New CD containing Gerhard Heinz scores for three Jess Franco films!
Sandwoman in EUGENIE, UNA HISTORIA UNA PERVERSION...
Ricardo Bofill's hallucinatory structures are the setting for EUGENIE, UNA HISTORIA UNA PERVERSION/LOLITA AM SCHEIDEWEG (1980), the Gerhard Heinz score for the German version is one of the three soundtracks on this collection.
Go to www.allscore.de/ for more infomation.
CD / ASM 028
distributed by Indigo:
(#92067-2)
OUT JANUARY 2009!
CD € 13,90 /
THE EROTIC AND PAINFUL OBSESSIONS OF
JESS FRANCO
3 Scores by Gerhard Heinz
Eugenie (Historia de una perversión)
Bloody Moon
Linda
One artist is the obsessed filmmaker Jesús “Jess” Franco, whose work consists of more than 170 films. Most of these films fall in the category of “exploitation”. His work triggers highly controversial debates, mainly because of his addiction to the topics sex and violence. Nevertheless he received the most important Spanish film award “Goya” for his lifework in 2008.
The other one is the Austrian film music composer Gerhard Heinz, who is famous for over 100 original film music scores (frequently erotic) in the Sixties, such as “Schoolgirls” or “The Naked Countess”, honoured with gold and platinum records in Southeast Asia.
Both started to work on the same projects in 1980/81 during three different film productions for the distribution company “Lisa Film” (Without meeting each other personally).
This is about the two softsex flicks “Linda” and “Eugenie (Historia de una perversión)” (both with pretty young actress Katja Bienert) and the slasher movie “Bloody Moon” (starring Olivia Pascal), which ranks among the most famous samples of the gory genre. By modern standards hardly imaginable this movie had its own photo story in Germany’s most popular teen magazine “Bravo”, but later in the Eighties it became one shining example in the “video-nasties” discussion.
This (virtual) cooperation, characterized by a lack of time and money, resulted three soundtracks which represent the zeitgeisty musical styles (disco!) and the atmosphere at the film sets, namely “beach, sun and happiness”, as well as the genre-specific elements sex and horror. For the musical realization Gerhard Heinz accessed a wide range of genres and instrumentations, from typical stomping disco songs (each of them could have become a summer hit in the 80s!) over romantic (sl)easy listening tracks, partly influenced by Spanish folk music or Samba, to orchestral suspense parts, which together with the skilled use of synthesizers develop the thrill to the maximum.
As Gerhard Heinz did a great job it’s been easy to compile 23 unique and distinctive tracks for this CD. They convert the listener’s imagery into the weird world of Jess Franco, but at the same time – liberated from its in part unbearable synchronized dialogues and moans – can stand alone perfectly.
As always this Allscore CD is designed elaborately and contains notes by Katja Bienert and Gerhard Heinz as well as an interview with the composer, all in German and English language, also images of film posters and stills.
All titles are previously unreleased (except one which appeared on a late 70s disco soundtrack LP).
Real fans will find further tracks of the three films, which haven’t been compiled for the CD, in several music download shops in the internet (February 2009).
Tracklisting:
EUGENIE ((HISTORIA DE UNA PERVERSIÓN)
01. Autofahrt (Theme) 2:03
02. Wieder am Swimmingpool 4:06
03. Alba und Lolita
1:33
04. Lolita und der Teddybaer
1:03
05. Alberto und Alba 2:37
06. Gespraech am Vorhang 2:23
07. Der Traum - zweite Phase 4:22
08. Versuchung auf der Terasse
4:00
09. Schlussmusik 1:59
BLOODY MOON
10. Intro
0:47
11. Holiday Feeling
3:02
12. Disco Nights
2:18
13. Die Saege des Todes Suite
2:09
14. Disko alternativ
2:33
15. Samba Tropical 3:09
16. Bungalow 13 3:02
17. Schock 0:18
LINDA
18. Titelmusik Rio Amore 2:55
19. Im Strandcafe 2:11
20. Verfolgung am Strand 1:07
21. Panorama 1:00
22. Betsy und Ron 3:23
23. Die Maedchen im Kloster - Filmversion 4:11
(C) text from allscore.de
Directed by "John Old"
The bare shoulders of Jany Clair, fetish queen in a glittering mise-en-scene
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Miles Deem was the Art Director!
Gerard Herter [eaten by CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER] gets caught cheating at cards
"I have done well..." Michel Lemoine in ROAD TO FORT ALAMO.
Thanks to Squonkmatic I just caught up with another of the best DVD's of 2008, Koch Media's R2 disc of Mario Bava's rarely seen first foray into the Spaghetti Western genre, LA STRADA PER FORT ALAMO (1964). Viewed in its 2.35:1 OAR the Totalscope compositions of Ubaldo Terzano and Bava are stunning. Given it's a cardboard western spray painted with phosphorescent liquid plastic, filmed in Italy on absurd, Ulmeresque sets, Art Direction by minimalist Eurowestern auteur Demofilo Fidani!, with a corny theme song by Piero Umiliani! which is beyond my ken, it's something of a wonderment.
Then there are the bare shoulders of frequent CFFP queen Jany Clair...
And Michel Lemoine, the Demon from Jess Franco's SUCCUBUS, as the psycho-villain...
Clair and Lemoine also appeared together in the essential PLANETS AGAINST US (1962).
There's a scene in this where Lemoine freaks out and guns down an old lady during a bank robbery. It's the film's wildest moment in terms of unpredictability and Euro-bis energy. Actually there's a similar scene in Fidani's first western, STRANGER MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1968), which is kind of a crazier remake of this with BLOOD AND BLACK LACE actor Massimo Righi as the robber freaking out during a wild west bank heist.
I should also mention that Eurospy favorite Ken Clark (THE TIFFANY MEMORANDUM) is the lead "Bud Massedy", a nice guy gone bad. You get it. Look for Gerard Herter, the mad archaeologist who got his arm eaten by the titular CALTIKI, IL MOSTRO IMMORTALE, in an uncredited bit as a card shark. Always good to see this impressive actor who got so convincingly devoured by the blob in that 1959 Riccardo Freda-Mario Bava B sci fi memory!
You can watch this in original Italian with English subs and there's a featurette with Lamberto Bava wo English language options. Highly recommended for collectors of obscure Spaghetti Westerns/Mario Bava titles. Definitely worth checking out for Lemoine, those shoulders of Jany Clair and the incredibly fake looking settings which seem to shimmer with negative capacity.
Co-produced by CFFP: Comptoir Francais du Film Production (Paris)!
Remember, this blog remains dedicated to reviewing all the films of Michel Lemoine and all the CFFP/Robert De Nesle productions.
[Der Ritt nach Alamo
Koch Media (July 11, 2008) (76mins)
2,35:1 anamorphic widescreen, PAL
German (some scenes in It. w/ German subtitles), Italian
Subtitles: German, English options
Featurette with Lamberto Bava, film historian Antonio Tentori-13m
Italian trailer, Gallery]
(c) Robert Monell 2009
