The expression on Jess' face in the above pic perfectly sums up the kind of week I've had. Or maybe he's just lost in thought....
In any case, we must move forward. I thought I would share with you which of his many films Jess Franco himself is most pleased with, most attached to, or is most proud of. I had a number of very long, detailed conversations with our favorite filmmaker as he was preparing SNAKEWOMAN. Jess was very busy but found the time to discuss many aspects of his career with me. He is a compulsive and delightful conversationalist, enthusiastic about discussing his favorite subject: cinema. Of course, if anyone here managed to talk with him today he might give completely different titles, but I think these films really still stand out in his mind.
I found that Jess is as modest and self critical as he is prolific. You have to press him to evaluate his own films, he would rather talk about his favorite director, whom he immediately identifies as Orson Welles when asked. If he is not actively directing a film then talking about films is his second favorite activity. When I asked what is his favorite of his films he hesitated a second or two....
"VENUS IN FURS, it's a film I really wanted to do. It's based on story Chet Baker told me in a nightclub."
"DRACULA CONTRA FRANKENSTEIN" he said next and without hesitation as if it occupied the #1 position alongside VIF but the "Jazz cinema" element brought the former to his lips first. He mentioned he filmed it as a deliberate "cartoon" style and how he meant it as a hommage to the 1930s and 40s Universal Horror Films [HOUSE OF DRACULA, of course, was the template]. He also spoke at length about how he used the 2.35:1 scope format to have a stylized look and create multiple staging areas within one frame.
"LORNA [THE EXORCIST] is one of my best films, I think. I also prefer
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN [aka EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN], the erotic [unclothed] version." He talked a bit how he had to film the Spanish version due to the censorship restrictions in early 1970's Spain.
"BAHIA BLANCA is also one I think works well." I was pleasantly surprised he bothered to mention this one. It's a personal favorite of my own. Outside of Jess, the only other person I know who admires it is my friend Francesco Cesari... I wish I had the presence of mind to ask about the possible influence of Nicholas Ray's JOHNNY GUITAR on this underrated, rarely seen and even more rarely discussed blend of Douglas Sirk style melodrama, neo western and rural crime film.
All these choices seem to have in common an agressive use of experimental scoring [Fusion Jazz, minimalism, progressive, folk music), uninhibited mixing of genres -crime, musical, horror, drama, erotic., along with the onscreen presence of JF himself, except for DCF, but he could have easily played the necrophile Morpho instead of Spaghetti Western giant Luis Barboo. I believe he remembers them well because they are films he really wanted to make and he made them his own way, which is why we are here.
When I then mentioned how I admired some of his more obscure 1980s Golden Films Internacional films, he seemed surprised and asked me what I specifically liked about them. I was somewhat surprised he didn't mention any of his films featuring Soledad Miranda, but perhaps, given her tragic early death, it's still a painful subject for him. I have also read other interviews where he mentions GEMIDOS DE PLACER, EL MIRON Y LA EXCIBICIONISTA and LOS BLUES DE LA CALLE POP as projects with which he is especially pleased. Of all the above mentioned films the only one which has a definitive DVD release is VENUS IN FURS. The IMAGE presentations of CURSE.. and DPOF are both lacking in key elements, while LORNA is in desperate need of ANY kind of DVD presentation, but that's a subject for another blog...
Thanks to Kit Gavin and Jess Franco for his generousity.
(c) Robert Monell, 2006
I had a quick exchange of email with Jess Franco about BAHIA BLANCA too. When I told him that this is one my favorites among his films, he complimented me for my taste! :-D
ReplyDeleteI asked him about the script. In fact, BAHIA BLANCA has an effective and fairly carefully made Spanish script. I wanted to know if he was helped by somebody (for example Santiago Montada) or if for once he worked with a complete script, but he answered me that every evening he wrote the scenes for the following day! This is Jess Franco.
This is a film which absolutely deserves a perfect DVD release. The owner right is the same who owns MACUMBA and the other films released by Severin, since he bought the rights of the films Jess produced himself as "Manacoa Films" (among which LOS BLUES DE LA CALLE POP). By the way, BAHIA BLANCA has the best Franco photography ever. It was photographed by Juan Soler and it is visually even better than GEMIDOS DE PLACER, MACUMBA and HISTORIA SEXUAL DE "O".
Francesco
Unfortunately, I've only seen BAHIA... via an older Spanish video which has rather poor picture and sound quality. So you don't get the visual impact you mention. But I still was impressed and probably would like it even more if there was a good DVD. I didn't know about the rights holder. That's interesting. Thanks, Francesco.
ReplyDeleteFranco himself talked in an interview about the extraordinary "light" of BAHIA BLANCA, but I don't remember where exactly.
ReplyDeleteAll the Manacoa films are easily available.
Francesco
.... I mean their "rights"!
ReplyDeleteThere were some Manacoa Productions in the 1970s also. The Spanish DVD of GEMIDOS DE PLACER has Titular de la licsencia (c) Video MERCURY FILMS SA
ReplyDeleteExactly. Video Mercury is the company of distribution of Enrique Cerezo.
ReplyDeleteFrancesco
It would be good to have a list of all the Manacoa productions. I wonder if they have them all including the first, the unfinished zombie film MISTERIO DEL CASTILLO ROJO, which looks very interesting from the stills. It would make a great extra if they still have the footage.
ReplyDeleteProbably, Jess himself has this one. As well as he has Relax Baby in 16 mm. (Lina told this interviewed by Bethmann)... I mean the part of the film he shot. But EL MISTERIO DEL CASTILLO ROJO was almost finished.
ReplyDeleteAs regards the 2 films he released in the 70s as Manacoa, I have the pretty recent VHS of LOS OJOS SINIESTROS DEL DOCTOR ORLOFF: it has the copyright of Manacoa Films, was released by Sogepaq (who owns also LA ISLA DE LAS VIRGENES, if I'm not wrong) and distributed by Polygram Iberica SPA.
See the site of Sogepak:
http://www.sogecine-sogepaq.com/
Here is the email of the group:
marketingcine@sogecable.com
Francesco
Thanks for the right's holders info, Francesco. What's your listing of the MF productions in order. Would SILENCIO DE LA TUMBA be the first and what is the final?
ReplyDelete