The image above is one of the surreal structures designed by Ricardo Bofill where the action of Jess Franco's 1980 version of EUGENIE is set. This labryrinthe structure boggles the eye and teases our sense of perspective. This interior can be seen, shot from a radically different angle, in 1973's THE PERVERSE COUNTESS. This 1980 production is a very loose remake of EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1970), but done in a totally different visual style and has a uncanny, dreamlike atmosphere. I have the old fullscreen CALIENTE video of this rather hard to see film.
Above is another vintage advert for a Jess Franco Sade film, PLAISIR A TROIS (1973) adapted by Alain Petit. Alice Arno is a twisted artist who kills her models and makes them part of her basement chamber of horrors. Odd, cubist camera angles and a demented score are Franco's signature touches here.
PLAISIR A TROIS is one of the mid 1970's Robert De Nesle productions which have never had a US video release on any format. I was told by featured actor Robert Woods that it did have a UK theatrical release, but there was no theatrical play of this in the US. 
Jess Franco has had a lifelong obsession with the visionary writings of the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814). The films he has made from them include some of his most personal and best works. I thought it would be interesting to take a reader's poll ranking Jess Franco's Marquis de Sade films. Would your favorite be the lavish period adaptation of the famous 1791 novel, JUSTINE (1968)? Or would it be his lower budgeted, yet very personal, contemporary updating of the 1788 novel "Eugenie de Franval", EUGENIE DE SADE, the 1970 Soledad Miranda vehicle? Perhaps it would be EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION, his elegant, modern day adaptation of the 1795 text, "Philosophy in the Bedroom". Filmed in 1969 but released in 1970, with Marie Liljedahl as Eugenie as Christopher Lee as the Sadean master of ceremonies, Dolmance, the Bruno Nicolai score defines an epoch.
Other Jess Franco Marquis de Sade film adaptations include 1973's PLAISIR A TROIS, a very rare title featuring Alice Arno and American actor Robert Woods. 1982's GEMIDOS DE PLACER is yet another version of that story in which Franco experimented by filming the action in a limited number of plan sequences/very long takes. In between he made two even more difficult to see Sade films, a hardcore remake of "Philosphy in the Bedroom" COCKTAIL SPECIAL (1978), with Touxa Beni as Eugenie, and SINFONIA EROTICA (1979), a sort of unofficial remake of PLAISIR A TROIS. Then there is the visually surreal EUGENIE, HISTORIA DE UNA PERVERSION, the 1980 rarity featuring Katja Bienert in the title role. Then there are such unclassifiable oddities as DE SADE'S JULIETTE, the 1975 film which no one seems to have seen and was reedited by Joe D'Amato in 1980 as JUSTINE. It's quite an accomplishment just to have seen all of Jess Franco's Sade related films. You can just name your favorite or rank them all in descending order.
Of course, only two of these important Franco films are out on quality R1 DVD presentations, JUSTINE and EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION, both from Blue Underground. EUGENIE DE SADE is reportedly on the way. But the rest are in dire need of rediscovery, restoration and proper R1 DVD presentations.
My own favorite would be EUGENIE DE SADE, mainly for the searing performances of Soledad Miranda and Paul Muller, not to mention Jess Franco's own ambiguous presence. And I love the Bruno Nicolai score, which is partially recycled from the Marie Liljedahl EUGENIE... .
I will return with the rest of my ranked list.
Since I originally posted this blog we have had several suggested additions from readers: THE SEXUAL STORY OF O (1982), which does seem to have some imagery and plot which evokes EUGENIE...HER JOURNEY... ( which Franco himself says was Sade influenced in the Severin DVD documentary) and HELTER SKELTER, the more recent shot on video One Shot production which has Sade's writings read on its soundtrack. BTW, I have seen HELTER SKELTER and wondered exactly what book those passages come from. Anyone know?
Ecom throws TENDER FLESH into the flaming pot of our consideration here as a possible Sadean film.
Thanks for the participation, everyone. It looks like EUGENIE DE SADE has the most votes so far.
For a fascinating look at the man behind the EUGENIE DE SADE poster at the top of this blog check out David Z's TOMB WHO IT MAY CONCERN blog:http://david-z.blogspot.com/
(C) Robert Monell, 2007
