30 March, 2009

THE RETURN OF PAMELA STANFORD?


Are you in a Pamela Stanford state of mind?



Who is the woman behind the mask? Pamela as a double agent in BLUE RITA (1977).



Pamela and Lina Romay in Jess Franco's LES GRANDES EMMERDEUSES (1974)


Wow! I just got this reply from Kim to my June 3, 2007 blog: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PAMELA STANFORD?

[Are you still looking for Pamela?
She is well and alive, and a friend of mine.
She is a wonderful person.
She has been asked to write about her life, and she's not sure.
Maybe you could convince her?
I hope we'll hear from you soon!
kim]

Thanks for your response, Kim. The answer to your first question is a big YES! I have been looking for Ms. Stanford for what seems like decades. It's wonderful to hear she is alive and well. I definitely think she should write a memoir of her experiences making 1970s European exploitation/Cult movies. There is a definite international audience base for this kind of book. She has loyal fans here in the US, in Europe and I'm sure in many other parts of the world, especially considering that her work has been distributed on various DVDs over the last decade.

It would be fascinating to hear her reflect on how these movies were made and her encounters with Jess Franco, Howard Vernon, Robert De Nesle, Lina Romay and the cult movie figures with whom she worked; what she thinking then and what are her thoughts now. What a typical workday was like on the sets of films like LORNA, THE EXORCIST, BLUE RITA, DIE TEUFLISCHEN SCHWESTERN, CANNIBAL TERROR.

I would love to be able to convince her to write a memoir or autobiography. There are many unanswered questions about her life before and after the bulk of her film work from the early 1970s to the early 1980s.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kim's response in my inbox to an almost 2 year old blog!

Do readers of this blog feel the same way I do?

Kim, please email me at monell579@hotmail.com.

27 March, 2009

I'M IN A JESS FRANCO STATE OF MIND AWARDED THE PREMIO DARDOS


Thanks to Holger Hasse who has awarded I'M IN A JESS FRANCO STATE OF MIND the Premio Dardos award on his excellent HAMMER AND BEYOND [www.hammerandbeyond.blogspot.com/] site.

The Premio Dardos is "given for excellence in the Blogging field" to a blog by other bloggers.

Holger is a former winner of this award and I have a number of favorite blogs which I'll be nominating in the near future here.

This recognition is very much appreciated.

[Robert Monell]

24 March, 2009

AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO: versions


One of the best Jess Franco films not available on DVD...


I recommend readers check out The Franco Lounge at THE LATARNIA FORUMS for some interesting information on the various 35mm and video versions of the 1973 film AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO and its alternate French version, LE MIROIR OBSCENE (1974). The address of a possible rights holder has been posted.... hopefully the original 35mm elements still exist in superior condition and can eventually be part of a definitive DVD reconstruction.
 
I would like to see both versions presented on a double DVD with a commentary by actor Robert Woods, whom I interviewed a few years ago and has some fascinating stories to tell about the making of this film.
 
I always save a place on my 10 Best Jess Franco Films for AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO, which I have still only seen via a dub of the Spanish FQ video. Screengrabs from that vintage vhs are also on the forum.  
 
www.latarnia.com
 
 
 
 
I was wondering if any other readers have seen the Spanish version and are as anxious as I am to have an English friendly R1 DVD presentation from original elements.


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20 March, 2009

ETRANGE FESTIVAL LYON: Second Edition




Thanks to blog reader Nicolas for this information on the Second "Etrange Festival Lyon" which is coming up this April 1. This strikes me as possibly the world's only yearly Film Festival dedicated exclusively to Fantastique. Wish I could be there! [RM}




 


To: monell579@hotmail.com
Subject: l'Etrange Festival Lyon (second edition)
Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:49:52 +0100

Dear Robert,
 
You will find below the link for the second edition of the "Etrange Festival Lyon" in Lyon, France.
After Joël Seria and Jean Rollin, this year our guest are Jean-louis Van Belle, Gérard Kikoïne, Pete Tombs, Antoine Pellissier...
 
 
Thanks for reading.
 
nicolas


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15 March, 2009

FIRST JF VIDEO?


Have you saved the 1980's Wizard Video prerecord of DEMONAIC aka THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME?



I saw my first Jess Franco film, SUCCUBUS [NECRONOMICON], theatrically in 1969 (at a local, long gone, Adult theater) and then THE BLOODY JUDGE (1969) under the title NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST at a drive-in double bill in 1971. I drove out on the Franco film, disappointed and bored. After that I saw COUNT DRACULA (1970) and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (1969) via TV broadcasts sometime during the 1970s and pretty much wrote JF off as a director I was interested in.




 
It was the video boom of the 1980s which got me back into his work, first renting out video cassettes from retail outlets. I think my first JF video was Wizard Video's DEMONIAC {THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME-1979}. I do remember being impressed with the stark visual quality and Franco's performance as the mad killer. I had no idea that it was a composite which included a lot of footage from EXOCISME (1974) and thought that the changes in the main character's appearance were due to bad make-up! How little I knew back then. I was also impressed by the artwork on over sized box in which it packaged.




 
It took me another half decade to catch the full version of SADIST and the original EXORCISME, along with its XXX variant. I still go back and forth on which version I like the best, while knowing the director prefers SADIST... as his personal statement on cultural alienation [from Spain] and his stand-offish relationship with the Catholic Church. I always find it interesting that the actor who plays the Notre Dame priest Franco's character visits, Antonio De Cabo, is not credited in any version I have seen. De Cabo is also in Franco's DRACULA CONTRA FRANKENSTEIN (1971), DEVIL HUNTER (1980), CECILIA (1980) and plays the lawyer who reads the will in A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (1971).



 
I sometimes wish I still had that old Wizard Video in its over sized box with b&w stills on the back cover.
 
Do readers remember what their first JF home video experience was?


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09 March, 2009

DILLINGER IS DEAD Lives!


A Girl Is A Gun: Michel Piccoli embarks on a strange adventure in Marco Ferreri's DILLINGER IS DEAD.


OOP PAL DVD



Get over it! Dillinger is coming!


Marco Ferreri's DILLINGER E' MORTO (1969) is a film I've only had the opportunity to see via what looks like a 6th generation video dub from an Italian TV broadcast in the 1980s. I've had this now ancient video for about 20 years.

The good news is that this unsung masterwork has finally had its belated US theatrical debut in New York City [it first had a MOMA showing in 1970] last week and a 35mm print from Janus is going to be making the rounds. I kind of doubt that this limited theatrical release will include where I live but I'm sure hoping that a much deserved new DVD presentation from these elements will follow in due course.

I was rather irritated by the New York Times review which blasted this 40 year old film for its treatment of women and allowing the protagonist to get away with... Well, hopefully you can see the film. It may be politically incorrect in today's world but the film is a sharply ironic illustration of everything which was socially "correct" in sexual roles when it was made. Manohla Dargis may find the film flawed by "tedious high jinks and rank sexism" but the film luxuriates in its structural daring and questioning of sexism as a symptom of a smug culture. The review goes on to ridicule the film's evocation of the theories of Herbert Marcuse and Orphic symbolism, concluding "All this might be tolerable if Mr. Ferreri's attitude toward women were not as ugly as his sloppy visual style."

Well... I beg to differ. This "relic" from the 1960s is just as spot-on today as it was back then about the ongoing war (has a truce ever been declared?) between men and women. Visually the film at times resembles a Warhol canvas of that era representing familiar pop cultural icons. Gas masks play in key role in the story and iconography (cf Jess Franco's BLUE RITA).


Ferreri (1928-1997) is as dead as Dillinger and as easy a target. Remember, here's the man who gave us the gourmand's delight, LA GRANDE BOUFFE (1973), which I saw in Paris that year along with a stunned audience. Here was a director who gave you the sense that he liked to make people squirm as a prod toward transformational thought or any kind of thought.

The great Michel Piccoli is magnificently "closed" as the demented Glauco who spends most of the running time preparing a meal as a radio blares pop songs and vintage local adverts. A "plot" never emerges, only a droll track of seemingly random, odd moments which move toward something violent while unfolding in unpredictable increments... . Some find it maddening, I find it enveloping. The final image, which finds Glauco transported toward an unimagined new reality, is a stunner.

And the fact that there's hardly any dialogue in the film along with the exquisite, narcoleptic presence of Anita Pallenberg earns it extra points from me. Oh yes, the folksy John Dillinger himself makes an appearance during Glauco's long night of the soul. DILLINGER E' MORTO would make a fascinating late-1960's-take-on-1930's-gangsters double bill with Arthur Penn's BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967).


Other favorite and recommended Ferreri films include the 1981 Charles Bukowski adaptation TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS (the fearsome Pauline Kael was one of its few advocates) and the round-the-bend 1974 anti-western DON'T TOUCH THE WHITE WOMAN!

Jean Luc Godard was one of the few critics to praise DILLINGER E' MORTO and he should know something about annoying the status quo. Ferreri, who made several films in Spain (EL PISITO; El Cochecito), was also a sometime Jess Franco crony.

See DILLINGER IS DEAD if it shows up where you live and hope for a DVD as soon as possible. End of rant.

(c) Robert Monell, 2009




07 March, 2009

LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON THIS DVD




I'm looking for some information on this "alternate" version of Jess Franco's DAS BILDNIS DER DORIANA GRAY (1976). Is this the non-hardcore version? If anyone has seen or owns this DVD please reply in the comment area. If anyone has a copy of this PAL ABCDVD and is willing to trade a copy please contact me. Thanks.



01 March, 2009

THE JESS FRANCO ONLINE HOME VIDEO GUIDE




Visit THE JESS FRANCO ONLINE HOME VIDEO GUIDE at www.cinemadrome.yuku.com. Just hit the link at the top of the sidebar at right. I will attempt to individually log all the Jess Franco VHS and DVD releases since those formats began. Select Grey Market items will also be logged. Each post will cover a single presentation and since many films have numerous DVD/VHS incarnations this will be a pleasantly ongoing enterprise. They will not be sequentially ordered, but I'll go according to my mood, what I have and can find out about. There will be as much technical information as I can find/cut and paste in. I'll try to include vintage covers whenever possible. Everything from the 1980s WIZARD VIDEO videos to the most recent DVD releases will be included along with screenshots from the presentations when available.



I'll also be giving each presentation my own rating for the film itself, audio & video quality of the presentation. Please feel free to add any corrections or information by hitting reply. Comments are welcome and encouraged. This will not be a listing or review of ALL JF films, it will just attempt to gather as many of the VHS/DVD releases of his films as possible in one place with some commentary. Discs and videos from all regions will be included.

In the meantime I'm looking for the alternate X rated [not hardcore] OOP [at Xploited, at least] R0 PAL DVD of DORIANA GREY [Label: ABCDVD]. If anyone can help me out please contact me by email or comment below.

Robert Monell


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26 February, 2009

JESS FRANCO DVD QUIZ



Here's a menu screen for a DVD presentation of a Jess Franco film. Name the film and the company which is responsible for this DVD.



23 February, 2009

GIANNA MARIA CANALE


Gianna Maria Canale contemplates the illusory youth and beauty of Giselle Du Grand in the landmark Italian horror classic, I VAMPIRI...



The spider and her prey...


According to the IMDB and some blogs Italian actress Gianna Maria Canale died in Florence, Italy on Feb. 13, 2009. There doesn't seem to be any official confirmation of this from Italy but it's a good excuse to remember and celebrate her career... and if she's still with us that would be wonderful. Just as long as she's not forgotten. There's no actress quite like her in contemporary cinema.

A stunning, imperious beauty, she appeared in about 50 films, from her first significant role in Riccardo Freda's AQUILA NERA/THE BLACK EAGLE (1946) to THE AVENGER OF VENICE (1964). She became the muse and lover of legendary Italian genre director Riccardo Freda, appearing in 13 of his films.

She had an onscreen erotic presence which seemed to overwhelm all the actors around her, tempered by a brittle romanticism along with a patrician grace. Perhaps not a great actress but a supremely compelling one.

Of her films with Freda my favorite GMC roles were in SPARTACO/SINS OF ROME (1953), as the woman who drove Spartacus (Massimo Girotti) to distraction, THEODORA, SLAVE EMPRESS (1954), in which the titular temptress drove Georges Marchal to more distraction, and as the self-obsessed Giselle/Duchess Du Grand in I VAMPIRI (1957), a financial flop at the time but the film which was handwriting on the wall that the Italian Golden Age of Horror was at hand.

Since reports of her death still seem to be unconfimed I'm leaving it as a bracketed question mark. In the meantime, discover or rediscover Gianna Maria Canale in any of these recommended films:

REVENGE OF THE BLACK EAGLE (1951)
SPARTACO/THE SINS OF ROME (1953)
TEODORA, SLAVE EMPRESS (1954)
I VAMPIRI (1957)
GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961)

Here's something interesting from the www.astrotheme.com astrology site:

Map of the Heavens, Planets, Astrological Chart, Horoscope
Gianna-Maria CANALE,
born September 12, 1927 at 12:00 PM (unknown) in Reggio di Calabria (Italie)
Sun in 18°41 Virgo, Moon in 1°43 Aries
Chinese Astrology: Fire Cat
Numerology: Birthpath 4








22 February, 2009

FRANCISCO FRANCO: A Farewell To Arms


Personal Coat of Arms of Francisco Franco as Head of the Spanish State...





In Full Metal Jacket...






Spanish horror icons during the Francisco Franco years...




Francisco Franco (1892-1975), one of the Fascist dictators who rose to power in Europe before World War II, ruled Spain from 1939 until his death. He introduced technological and economic innovations to Spain, notably excluding some areas from social/political development. An ally of Hitler and Mussolini, who helped him win the Spanish Civil War from Republican forces. Later a key European ally of the US due to his strong anti-Communist stance and opening up Spain to US military bases. In a way his presence was the structuring absence behind the Spanish horror boom (1970-1975).

I sometimes wonder if he ever saw a Jess Franco film.




17 February, 2009

THE FILMS OF JEAN MARIE PALLARDY: UNE FEMME SPECIAL (1979)


[Jean-Marie Pallardy's feature films include:
• Emmanuelle Goes To Cannes
• Naked And Lustful
• Emmanuele 3
• A Very Special Woman*
• Erotic Daughters Of Emmanuelle
Details


ProductID HALP700059DVD
Number of Discs 5.00 Disc(s)
Format DVD
REGION CODE All Regions
Studio HALO PARK PICTURES
Release Date 11/18/2008
Actors Jean-Marie Pallardy
Video Widescreen; COLOR
Audio Dolby Digital Stereo
Language: English
Availability in stock

www.haloparkpictures.com]

REVIEW:
Video Quality: Poor (1.76:1/16X9)
Sound Quality: Fair to Poor (DOLBY DIGITAL; English language version)
Summary: This All Region Anamorphic widescreen presentation looks and sounds like it was transferred from a videocassette source.


This 1979 short feature (65m) has now appeared here in the US as part of the Erotic World of Jean-Marie Pallardy boxset with four other DVDs. I purchased this as a single to check it out before investing in the box. In English 16X9 Enhanced (doesn't look it, though); 1.66:1. The boxset retailed for under $60 and I found it in the Adult XXX room of a CD/Music store.

A Very Special Woman [UNE FEMME SPECIAL] (1979)
Starring: Karin Schubert, Georges Gueret, Mike Monty, Gordon Mitchell.
Director: Jean-Marie Pallardy

What attracted me to this was the presence of the cult actress (some would say sleaze-queen) Karin Schubert, along with the presence of Gordon Mitchell, who appears as a gangster wearing a very bright orange windbreaker. I had a brief but memorable email friendship with the late, legendary bodybuilder-actor until the time of his death. And I had never seen a Pallardy film before, so I decided this was a good place to start.

The plot is a sleazy mixture of crime and sexual encounters (softcore in this version). Schubert plays the wife of a gangster (Georges Gueret) who is compelled by him to smuggle illegal all over the world. She herself is hooked on heroin, kept addicted by him and gets into all kinds of sordid situations until she catches him in bed with another woman. Deciding she has had enough she dumps a small fortune in narcotics into the ocean. The disappearance of the drugs triggers the associates of his husband to send thugs in pursuit (Gordon Mitchell and Mike Monty) to get the drugs back/carry out a gangland sanction. At the end Karin kicks Gordon's ass before blasting him with a shotgun (Gordon's reaction is priceless! and walks off into the sunset with her supportive lover (Pallardy)... The abridged runtime is just under 66m, but most of the runtime involves Pallardy and Schubert romping on beaches, etc. Look for Brigette Lahaie in a small role.

There's a lot of softcore action in seaside seetings but it's all pretty tame. It looks like a series of 1970s continental nudie calendar photos. The score is an amusing mixture of retro funk, disco, synthesizer and the bizarre inclusion of the spiritual AMAZING GRACE to indicate the heroine's redemption. The high pitched bleating of the song will make you want to wish it's over as soon as it begins!

This is the first JM Pallardy film I've seen since WHITE FIRE (1985), also with Gordon Mitchell, and it struck me as cheap looking, tacky, but very entertaining and briskly paced Eurosleaze, and I enjoyed the roughly staged crime elements. Co starring Pallardy himself, a former male model whose directorial style here doesn't contain the sometimes artful personal touches of Jess Franco or Joe D'Amato imparted to similar material/projects. The poor cinematography, or maybe it was the dupey looking materials or transfer, is by Maurice Fellous and the very ragged editing by either Bruno Zincone or whoever edited the English language version. Is there a longer version on DVD or VHS? The box incorrectly lists a 72 m runtime and the imbd lists a 90m runtime. Could this be the length of the hard version?

The 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer is very unsharp with distorted, sometimes bleeding color (check out Mitchell's orange windbreaker), it's sometimes washed out with a general Grindhouse look/ambiance, complete with dropouts and numerous video glitches, which is somewhat appropriate, but the film quality looks very worn, beaten up, like it was taken from a much used videocassette, as do the trailers for the other titles in the set, EMMANUELLE 3, EMMANUELLE GOES TO CANNES, etc. I remember the old video I had of WHITE FIRE which looked better than this. The opening credits are in French and windowboxed, except for an insert of the main English language title, A VERY SPECIAL WOMAN. It all looks very cut and paste...

But I still enjoyed it. It's always good to see my late friend Gordon Mitchell (named "Gordon" on the English soundtrack)as a leering heavy. And it can be purchased as a single for under $12.00 on Amazon.com.

(c) Robert Monell, 2009




14 February, 2009

What's wrong with this picture?


This is a rather amusing example of misleading advertising. The above image is of Mirabel Martin and Alexandra Bastedo in a particularly gory moment from Vicente Aranda's 1972 lesbian vampire film LA NOVIA ENSANGRETADA [THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE].
But the advert is for the Finnish video of Jess Franco's LA COMTESSE NOIRE (1973)! Even in the blood sucking version of this there's nothing remotely like the ultra violence of this scene. I guess an image of Lina Romay walking half clothed through the mist wasn't exploitable enough... An amusing example of vintage exploitation tactics and alternate versions.

Has anyone seen this version? If so, please report on the exact content and run time in the comment area. Thanks.




12 February, 2009

ON EBAY!


[THERE'S ALSO A HOT LINK AND A DISCUSSION ON THIS OVER ON MY CINEMADROME BOARD. JUST HIT THE LINK AT THE TOP OF THE LEFT SIDEBAR AND GO TO THE FEATURED TOPICS]

Les possédées du Diable (1974)
de
Jesús Franco

avec
Pamela Stanford - Guy Delorme - Lina Romay - Howard Vernon - Jesús Franco - etc.

Edition : MPM
Codage : PAL

Poids (sans l'emballage) : 350 gr
Liquidation de près de 4000 VHS originales
N'hésitez pas à poser vos questions ou faire des suggestions de mise en vente Frais de port (selon les tarifs de la Poste belge):
Vers la France :
1 VHS (de moins de 350 gr - kilopost normal) : 6,40 euro
1 à 2 VHS (de plus de 350 gr - kilopost normal) : 9,60 euro
3 à 5 VHS (kilopost normal) : 19,20 euro
6 à 10 VHS (kilopost international) : 26 euro
11 à 22 VHS (kilopost international) : 39 euro
Vers la Belgique :
1 à 5 VHS (Taxipost LLS) : 5,50 euro
6 à 22 VHS (Taxipost LLS) : 9,50 euro
plus de 22 VHS (Taxipost LLS) : 11,50 euro
Modes de paiement acceptés : PayPal, Virement international

http://cgi.ebay.fr/RARE-L...A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Thanks to Eric Cotenas for the heads up on this....





09 February, 2009

WANTED ON DVD: TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS


Take a journey...





The Art of bondage... and vice-versa.





Dangerous reading....





Alain Robbe-Grillet: creator of literary/cinematic ambiguity...



Elias (Jean-Louis Trintignant) examines a pistol which has been hidden in a book. Such are the linguistic challenges of the films directed by the late Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922-2008). Exactly one of his directed films, LA BELLE CAPTIVE (1984) has had a R1 DVD presentation. But given their mixture of transgressive eroticism, literary/mythological subtexts and cinematic experimentation, that's simply not acceptable. There's a certain market for these films out there. Most important of all, his films, especially TEE, are teasing, highly intelligent, artistically adventurous entertainment.

I actually took the TEE from Paris to Antwerp, when I visited a friend in Belgium in 1973, with Robbe Grillet's elusive film [I hadn't yet seen it] very much on my mind. In fact I might have lounged in that very train car seen in the above shot. Who knows? Ambiguity is at the center of ARG's work, emotional/stylistic/ontological ambiguity. It's between the lines of his prose and behind the imagery in his films. TEE is a crime thriller wrapped in an enigma. An S&M journey into a put-on, deconstructionist adventure, like THE FRENCH CONNECTION as if directed by Jean Cocteau! The opening and closing shots bracket it as another ARG game within a film, leaving us delightfully mystified as the auteur flashes his somewhat chilling smile. Take a ride on the Trans Europ Express, but don't let down your guard...

You really can't describe this film, you have to see it. Is Severin listening?


(c) Robert Monell, 2009




01 February, 2009

Jess Franco Gets His Goya


Congratulations to Jess Franco!




Feb. 1, 2009: The XXIII Goya Awards Ceremony , Madrid.

Many thanks to Nzoog.


THE EROTIC WORLD OF JEAN-MARIE PALLARDY


Coming in 2009 from MVD with 100 photos from the director's collection and a 60m Jean-Marie Pallardy featurette. In English/4X3/unrated version. These DVD presentations were supervised by the director.

http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVDV4854
http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVDV4853
http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVDV4852




This 2008 Halopark Pictures 5 DVD All Region JM Pallardy box set can be found for as little as $60. All are the cut, English language versions of the original French productions. This sets/discs are unrelated to the MVD releases.


Watch out for those horny Lumberjacks! Another 2009 JM Pallardy DVD from MVD.



Fun, vintage Eurosleaze on ALL REGION DVD from www.haloparkpictures.com/ Anamorphic widescreen 1.76:1/16X9 Enhanced/English language version. My review of this Halopark Pictures DVD will follow...

NB: This is cut from the original version down to 65m, although it's listed on the box as 72m.

Thanks to Tubbytoast for the heads up and above links on the 2009 JM Pallardy DVD rleases.




26 January, 2009

THE BEST OF 2008: MICHEL LEMOINE in LA STRADA PER FORT ALAMO

Directed by "John Old" The bare shoulders of Jany Clair, fetish queen in a glittering mise-en-scene 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

23 January, 2009

2009: EDGAR ALLAN POE'S BICENTENNIAL


From death at 40 to Immortality...





Semi-Poe...



Howard Vernon's Dr. Eric Usher...


I didn't get the chance to post on that day but Jan. 19th 2009 was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, the greatest, and most influential, horror/science fiction/mystery/detective fiction writer in the English language, and perhaps in any language. In his short [40 year] lifespan he managed to create genres and forms which expanded literature in the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries. In terms of fantastic/fantasy/Gothic cinema he is probably the most adapted of all writers. What I find interesting is that in many cases the films which stray farthest from the original stories in terms of plotting, or aren't Poe adaptations at all (Riccardo Freda's 1962 L'ORRIBLE SEGRETO DEL DOTTORE HICHCOCK comes most readily to mind), are sometimes closer in spirit to Poe than the more literal adaptations.

Filmmakers have attempted to recreate his worlds since the silent era. Of course, the popular 1960's Roger Corman/AIP series was a mainstay of my wayward youth. Poe couldn't be more relevant to the subject of this blog considering the Jess Franco Poe inspired films of the 70s, 80s and 1990s.

The best known JF Poe adaptation is probably EL HUNDIMIENTO DE LAS CASA USHER aka LOS CRIMENES DE USHER/NEVROSE/NEUROSIS/REVENGE IN THE HOUSE OF USHER. This controversial 1983 effort presents us with a radically different viewing experience depending on which of the alternate versions you see.

This week I re watched a R2 disc I had [thanks to Francesco Cesari] of the Spanish language version, clocking in at under 80m. I now think this may be one of the closest cinematic equivalents [in terms of being in the spirit of...] to Poe in terms of style and thematic evolution. And it makes a fascinating double bill with Corman's 1960 AIP version. I'll have a lot more to say on the versions and my thoughts on this film, Franco's other Poe films and other Poe film adaptations throughout 2009, Poe's Bicentennial.

(c) Robert Monell, 2009




17 January, 2009

LA COMTESSE NOIRE Versions: LUSTERNDE VAMPIRE IM SPERMARAUSCH


2001 X RATED KULT DVD version





Even male lead Jack Taylor wonders: Which version is which?!




A confused Ramon Ardid is the hotel masseur who gets a full service blow job by the Countess Irina in the hardcore versions while in others just gets teased before it cuts to his body being carried away by helpful female vampire butler Luis Barboo!



How many versions are there of the 1973 Jess Franco project best known as FEMALE VAMPIRE? COUNTLESS!

Filmed under the title, LA COMTESSE NOIRE, as a non hardcore erotic vampire film set on the island of Madeira, this popular title had alternate scenes shot of bloody vampire attacks (for EROTIKILL) and still later hardcore scenes were added for that market. Franco/Eurocine obviously wanted different versions for different venues.

I'm going to attempt to do a single blog on each and every version I have on video/DVD or have heard about.

LUSTERNDE VAMPIRE IM SPERMARAUSCH [onscreen title]: version under EROTIKILL/LADY DRACULA 2 on the X RATED KULT DVD BOX #24/ LAUFZEIT GESAMT: 105+9 Minuten
Deutsch [German language] Dolby
Dolby Stereo
1.2.35:1
Code 2/Europa

Extras: Trailers for Jean Rollin's ZOMBIE LAKE; JF's DIAMONDS OF KILIMANJARO (tinted); MONDO CANNIBAL; others.

This version contains all the hardcore footage but none of the straight bloodsucking footage seen in EROTIKILL [Force Video] and in the IMAGE FV extras folder.

VIDEO: Fair. Soft, generally unsharp, somewhat faded color, visible print damage.
AUDIO: Fair to poor- The most unusual, and annoying, aspect of this presentation is that the German dubbers have added various sounds made by the supposedly mute Countess Irina, she goes "Uh...", "Oh..." and "Umm...", moans and emits other atmosphere destroying noises. Why this was done is beyond me. She's supposed to be completely silent! At least the movie works best that way.

I would be interested to know how many distinct versions of LA COMTESSE NOIRE blog readers have in their own collections and which are the favored ones. Don't try to collect them all. Remember, there's a recession on!





13 January, 2009

TORREJON CITY: DVD debut of rare Leon Klimovsky western


Leon Klimovsky's 1962 R2 DVD debuted on R2 DVD in Spain last month...



Wanted on R1 DVD! EL LLANERO/THE JAGUAR, Jess Franco's 1963 Venezuelan "Western"...



Leon Klimovsky's rarely seen 1962 Spanish comedy-western TORREJON CITY is now available on PAL R2 DVD from Vellavision. This is the first ever DVD presentation of this title of which I am aware.

The film features popular Spanish comedian Tony Leblanc as Tim el Malo.

Technical specs look pretty basic with a 4:3 presentation in Spanish language only and no supplements. Video and audio quality are up in the air at this point but it's good nonetheless to have this very early Spanish western on DVD. Klimovsky directed another 9 Spanish lensed westerns from the early 60's into the 1970's.

It would be very nice to have R1 DVD presentations of former Klimovsky collaborator Jess Franco's equally obscure Spanish western related work: the two 1954 "El Coyote" films he co-wrote and co-directed with Joaquin Romero Marchent, EL COYOTE and LA JUSTICIA DEL COYOTE, based on the Zorro-like stories of Jose Mallorqui Figueroa; a complete version of Marchent's Franco-scripted LA VENGANZA DEL ZORRO (1962) and Franco's own EL LLANERO (1963) featuring a very hot Silvia Sorente (CASTLE OF BLOOD).

I'll try to include a review of the TORREJON CITY DVD by myself or one of our Spanish correspondents in the near future.

[Technical specs from the DVDGO site]
Ficha Técnica
Director León Klimovsky
Actores Tony Leblanc, May Heatherly, Mara Laso, Mary Begoña, Antonio Garisa, Venancio Muro, Xan das Bolas
Duración 79 min
Distribuidor VellaVision
Discos 1
Región 2
Video Pal
4:3
Idiomas Audio Dolby Digital 5.1: Español . Dolby Digital 2.0: Español

TORREJON CITY can be ordered from www.dvdgo.com

Thanks to Nzoog for additional information on this film and DVD release.







08 January, 2009

THE EROTIC AND PAINFUL OBSESSIONS OF JESS FRANCO CD


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








05 January, 2009

GOODBYE TO EDMUND PURDOM (1924-2009)


From Jess Franco to...

*
...Joe D'Amato, Edmund Purdom worked with the two most prolific creators of European Trash Cinema [*Original Italian advert for THE MONSTER HUNTER]




Narrated by Edmund Purdom, one of a number of "Mondo" type films to which he lent his voice...




"It's The Dean!"




Michael Curtiz's 1954 epic redefined "wooden"....




In this personal favorite Purdom hunted a homicidal genetic mutant played by "George Eastman"




Prudom had a busy 50 year career with roles in many genres...




Ready to kick butt!




Fitting right into the Poliziotteschi genre as Luigi, the brutal Mafia boss in MR. SCARFACE (US title), Purdom used even more greasy hair cream than nemesis Jack Palance!



As Teddy, an Internal Affairs investigator, Purdom had an unnerving smile plastered on his face throughout this sleazy, obscure 1974 Paolo Lombardo contribution to his Poliziotteschi filmography.




Edmund was definitely over-the-top as the demented King Sveno in this Mario Bava/Giacomo Gentilomo Vichingo.



Edmund Purdom, the British stage, screen and voice actor passed away at the age of 84on Jan. 1, 2009 in Rome, Italy. After appearing on stage in England as a performer in Olivier's company he came to Hollywood where he made his film debut [uncredited] in TITANIC (1953), ironically, according to the IMDB, his last work was as a voice actor in TITANIC: THE ANIMATED MOVIE (2001).

Some will remember him for his early roles in such early 1950's Hollywood spectacles as THE STUDENT PRINCE and THE EGYPTIAN. He seemed rather stiff and uncomfortable in those. I think he was much more suited to (and seemed to be having a lot more fun with) the wide variety of roles he later played in numerous European B genre films. These include Riccardo Freda's 1957 thriller AGGUATO A TANGERI, where he delivers a quite dull performance, the Giacomo Gentilomo-Mario Bava adventure LAST OF THE VIKINGS, in which he atrociously overacts as the mad King Sveno, to the murderous Dean in the notorious PIECES (1981). Then there were the two Jess Franco films in which he appeared opposite William Berger: as Admiral Marlowe UN CAPITAN DE QUINCE ANOS (1972) and as Inspector Crosby LOS OJOS SINIESTROS DEL DOCTOR ORLOFF (1973). A few years ago I recorded an unpublished interview with one of the other actors in Franco's LOS OJOS... who shared with me that Purdom, while professional, was not an easy actor to work with.

I have always enjoyed watching Purdom in whatever he's in but especially his European Trash Cinema appearances. One of my favorites of his ETC roles was his obsessed Greek priest, the title character in Joe D'Amato's THE MONSTER HUNTER, the US Wizard video retitling of ROSSO SANGUE (1981).

What is your favorite Edmund Purdom performance?

(c) Robert Monell, 2009