How to Read a Franco Film
Wizard Video gave me my first (censored) look at several key Jess Franco titles, including DEMONIAC [THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME] and A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD.
Happy 20th Anniversary to VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine, published by Tim and Donna Lucas.
Tim Lucas, the magazine's editor, wrote the seminal Jess Franco essay "How to Read a Franco Film" for the first VW issue, published in June 1990. I remember seeing it on the newsstand of the now defunct TWILIGHT BOOKSTORE in Syracuse, NY. I picked it up and read the entire Franco article standing there. I was amazed that someone else was that much into the then-obscure filmography of Spain's most prolific and
notorious director. Back then I only had a few prerecords and poor dubs of such Jess Franco titles as EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN (VSOM) and VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (WIZARD VIDEO).
Since then there have been well over 100 Jess Franco DVD presentations of various titles released worldwide, a number of books, including OBSESSION: THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO (1993), an autobiography (MEMORIAS DEL TIO JESS), along with hundreds of articles in magazines and on the Internet. Franco has been awarded the 2009 Goya for his career, Spain's equivalent of the Academy Award and had a two month retrospective of his key titles at the Cinematheque Francaise in 2008. His image and placement have undergone an extraordinary evolution in the past 20 years.
And he's still making films at the age of 80!
Thanks to Tim for citing this blog in issue #157 where he updates his Franco survey with a in-depth look at the director's early films, 1959-1967.
It should make for fascinating reading. I've still got Issue #1....
5 comments:
I really should buy Video Watchdog more often. And I definitely must pick up issue #157.
Hi
Is there anywhere on the web that you can read Tim Lucas' article on reading a Franco film? It's a piece I've always wanted to read but to my shame never have.
Cam
Is Tim lucas doing an updated version of OBSESSION: THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO (1993) perhaps? It would make sense - also, i'd like to actually be able to buy this too.
Cam said...
Hi
Is there anywhere on the web that you can read Tim Lucas' article on reading a Franco film? It's a piece I've always wanted to read but to my shame never have.
Cam
3:51 PM
scott said...
Is Tim lucas doing an updated version of OBSESSION: THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO (1993) perhaps? It would make sense - also, i'd like to actually be able to buy this too.
I don't know if it's online CAM.
Scott, I don't know if this is planned.
Thanks, Bob, for your acknowledgement and support. My articles are not freely available online. I'm a professional writer, folks. OBSESSION is not mine to revise or rewrite and I don't intend at present to write an original full-length Franco book; however, it is possible I will continue the article in our current issue to follow through the 1970s as time allows. That work may someday be compiled in book form, if anyone wants to work with me to collect it. I've already written enough about Franco to fill a book.
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