Favorite Jess Franco Moments:

During the last month of 2006 we've been blogging our Jess Franco Best lists, and now here are my favorite JF moments/scenes, as originally suggested by Tim Lucas...

PLAISIR A TROIS: Alice Arno's hot striptease amidst the mannequins in her basement chamber of horrors.

LA COMTESSE NOIRE: Lina bumping into the camera in the film's opening scene; the love scene on the mountaintop between Jack Taylor and Lina Romay.

LORNA THE EXORCIST: The opening encounter between Pamela Stanford and Lina which seems like it's taking place underwater.

SUCCUBUS: The opening S&M act performed by Janine Reynaud.

MISS MUERTE: The auto plastic surgery performed by Mabel Karr on herself.

DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER: Perla Cristal's show stopping performances of Fernando Garcia Morcillo's hot jazz songs.

DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES: Jess Franco's brief but memorable sax solo with his Whisky Jazz Club band.

BOTAS NEGRAS, LATIGO DE CUERO: Lina Romay's cries of passion during sex with Antonio Mayans frightening the swamp birds into sudden, frantic flight.

LA NOCHE DE LOS SEXOS ABIERTOS: Lina's strip in a classic American car installed in a Canary Islands disco club.

MIL SEXOS TIENE LA NOCHE: the drug party; Jess Franco suddenly appearing at the last moment to save Lina Romay from the villains.

THE SINISTER DR. ORLOFF: Howard Vernon's final maniacal laughter after he sabotages Antonio Mayan's ultimate soul transfer experiment.

SADOMANIA: the first woman hunt; the gladiator style duel between the prison guard and inmate.

LA COMTESSE PERVERSE: the climactic woman hunt of Lina Romay by Alice Arno and Howard Vernon.

AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO: Emma Cohen's strange journeys on the other side of the mirror.

DRACULA CONTRA FRANKENSTEIN: the shadows of the vampire bats seen on the carpet just before they attack their next victim's; Luis Barboo driving into a 19 Century town in a mid 20th Century hearse.

EL SEXO ESTA LOCO: Lina Romay's close encounter of the 3rd kind with the cult of Cucufat.

EUGENIE DE SADE: the murder of Alice Arno by Soledad Miranda in the Belgian brothel; the look on Jess Franco's face as he confronts the dying Eugenie in the last scene.

NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT: the opening credit sequence scored with Bruno Nicolai's outre cues.

BROKEN DOLLS: Don Martin's final walk into the ocean; the shots of the ships.



(c) Robert Monell 2006

A FEW 2006 DVDs MORE

Here are a few more DVDs I enjoyed in 2006:

GOJIRA [Classic Media]: Two disc set containing excellent transfers of the first, and still best, Toho giant monster epic, Ishiro Honda's GOJIRA (1954), uncut and with English subtitles, and GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956), the radically altered US release, featuring Raymond Burr. Both discs are supported by informative commentary tracks, original theatrical trailers and related featurettes. Of course, we must mention here that Jess Franco paid tribute to Godzilla by including his Aurora monster model incarnation in NECORNOMICON/SUCCUBUS.

THE CONFORMIST [Paramount]: A gorgeous presentation of Bernardo Bertolucci's best film to date, this extended version restores several scenes which have been missing for decades. I saw this on the big screen in the early 1970s several times and it looks even better on this DVD. One of the great films of the 1970s finally available on DVD at an amazingly low price.

WARRIORS [Mill Creek]: Yes, the print quality on most of the 50[!] sword and sandal epics collected here ranges from fair to poor, but where else can you get this many vintage genre movies for a fistful of dollars? Spread across 13 discs, these are Italian produced
pepla from the 1950s and early 1960s which were hurriedly produced in the wake of the success of HERCULES and HERCULES UNCHAINED. A few of these are partially letterboxed and have fairly good color. We really need R1 2.35:1 transfers from original elements with Italian language options of such outstanding films as Riccardo Freda's GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960) and Giacomo Gentilomo's viking saga (partially directed by Mario Bava) THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS (1961), not to mention a correctly outfitted R1 DVD of Vittorio Cottafavi's original HERCULES CONQUERS ATLANTIS (1962), before the Woolners butchered it into HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN. LION OF THEBES, HERO OF ROME, THE TEN GLADIATORS, MOLE MEN VS THE SON OF HERCULES, starring such then popular musclemen as Mark Forest, Gordon Scott, Dan Vadis and Ed Fury, are among the titles included. I just enjoyed the hell out of this package and it's unlikely all of these will have deluxe R1 DVD presentations in near future.

CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS/WAR BETWEEN THE PLANETS [Dark Sky Films]: A "DRIVE-IN DOUBLE FEATURE" cotaining beautiful new transfers of two early 1960's sci-fi oddities . Antonio Margheriti's 1964 WAR BETWEEN THE PLANETS is presented in a dubbed, letterboxed print which restores its intended vintage space-comix aesthetic with the most delirious colors imaginable on display. This may be the least of his four GAMMA ONE fantascienzia features, but it's very nice to see it in a pristine print. Now, if we could only get a DVD boxset of the entire quartet...

HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE [Anolis]: This R2 DVD was my favorite import of 2006. It's not from a perfect source, but it looks like a FILM rather than a digitally enhanced experience. Read Squonkmatic's definitive appraisal on the Paul Naschy topic on the LATARNIA FORUMS. This is the closest you will get to how audiences probably experienced the film back in 1972. What really clinches the deal is a detailed, passionate commentary track from writer-star Paul Naschy, in German (he speaks it perfectly) with Eng subs. Naschy details his intentions, the film's production and reminisces about even the most minor actors in his heartfelt, droll fashion which made this the best DVD commentary I have ever heard. Among the impressive extras is a vintage Super 8mm cut of the film. "Those Germans...." Thank you, Paul Naschy!

(c) Robert Monell 2006

Holiday Greetings from the Jess Franco Blog!

Uncle Jess consults his Holiday prayer beads...

Here's wishing everyone a safe and peaceful Holiday season. Many thanks to the readers of this blog for their continued support and contributions.

Two viewing suggestions from our subject's filmography: DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER, for its nightmarish Christmas Eve sequence which illustrates that the Family Unit is a primary Jess Franco horror site; FACELESS, which uses the Christmas Holidays as an ironic backdrop to Franco's macabre update of LES YEUX SANS VISAGE.

Best DVDs 2006 (continued)

I'm not including BU's SUCCUBUS or their RED LIPS SE as among the year's best DVDs simply because they contain only the cut US English dubbed versions of these films. TWO UNDERCOVER ANGELS and KISS ME MONSTER are toned down in terms of personal style and footage from the Spanish language versions. The latter even contains footage not shot by Franco! It was nice to have a good looking, letterboxed DVD of SUCCUBUS, but the very evocative end music is deleted. The restoration of the complete ending and a German language track would be essential for what I would term a definitive DVD. On the plus side these discs do contain very interesting related interviews with Jess Franco and a very welcome short documentary on Jack Taylor by Uwe Huber on the SUCCUBUS disc.

We'll conclude with a favorite non-Jess Franco DVD presentation:

HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS OF HORROR COLLECTION [Warner Video]. Spread over three "double feature" discs, six very worthy 1930s horrors from Warner Bros. and MGM offer compelling alternatives to the better known "Universal Classics" : THE MASK OF FU MANCHU, not the first {and Jess Franco would pretty much finish off Dr. Fu Manchu with his 1968 stock footage fest THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU] but the most perfectly appointed Fu Manchu with Boris Karloff as the definitive incarnation of the pulp icon. With elegant direction by Charles Brabin, Cedric Gibbons' lavishly macabre set design and Myrna Loy as his sadistic daughter, Fu Manchu is given a lush environment in which to conduct his exquisite tortures and plan world domination with the help of his death ray and Genghis Khan mask. Immortal fun with an excellent commentary by Greg Mank. On the same disc is Tod Browning's outre MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935), also restored from orignal camera negatives, which proves to be something of a revelation. An ultra-stylish (more consistently so than Browning's much more famous 1931 DRACULA) vampire movie that turns out not to be a vampire movie after all. MARK... is more of a deconstructive commentary on DRACULA (complete with Bela Lugosi and the armadillos!) and a droll satire of the cliches of the genre.

The second double feature: DOCTOR X (1932), presented in a rarely seen two-strip Technicolor print (where the ghastly greens and oranges merge into a kind of involuntary expressionism) deals with cannibalism and a mad scientist (is there any other kind?) who has developed synthetic skin. THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X (1939)is worth seeing for the bizarre frission of seeing Humphrey Bogart as a bloodlusting zombie! The late director Vincent Sherman contributes to the commentary track.

A third disc contains another Tod Browning oddity, THE DEVIL-DOLL (1936), with the great Lionel Barrymore, and MAD LOVE(1935), meticulously directed by the legendary cinematographer (METROPOLIS, DRACULA) Karl Freund and featuring the delirious American film debut of Peter Lorre. I will NEVER listen to another audio track by the person who does the MAD LOVE commentary...enough said! The three discs are all packaged with their original color posters and include vintage theatrical trailers.
This boxset is essential for serious collectors of vintage horror.

Lorenzo Robledo: 1921-2006

He appears as an agent interrogating one of the ROBOTS in Jess Franco's CARTES SUR TABLE (1966); this busy Spanish actor (over 80 films) also had a role in the 1960 JF Musical THE QUEEN OF THE TABARIN CLUB. You will probably immediately recognize him as as the blond haired pistolero who got shot by Clint after he laughed at his mule in FISTFUL OF DOLLARS 1964). This scene appeared in many international trailers for the epoch making Sergio Leone film.

He went onto appear in bit roles in numerous other Spaghetti westerns. He also played the Doctor who treats Emma Cohen in Leon Klimovsky's NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD. He's not credited in many of his SW roles but he seems omnipresent in the genre. Thanks to Carlos for informing the world of his death. UPDATE: According to the Spaghetti Western board he died last September in Madrid, but it was not reported by the press there at the time because they generally do not provide obituaries on lower level actors.

Thanks to Carlos Aguilar, Dan Van Husen, Tom Betts and the Spaghetti Western Board.

Best DV Films of 2006

But what films are they from?!

Ideal for mavericks who proceed outside designated modes of production and distribution Digital Video has a different aesthetic quality than film and portable camcorders gave Jess Franco and David Lynch ways to record under-the-radar-of-Hollywood-Mainstream realities. If you can't find the DVD of SNAKEWOMAN (Franco's best Digital Film to date) at Best Buy or find a local theater is showing the visionary INLAND EMPIRE there's a reason why. But the order of things may be changing in the future. A shake-up is coming...

Best DVDs of 2006: Part 2

This is the BEST DVD of 2006, perhaps the grandest DVD presentation ever given to any single film. No one deserves it more than Orson Welles, one of the greatest stage and film artists of the 20th Century and Jess Franco's favorite director. As an actor, writer and director Welles first revolutionized the theatre, then radio, and, in one stroke called CITIZEN KANE, cinema. MR. ARKADIN is no CITIZEN KANE, and therein is the key to understanding what it represents.


My own favorite Welles film is CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT/FALSTAFF (1965), on which Jess Franco worked as Welles' assistant and helped direct the central battle scene which is held by many critics as one of the most impressive ever put on film. Even critics hostile to Welles like Pauline Kael wrote in her review that it was comparable to the best of Kurosawa, Eisenstein and Griffith. Franco would also direct DON QUIJOTE (1992) his own personal version of the incomplete Welles project, which was almost universally disdained by Welles scholars (more on this in a future blog). If you love cinema you probably love Orson Welles. If you love cinema and you love Orson Welles you need this DVD. Welles wrote, directed, produced, starred in and novelized this 1955 international thriller but that's only a small part of the story.


Filmed on the fly with tenuous resources, the mostly Spanish lensed project was not plagued by Hollywood interference, Welles did exactly as he pleased, but would later emerge in several versions which didn't exactly conform with Welles' ultimate vision. MR. ARKADIN is perhaps best described as Welles' personal commentary on the Film Noir rather than an actual noir or a spy film or a crime story. It's perhaps a deconstruction of the the kind of Film Noir best represented by his own earlier THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, which was butchered by his Hollywood bosses. A free-form essay on the possibilities of a new genre, the neo-noir which Godard and Truffaut of the Nouvelle Vague would make in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Just try to watch any of the three versions presented here back to back with BLADE RUNNER. It's also Welles looking in the mirror and seeing both his past and the future of cinema. It's CITIZEN KANE and ALPHAVILLE, F FOR FAKE and THE PASSENGER. It contains some of the best sequences Welles would ever manage. The masked ball scene is a masterwork in itself and anticipates similar Masques in Jess Franco's DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES(1962)[which impressed Welles] and Stanley Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT. MR. ARKADIN may be a cut below KANE and TOUCH OF EVIL but it has moments of equal greatness.


"Let's drink to character."


The Criterion Collection's THE COMPLETE MR. ARKADIN is a boxed set containing 3 discs over which are spread 3 distinct versions of MR. ARKADIN: CONFIDENTIAL REPORT, the Louis Dolivet-Producer's Version, which is the most linear; the Peter Bogdanovich-discovered Corinth Version; The Comprehensive Version, which is the longest [105m!] and most daringly nonlinear, with new opening and closing scenes not in the other versions, painstakingly assembled by film historians Stefan Drossler and Claude Bertemes. I don't know if I have the time and energy to describe all the supplements in this set, but they are awesome, definitive and overwhelming.


All of the eight MR. ARKADIN's are here, including three radio plays ("This is Arkadin Speaking!") produced by future Jess Franco writer-producer Harry Alan Towers (COUNT DRACULA); a paperback of Welles' own novel, ghosted by Maurice Bessy; outtake, rushes and alternate scene reels which are rare, fascinating records of Welles at work and are alone worth the price of admission; amazingly extensive stills galleries; documentary interviews with Harry Alan Towers, Simon Callow, actor Robert Arden (audio), Drossler, Bertemes, and perhaps the ultimate Welles expert--his friend, literary and cinema collaborator, Peter Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich seems as impressed by the Comprehensive Version as I was and it certainly seems the closest to Welles' intentions, which were never fully articulated during his lifetime. And there's much, much more.


The obligatory commentary track features Welles scholars James Naremore and Jonathan Rosenbaum, both of whom I respect and have written books about Welles. They know their facts and keep up with some wit...but guys, DEAL WITH THE FILM! I'm getting rather tired of these let's rattle-off-the-facts commentary tracks which seem out to impress other scholars rather than illuminate the film at hand, place it in cinema history or are simply as entertaining as even a second level Welles film like MR. ARKADIN. Listen to Tom Weaver, who can be scene-specific, go off track, return, and never forgets the big picture while building a delightful construct of informed imagination. Facts are fine, but I want context and vision. I would have perferred the commentary had been done solo by Bogdanovich, who can deliver his first-hand Welles experiences, observations on film technique (he's an accomplished director himself) and informed insights with an elan few can match.


If even second level Welles is vastly preferable to %99 of other filmmakers best efforts and all contemporary mainstream Hollywood films, then MR. ARKADIN is a great film and has had great influence on many more highly regarded films.

It's also a perfect Christmas film, with Arkadin as the most sinister Santa Claus in cinema history.

(c) Robert Monell: 2006

[More of my Best DVDs of 2006 will appear in future blogs]

Best DVD's of 2006: Part 1

My favorite DVD's of 2006: Jess Franco DVDs; Franco-related DVD presentations; non-Franco DVD's (to illustrate that I do have other interests in life). As Criterion's THE COMPLETE MR. ARKADIN [you can't get more Franco-related than Orson Welles] is my favorite DVD presentation of the year, the following are not in order of preference.

MACUMBA SEXUAL (Severin Films): The best Franco DVD of the year, along with Severin's simultaneous release of MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD. Severin Films is my favorite new DVD company. Focusing on erotic cinema, David Gregory and his associates go the distance to search out the very best available elements for obscure cult classics from the past. Then they give them state-of-the-art transfers with an emphasis on perserving the films correct OAR, look, feel and texture. They wrap it all up with pertinent supplements, including excellent documentary interviews with the filmmakers, a David Gregory speciality. The interviews with Franco and Lina Romay on these discs are brimming with fascinating insights into their characters and the making of the films and are garnished with some surprising revelations. Intelligently and helpfully Illustrated with well-chosen graphic material, these interviews are a welcome change in style from the usual talking-head syndrome of most DVD documentaries.

MACUMA and MANSION are both from Franco's underestimated and very rich Golden Films Internacional period of the 1980s, wherein he reimagined many of his stories, characters and themes from earlier periods in a completely different style, structure and context. The emphasis is on near hardcore eroticism (in MACUMBA) and sexual violence (in MANSION), but they're more than X rated zombie films (cf Joe D'Amato's EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD) shot on colorful Canary Island locations or mere retreads of VAMPYROS LESBOS or Amando de Ossorio's BLIND DEAD series. They're %100 pure Jess Franco hybrids and seen in near perfect 2.35:1 transfers from gorgeous elements w/English subtitles (although these atmospheric, near silent, movies hardly need dialgoue) we can finally understand Franco's continuing commercial and artistic evolution.

Severin has also released deluxe editions of such 1970s erotica as FELICITY, the outrageous animated erotic fairy tale compliation ONCE UPON A GIRL and promises future transgressive items from Walerian Borowczyk, Joe D'Amato, Andrea Bianchi along with more titles from Franco Golden Films era, including the essential GEMIDOS DE PLACER, one of JF's most stylistically daring experiments.

(c)Robert Monell: 2006.

[More Best DVD's of 2006 to follow]

SOLD OUT?

The recently released Italian CD of Bruno Nicolai's memorably outre score for Jess Franco's A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD is now listed as SOLD OUT on all the Online ordering sites I have checked. Has anyone out there managed to get one and listen to it? If so, please write any comments below. Better yet, if you wish to write a review, please email me and I will post your comments as a separate blog with your name attached. I'm sure all our readers will want a report. I'm anxious to acquire my own copy in the near future and I'm interested in reading any advance commentary. I knew I shouldn't have delayed ordering it immediately when it was released on Oct. 31. If anyone knows how or where I can pick one up please contact me. Thanks.
Robert Monell

10 Best Lists: Masayuki Kino

My BEST list:

I like Jess Franco's approach of depaysement effect and inorganic taste.
It was particularly supposed for the beginning of 70's CFFP period.

Christina, princesse de l'érotisme
Al otro lado del espejo
Les Gloutonnes
Les Possédées du diable
Shining Sex
La Fille de Dracula
The Sinister Dr. Orloff
Mil sexos tiene la noche

My Franco's actress Best is the following titles.

Lina Romay Best is
Célestine
Is Cobra a Spy?

Best of Anne Libert & Montserrat Prous is
Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen
Diary of a Nymphomaniac
Maison du vice

Best regards
from Masayuki Kino
in Japan


[What an interesting list, Masayuki! You and I are on the same page concerning the early 1970s CFFP period. Jess also told me that this is his favorite period of his career in terms of being busy with cinema experimentation. I'm also interested that you include SHINING SEX and MAISON DU VICE on your lists, I think they are both fascinating excursions to lower dimesions of genre.....or what we call reality. RM]

10 Best Lists: Douglas Waltz

Hello!

My friend David Z. told me about your blog and that you're looking for other people to post their top ten Franco lists.
Here are mine:

A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD - Without a doubt one of my favorite flicks of all time. The lead actress who, when I talked to Jess, is not really named Christina VonBlanc. Beautiful and innocent. The whole film plays off of her.

SADIST OF NOTRE DAME - A realize a lot of people prefer EXORCISM, but I saw this first and it is such a bizarre film and Franco is magnificent as the madman. Plus, the ending of him walking out of the church into police custody is so much more real than the other ending.

VENUS IN FURS _ Such a twisted, great looking film. Kinski stares down the camera and wins everytime.

SNAKEWOMAN - Jess' newest feature and it treads some familiar ground, but he delivers a wild story with gorgeous settings and Carmen Montes as the titular character is simply hypnotic. Franco uses a lot of first person camerawork and her gaze demands that you look at her.

VAMPYROS LESBOS - The wild music score, Soledad Miranda and the cool imagery of the film makes this a must see and one that I can watch over and over again and never get tired of it.

LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN - The one Franco flick that my wife actually enjoys watching. Gad! Did I marry the right woman or what??

BLUE RITA - A beautifully shot, twisted mindfuck of a film. Nuff said.

AWFUL DR. ORLOF - The first of many and Howard Vernon is wonderful to watch in this film.

ILSA THE WICKED WARDEN - Not a true ILsa film, but the elder Dyanne Thorne looked like she was having a really great time torturing th crap out of these women. The template for all WIP flicks.

DR. WONG"S VIRTUAL HELL - Franco as Wong with an atrocious accent. The wild color schemes and Howard Vernon from beyond the grave in a part that will leave your head spinning. Probably the most fun Franco film that I have seen in quite some time.

Favorite Franco Scenes: FRANCESCO CESARI

Hi Robert,

here are my favorite scenes in chronological order.

Most of them are musical scenes, since I think Franco is both a filmmaker and a musician. He is really great when can make us listening his images.

LA MANO DE UN HOMBRE MUERTO (THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS): like Tim, the last sadistierotic murder.
99 WOMEN: Zoe's (Rosalba Neri) show at the lesbian club.
VENUS IN FURS, the scene between Maria Rohm and Dennis Price.
EUGENIE THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION: the final scene, from Eugenie's escape among the sand dunes.
EUGENIE DE SADE: the book-signig party.
A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD: the final dream/death scene at the lake.
LA FILLE DE DRACULA, both the lesbian scenes between Britt and Anne.
AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO: the final scene, the image of Ana falling on the flight of steps, shown again and again, the tragical rotation of her bust may be the highest moment in the whole Franco filmography.
LA COMTESSE NOIRE: Irina's death and reappearance among the woods.
LES POSSEDEES DU DIABLE/LORNA: Lorna and Patrick walking near the casino, in my view the best JF shots ever.
DES DIAMANTS POUR L'ENFER (WOMEN BEHIND BARS): the prisoners skoking and talking in the court-yard, a great example of Franco's typical cocktail of minimalistic reality and metaphisics.
BLUE RITA: the lesbian trio shot from behind the aquarium.
EUGENIE HISTORIA DE UNA PERVERSION: the long scene of Eugenie's sexual initiation, ending with the blind guitarist playing near the sea, in my view the best Franco scene ever.
MACUMBA SEXUAL: Jess Franco talking with his "little friends" (little embalmed monsters)
GEMIDOS DE PLACER: the beginning of the film: the moronic guitarist.... the long piano sequences....
MIL SEXOS TIENE LA NOCHE: the silent drug-party, another absolute highlight.
MIL SEXOS TIENE LA NOCHE: the love & death scene between Lina and José Llamas. This is very similar to the scene between Rohm and Price in Venus in Furs but I think it's even more powerful and fascinating.
LA MANSION DE LOS MUERTOS VIVIENTES: the two scenes with Eva Leon, the enchained wife.
EN BUSCA DEL DRAGON DORADO: JF cameo as "el viejo Chan", the blind seer.
TENDER FLESH: the sexy-show with the two paper-pulp giants.
TENDER FLESH: the sequence with digital scomposed image after the scene in which Amber Newman is whipped.
MARI-COOKIE AND THE KILLER TARANTULA: the final part of the film, in Mari-Cookie's hole/house.
VAMPIRE BLUES: the beginning of the film (about 10 minutes long opening credits sequence).
BROKEN DOLLS: Don Martin killing the lovers and committing suicide by submerging himself in the sea.
VAMPIRE JUNCTION: the opening credit sequence.
SNAKEWOMAN: the birds....

David Z's 10 BEST LIST

Ten...such a large number for some, but so small for Jess! My list would go like this... until the next time I see a variant I haven't caught up with or another as yet unwitnessed spectacle of full blast Franco.

1. Exorcism
2. Eugenie DeSade
3. Virgin Among The Living Dead
4. Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein
5. Female Vampire
6. Awful Dr. Orlof
7. The Perverse Countess
8. Blue Rita
9. Erotismo
10. Barbed Wire Dolls

Thanks for the great blog Robert, a frequent stop for my daily blogging fun.

All the best,
David
--
Bloggin' the web at
http://david-z.blogspot.com

Favorite Franco Scenes/Moments: TIM LUCAS

Video Watchdog Tim Lucas has not only sent his Jess Franco 10 Best list but included some of his favorite moments/scenes from Franco's 50 year (and still running)career.* I am taking him up on his suggestion that we transition into offering our lists of Favorite Jess Franco scenes/moments. We will also continue to publish all submitted 10 Best lists in the future. One of the great things about blogging is that you can run multiple tracks in Real Time. Please email me your favorite Jess Franco scenes/moments and I will post them as a separate blog with an appropriate image or just click on COMMENT to enter them directly on the blog underneath an existing post.

[From Tim Lucas - Subject : Top 10 and Favorite Scenes]

MY TOP TEN

EUGENIE DE SADE
EUGENIE... THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION
AL OLTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO
LES POSEDEES DU DIABLE
LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN
THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z
VAMPYROS LESBOS
NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT
THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS
VENUS IN FURS

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS (just a few):

EUGENIE DE SADE: The shot of Soledad Miranda admiring her father (Paul Muller) at his book-signing party, ignoring Jess as he tries to speak to her (the closing shot of QUEEN CHRISTINA is NOTHING compared to this!); also the murder scenes -- the snuff photo session, the drinking game with the hitchhiker.

THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF: Howard Vernon placing the necklace around Maria Silva's neck, the light from the jewels illuminating his face for the first time.

BARBED WIRE DOLLS: Jess' "slow-motion" death -- his finest comic moment.

VENUS IN FURS: Dennis Price seduced to death by Maria Rohm.

THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z: Miss Death's dance performance.

LES POSEDEES DU DIABLE: I haven't seen the scene, but based on the still photo representation, the censored devil-dildo scene has got to be amazing.

THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS: Ludwig's big scene with the barmaid -- like seeing the floodgates topple as a new era in erotic horror arrives.

ANTENA CRIMINAL: MAKING A JESS FRANCO MOVIE: There's a wonderful scene in this Brian Horrorwitz documentary about the filming of BLIND TARGET that shows Franco losing his patience with an actor, calling a break and sitting down to rest and have a cigarette, his hand still trembling from the outburst. Lina walks over, puts her arm around him and consoles him. As the camera holds on them, one can see in Jess all the frustration he must feel at times while pursuing his dream of continuing to work at all costs, and how Lina anchors and reassures him. The whole story of the Franco/Romay relationship is somehow captured here, and it's a beautiful and privileged thing to see. [Tim Lucas]


Thanks for your lists and suggestions, Tim. That's quite a well-chosen Favorite Franco Moments selection and most of those would make my own list. To avoid redundancy I'll have to brainstorm before submitting my favorite moments.

*I date Jess Franco's directing career from 1954, when he effectively co-directed (and co-scripted) EL COYOTE and LA JUSTICIA DEL COYOTE with Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent at Union Films Studio, Madrid. Franco was hired to assist Marchent but the workload and tight schedule was such that Franco directed some scenes while Marchent handled others. Both features were shot simultaneously utilizing the same actors and sets, a strategy which Franco would standardize beginning with his frenetic early 1970s period.[RM]

Most cited Franco film on lists...

Of the ten lists I have posted so far the film that gets the most mentions is VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD, appearing on 7 out of the 10 lists. No votes yet for COUNT DRACULA. That's not really a surprise as it always has drawn very mixed reviews. Thanks to everyone who has sent in lists and I encourage readers to email me their lists which I will post with an image of your No 1 Franco film.

A 10 Best List from Brazil!

Thanks to Estevao, a Jess Franco fan from Brazil, for his list:


Estevão wrote...
i'm brazilian. can i send my top 10 too?

Venus in Furs
Eugenie (Soledad Miranda)
Vampyros lesbos
Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion
Female Vampire
She Killed in Ecstasy
Les Cauchemars naissent la nuit
Une vierge chez les morts-vivants
Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun
Doriana Grey



And here's Sergio Olivari's 10 Best:

Macumba Sexual
Eugenie,Journey into Perversion
Succubus
Sadomania
Dracula contra Frankenstein
Erotic Rites of Frankenstein
Virgin Amongst Living Dead
Nightmares Come At Night
She Killed in Ecstasy
Greta Mad Butcher

Jess Franco 10 Best Lists Continue

From :
Alex Mendíbil

This is my top ten for today (no particular order)...
VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD
LORNA THE EXORCIST
LA COMTESSE PERVERSE
NECRONOMICON
EUGENIE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION
GEMIDOS DE PLACER
TENEMOS 18 AÑOS
MACUMBA SEXUAL
BLUE RITA
VAMPYROS LESBOS

Alex list includes the 1977 BLUE RITA, a quasi remake of THE GIRL FROM RIO(1968) and a far superior film. I give this film points for its very unique visual quality, somewhere between Helmut Newton and Andy Warhol. See image at top of blog [RM].

Ten Best list: Jonathan Overholts

Trying to pick my ten best Franco list is not unlike trying to choose your favorite children- each has its own charm. For today, here is my ever changing list (in no particular order):

EUGENIE (Soledad Miranda)
VENUS IN FURS
GEMIDOS DE PLACER
EL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO
NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT
VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD
EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION
LORNA THE EXORCIST
EUGENIE , HISTORIA DE UNA PERVERSION
LA COMTESSE PERVERSE

10 Best Lists: MIREK LIPINSKI

I'm a huge fan of Franco's early black and white horrors, so my best list reflects this:

DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER
THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS
MISS MUERTE
GRITOS EN LA NOCHE (The Spanish version)
VAMPIROS LESBOS
A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD
NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT
99 WOMEN
DR. WONG'S VIRTUAL HELL
THE DEMONS

10 Best Lists: FREDERICK DURAND

Frederick Durand:
"Great idea. Here's my 10 best :

When Robert asked me to send my 10 best Franco films, I thought it
was a great idea. However, like Robert himself, I must say that my
list is ever-changing... I have not seen all of Franco's films. In
fact, since 2002, I'm trying an interesting experience : viewing
every [available] Franco film, in chronological order... That is
completley different matter, but it creates a stunning puzzle... It
also means that I have yet to see Franco's latest films, so my top
10 reflects this fact.
Anyway, here's my current top-10:"

-Une vierge chez les morts-vivants
-Eugenie (Soledad Miranda)
-Les Cauchemars naissent la nuit
-Lucky the Inscrutable
-Cartes sur table
-Venus in Furs
-Miss Muerte
-Plaisir a trois
-Journal intime d'une nymphomane
-Les Demons

10 Best Lists: FRANCESCO CESARI

In order of preference:
SNAKEWOMAN
LES POSSEDEES DU DIABLE
EUGENIE, HISTORIA DE UNA PERVERSION
AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO
A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD
VAMPIRE BLUES
BAHIA BLANCA
EL SEXO ESTA LOCO
GEMIDOS DE PLACER
LAS CHICAS DEL TANGA

Thanks to Francesco Cesari for sending his list. Francesco is an internationally respected Jess Franco authority who lives in Venice, Italy; he has contributed liner notes and supplements to numerous international Jess Franco DVD presentations[RM].

More Jess Franco 10 Best Lists!

Thanks to everyone who has posted or sent in a Jess Franco 10 Best list.
Here's one from Greg Hillabrand, a cult video collector from Glendale, CA:

In order of preference:
THE LOVES OF IRINA [Greg is referring to the PRIVATE SCREENINGS VHS English language retitling of LA COMTESSE NOIRE. He still has the vintage 1980s boxed prerecord; a fullscreen presentation BUT with footage censored from the IMAGE FEMALE VAMPIRE DVD]
THE BLOODY JUDGE
FACELESS
BARBED WIRE DOLLS
SEXY SISTERS
JUSTINE (1968 version)
JACK THE RIPPER
EXORCISM
THE DEMONS
LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN

Jess Franco 10 Best List:

Here are my 10 favorite Jess Franco films. I would like to know what readers of this blog consider their personal favorites. It's all subjective and in art/exploitation there are no right or wrong answers. You can post your list here (by clicking on COMMENT) or email it to me. I hope to compile a master list of reader's favorites in the future as a kind of informal poll.

In order of preference:

NECRONOMICON (SUCCUBUS)
LA COMTESSE NOIRE (FEMALE VAMPIRE/non hardcore version)
EUGENIE (Soledad Miranda)
LA COMTESSE PERVERSE (non hardcore version)
LORNA, THE EXORCIST
AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO
GEMIDOS DE PLACER
LA NOCHE DE LOS SEXOS ABIERTOS
EL SEXO ESTA LOCO
SNAKEWOMAN


RIFIFI EN LA CIUDAD, BROKEN DOLLS, MISS MUERTE, MACUMBA SEXUAL and L'ESCLAVA BLANCA all are close runners-up. In fact I'll be publishing a 2nd 10 list, since a top 20 makes sense considering that Franco has made over 200 films including alternate versions.

My list is ever-changing [I've already went back and changed it twice since I first posted a few hours ago!] and his 1980s films are taking more prominence over his earlier work. Popular favorites like VAMPYROS LESBOS and VENUS IN FURS I appreciate mainly for the music along with VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD and NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT. Anything scored by Bruno Nicolai is worth watching just to hear his music.

I guess SUCCUBUS will always be my #1 for the purely nostalgic reason that I saw it theatrically in 1969 and it was my first experience with a Jess Franco film. The image at the top of this blog appeared as an advert in the local newspaper (I even tried calling the phone number provided, but it was always busy!) and reeled me into a lifetime obsession with the delirious world of Jess Franco.

(c) ROBERT MONELL, 2006.

THE DEVIL HUNTER: DVD vs VHS

An old used VHS of Jess Franco's incredibly sleazy Italian-Spanish-German-French financed 1980 Cannibal epic SEXO CANIBAL (aka THE DEVIL HUNTER) is up for auction on EBAY now. Runtime is listed as 90m. The last time I looked there were 0 bids. This MANHATTAN VIDEO presentation has Dutch subtitles but may be preferable to the US DVD presentation which appeared earlier this year as one of the "Terror Tales From The 'Hood: Special Edition, Volume 8" from VIDEOASIA on a double bill with Manuel Cano's 1972 Spanish mummy howler, VOODOO BLACK EXORCIST.

VBE is a fun oddity but obviously ripped from the old fullscreen, heavily scratched late-1980's US video release. I still have my prerecord which I rescued when my local Mom and Pop video store, the one with a huge Eurohorror selection, was shuttered in the late 1990's . THE DEVIL HUNTER, on the other hand, is completely unwatchable. with the bottom of the image masked off (I believe to cover subtitles which would indicate a Japanese source), digital censoring of the frontal male and female nudity featured in the film (that really tags it as a Japanese product) and extremely blurry video quality. To top it off it's missing several gore sequences (since sex and gore are what this item is all about this presentation is totally useless) and the opening credits have been chopped.

I nominate this as the worst Jess Franco DVD ever! But you do get "2 GIANT features" for under $10.00 and an invitation to join a "Monster Fan Club" located on 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Westminister Abbey, NJ 66666... The cover art suggests 1970s era blaxploitation but it wouldn't surprise me if VIDEOASIA made a nifty profit. I've heard most of their previous TERROR TALES editions also feature poor prints from video sources. SEXO CANIBAL also had a 1980's video release as MANDINGO MANHUNTER [!] and could usually be found at your local Blockbuster Video.

COMMENTARY BY ROBERT MONELL: (C) 2006