) far more luxuriously and with restraint (camera zoom-ins/outs kept to a minimum) than any other Franco production I've seen. Shot in '75 but not released until years later due to battles with the censors (reflected in the badly compressed YouTube version having abrupt, noticeable cuts), it's basically Franco doing n@ns-ploitation shenanigans (cameo by the-horned-one himself!) alongside a scathing condemnation of church hypocrisy. 16 year-old peasant girl Maria (Susan Hemingway, born in 1960... yikes!) is pushed into Serra D'Aires convent by Father Vicente (William Berger), who with Mother Alma (Ana Zanatti) run a secret cabal behind a facade of respectable righteousness. Because we get so few money shots of t@rt-+re/d^pr%_vit& the dialogue carries the weight of making us sympathize with Maria and hate everyone else around her, particularly The Grand Inquisitor (José Viana) more concerned with burning Maria than investigate her accusations. Except for a Portuguese Prince (Herman José) who just happens to read one of Maria's two letters there's nobody to root for, which might explain why the ending feels unfulfilling. Still, for a Jess Franco joint this one's a rather strong 3.75 KISSED-BY-FAKE-NUNS APPLES (out of five).
She Killed In Ecstasy may be Franco's masterpiece, even with the terrible ending. There was something special about Soledad Miranda and what she brought to the film.
Love Letters of A Portuguese Nun is one that I have not watched for a long time. It actually might have been on Youtube that I saw it. (Youtube was so much more of a content free-for-all back in the 2010s.)
Casual, Soledad Miranda was a babe and she could act. Franco didn't give her much to do in "Ecstasy" (which I now know wasn't a Blogger trigger) and yet I bought her blind love for dead hubby because she sold it. Why Dr. Johnson didn't live happily with Soledad in that giant island home of theirs content to have such a hot wife after the other doctors blacklisted them? Because it's a Jess Franco cheapo film! I wouldn't mind having one of them cool plastic floor pillows... as long as nobody presses my face against it. :-D
"Love Letters..." is the classiest and most restrained I've seen Franco tackle his usual parade of depraved ideas, although your "Bahia Blanca" revies makes it sound like an even bigger outlier of the man's filmography. With 200+ movies to his credit, who knows. His best work may literally not have been re-discovered yet.
Have you watched any of the other films he made with Soledad Miranda? Eugenie De Sade is very much a love letter from Jess Franco to her. There is a strong feeling of sadness in it.
Bahia Blanca is definitely an outlier. His early noirish films like Rififi In The City show another side to him as well. When he had the resources and the inclination, Franco could make a decent conventional film.
The only other S.M./Franco colab. l recall seeing is "Vampyros Lesbos," and honestly l was too... distracted to notice whether the acting was any good. You know, priorities. 😉🫣
I'm glad you enjoyed LLOAPN! I think this was one of my first couple Franco films, bought out of a bin of $5 VHS boots. I wasn't seeking Franco then, but had a vague notion of his name from mention in cult film books.
Future Women a.k.a. The Girl from Rio (1969, dir. Jess Franco)
A secret army of female warriors from the hidden city of Femina attack and imprison wealthy and powerful men in their plan to take over the world, led by their queen Sunanda.
The plot is haphazard, the acting pretty lousy, the sets and props dirt cheap, and the female warriors wear uniforms that look more like dominatrix gear. 11 months of the year I'd call this just trash, but in June it's mildly entertaining trash.
SINNER: THE SECRET DIARY OF A N-Y-M-P-H-O-M-A-N-I-A-C (1973)
Given the assignment to make a sexy film, most directors would likely choose a story that is fun or humorous. Jess Franco, instead, went for depressing with SINNER. The protagonist is a young p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e who kills herself while in the company of a client. The rest of the film focuses on unraveling the events that led to that moment while providing ample opportunities to show nudity and sex. In addition, there is some drug use and night club dancing. Undoubtedly not wholesome entertainment, Franco did deliver the exploitation goods. Like many projects at this time of his career, the film is sloppy in its shots and editing.
I have no quibbles with the story, Zillagord. Being able to go a little further with the content than mainstream cinema helps with this kind of film. The actors are certainly up for delving into the seedier side of life. Sometimes the presentation gets sloppy.
Being forgiving is part of being a Jess Franco fan. In his defense, for many of the French films that he made in the early 1970s, he was not the editor. Gerard Kikoine, who became prominent in the French hard-core scene, was the editor on many of them, including Sinner.
The title for this one does it a dis-service. Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of thongs, but this one was surpisingly touching. I see a few comments online about it being Altman-esque. At least as it casually follows around several couples' lives at the end of beach town summer, with some occaisonal overlaps. Then I got to the trapeze scence.
Came into today with NO idea who Jess (aka Jesus) Franco was. So, naturally, i found an IMDB list of his extensive filmography ranked by review rating and picked something from near the to...bottom of the list. Oh boy.
Oasis of the Zombies (1982).
Ummm...theres a war scene in the desert.. i guess its WW2?......umm... and then theres some super low rent "zombies" that, i believe, are nazi soldier zombies guarding gold? maybe? thats about it. Otherwise Jess shoots lots off coverage as every scene is like 35 quick cuts with super close ups on faces and random sh@t.
In summary: You know how every one of your favorite directors shares the same origin story, namely shooting movies with friends when 12 years old on either super 8 or early vhs? Welp this movie looks like it was shot by one of those directors far far less talented 12 year old friends. (I kid! I kid!)
Seriously thou....looking at the many many movie titles associated with jess...this guy would be an amazing "hang". Also i do see a few famous cult titles that i'll catch up with at some point.
Oasis of the Zombies is one that I could not finish. The 1980s films can be tough to get through.
Jess Franco's interviews are always interesting. He knew a lot of people through his films (Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski) and was a cultured man. He also did not hold back talking about a film hated or had a bad experience with.
I am down to 187 of 206 Jess Franco movies, using this list on Letterboxd. What’s left?
Claire Las Tribulaciones de un Buda Bizco Las Chuponas Lola 2000 The Tree from Spain Las playas vacias Oro espanol Estampas guipuzcoanas número 2: Pío Baroja El destierro del Cid A Man, Eight Girls El misterio del castillo rojo El huésped de la niebla Voces de muerte Sida, la peste del siglo XX In Pursuit of Barbara El abuelo, la condesa y Escarlata la traviesa Montes de Venus Lascivia Several of these movies may have never been made. Many could be lost.
That said, Jess Franco sure liked making the same movie over and over again with some variations.
La chica de los labios rojos is in the same world as Kiss Me Monster, Red Lips, Two Undercover Angels, Red Lips, Two Spies In Flowered Panties and Red Silk. There’s either one or two spy girls in these movies, as well as diamond theft. Jess was big on diamonds being stolen. I love him for this.
Terry Morgan (Lina Romay, who else?) is our heroine, Al Pereira (Antonio Mayans) shows up, Jess has a cameo as Professor Karame and yes, there is a Jess Franco cinematic universe. Somehow, only 29 people have seen this on Letterboxd and 56 on IMDB. Can you imagine this? Is it because I had to go to DVD Lady to get this? That’s where my mania is, paying people $12 for low-quality files of Jess and Bruno Mattei movies so I can cross them off my list.
rllr on Mubi said: “Another “Red Lips” sequel, but this time the characters explain the film through non-stop dialogue. Boring exposition from start to finish. Like some other ’80s films from Franco, I can’t really see ANYTHING remotely interesting to ANYONE, but probably some freak “had a good time with it”.”
Yes, I am triggered.
I watch these movies, however, I can get them and at whatever quality they exist in. You can’t get these in pristine 4K — give Severin time — and so you just have to be happy with things you can barely see, but then Lina Romay’s eyes and smile call out to you through the multi-dub haze and tell you it’s all going to be OK. Sure, your 401K is ruined, you’ll work hard until the day you die and not many people will miss what you’ve left behind — thousands of diatribes about movies under a hundred people even care about — but damn it, she and Jess Franco found one another and built a love story around how much he enjoyed zooming his camera into her lady parts and he won a lifetime achievement ward in Spain, which thrills me every time I think about it. Oh you magical ghost of Lina, captured like amber, smiling back at me, saying that for now, it will all be alright. For now, I will watch you hop into beds with strange men and steal diamonds and leave behind notes in lipstick on their mirrors
I did see the presentation of the Goya to Franco on Youtube a long time. The career montage was very humorous. It is fitting that a Spaniard who dedicated his life to filmmaking should get that, even if a good portion of the work is crappy.
Alternative titles: The Saw of Death, Violated Schoolgirls, Sex Murders at the Girls’ School.
Most Appropriate Title: BLOODY ZOOM
Giallo/slasher, Franco style. The alternative titles make for a plenty good plot synopsis. Come for the insipid dialog, stay for the sensational saw scene (which includes insipid dialog!)! Eurodisco soundtrack includes the incredible ode to abusive head trauma, “Shake Your Baby”! The most fun I’ve had watching a Franco film since I screened Er@tic Rites of Frankenstein!
E-R-O-T-I-C RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN is a strangely compelling film. I loved the color lighting used in it. That was a Junesploitation watch a couple of years ago. The time does fly.
Anne Libert has become one of the notable Franco actresses for me. She is great in Sinner. She also might be getting another credit this June for Eurosploitation day. I still have not made a final decision about that day.
Don Quijote by Orson Welles (1992): now, obviously Welles didn't direct this in '92. He started shooting around '55, but never finished it. He apparently said it was just a 'private exercise'. Long story short, Jess Franco got money to finish the edit with what was available, managing to put out an 115min movie. It was not well received, apparently nowhere close to what it was supposed to be, but it's still an interesting piece of cinema. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody, but as a fan of Welles, it's something I needed in my collection, and today is the perfect excuse to revisit it. The Spanish DVD I got look like crap, is region B and the subs don't match the dialogues, but there's a couple of small extras.
I know I should probably go for something sleazier to get a proper Franco experience, but a) I already got a taste of that when I watched Vampyros Lesbos a few Scary Movie Months back (and liked it a lot), and b) I was curious to see his literal take on Dracula, a story I never get tired of. And well, it’s Dracula alright, a very by-the-numbers and low-energy version of it. Christopher Lee is fine (when he’s on screen, which isn’t a lot), but I expected a more eccentric take from a director with this particular set of skills. Also, Soledad Miranda is there as Lucy, which is something, but she doesn’t get all that much to do either.
THE [censored] RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN (1973) It’s the classic tale of Frankenstein, except it’s [censored] this time. I’m reminded of the films of Ed Wood with its combination of low-budget incompetence meets huge ambition meets a director who is both crazy and [censored]. The plot is familiar enough that I didn’t bother following the story, and instead I just hung out waiting for the next [censored] set piece to happen. It’s certainly [censored], but also slow and dreary. I recommend skipping this and watching Paul Morrissey's [censored] for Frankenstein from 1973 (same year?!?) instead.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 10: CINDERELLA (1912) Melies remade his own Cinderella 13 years after his first one – and people say there are too many remakes these days. This one comes off more like a semi-realistic historical film rather than a fairy tale (actual fairies notwithstanding), for a sense of old-timey pageantry. Wikipedia alleges that this film is an unauthorized edit by rival filmmaker Ferdinand Zecca, which some say was done to sabotage Melies’ career. Somebody needs to make a proper Melies biopic one of these days. I nominate Del Toro.
(And yes, this post has kept disappearing from the site all day long. Hopefully this version is G-rated enough.)
I think I just like Jess Franco movies. The fever dream element whether from an artistic perspective or for the fact that a lot of Franco's were chopped up depending on which market, either the soft porn or drive and exploitation market. I just find the whole thing relaxing. I'm not sure that is the right word but it is the one we are going with.
Which is why I am fascinated by Franco's movies. On one hand Vampyros Lesbo is a cynical lesbian fantasy for men to leer at. On the other hand, Linda and Nadine's realtionship has a beauty and intamacy to it. Especially since the whole movie is the men trying to break up the realtionship. I choose just live in the dreamyness dreaminess, of two characters trying to create there own world.
Vampirism as a metaphore queerness is nothing new. In fact there is a whole genre of Lesbian Vampire movies from Dracula's Daughter to Hammer, Franco and The Hunger. Nadine is as tortured as Countess Zaleska and as composed as Countess Elizabeth of Daughters of Darkness. This is a movie that sits comfortably in this genre. But with more of a leering camera, because boobs. But I think Vampyros Lesbos is doing something else as well.
The story of female vampires drawn to women predates most vampire stories. J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla was published over two decades before Dracula.
I get from Jean Rolin everything that Jess Franco does, plus a generous dose of surrealism and eerie atmosphere to go with my sexy ladies. Guess I'm sticking with the entire Frenchman's 'oeuvre' and cherry-picking the Spaniard's tastiest morsels. :-)
THE SINISTER DR. ORLOFF (1984) First-time watch, Mondo Macabro Blu-ray, 7/10. Antonio Mayans is Orloff Jr. & no matter how much papa Howard Vernon looks like the grumpiest baby bird, they haven't yet succeeded in reintegrating the life energies from streetwalkers into their beautifully preserved mother/wife. Imagine such a plot in the hands of Henenlotter or Yuzna... This mid-eighties period grows on me the more I watch from it (because I have the Franco disease). Mild psychedelics, zero-fi sci-fi, a sinister stumbling man-serv@nt & a pretty cool score that's often mutated electronic tones set this table. Conspicuous in her absence is Lina Romay, but she needs a break SOMEtimes.
Work is crazy & I feel like the walking dead so we are wimping out and going with a favorite over our pre-planned 🍒 👀! But hey - it’s Vampyros! And they are Lesbos! Happy Prideos!
Klaus Kinski was good, in a pretty sedate role. In fact the movie had a lot of sedate parts... it dragged at times. Afterwards, I read that this isn't a usual Jess Franco film so maybe there's room to give him another shot sometime. Just not today. 🙂
PS: The German dubbing and the English subtitles both being disconnected from what's on the screen, as well as from each other... didn't help things.
NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER, aka THE BLOODY JUDGE (1970) Rewatch, first spin of Blue Underground's 4K. I only managed 20 some minutes before sleepy eyeballs won (lost?) their battle with Uncle Jess (I think many newcomers have discovered that unless fully fueled, the wee hours might not be the best for Franco films). Christopher Lee is a witch-hating judge in ye olden days. Harry Alan Towers era production values. The 4K looks absurdly good.
A surgeon, along with his blind henchmen who likes to bite, removes the faces of beautiful young women in an attempt to fix his daughter's disfigured face.
According to the internet, this is considered Spain's first horror film. I watched the French version, so there was a little nudity.
Atmospheric, generally well paced, I'd say worth a watch!
One last watch from my pile of Jess Franco discs for this day. This is a deep cut from his filmography that has all the hallmarks of the Franco style, the good and the bad. The general story is about a torturous aristocratic marriage. Lina Romay portrays the wife, a woman suffering mental issues from the abuses in her marriage. It is a surprisingly subtle performance. Her husband is a madman. The little bit of plot is mainly used to work in sex scenes. This is minor Franco except for the beautiful historic home where it was shot. The ornate staircases, grand hallways, manicured gardens, and mountainous scenery are strikingly captured.
How amazing is it that different wigs change Soledad Miranda's appearance so damn much? During Howard Vernon's convention speech, is he deliberately channeling Hitler in his voice and posture? Just how "meta" is it when Soledad Miranda kills the director of this film? Like I said, she just couldn't stand how much he used that zoom lens.
A day that I know many are not looking forward to, but I certainly am.
ReplyDeleteThe first watch is one that will surprise anyone who has heard that about the wilder side of Jess Franco's filmography.
BAHIA BLANCA (1984)
Amid all the trash and genre craziness he was creating in the 1980s, there is this reflective and melancholic drama about passions erupting in a small seaside Spanish town. When the body of a fisherman is found in the sea with a bullet in his head, events bring together a p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e and her sister, the local lawman, the grocer’s daughter and a corrupt local official. The focus is on the characters rather than exploitative elements, and the vibe of a quiet Spanish coastal life before the tourism boom permeates the mood. Things go down but happen at their own pace. Being a low-budget film, there are aspects that feel cheap, but there is so much is that done well here. Franco’s cameo role is one of his best in my opinion. It is nice to be amazed that Jess Franco still had this kind of film in him.
I watched the Severin blu-ray, but I do not believe it is streaming anywhere. That will be the case with most of his 200 directing credits.
The only thing I'm not looking forward to are battles with Blogger AI over censoring. I'm on my fifth pass trying to clean-up the words as best I can to get them published. This sucks! :-(
DeleteBAHIA BLANCA was indeed a pleasant surprise. Severin's been great for unearthing Franco nuggets.
Delete'JESUS! FRANCO, YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN!' TRIFECTA!
ReplyDeleteSHE KILLED IN E@STA$Y (1971, FAWESOME)
DRACULA, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN (1972, YOUTUBE with ads)
LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN (1977, YOUTUBE)
Every few dozen productions he directed the stars would randomly align for Jess Franco, resulting in a good premise, great locations, decent actors and passable-to-good music coalescing around a watchable movie. "She Killed in E-c-s-t-a-s-y" is one of these happy accidents. It showcases Franco muse Soledad Miranda (who'd tragically died in a car accident the year before this was released) epically flunking the Bechdel Test as the widow of a doctor (Fred Williams) who offs himself after being blacklisted by a medical panel for his perceived-as-unethical work. So 'Mrs. Johnson' seduces/dispatches the three men and one woman she holds responsible for hubby's death. A laidback police inspector (Horst Tappert) somehow knows that Dr. Johnson's dead (55:30 min.) even though Mrs. Johnson is sleeping next to (and often d*****ng) "it" in the bedroom where he... crossed over! (I hate Blogger-induced synonyms) Gorgeous Spanish locations, Miranda showcasing her gifts, a couple of not-so-tasteful p$n@_ctom^es and under-80-minute running time. What's not to love? Ending's a major cop-out but that's Jess Franco for you. 3.65 JOHN LE CARRE's 'A SMALL TOWN IN GERMANY' PAPERBACKS (out of five).
On paper "Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein" (which has received a modern PG-13 rating, making this a rare family-friendly Franco pic) sounds like a promising monster rally feature. Things start decent with Dracula (Howard Vernon) terrorizing the locals in a nameless European town. The local doctor (Alberto Dalbés's Seward) disptches the vampire in his coffin, but soon after he's revived by Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price), his assistant Morpho (Luis Barboo) and the monster (Fernando Bilbao, who's often shorter than the men/women he stands next to) with the life essence of a female singer. That's a real bat drowning/freaking out on-camera to trigger the return of Count Dracula, perhaps the nastiest thing I've seen this month so far. I should feel thrills and excitement when Dr. Seward returns to finish Drac once and for all, or when a "mystical" woman conjures up a werewolf to even the odds against Frankenstein's creatures. But the cheap make-up/monster effects, hammy acting and tons of dead space where nothing happens bored the hell out of me. Cool castle, though... I mean, sanitarium. 2 HORSES' A-S-S-E[T]S (LITERALLY!) (out of five).
That same Portuguese castle seen in "D,POF" returns in "Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun," framed and photographed (along with everything/everyone else) far more luxuriously and with restraint (camera zoom-ins/outs kept to a minimum) than any other Franco production I've seen. Shot in '75 but not released until years later due to battles with the censors (reflected in the badly compressed YouTube version having abrupt, noticeable cuts), it's basically Franco doing n@ns-ploitation shenanigans (cameo by the-horned-one himself!) alongside a scathing condemnation of church hypocrisy. 16 year-old peasant girl Maria (Susan Hemingway, born in 1960... yikes!) is pushed into Serra D'Aires convent by Father Vicente (William Berger), who with Mother Alma (Ana Zanatti) run a secret cabal behind a facade of respectable righteousness. Because we get so few money shots of t@rt-+re/d^pr%_vit& the dialogue carries the weight of making us sympathize with Maria and hate everyone else around her, particularly The Grand Inquisitor (José Viana) more concerned with burning Maria than investigate her accusations. Except for a Portuguese Prince (Herman José) who just happens to read one of Maria's two letters there's nobody to root for, which might explain why the ending feels unfulfilling. Still, for a Jess Franco joint this one's a rather strong 3.75 KISSED-BY-FAKE-NUNS APPLES (out of five).
She Killed In Ecstasy may be Franco's masterpiece, even with the terrible ending. There was something special about Soledad Miranda and what she brought to the film.
DeleteLove Letters of A Portuguese Nun is one that I have not watched for a long time. It actually might have been on Youtube that I saw it. (Youtube was so much more of a content free-for-all back in the 2010s.)
Phew, eigth time was the charm. Blogger tip: avoid word synonymous with three consenting adults 'getting it on.' :-P
DeleteDoes the word begin with "three" and end with "some". Blogger definitely would not like that one.
DeleteCasual, Soledad Miranda was a babe and she could act. Franco didn't give her much to do in "Ecstasy" (which I now know wasn't a Blogger trigger) and yet I bought her blind love for dead hubby because she sold it. Why Dr. Johnson didn't live happily with Soledad in that giant island home of theirs content to have such a hot wife after the other doctors blacklisted them? Because it's a Jess Franco cheapo film! I wouldn't mind having one of them cool plastic floor pillows... as long as nobody presses my face against it. :-D
Delete"Love Letters..." is the classiest and most restrained I've seen Franco tackle his usual parade of depraved ideas, although your "Bahia Blanca" revies makes it sound like an even bigger outlier of the man's filmography. With 200+ movies to his credit, who knows. His best work may literally not have been re-discovered yet.
Have you watched any of the other films he made with Soledad Miranda? Eugenie De Sade is very much a love letter from Jess Franco to her. There is a strong feeling of sadness in it.
DeleteBahia Blanca is definitely an outlier. His early noirish films like Rififi In The City show another side to him as well. When he had the resources and the inclination, Franco could make a decent conventional film.
The only other S.M./Franco colab. l recall seeing is "Vampyros Lesbos," and honestly l was too... distracted to notice whether the acting was any good. You know, priorities. 😉🫣
DeleteEugenie De Sade is my favorite Franco film!
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed LLOAPN! I think this was one of my first couple Franco films, bought out of a bin of $5 VHS boots. I wasn't seeking Franco then, but had a vague notion of his name from mention in cult film books.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFuture Women a.k.a. The Girl from Rio (1969, dir. Jess Franco)
ReplyDeleteA secret army of female warriors from the hidden city of Femina attack and imprison wealthy and powerful men in their plan to take over the world, led by their queen Sunanda.
The plot is haphazard, the acting pretty lousy, the sets and props dirt cheap, and the female warriors wear uniforms that look more like dominatrix gear. 11 months of the year I'd call this just trash, but in June it's mildly entertaining trash.
SINNER: THE SECRET DIARY OF A N-Y-M-P-H-O-M-A-N-I-A-C (1973)
ReplyDeleteGiven the assignment to make a sexy film, most directors would likely choose a story that is fun or humorous. Jess Franco, instead, went for depressing with SINNER. The protagonist is a young p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e who kills herself while in the company of a client. The rest of the film focuses on unraveling the events that led to that moment while providing ample opportunities to show nudity and sex. In addition, there is some drug use and night club dancing. Undoubtedly not wholesome entertainment, Franco did deliver the exploitation goods. Like many projects at this time of his career, the film is sloppy in its shots and editing.
This is one of his better films IMO.
DeleteI have no quibbles with the story, Zillagord. Being able to go a little further with the content than mainstream cinema helps with this kind of film. The actors are certainly up for delving into the seedier side of life. Sometimes the presentation gets sloppy.
DeleteACL: Concur. Franco often made multiple films at once, and it can show. I can be pretty forgiving of the slapdash, though.
DeleteBeing forgiving is part of being a Jess Franco fan. In his defense, for many of the French films that he made in the early 1970s, he was not the editor. Gerard Kikoine, who became prominent in the French hard-core scene, was the editor on many of them, including Sinner.
DeleteThe Hot Nights of Linda (1975)
ReplyDeleteThat banana had all the fun.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThong Girls (1987)
ReplyDeleteThe title for this one does it a dis-service. Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of thongs, but this one was surpisingly touching. I see a few comments online about it being Altman-esque. At least as it casually follows around several couples' lives at the end of beach town summer, with some occaisonal overlaps. Then I got to the trapeze scence.
Gotta check this one out. I passed on it when Severin initially released the disc.
DeleteCame into today with NO idea who Jess (aka Jesus) Franco was. So, naturally, i found an IMDB list of his extensive filmography ranked by review rating and picked something from near the to...bottom of the list. Oh boy.
ReplyDeleteOasis of the Zombies (1982).
Ummm...theres a war scene in the desert.. i guess its WW2?......umm... and then theres some super low rent "zombies" that, i believe, are nazi soldier zombies guarding gold? maybe? thats about it. Otherwise Jess shoots lots off coverage as every scene is like 35 quick cuts with super close ups on faces and random sh@t.
In summary: You know how every one of your favorite directors shares the same origin story, namely shooting movies with friends when 12 years old on either super 8 or early vhs? Welp this movie looks like it was shot by one of those directors far far less talented 12 year old friends. (I kid! I kid!)
Seriously thou....looking at the many many movie titles associated with jess...this guy would be an amazing "hang". Also i do see a few famous cult titles that i'll catch up with at some point.
Oasis of the Zombies is one that I could not finish. The 1980s films can be tough to get through.
DeleteJess Franco's interviews are always interesting. He knew a lot of people through his films (Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski) and was a cultured man. He also did not hold back talking about a film hated or had a bad experience with.
#JUneSPLOItaTION Day 10: Jess Franco!
ReplyDeleteSUCCUBUS - 1969 dir. Jess Franco
An S&M nightclub performer really lives the life… or does she?
Sexy. Stylish. Disturbing. Weird.
And ultimately, boring.
Girl With the Red Lips (1986)
ReplyDeleteI am down to 187 of 206 Jess Franco movies, using this list on Letterboxd. What’s left?
Claire
Las Tribulaciones de un Buda Bizco
Las Chuponas
Lola 2000
The Tree from Spain
Las playas vacias
Oro espanol
Estampas guipuzcoanas número 2: Pío Baroja
El destierro del Cid
A Man, Eight Girls
El misterio del castillo rojo
El huésped de la niebla
Voces de muerte
Sida, la peste del siglo XX
In Pursuit of Barbara
El abuelo, la condesa y Escarlata la traviesa
Montes de Venus
Lascivia
Several of these movies may have never been made. Many could be lost.
That said, Jess Franco sure liked making the same movie over and over again with some variations.
La chica de los labios rojos is in the same world as Kiss Me Monster, Red Lips, Two Undercover Angels, Red Lips, Two Spies In Flowered Panties and Red Silk. There’s either one or two spy girls in these movies, as well as diamond theft. Jess was big on diamonds being stolen. I love him for this.
Terry Morgan (Lina Romay, who else?) is our heroine, Al Pereira (Antonio Mayans) shows up, Jess has a cameo as Professor Karame and yes, there is a Jess Franco cinematic universe. Somehow, only 29 people have seen this on Letterboxd and 56 on IMDB. Can you imagine this? Is it because I had to go to DVD Lady to get this? That’s where my mania is, paying people $12 for low-quality files of Jess and Bruno Mattei movies so I can cross them off my list.
rllr on Mubi said: “Another “Red Lips” sequel, but this time the characters explain the film through non-stop dialogue. Boring exposition from start to finish. Like some other ’80s films from Franco, I can’t really see ANYTHING remotely interesting to ANYONE, but probably some freak “had a good time with it”.”
Yes, I am triggered.
I watch these movies, however, I can get them and at whatever quality they exist in. You can’t get these in pristine 4K — give Severin time — and so you just have to be happy with things you can barely see, but then Lina Romay’s eyes and smile call out to you through the multi-dub haze and tell you it’s all going to be OK. Sure, your 401K is ruined, you’ll work hard until the day you die and not many people will miss what you’ve left behind — thousands of diatribes about movies under a hundred people even care about — but damn it, she and Jess Franco found one another and built a love story around how much he enjoyed zooming his camera into her lady parts and he won a lifetime achievement ward in Spain, which thrills me every time I think about it. Oh you magical ghost of Lina, captured like amber, smiling back at me, saying that for now, it will all be alright. For now, I will watch you hop into beds with strange men and steal diamonds and leave behind notes in lipstick on their mirrors
I did see the presentation of the Goya to Franco on Youtube a long time. The career montage was very humorous. It is fitting that a Spaniard who dedicated his life to filmmaking should get that, even if a good portion of the work is crappy.
DeleteBLOODY MOON (1981)
ReplyDeleteAlternative titles: The Saw of Death, Violated Schoolgirls, Sex Murders at the Girls’ School.
Most Appropriate Title: BLOODY ZOOM
Giallo/slasher, Franco style. The alternative titles make for a plenty good plot synopsis. Come for the insipid dialog, stay for the sensational saw scene (which includes insipid dialog!)! Eurodisco soundtrack includes the incredible ode to abusive head trauma, “Shake Your Baby”! The most fun I’ve had watching a Franco film since I screened Er@tic Rites of Frankenstein!
E-R-O-T-I-C RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN is a strangely compelling film. I loved the color lighting used in it. That was a Junesploitation watch a couple of years ago. The time does fly.
DeleteThe Bird Woman!
DeleteAnne Libert has become one of the notable Franco actresses for me. She is great in Sinner. She also might be getting another credit this June for Eurosploitation day. I still have not made a final decision about that day.
DeleteDon Quijote by Orson Welles (1992): now, obviously Welles didn't direct this in '92. He started shooting around '55, but never finished it. He apparently said it was just a 'private exercise'. Long story short, Jess Franco got money to finish the edit with what was available, managing to put out an 115min movie. It was not well received, apparently nowhere close to what it was supposed to be, but it's still an interesting piece of cinema. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody, but as a fan of Welles, it's something I needed in my collection, and today is the perfect excuse to revisit it. The Spanish DVD I got look like crap, is region B and the subs don't match the dialogues, but there's a couple of small extras.
ReplyDeleteCount Dracula (1970)
ReplyDeleteI know I should probably go for something sleazier to get a proper Franco experience, but a) I already got a taste of that when I watched Vampyros Lesbos a few Scary Movie Months back (and liked it a lot), and b) I was curious to see his literal take on Dracula, a story I never get tired of. And well, it’s Dracula alright, a very by-the-numbers and low-energy version of it. Christopher Lee is fine (when he’s on screen, which isn’t a lot), but I expected a more eccentric take from a director with this particular set of skills. Also, Soledad Miranda is there as Lucy, which is something, but she doesn’t get all that much to do either.
The direct literary adaptations that Jess Franco (this and Justine) did are among of his least interesting films. They play it safe too much.
DeleteTHE [censored] RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN (1973)
ReplyDeleteIt’s the classic tale of Frankenstein, except it’s [censored] this time. I’m reminded of the films of Ed Wood with its combination of low-budget incompetence meets huge ambition meets a director who is both crazy and [censored]. The plot is familiar enough that I didn’t bother following the story, and instead I just hung out waiting for the next [censored] set piece to happen. It’s certainly [censored], but also slow and dreary. I recommend skipping this and watching Paul Morrissey's [censored] for Frankenstein from 1973 (same year?!?) instead.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 10: CINDERELLA (1912)
Melies remade his own Cinderella 13 years after his first one – and people say there are too many remakes these days. This one comes off more like a semi-realistic historical film rather than a fairy tale (actual fairies notwithstanding), for a sense of old-timey pageantry. Wikipedia alleges that this film is an unauthorized edit by rival filmmaker Ferdinand Zecca, which some say was done to sabotage Melies’ career. Somebody needs to make a proper Melies biopic one of these days. I nominate Del Toro.
(And yes, this post has kept disappearing from the site all day long. Hopefully this version is G-rated enough.)
I managed to get this through the censors with Er@tic!
DeleteVampyros Lesbos, Jess Franco 1971
ReplyDeleteI think I just like Jess Franco movies. The fever dream element whether from an artistic perspective or for the fact that a lot of Franco's were chopped up depending on which market, either the soft porn or drive and exploitation market. I just find the whole thing relaxing. I'm not sure that is the right word but it is the one we are going with.
Which is why I am fascinated by Franco's movies. On one hand Vampyros Lesbo is a cynical lesbian fantasy for men to leer at. On the other hand, Linda and Nadine's realtionship has a beauty and intamacy to it. Especially since the whole movie is the men trying to break up the realtionship. I choose just live in the dreamyness dreaminess, of two characters trying to create there own world.
Vampirism as a metaphore queerness is nothing new. In fact there is a whole genre of Lesbian Vampire movies from Dracula's Daughter to Hammer, Franco and The Hunger. Nadine is as tortured as Countess Zaleska and as composed as Countess Elizabeth of Daughters of Darkness. This is a movie that sits comfortably in this genre. But with more of a leering camera, because boobs. But I think Vampyros Lesbos is doing something else as well.
The story of female vampires drawn to women predates most vampire stories. J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla was published over two decades before Dracula.
DeleteI get from Jean Rolin everything that Jess Franco does, plus a generous dose of surrealism and eerie atmosphere to go with my sexy ladies. Guess I'm sticking with the entire Frenchman's 'oeuvre' and cherry-picking the Spaniard's tastiest morsels. :-)
DeleteI have a Rollin planned for eurosploitation.
DeleteI do love the novel Carmilla and most of it's adaptations. I also have some Rollin planned as well
DeleteTHE SINISTER DR. ORLOFF (1984)
ReplyDeleteFirst-time watch, Mondo Macabro Blu-ray, 7/10.
Antonio Mayans is Orloff Jr. & no matter how much papa Howard Vernon looks like the grumpiest baby bird, they haven't yet succeeded in reintegrating the life energies from streetwalkers into their beautifully preserved mother/wife. Imagine such a plot in the hands of Henenlotter or Yuzna... This mid-eighties period grows on me the more I watch from it (because I have the Franco disease). Mild psychedelics, zero-fi sci-fi, a sinister stumbling man-serv@nt & a pretty cool score that's often mutated electronic tones set this table. Conspicuous in her absence is Lina Romay, but she needs a break SOMEtimes.
⭐️ Vampyros Lesbos!
ReplyDelete1971 | Jesús Franco
Work is crazy & I feel like the walking dead so we are wimping out and going with a favorite over our pre-planned 🍒 👀!
But hey - it’s Vampyros! And they are Lesbos! Happy Prideos!
🏳️🌈
DeleteJack the Ripper 1976
ReplyDeleteDirected by Jesús Franco
Klaus Kinski was good, in a pretty sedate role. In fact the movie had a lot of sedate parts... it dragged at times. Afterwards, I read that this isn't a usual Jess Franco film so maybe there's room to give him another shot sometime. Just not today. 🙂
PS: The German dubbing and the English subtitles both being disconnected from what's on the screen, as well as from each other... didn't help things.
NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER, aka THE BLOODY JUDGE (1970)
ReplyDeleteRewatch, first spin of Blue Underground's 4K.
I only managed 20 some minutes before sleepy eyeballs won (lost?) their battle with Uncle Jess (I think many newcomers have discovered that unless fully fueled, the wee hours might not be the best for Franco films).
Christopher Lee is a witch-hating judge in ye olden days. Harry Alan Towers era production values.
The 4K looks absurdly good.
The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962)
ReplyDeleteA surgeon, along with his blind henchmen who likes to bite, removes the faces of beautiful young women in an attempt to fix his daughter's disfigured face.
According to the internet, this is considered Spain's first horror film. I watched the French version, so there was a little nudity.
Atmospheric, generally well paced, I'd say worth a watch!
Two Girls Undercover(1969)
ReplyDeleteI wrote a long write up about this and it got ate. I'm lazy so gist of what was lost was the movie was kind of funny and less raunchy than I expected.
SINFONIA E-R-0-T-I-C-A (1980)
ReplyDeleteOne last watch from my pile of Jess Franco discs for this day. This is a deep cut from his filmography that has all the hallmarks of the Franco style, the good and the bad. The general story is about a torturous aristocratic marriage. Lina Romay portrays the wife, a woman suffering mental issues from the abuses in her marriage. It is a surprisingly subtle performance. Her husband is a madman. The little bit of plot is mainly used to work in sex scenes. This is minor Franco except for the beautiful historic home where it was shot. The ornate staircases, grand hallways, manicured gardens, and mountainous scenery are strikingly captured.
I really dig this one.
DeleteShe Killed in Ecstasy (1971)
ReplyDeleteHow amazing is it that different wigs change Soledad Miranda's appearance so damn much? During Howard Vernon's convention speech, is he deliberately channeling Hitler in his voice and posture? Just how "meta" is it when Soledad Miranda kills the director of this film? Like I said, she just couldn't stand how much he used that zoom lens.