BLUE RITA/DAS FRAUENHAUS Blu-ray; 2 Disc SE

DANCE, GAS, KIDNAP, TORTURE... REPEAT.

BLUE RITA SE: Full Moon. This kinky, visually dazzling Eurospy fantasia is one of Franco's most unique films and a personal favorite of the features he made for Erwin C. Dietrich. 2 Disc- Blu-ray+DVD. BLUE RITA/DAS FRAUENHAUS, filmed in Paris and featuring Martine Flety (COCKTAIL SPECIAL) and Pamela Stanford (LORNA, THE EXORCIST) as leaders of a criminal organization of female seductresses and spies. The visual style of this Erwin Dietrich-Robert De Nesle production, deploys a lot of colorful costumes, color gel lighting, dutch camera angles, smoke, mirrors and eye catching filter effects. The women are a bisexual, sadistic, and exhibitionist lot who make a lot of trouble for a Russian spy (Eric Falk) and an undercover female Interpol agent sent to break up the operation, hidden behind a high class stripi club in Paris. Opening with a strip performance lit by a crimson spotlight the performance scenes give Franco ample oppurtunity to display his fetish stylistics with full aesthetic splendor.

This all plays as a more stylish reconsideration of the plot and style of Franco's Harry Alan Tower's produced THE GIRL FROM RIO (1969). It's much less conventional and more infused with Franco's unique personal style than Towers allowed. Dietrich was a more supportive producer who gave Franco permission to be himself. That means what we have here is a wild eyed action painting, a million light years from a tepid Bond imitation. The Paris exteriors and sci-fi interiors give the film a look and vibe quite different from the other Erwin Dietrich productions.

The much less supportive Robert De Nesle was co-producer and was very much in attendance during the Parisian shooting according to an interview I did with Pamela Stanford on her work with Franco. She remembered De Nesle literally rushing the cast from location to location between scenes and making sure no time was wasted. He always considered Franco a reliable employee who would deliver a profitable product. Dietrich respected Franco as an artist who would deliver a personalized work in his own time so didn't bother interfering. The French language track here, with English subtitles included, give the proceedings an Art-Exploitation quality; the English dub is included on the DVD disc and unfortunateAly gooes against the film's aesthetic grain. Also included on the Blu-ray is a photo gallery and an interview with Franco enthusiast-director Peter Strickland. The color gel lighting effects and fetishistic props really pop, shimmer and shake in HD and the more appropriate French soundtrack make this a much more enjoyable experience than FULL MOON'S previous DVD release.

(C) Robert Monell, 2023 Product details Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.48 x 5.31 x 1.18 inches Director ‏ : ‎ Jess Franco, Jesus Franco Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 15 minutes Release date ‏ : ‎ December 12, 2023 Actors ‏ : ‎ Esther Moser, Olivier Mathot, Erik Falk, Pamela Stanford, Sarah Strasberg Studio ‏ : ‎ Full Moon Features ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CF39WB42 Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2 Best Sellers Rank: #15,181 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV) #1,669 in Action & Adventure Blu-ray Discs