Jess Franco talks to deep sea creatures in MACUMBA SEXUAL: SEVERIN FILMS DVD
MONDO MACABRO DVD THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z
X RATED KULT R2 DVD Set of LES DEMONS
EUGENIE ... THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION: BLUE UNDERGROUND DVD
Exactly how many Jess Franco DVDs were released in all regions worldwide between Jan 1 2000 and Jan 1 2010?
For more selections and comments go to JESS FRANCO ON DVD thread @
http://www.cinemadrome.yuku.com
Please post your favorites in the comments section.
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays
(C) Robert Monell 2009
Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it now.
13 comments:
I also think that Mondo Macabro's THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z. and Blue Underground's EUGENIE... are among the best Franco DVDs of the decade. I admire these two films greatly. Severin's MACUMBA SEXUAL has amazing picture quality and one of the most amusing Franco-interviews ever as an extra, but the film itself was a huge disappointment for me. The story is very dull, the acting is painfully bad, the music is boring and repetitive plus I can't stand Lina in a blonde wig. Though Juan Soler was a talented cinematographer, he couldn't save the day alone - MACUMBA SEXUAL is a third-rate remake of VAMPYROS LESBOS, which is a superior film in every aspect. I've also tried OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES, REVENGE IN THE HOUSE OF USHER and MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD from the same era and I've found them dull in a similar vein, so I finally gave up on 80s Franco. I've read that his later works (TENDER FLESH and anything after that one)are even more difficult to like.
The story is very dull, the acting is painfully bad, the music is boring and repetitive plus I can't stand Lina in a blonde wig.
Revelator, I'm a big supported of MACUMBA. In fact, I return to it more often than VL. I like Franco's 80s Golden Films Internacional productions a lot. I find it his most interesting period. I think it's because he minimizes plot/story in favor of ambiance/atmosphere, color, mise en scene and musical structure. And I love the delirious Carloto Perla voodoo singing. It weaves a magical spell as does the entire film. These films are really pure cinema. The more recent ones are harder to take even for me. See my review of FLORES DE PERVERSION below.. Thanks for your comments.
So disheartening to see MACUMBA SEXUAL so under appreciated! I find it a masterpiece. The Golden Films era really had more gems than people give credit for but perhaps too many of the same actors in too similar of films could lend to the dissatisfaction possibly.
It is very interesting for me to read the post. Thank author for it. I like such themes and anything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more soon.
I only got to check out the "Dr Z" DVD recently and it's a lovely presentation of perhaps the most accomplished early Franco.
I also like "The Blue Rita" DVD from Anchor Bay's R2 Jess FRanco boxset Vol1. It's got no real extras, but the feature is presented in terrifc quality.
"Blue Rita" is a criminally under-appreciated work, I root for it as much as Robert stands up for "Macumba."
also like "The Blue Rita" DVD from Anchor Bay's R2 Jess FRanco boxset Vol1. It's got no real extras, but the feature is presented in terrifc quality.
"Blue Rita" is a criminally under-appreciated work, I root for it as much as Robert stands up for "Macumba."
BLUE RITA has a fascinating look, it looks like a Warhol canvas in terms of color fields and luminosity and the photos of Helmut Newton and the German erotic school in terms of aesthetics again. It's a riot of bright yellows, emeralds, crimons and aquamarines flooding into the eye.
BLUE RITA has a fascinating look, it looks like a Warhol canvas in terms of color fields and luminosity and the photos of Helmut Newton and the German erotic school in terms of aesthetics again. It's a riot of bright yellows, emeralds, crimons and aquamarines flooding into the eye.
-Yes exactly, it's a film that really benefits from thorough remastering.
Some of the compositions in "Blue Rita" remind me of "A Clockwork Orange", with unnatural, saturated colours and wide-angle shots.
Some of the compositions in "Blue Rita" remind me of "A Clockwork Orange", with unnatural, saturated colours and wide-angle shots.
Yes, very perceptive of you to bring up Kubrick's film because while starting from wildly different methods Franco and him arrive at the same points in terms of imagery sometmes. I think of BARRY LYNDON and Franco's landscapes in SINFONICA EROTICA and LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN. I was first struck by the comparison when seeing LA VENGANAZA DEL DR. MABUSE, made the same year as CLOCKWORK, it has that extreme wide angle lens and color gel lighting combination. Like a sci-fi comic book.
I also have Anchor Bay's Region 2 Jess Franco Collection Vol. 1., though sadly most of the fims in it are cut versions. Fortunately I have the uncut, single disc editions of ILSA, DORIANA GREY and LOVE LETTERS..
I also think that BLUE RITA is an underrated opus with many aspects to like. Franco was (is?) a true master of colour. It's a subject that which need to be researched more deeply. EUGENIE... THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION is as rich in colours as Fellini's JULIET OF THE SPIRITS.
I think of BARRY LYNDON and Franco's landscapes in SINFONICA EROTICA and LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN.
haven't had the opportunity to watch SINFONICA EROTICA yet, but definately the landscape photography in LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN and BARRY LYNDON shares the same painterly quality. It's funny yet appropriate to be comparing the visual style of these two directors whose work is so different thematically.
nco was (is?) a true master of colour. It's a subject that which need to be researched more deeply.
I agree, that's what I find so interesting about his 80s Golden Films period. The tropical colors are used in a very expressionistic way. I'll be discussing that more.
shares the same painterly quality. It's funny yet appropriate to be comparing the visual style of these two directors whose work is so different thematically.
Actually, I do find a thematic link between both directors in the focus on mind control and the creation of human robots.
Actually, I do find a thematic link between both directors in the focus on mind control and the creation of human robots.
I'm afraid I cannot competently draw comparisons yet, for I've only seen 4 Kubricks and "only" around 50 Francos))
Post a Comment