22 October, 2009

Jean-Bernard Raiteux LP Images

image

Thanks to Curt for the image and information on the Jean-Bernard Raiteux LP. I'm still trying to find out more about the composer-musican whose music can be heard in at least three Franco films of the early 1970s: LES DEMONS (1972), SINNER (1972) and THE PERVERSE COUNTESS (1973). I also think some of his cues may be heard on the soundtrack of LA MALDICION DE FRANKENSTEIN (1972), but I'll have to confirm that at a later date.*

The feverish electric guitar stylings, backed by furious drumming and untamed flute variations are a unique sonic environment for the story of witchcraft and corruption in LES DEMONS.


33 1/3 <MONO-STEREO)
...
MPI/LP - 539
" musique pour l'image n° 39 "
HARLEM POP TROTTERS
Musique de Jean-Bernard RAITEUX
Face A
1. RAGE DE SKI
RA PID E
Musique fougueuse. Roge de vivre
2'47
2. JUDO K
LENT
Bourrée orientale pour hommes ca/mes
3'30
3. GALOP POUR UN 100 METRES
RA P 1 DE
Sprint pour 2 iambes ou 4 fers
3'06
4. VOILE EN LA MINEUR
LENT
Un romantisme serein
2'46
5. FOLKSET
MEDIUM - RAPIDE
Un tennis américain
3'04
6. PUNCHING POP
RAPIDE
Batteries, bongos et guitare - percussion

Face B
1. DRAGSTERS
RA PIDE
En soliste, le sax-soprano dramatise
3'45
2. LA BARAKA DU BARAQUÉ
MEDIUM - LENT
Un ;azzo.flûte burlesque qui fait /e poids et s'altère...
2'18
3. HARLEM POP TROTTERS
MEDIUM
Des bongos présents soulignent les bonds de la balle
2'35
4. LA MEDUSE APPRIVOISEÉ
LENT
Entre deux eaux
2'53
3'11
5. SWIMMING FO,LK
MEDIUM.- RAPIDE Un crowl médjterranéen
6 CRAVACHE D'OR 2'32
RAPIDE. .
Pour de brillantes chevauchées

Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7.

16 October, 2009

THE DEMONS: German Theatrical Version & Music


The 2004 X-RATED KULT DVD: LES DEMONS/DIE NONNEN VON CLICHY: The X-RATED NUNSPLOITATION SERIES 5, DOPPEL DVD SET, will be one of the crown jewels of the serious Jess Franco collector. PAL, Code 2, 16:9 anamorphic.


I just re watched the vintage German theatrical version of Jess Franco's 1972 Nunsploitation/Witchfinder General epic. It struck me how this second version of the story of Judge Jeffries violates history and the director's own first version [THE BLOODY JUDGE-1970] by having the character undone by a supernatural curse ["the kiss of death"]. Of course, Britt Nichols and Anne Libert are the erotic objects in this film, and the director can't seem to wait to get them out of their habits and either into bed with assorted partners or into the torture chamber. One really can't compare John Foster [Cihangir Gaffari] as Jeffries to Christopher Lee's intensive portray of the character. Gaffari tries to look intense, and he does have striking features. Gaffari and DP Raul Artigot went on to make the contemporary witchcraft thriller, THE WITCHES MOUNTAIN, the same year.

This version is one of three on the X RATED KULT set, still my favorite Jess Franco DVD. The "Original Deutsche Kinofassung mit Bonusszenen" is a Grindhouse delight, complete with lime green scratches, missing frames, visible flags at reel changes and all sorts of blemishes. It's letterboxed wider than 2.35:2, its OAR. An educated guess would be 2.50:1, cutting into the top of the images. It's also the only version of the three to contain the vintage 1972 credits, in German DIE NONNEN VON CLICHY. Run time approximately 85m. It's definitely preferable to a cropped 1.33:1 presentation and has some historical value. Luis Barboo takes over the role of the Inquisitor, played by Howard Vernon in THE BLOODY JUDGE. It's always good to see the mangled visage of Barboo and one has to admire how Vernon, the memorably vicious Inquisitor in the first version, can be just as effective as the only totally sympathetic, enlightened person in the court.

What holds the film together even in its many compromised states, at least for me, is the startling, sometimes anachronistic score by Jean-Bernard Raiteux. Parts of the score, which could be described as a mixture of early 70's acid rock and period Baroque, were reused in Franco's 1973 LA COMTESSE PERVERSE. Franco's compositions also range from the symmetrical to the classical to the frenzied zooming and panning of the opening. Note the lens ravishing of Britt Nichols and Doris Thomas during their extended masturbation sequences.


I'm still interested in hearing from anyone who has the score on CD or vinyl, if it was ever issued. I would like to somehow get a copy. Thanks to Tony of Xploited and Squonkmatic.





10 October, 2009

ENTRE PITOS ANDA EL JUEGO (1985): Spanish Kiosk DVD

"El Ojete de Lulú"
image


Thanks to Francesco Cesari for sending the rare "Spanish kiosk DVD" of Jess Franco's 1985 ENTRE PITOS ANDA EL JUEGO, a delightfully airy, witty and self reflexive hardcore feature con "Candy Coster", directed by "Lulu Laverne", produced by Fernando Vidal Campos' Fervi Films. 
It's obvious that Franco took these micro-budgeted hardcores as seriously as his non-erotic, more mainstream, linear mid 80s Fervi Film projects. The erotic film, even hardcore, is another legitimate genre for him.

A brief (approx. 70 m) venture, this is a minimalist (by necessity), almost Godardian take on the demands of Spanish hc consumers in that era. The telezoom images of high rises over Alicante [?] under the credits remind me of similar images in Godard's TWO OR THREE THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER (1966), also about sex, architecture and is the kind of film snobs hate. The same kind of snobs who jeer at Demofilo Fidani "westerns" and Jess Franco hardcore assignations. And remember, Orson Welles also worked on at least one hardcore film late in his career.* And it's always good to see "Mona Lisa"*... . Obviously, I take a certain attitude as a default mode when dealing with Franco's hc portfolio, and this is one that bears the scrutiny.

Franco is quoted in OBSESSION: THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO (who also list this item as a Lina Romay film "with Franco's collaboration"; I think, "ghosted" by JF) as saying at Cannes '92 that, "This film has one of the best comic sequences in the history of pornographic cinema...." I won't go on. Solo Jess Franco....! I'll go on... more about the Spanish Kiosk DVDs of Jess Franco mid 1980s hardcores soon.

NOTE: the above image is from Franco's 1985 hardcore EL OJETE DE LULU, unfortunately it doesn't lead to the YouTube video, which appears to have been removed.

The Agfacolor DVD print is really nice. Good luck in finding one!
 
*3 AM [Gary Graver]
*Concha Montes.
 
UPDATED 10/2009


Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.

08 October, 2009

NEW JESS FRANCO INTERVIEW!


Jess Franco and Amy Brown at the 2009 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas...



Amy Brown, the world-class authority on all things related to the late, legendary Soledad Miranda, now has a terrific new interview with Jess Franco up on her soledadmiranda.com website.
 
There is some fascinating new information in this interview about Miranda's overall career, her films with Franco, along with Franco's comments on her too-short life and some surprising revelations about what may have been some of their future projects together if she hadn't died.
 
I highly recommend this interview to anyone interested in Jess Franco/Soledad Miranda. Great job, Amy!
 

http://www.soledadmiranda.com/fantastic.html

Amy Brown
 
 
Thanks to Amy for the link and images.



Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

01 October, 2009

DANIEL MARTIN (1935-2009)



Another Spanish actor noted for his many appearances in Spanish-lensed European genre films of the 1960s and 70s has passed away. Daniel Martin (real name: Jose Martinez Martinez), perhaps most familiar to US movie fans as the Mexican peasant father of Jesus in FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, died on Monday, September 28 in Spain. He appeared, mostly as a supporting player, in numerous Euro westerns and genre films such as THE DEVIL'S KISS (1975). One of his more prominent roles was as Charlie in Lucio Fulci's WHITE FANG. His career included over 70 roles from his first film in 1962 to his work in Spanish TV in late 1990s.

He also appeared in such films as Amando de Ossorio's DEMON-WITCH-CHILD (1974) and THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS (1969). As an actor he always seemed to bring humor, intensity and a certain energy to his roles. He was born 12 May 1935, in Cartagena, Spain. Thanks to Nzoog.




24 September, 2009

VICTOR ISRAEL (1929-2009)


Frightening the tourists in Raul Artigot's THE WITCHES MOUNTAIN (1972)


Even though he only appeared in one Jess Franco film [DOWNTOWN HEAT-1990] I can't think of a more appropriate place to post this. Thanks to Nzoog for reporting the passing of this favorite Spanish character actor last week. Victor Israel was as prolific an actor as Franco is a director. He had a distinctive appearance with his slight frame, craggy face and ever-so-strange head which was balding on top but had electrified hair shooting out of the sides! His look alone was enough to produce a sense of unease. He could also be very funny. He should have been cast as some kind of creature in the LORD OF THE RINGS films and seemed to be a character who could have sprung out of the pages of Poe, Lovecraft or Stephen King.

Readers of this blog will remember him for his horror [the zombie priest in HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD] and Eurowestern [THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY] roles. He was an actor's actor who immediately commanded attention as soon as he appeared onscreen. A great, invaluable supporting player. Appearing in over 150 films [according to the IMDB-see filmography below] from TIERRA BRUTAL in 1961 to his final film appearance in 2007, he played all types of roles in film and television. A busy career.

Two of my favorite Victor Israel roles: the cemetery man in Miguel Madrid's GRAVEYARD OF HORROR (1971) and the bewildered innkeeper in the 1972 Raul Artigot occult thriller THE WITCHES MOUNTAIN.

What is your favorite Victor Israel role?



[From the IMDB]:
El Monte de las brujas (1972) -- A young couple traveling through the Pyrenees stays overnight at an ancient Spanish castle, only to discover that it is the headquarters for a coven of witches.
"I Spy" (1965): Season 2: Episode 24 -- Robinson and Scott scour Madrid to retrace events that led to the murder of Kelly's date (Zohra Lampert), a Soviet ballerina. Guest starring: Zohra Lampert, Lawrence Dane, Alan Oppenheimer, Lou Krugman, Shep Sanders
Horror Express (1972) -- An English anthropologist has discovered a frozen monster in the frozen wastes of Manchuria which he believes may be the Missing Link...
advertisement
Overview
Date of Birth:
13 June 1929, Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain more
Mini Biography:
Victor Israel is one of the most prolific and ubiquitous, yet anonymous... more
STARmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Alternate Names:
Víctor D'Israel | Victor Israel
IMDb Resume:
Do you represent Víctor Israel? Add a resume and photos to this page with IMDb Resume.
Filmography
Jump to filmography as: Actor, Self, Archive Footage
Actor:

* 2000s
* 1990s
* 1980s
* 1970s
* 1960s

1. Sitges-Nagasaki (2007) .... Doctor
2. Goya's Ghosts (2006) .... Money Monk
... aka Los fantasmas de Goya (Spain: dubbed version)
3. Mola ser malo (2005)
4. "Paco y Veva" (2 episodes, 2004)
... aka "Paco y Veva (Somos jóvenes)" (Spain)
- ¿Nos conocemos? (2004) TV episode
- Duelo de cucharas en Cupido Palace (2004) TV episode
5. "Hospital Central" .... Agustín (1 episode, 2003)
- Cambio de planes (2003) TV episode .... Agustín
6. Cásate conmigo, Maribel (2002) .... Don Manuel
7. Vivancos 3 (2002) .... Borracho
... aka Dirty Vivancos III (International: English title)
... aka Vivancos III (Si gusta haremos las dos primeras) (Spain)
8. Mi casa es tu casa (2002) .... Jordi
9. El cielo abierto (2001) .... Abuelo Jazmina
... aka Ten Days Without Love (International: English title)

10. "La memòria dels Cargols" (1 episode, 1999)
- Lo Lleó de Santa Gueraula (1999) TV episode
11. Quince (1998) .... Quitamal
12. Tiempos mejores (1994) .... Taxista
13. Ciudad Baja (Downtown Heat) (1994) .... Vagabond
... aka La punta de las víboras (Spain: TV title)
14. Un plaer indescriptible (1992)
... aka Un placer indescriptible (Spain: Castilian title)
15. L'home de neó (1991) .... El profesor
... aka El hombre de neón (Spain: Castilian title)
... aka The Neon Man (International: English title)
16. Un submarí a les estovalles (1991) .... Travesti
... aka Un submarino bajo el mantel (Spain)
17. "Le gorille" .... Le majordome (1 episode, 1990)
... aka "Il gorilla" (Italy)
- Le Gorille dans le pot-au-noir (1990) TV episode .... Le majordome

18. Bueno y tierno como un ángel (1989)
19. El anticristo 2 (Magic London) (1989) .... Comisario
20. "Crònica negra" (1 episode, 1988)
- Mala llet (1988) TV episode
21. "13 x 13" (1 episode, 1987)
- La dama blanca (1987) TV episode
22. Adela (1987)
23. La veritat oculta (1987)
... aka La verdad oculta (Spain: Castilian title)
24. Una nit a Casa Blanca (1987)
... aka Una noche en Casablanca (Spain: Castilian title)
25. Los nuevos curanderos (1986)
... aka Els nous curanderos (Spain: Catalan title)
26. Más allá de la muerte (1986)
27. Escapada final (1985)
... aka Scapegoat (International: English title)
28. Acosada (1985)
... aka Acosada (Spain)
... aka Harassed (International: English title)
29. Al este del oeste (1984) .... Tumbas
30. Serpiente de mar (1984)
... aka Hydra
... aka Hydra-Monster of the Deep (International: English title)
... aka The Sea Serpent (USA)
31. Moment crític (1984)
32. Un genio en apuros (1983)
... aka Un geni amb l'aigua al coll (Spain: Catalan title)
33. Juana la loca... de vez en cuando (1983)
34. Morbus (o bon profit) (1983)
... aka Morbus (Spain: Castilian title: short title)
35. Asalto al Banco Central (1983)
36. El invernadero (1983)
37. El ser (1982) .... Gravedigger
38. Cristóbal Colón, de oficio... descubridor (1982)
39. La rebelión de los pájaros (1982)
... aka La revolta dels ocells (Spain: Catalan title)
40. Queen Lear (1982) .... Hobo
41. Rocky Carambola (1981) (as Victor Israel) .... Gangster jefe
... aka La criada se enamora (Mexico: subtitle)
... aka Le agarró la mano el chango (Mexico)
42. ¡Viva la Pepa! (1981)
... aka Mel i mató (Spain: Catalan title)
43. La cripta (1981)
... aka El misterio de la cripta embrujada (Mexico)
... aka The Crypt
44. Neumonía erótica y pasota (1981) .... Pepe
45. Virus (1980/I) .... Zombie priest
... aka Apocalipsis caníbal (Spain)
... aka Hell of the Living Dead (International: English title)
... aka Inferno dei morti viventi (Italy)
... aka Night of the Zombies (USA)
... aka Zombi 5: Ultimate Nightmare (Italy)
... aka Zombie Creeping Flesh (UK)
... aka Zombie Inferno
46. Denver (1980)
47. Viciosas al desnudo (1980)

48. Jaguar Lives! (1979) .... Sicilian party guest
... aka El felino (Spain)
49. "Doctor Caparrós, medicina general" (5 episodes)
- El mal de queixal s'encomana (????) TV episode
- Ja som aquí (????) TV episode
- Matemàtiques i futbol (????) TV episode
- Qui serà el nou alcalde (????) TV episode
- Visites d'urgència (????) TV episode
50. Cinco tenedores (1979)
... aka Five Forks
51. La profezia (1978) .... Giovanni
... aka L'osceno desiderio (Italy: alternative title)
... aka Le pene nel ventre (Italy)
... aka Obscene Desire (USA)
... aka Poseída (Spain)
52. Trampa sexual (1978)
53. Espectro (Más allá del fin del mundo) (1978) (as Víctor D'Israel) .... Tabernero
... aka Espectro (Spain)
54. Un hombre llamado Flor de Otoño (1978)
... aka A Man Called Autumn Flower (USA)
55. Dinero maldito (1978) .... Morgan
... aka I miei peggiori amici (Italy)
... aka Il braccio violento della mala (Italy)
... aka Killer's Gold (USA)
56. Me siento extraña (1977)
57. El jovencito Drácula (1977)
58. El pobrecito Draculín (1977) .... Vladimir
59. "Es muß nicht immer Kaviar sein" (1 episode)
- Ich heiße Mabel (????) TV episode
60. Las locuras de Jane (1977)
61. Cuentos de las sábanas blancas (1977) .... Calixto - mesonero
... aka Tales of the White Sheets (International: English title: literal title)
62. "La saga de los Rius" (5 episodes, 1976-1977)
... aka "La saga dels Rius" (Spain: Catalan title)
- Episode #1.9 (1977) TV episode
- Episode #1.6 (1976) TV episode
- Episode #1.5 (1976) TV episode
- Episode #1.2 (1976) TV episode
- Episode #1.1 (1976) TV episode
63. El secreto inconfesable de un chico bien (1976)
64. Las ratas no duermen de noche (1976) .... Karl
... aka Crimson (USA: video title)
... aka Crimson, the Color of Blood (International: English title)
... aka L'homme à la tête coupée (France)
... aka Le viol et l'enfer des X (France)
65. Manuela (1976)
66. Bons baisers de Hong Kong (1975) .... Victor
... aka From Hong Kong with Love (International: English title)
67. "El quinto jinete" .... Topo (1 episode, 1975)
- El ladrón de cadáveres (1975) TV episode .... Topo
68. Pim, pam, pum... ¡fuego! (1975) .... Sr. Dimas
... aka Pim, Pam, Pum... Fire! (International: English title)
... aka Ready, Aim, Fire! (International: English title)
69. Clara es el precio (1975)
70. Il bianco, il giallo, il nero (1975) .... Man In Prison
... aka El blanco, el amarillo y el negro (Spain)
... aka Le blanc, le jaune et le noir (France)
... aka Samurai (Canada: English title: video title)
... aka Shoot First... Ask Questions Later (USA)
... aka The White, the Yellow, and the Black (USA)
71. "Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi" .... Basch Kiatib (2 episodes, 1975)
- Die Brüder Aladschy (1975) TV episode .... Basch Kiatib
- Die Entlarvung des Mübarek (1975) TV episode .... Basch Kiatib
72. La maldición de la bestia (1975)
... aka Hall of the Mountain King (USA: cut version)
... aka Horror of the Werewolf
... aka Night of the Howling Beast (USA)
... aka The Werewolf and the Yeti (Europe: English title: video title)
73. La perversa caricia de Satán (1975) .... Baron de Clanchart
... aka Le baiser du diable (France)
... aka The Devil's Kiss (UK)
... aka The Wicked Caresses of Satan (USA)
74. Zorrita Martínez (1975)
75. What Changed Charley Farthing? (1974) .... Christmas
... aka El tramposo (Spain)
... aka The Bananas Boat (USA)
... aka The Swindler (Philippines: English title)
76. El último proceso en París (1974)
77. La chica del Molino Rojo (1973)
... aka The Chorus Girls (USA: video title)
... aka The Girl from the Red Cabaret (USA)
78. Ricco (1973) .... Checana, the nightclub owner
... aka Ajuste de cuentas (Spain)
... aka Cauldron of Death
... aka Gangland (USA: video title)
... aka Mean Machine
... aka Ricco (USA)
... aka Ricco the Mean Machine (USA: DVD title)
... aka The Dirty Mob
... aka Un tipo con una faccia strana ti cerca per ucciderti (Italy)
79. Anche gli angeli mangiano fagioli (1973) .... Giudà
... aka Even Angels Eat Beans (Canada: English title)
... aka Les anges mangent aussi des fayots (France)
... aka También los ángeles comen judías (Spain)
80. La isla misteriosa (1973) .... Pirate
... aka Captain Nemo (Spain: DVD box title)
... aka Jules Verne's Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo
... aka Jules Verne's Mysterious Island of Dr. Nemo
... aka L'île mystérieuse (France)
... aka L'isola misteriosa e il capitano Nemo (Italy)
... aka The Mysterious Island (USA)
... aka The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo
81. La polizia incrimina la legge assolve (1973) .... Scorfano
... aka High Crime
... aka La policía detiene, la ley juzga (Spain)
... aka The Marseilles Connection (UK: video title)
82. Che c'entriamo noi con la rivoluzione? (1972)
... aka ¡Qué nos importa la revolución! (Spain)
... aka What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution (USA)
83. Trop jolies pour être honnêtes (1972) .... Le psychiatre
... aka Demasiado bonitas para ser honestas (Spain)
... aka Perché mammà ti manda solo? (Italy)
... aka Quatre souris pour un hold-up (France)
... aka Seduction Squad (USA: video title)
... aka The Powder Puff Gang (USA: alternative title)
... aka Too Pretty to Be Honest
84. Horror Express (1972) .... Luggage Worker
... aka Pánico en el Transiberiano (Spain)
... aka Panic in the Trans-Siberian Train (International: English title)
85. Treasure Island (1972) .... Morgan
... aka Die Schatzinsel (West Germany)
... aka L'île au trésor (France)
... aka L'isola del tesoro (Italy)
... aka La isla del tesoro (Spain)
86. Un verano para matar (1972)
... aka Meurtres au soleil (France)
... aka Ricatto alla mala (Italy)
... aka Summertime Killer (USA)
87. El Monte de las brujas (1972) .... Inn-Keeper
... aka The Witches' Mountain
88. Kill! (1971) .... Baron
... aka Kill! (West Germany)
... aka Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! (USA)
... aka Kill: matar (Spain)
... aka Police Magnum (France)
89. ¡Viva la muerte... tua! (1971) .... Manuel Mendoza
... aka ¡Viva la muerte... tuya! (Spain)
... aka Don't Turn the Other Cheek (USA)
... aka Long Live Your Death
... aka Viva la muerte... tua! (Italy)
... aka Zwei Galgenvögel geben Zunder (West Germany)
... aka Zwei tolle Companeros (West Germany)
... aka Zwei wilde Companeros (West Germany)
90. Necrophagus (1971) .... Mr. Fowles
... aka El descuartizador de Binbrook
... aka Graveyard of Horror
... aka Necromaniac (video title)
... aka The Butcher of Binbrook (USA)
91. Catlow (1971) (as Victor Israel) .... Pesquiera
92. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) (uncredited) .... Cowardly coachman
... aka Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue (USA: complete title)
93. Aunque la hormona se vista de seda... (1971) .... Sebastián
94. Una chica casi decente (1971)
95. The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) .... Das Mortes
... aka La luz del fin del mundo (Spain)
96. El bosque del lobo (1971) .... Lameiro
... aka The Ancines Woods (International: English title)
97. Las melancolicas (1971)
... aka Exorcism's Daughter (USA)
... aka House of Insane Women
... aka Women of Doom
98. The Arizona Kid (1971)
... aka I fratelli di Arizona (Italy)
99. Uomo avvisato mezzo ammazzato... Parola di Spirito Santo (1971) .... Priest
... aka Blazing Guns
... aka El halcón de Sierra Madre (Spain)
... aka Forewarned, Half-Killed... the Word of the Holy Ghost
... aka His Name Was Holy Ghost (USA)
... aka They Call Him Holy Ghost
... aka Y le llamaban El Halcón (Spain)
100. Vamos a matar, compañeros (1970) (uncredited) .... Rosenbloom henchman with brown suit
... aka Companeros (USA)
... aka Laßt uns töten, Companeros (West Germany)
... aka Los compañeros (Spain)
... aka Zwei Compañeros (West Germany)
101. Persecución hasta Valencia (1970)
... aka Il sapore della vendetta (Italy)
... aka The Narco Men
102. Cabezas cortadas (1970) .... Doctor
... aka Cabeças Cortadas (Brazil)
... aka Cutting Heads (International: English title)
103. ¡Vivan los novios! (1970)
... aka Long Live the Bride and Groom (International: English title)

104. El abogado, el alcalde y el notario (1969)
... aka L'advocat, l'alcalde i el notari (Spain: Catalan title)
105. El ángel (1969)
106. ¡Viva América! (1969)
... aka Cry Chicago (USA: TV title)
... aka La vera storia di Frank Mannata (Italy)
... aka Mafia Mob
107. Vivi o, preferibilmente, morti (1969) (uncredited) .... Mayoralty candidate henchman with glasses, standing right beside him
... aka Alive or Preferably Dead
... aka Sundance Cassidy and Butch the Kid (USA)
... aka Sundance and the Kid
... aka Vivos o preferiblemente muertos (Spain)
108. Las crueles (1969) .... El portero
... aka The Exquisite Cadaver (USA: new title)
109. ¿Por qué te engaña tu marido? (1969)
... aka Why Does Your Husband Deceive You?
110. La residencia (1969) .... Brechard
... aka The Boarding School (International: English title)
... aka The Finishing School (USA)
... aka The House That Screamed (USA)
111. Comanche blanco (1968) (as Victor Israel) .... Carter
... aka Hour of Vengeance
... aka Rio Hondo (USA)
... aka White Comanche
112. Long-Play (1968) .... Hombre que ignora su existencia
113. ...e per tetto un cielo di stelle (1968) .... Innkeeper
... aka A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof (USA)
... aka And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars
114. Una pistola per cento bare (1968) .... Barrett, Madman
... aka A Gun for One Hundred Graves
... aka El sabor del odio (Spain)
... aka Pistol for a Hundred Coffins (USA)
115. No somos de piedra (1968)
... aka We're Not Made of Stone
116. Un diablo bajo la almohada (1968)
... aka A Devil Under the Pillow
... aka Calda e... infedele (Italy)
... aka Le diable sous l'oreiller (France)
117. Killer, adios (1968) .... Dickson
... aka Killer Goodbye (USA)
... aka Winchester Justice (USA)
... aka Winchester One of One Thousand
... aka Winchester, uno entre mil (Spain)
118. O.K. Yevtushenko (1968) .... Trilby
... aka Somebody's Stolen Our Russian Spy
119. Operación Mata Hari (1968) .... Militar alemán bizco
... aka Operation Mata Hari (International: English title)
120. I tre che sconvolsero il West - vado, vedo e sparo (1968) .... Chef
... aka I Came, I Saw, I Shot
... aka Llego, veo, disparo (Spain)
... aka One Dollar Too Many (International: English title: TV title)
121. Bandidos (1967) .... Conductor#2 (the littler one)
... aka Crepa tu... che vivo io (Italy)
... aka You Die... But I Live
122. Después del gran robo (1967)
123. "I Spy" .... Taxi Driver #3 (1 episode, 1967)
- Blackout (1967) TV episode .... Taxi Driver #3
124. Sette donne per i MacGregor (1967) .... Trevor
... aka 7 Women for the MacGregors (USA)
... aka Siete mujeres para los Mac Gregor (Spain)
... aka Up the MacGregors (UK)
125. Mónica Stop (1967)
126. Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) (uncredited) .... Sergeant at Confederate Fort
... aka The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (UK) (USA)
... aka El bo, el lleig i el dolent (Spain: Catalan title)
... aka El bueno, el feo y el malo (Spain)
... aka The Good, the Ugly, the Bad (USA: literal English title)
... aka The Magnificent Rogues (UK)
... aka Zwei glorreiche Halunken (West Germany)
127. El aventurero de Guaynas (1966)
... aka Gringo, getta il fucile! (Italy)
... aka The Adventurer of Iguana (International: English title)
... aka The Tough One (USA)
128. Il grande colpo di Surcouf (1966)
... aka La vengeance du Surcouf (France: alternative title)
... aka Le retour de Surcouf (France: alternative title)
... aka Tonnerre sur l'océan (France: alternative title)
... aka Tonnerre sur l'océan indien (France)
... aka Tormenta sobre el Pacífico (Spain)
129. Hallucination Generation (1966)
... aka Hallucination
130. The Texican (1966) .... Wilkins the Station Master
... aka Texas Kid (Spain)
131. Yankee (1966) .... Sceriffo
... aka El yankee (Spain)
... aka L'americano (Italy)
... aka Yankee l'americano (Italy)
132. Surcouf, l'eroe dei sette mari (1966)
... aka El tigre de los siete mares (Spain)
... aka Los hermanos Surcouf (Spain)
... aka Surcouf, le tigre des sept mers (France)
... aka The Fighting Corsair (UK)
... aka The Sea Pirate (USA)
133. El Greco (1966) (uncredited) .... Mental patient
... aka El Greco (USA)
134. Espi... ando (1966)
135. Dinamite Jim (1966)
... aka Dinamita Jim (Spain)
... aka Dinamite Jim (Italy)
... aka Dynamite Jim (USA)
136. Sugar Colt (1966) .... Gravedigger
137. Huida en la frontera (1966) .... Andreas
138. Doctor Zhivago (1965) (uncredited)
139. Train d'enfer (1965)
... aka Danger dimensione morte (Italy)
... aka Operation Double Cross (USA: TV title)
... aka Trampa bajo el sol (Spain)
140. Muere una mujer (1965) .... Un policia
141. Die Hölle von Manitoba (1965) (uncredited) .... Clerk
... aka A Place Called Glory (USA)
... aka Glory City
... aka Place Called Glory City (USA)
... aka Un lugar llamado 'Glory'
142. Los cuatreros (1965)
... aka Shoot to Kill (USA)
... aka Texas Jim (USA)
143. La otra orilla (1965)
144. La llamada (1965)
... aka The Sweet Sound of Death (USA: dubbed version)
145. Circus World (1964) (uncredited)
... aka El fabulós món del circ (Spain: Catalan title)
... aka El fabuloso mundo del circo (Spain)
... aka Henry Hathaway's The Magnificent Showman (UK: complete title)
... aka Samuel Bronston's Circus World
... aka The Magnificent Showman (UK)
146. El salario del crimen (1964) .... Delincuente interrogado
147. Totò d'Arabia (1964)
... aka Totò of Arabia
... aka Toto de Arabia (Spain)
148. Playa de Formentor (1964)
... aka Beach of Formentor (International: English title)
149. La bella Lola (1962)
... aka Quel nostro impossibile amore (Italy)
... aka Une dame aux camélias (France)
150. Tierra de todos (1962)
151. Tierra brutal (1961)
... aka The Savage Guns (USA)





22 September, 2009

EL FRANCONOMICON GOES ENGLISH

THE FRANCONOMICON

Frank Jess, fragments of an impossible filmografía

THE RED CASTLE

with a commentary

AKA: THE MYSTERY OF THE RED CASTLE
INT: Frank Jesus, Yelena Samarina, Kali Hansa, Alberto Dalbés, Luis Barboo…
PHOTO: Javier Perez Zofio SCRIPT and DIREC: Frank Jess 1973. Spain. Manacoa Films. Color. _

Frank Jess like Radeck, according to the script

Frank Jess like Radeck, according to the script "making the position of yogui and the signal of Power R", next to its machine of mental control in a scene of the film.

 
 
 
AN ESSENTIAL JESS FRANCO BLOG
 
WHICH YOU CAN NOW READ IN ENGLISH!
 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Hotmail® has ever-growing storage! Don't worry about storage limits. Check it out.

17 September, 2009

JESS FRANCO AND HIS FILMS AT 09 FANTASTIC FEST


Coming soon!


[I wish I could be there! RM]



Fantastic Fest and Ain't It Cool News Present Jess Franco and Lina Romay Live In Person.

Join one of our favorite directors for a rare screening series and Lifetime Achievement Award presentation.

September 28-30, Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin TX

For almost 50 years Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco has been making his own kind of cinematic poetry, steeped with themes of sex, violence, jazz, and subversive black humor. He has made around 200 feature films, though no one can say exactly how many. Once an obscure but busy man, he has become a well-known and respected figure over the past ten or so years as DVD audiences have joined earlier admirers like Fritz Lang and Orson Welles in acclaiming Franco's talent and vitality. Last year he was awarded Spain's highest film honor, the Goya Award and the Cinematheque Francaise devoted a season to his work.

Fantastic Fest is deeply honored to present its first Lifetime Achievement Award to Jess Franco. We will screen a selection of three of Franco's finest works. We will also be graced with the presence of his muse and inseparable collaborator Lina Romay. This will be Jess Franco's first ever North American film festival appearance.

This series is made possible by Ain't It Cool News.

Schedule of screenings

Monday, 9/28 7:15 pm VENUS IN FURS with Award Presentation
Dir. Jess Franco, 1969, 35MM, 86 min.

A young jazz musician finds the body of a beautiful woman he saw at a party the previous night washed up on the beach near Istanbul. He thinks back to the mysterious circumstances of the party and the strange people there. Later, in Rio he sees the woman again, and falls in love with her. A kaleidoscope of psychedelic and sexual imagery follows. Based on a plot idea by jazz great Chet Baker. Starring Maria Rohm, Klaus Kinski, James Darren, Barbara McNair, Dennis Price and Margaret Lee.

This screening is free for Fantastic Fest badgeholders. A limited number of tickets will be sold to the general public. Click here for tickets.

Tuesday, 9/29 7pm SUCCUBUS
Dir. Jess Franco, 1968, 35MM, 91 min.

SUCCUBUS is like the shiny side of the REPULSION coin, as we see into the half-dream/half-real life of a vivacious sexpot (Janine Reynaud) whose nightclub act depicts sexualized torture on stage. As we follow her through Lisbon and Berlin, through encounters with lesbians, sadists and little people, we begin to see signs that she is carrying her work home with her. Surreal, at times pretentious, but always compelling and new, even Fritz Lang liked this movie - he called it "a beautiful piece of cinema." We are indebted to another well-known admirer of this film for the loan of the print: Quentin Tarantino. Featuring Jack Taylor and Howard Vernon.

This screening is free for Fantastic Fest badgeholders. A limited number of tickets will be sold to the general public. Click here for tickets.

Wednesday, 9/30 6:45pm THE BARE BREASTED COUNTESS
Dir. Jess Franco, 1973, 35MM, 82 min.

Jess Franco directs his muse Lina Romay in this surreal story of a beautiful female vampire who consumes the sexual effluvia of her victims. This is one of the best Franco films of his most hyper-prolific period. Romay burns up the screen and Franco is at his most austere and poetic. Unforgettable music by frequent collaborator Daniel White helps to create a timeless atmosphere for the bloody, sexy pas de deux between Romay and her metaphysical paramour Jack Taylor. Also features Franco himself in a major role.

This screening is free for Fantastic Fest badgeholders. A limited number of tickets will be sold to the general public. Click here for tickets.

Additionally, there will be a special pre-festival screening of Franco's classic EUGENIE, THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION on Wednesday September 23 at Midnight at the Ritz (320 E. 6th St.). This warm-up screening is part of the long-running Weird Wednesday series, Admission is free for Fantastic Fest badgeholders and $1 for the general public. Mr. Franco will not attend this screening. For full details about this screening click here.

All screenings except EUGENIE, which takes place at the Alamo Ritz, 320 E. 6th Street, will take place at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, 1120 South Lamar Blvd. in Austin TX. Fantastic Fest badgeholders will receive first priority of admission. Any additional seats will be made available to the public.







11 September, 2009

Coming soon on CD: Peter Thomas soundtracks!


I thought I would share this information with the board readers. Peter Thomas is certainly a personal favorite among European composers of film music.



Friends and media partners,

Allscore - in cooperation with Soundtrack Corner - proudly presents a world premiere:

Two sex education-movie soundtracks by Peter Thomas ("Space Patrol", "Jerry Cotton"):

"The Perfect Marriage" and "Every Night of the Week".

One discovered only now, 40 years after its recording, the other one previously released only in part on one of the rarest soundtrack LPs ever.

Please find more information, cover art, soundsamples and the press handout here:

http://www.allscore.de/sites/ASM_029.htm

German release date: October 16, 2009
First copies will be available end of September 2009!
Promotion will happen in November/December 2009!

All the best,

Dietmar Bosch



All Score Media
Fuchseckstr. 7
D-70188 Stuttgart
Germany

Tel.: (0)711-6405929
Fax: (0)711-6405930

www.allscore.de

*** Upcoming:
Oct. 2009: PETER THOMAS SOUND ORCHESTER -
Van de Velde: Die vollkommene Ehe (the perfect marriage)...(OST) (CD ASM 029)

Nov. 2009: LES QUITRICHE - Sibérie (4 track-7" ASM 030)
(full length album in spring 2010)

*** Out:
Gerhard Heinz * The Mufuti Twins * Rework * Sam Spence * Franco De Gemini * The Kilaueas * Subotnik * Miss Claudia & Pornorama * DEFA-Märchenfilme * Ennio Morricone * Croon-a-Roma * Der Felsen * Kosmos * DEFA-Indianerfilme * Berry Lipman * Dexter * Peter Thomas * Martin Böttcher * Edgar Wallace * Franz Grothe * Star Maidens * and many more





08 September, 2009

AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO: Versions


Title card for the Italian hardcore version. For completists only...



This image appears at the end of all three versions discussed below...


Terrific poster for the less than terrific French version...


AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO (1973) is one of my two or three favorite Jess Franco films. But only in the version with that title. In other words, the Spanish language version, which Jess himself told me was his preferred cut. I have a dub of the Spanish FQ video, in Spanish language only and in less than idea video quality.

I have two other versions on video, the French softcore, which contains added footage featuring Lina Romay and others which is not in the Spanish version. And then there is the Italian hardcore. That's my least favorite version due to the fact the hardcore inserts were not shot by the original director and pretty much ruin the film. In any case, at some point a comparison would be in order. But I would rather do a shot-by-shot breakdown of the Spanish version with notes on variants. It's an ambitious project and I may start it here.

I am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who is aware of, or who has seen, an English language (dubbed or subtitled) variant. I'm not sure if this was ever released in English either theatrically or on video. I tend to doubt it, but Franco films have a way of turning up in surprising incarnations. Even a fan subbed version might be helpful at this point.




05 September, 2009

William Berger/Eurowesterns/Jess Franco



As the black clad outlaw in SARTANA IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH (1970)...




William Berger (1928-1993) gave an outstanding performance as the alcoholic writer Dean Baker in one of Jess Franco's best films, JUEGO SUCIO EN CASABLANCA...



William Berger in 1970

The late Austrian born actor William Berger became something of a Spaghetti Western regular starting in the mid-1960s with Mario Maffei's RINGO'S BIG NIGHT (thanks to Squonkmatic for a look at the excellent Franco Cleef reconstruction). One of the last he appeared in before his notorious 1970 drug bust (which landed him in an Italian jail for a year) was Roberto Mauri's SARTANA IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH.

My review of that film is now up on the EUROWESTERNS FORUM at www.cinemadrome.yuku.com. Also of interest are Nzoog's recently added reviews of two ultra-obscure Spanish westerns directed by Jose Maria Zabalza, the man who gave the world the outlandish Z grade Paul Naschy werewolf epic, FURY OF THE WOLFMAN (1970). Since the Zabalza westerns never had any theatrical/video/DVD release in North America or outside of Spain, these should be of special interest to Euro western/rare Euro genre movie collectors.

William Berger, of course, was eventually released from jail after the intervention of his friend, the late director Marco Ferreri. He resumed his career in Spaghetti Cinema and eventually walked into the waiting arms of Jess Franco and would eventually appear in such JF titles as THE CAPTAIN IS 15 YEARS OLD (1972), THE EYES OF DR ORLOFF (1973), GOLDEN TEMPLE AMAZONS (1985) and JUEGO SUCIO EN CASABLACA (1984), among others. We'll be reviewing all of those titles here in the future. Berger was certainly a reliable actor who could play both villains or sympathetic protagonists.




01 September, 2009

EROTIKILL/LA COMTESSE NOIRE: Evolutionary Considerations


The bloody lips of the Black Countess...




Some further thoughts on EROTIKILL and LA COMTESSE NOIRE. I'm bringing this over from CINEMADROME: THE WORLD OF JESS FRANCO FORUM. I like to revisit this film, in any variation, often, and it remains a personal favorite. I remember not liking it very much when I first saw it as THE LOVES OF IRINA on the PRIVATE SCREENINGS VHS. I found it slow, pretentious and not at all erotic. I just wasn't ready to make the effort to attempt to appreciate what the filmmaker was doing. I was annoyed by the out of focus cinematography and just wanted it to be over. My opinion of it has evolved over the years.


In 1973 Jess Franco made an extremely low budget, very personal, poetic vampire film on the island of Madeira with the working title LA COMTESSE NOIRE. This Eurocine funded enterprise featured Lina Romay as the lonely female vampire Irina Von Karlstein and would be probably the first French hardcore vampire film, at least as later released with hc inserts as LES AVALEUSES to French porno venues. This version was reportedly approx. 82 m. (according to OBSESSION: THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO). In fact, it is well-known that there are numerous versions of this film from the hardcore to EROTIKILL, which we will briefly consider here.

EROTIKILL is the approx. 72 m US video version, which has a 1985 Eurocine copyright on it. It was one of two versions released on US video in the 1980s, the other is THE LOVES OF IRINA [PRIVATE SCREENINGS label]. The latter video is the way I first experienced the film sometime in the late 1980s. I wasn't prepared and pretty much disliked the film. It did have a flash of hardcore in the hotel room seduction-attack scene between Lina Romay and Ramon Ardid. That hc moment was "wiped" from the much later IMAGE DVD version, FEMALE VAMPIRE. That 2000 DVD ran 101 m. and was the first anamorphic presentation of the film on US home video, outside of grey market dubs like VSOM's wretched THE BARE BREASTED COUNTESS, running approx 110m and minutes and containing all the hardcore and alternative bloodsucking footage!

Three is also a 2001 German DVD from X RATED KULT DVD titled EROTIILL [LADY DRACULA 2], at least on the box. this is also the hardcore version, but runs to 105 m PAL, Code 2. The actual onscreen title is LUSTERNDE VAMPIRE UN SPERMARAUSCH. I'll be reviewing that on a separate thread.

Force Video's EROTIKILL was one of a six "Wicked Women" features released on VHS by the company and omits all of the hardcore material. It also has alternate scenes showing the Countess Irina sucking blood from the necks of her victims rather than lapping their sexual fluids as she does in Franco's original concept and all the harder versions. This is the "conventional" vampire version with each attack concluding with a close-up of the victim's blood on Irina's lips. This also omits the shot of Irina kneeling in front of first victim Roger Germanes during the assault in the forest aviary. She instead is showing leaning over him, biting him on the neck. In fact, all of the sexual scenes are missing or abbreviated. The scene with the hotel masseur simply cuts from them embracing to her majordomo (Luis Barboo) carrying out the body.

This version does contain nudity, including the vaginal zoom during Irina's walk through the misty forest during the opening credits. But other shots of Irina lingering in her hotel room are "covered" by here long, black cape. The original (non hc) version runs 85 m according to Alain Petit's MANACOA FILES, that would be the LA COMTESSE NOIRE title version, but there has never been a video release with that onscreen title of which I am aware.

In some ways EROTIKILL focuses more of our attention on the existential qualities of the film and its mood of doomed Romanticism and emotional longing, but the lingering sexual interludes do have merit in that they emphasize the elusive nature of pleasure and bloodsucking has always had a sexual element going all the way back to Murnau's NOSFERATU.


Cut are the final seconds of the opening credits but not the moment where Irina walks right into the camera lens, one of my favorite Franco technical transgressions which underscores the self-reflexive, oneiric nature of the project. It might have been a "mistake" (maybe not) but I'm glad they left it in. This version also has an added line by Dr. Orloff (Jean-Pierre Bouyxou) delivered to Franco's Dr. Roberts during Monika Swinn's autopsy as he touches her neck (not her vagina as in other versions), it sounds like a different dubber than the rest of track and I've never heard this line in any other version. It may have been added by the video company or Eurocine. The main disadvantage of this presentation is that it crops Franco's 2.35:1 compositions to 1.33:1 after the opening credits, making at least 50% of the original image unavailable.

I have at least 6 different versions of this on various video formats with language tracks ranging from English to German to French.

Other known titles include EROTIKILLER (Italian video); UN CALDO CORPO DI FEMMINA; LA COMTESSE AUX SIENS NUS; ENTESSELTE BEGIERDE: VERENTAHRIMA MORSIAN, SICARIUS, THE LAST THRILL.

I still want to go to Madeira...





30 August, 2009

EROTIKILL: Up with [FORCE] video; down with DVD!



Here's what they want over at amazon.com:

Customer image from W. S. Smith "out-of-print-video" [see above image]
See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Erotikill [VHS]
Starring: Gilda Arancio, Alice Arno Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: VHS Tape
15 Reviews
5 star:
(3)
4 star:
(5)
3 star:
(4)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(2)

› See all 15 customer reviews...
3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 used from $31.95 2 collectible from $59.99


Also Available in: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
DVD $24.99 $22.49 24 used & new from $15.99



Ha! Just a play on words in the blog's title. I was just struck how the old OOP FORCE VIDEO [72m; 1.33:1] of LA COMTESSE NOIRE (1973) is going for twice the price of the superior [video-wise] and much longer IMAGE DVD!

I just revisted the FORCE VIDEO VHS last night and will port over some commentary from www.cinemadrome.yuku.com THE WORLD OF JESS FRANCO FORUM.

Do any readers actually have the FORCE VIDEO prerecord of EROTIKILL? It's one of a series called WICKED/WILD WOMEN, other titles include Luigi Bazzoni's PRIMAL IMPULSE, which I still have the oversized box for but can't located the actual VHS!





27 August, 2009

Alain Robbe-Grillet's GRADIVA: Mondo Macabro DVD


The late Alain Robbe-Grillet's final masterwork is now available on DVD...

GRADIVA (C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle) 2006 France/Belgium-119m.-1.85:1 anamorphic;
In French with English subtitles
Written and Directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet



Gradiva is Latin for "she who walks" and the walker in Alain Robbe-Grillet's final film (he made ten in a directorial career which began in 1963 with L'IMMORTELLE)transforms walking into an erotic art form. At least when the walker is a beautiful blonde ghost [?] of a woman perhaps dead a century. Or is it a figure in a painting of an executed woman which has come to life to tease art researcher John Locke (James Wilby in a subtle performance with no apologies to the 17th Century empiricist philosopher) into altered states of consciousness. Locke is in Morocco to study the North African period drawings of Eugene Delacroix. The film opens as he proceeds through a series of transparencies of Delacroix's mystery woman, horses, an arched foot. He is startled by the sound of a horse in the courtyard, glancing out his window he glimpses the iconic woman whom he will pursue for the remainder of the film. Sex, mythology, a murder mystery [VERTIGO by way of Euripides], fetishism intertwine immediately, leading to obsession and...death. But not a death which you will see coming.

Loosely based on Wilhelm Jensen's 1903 novella [the subject of Freud's essay Der Wahn und die Träume in W. Jensens Gradiva]the film is a sort of grand summation of Robbe-Grillet's filmography and something of a slap in the face to those who maintain his films are a minor facet of his legacy. One can understand why Jensen's story fascinated Freud and the Surrealists of that generation.

Surely one of the key writers of the second half of the 20th century ARG may also have been one of the most innovative and courageous filmmakers. He never settled down as a director, always pushing the envelope of representation, boundaries of accepted "good taste" and good film making. As he says in the essential 30m interview on the MONDO MACABRO disc, his films defy and deny conventional realism/don't give the audience the comfort of the illusion of realism. That's a pretty gutsy methodology and he paid the price. GRADIVA... had a rough time with French critics and audiences in 2006 and some critics have had a tendency to classify his films as soft core porn with arty airs.

GRADIVA...C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle is a serene contemplation of the aesthetics of picture making, sex and death. That might sound unbearably pretentious... but it's not. At least not here. Robbe-Grillet intercuts images from his 1970 EDEN ET APRES (a film which I had the good luck to view theatrically with the writer-director in attendance), another erotic adventure set in North Africa [Tunis]. It's a startling effect which non-ARG scholars may not get. I found the film entrancing, unpredictable, original and moving. GRADIVA is unlike other ARG films in that it has fairly recognizable human characters who seem three dimensional compared to the rather abstract figures in his earlier films. Wilby and Dany Verissimo, as Locke's ambiguous concubine, have a "reality" that other characters in his films do not. The director makes a point of differentiating "realism" from reality in the interview, which also covers his cinema influences (Antonioni, Bunuel, Godard, Cocteau), Sade, censorship and Feminist criticisms of his continuing obsession with S&M images of bound and tortured females. These figures are often used in both part of an overall design and as reflections of the dynamics of pleasure and pain. But even toward the end of his long life the writer-director does not make excuses for his work. He's still excited and engaged in the challenge of stimulating thought/discussion, which is all one can ask of an artist.

The kinky tableaux depicting the S&M orgies of an international crime cartel may or may not be "real" but they do present an alternate "reality" which takes one out of this world and into a world of intoxicating legend. You may not want to go there. But once you do, it's mind expanding and addictive... in a good way. This is still the same man who wrote the original screenplay for LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD,* the 1961 Alain Resnais film which remains one of the most influential in all "art" cinema. Filmmakers as Joseph Losey, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Schrader and, yes, Jess Franco, among many others, have returned to MARIENBAD again and again in their own films.

The MONDO MACABRO DVD couldn't be a better presentation. The 1.85:1 framed print is in excellent shape both in terms of video and audio, with delirious, intense hues which tell so much more than dialogue. Extensive text notes will be of value to those wishing to explore the background and making of the film. The original theatrical trailer is also included.

GRADIVA... may or may not be a masterwork but it is the work of a master image-maker... delirious, haunting, disturbing, transgressive and transforming images.

*MARIENBAD's influence is also apparent in Dario Argento's INFERNO (1980), not only in the plot and characters but in Argento's casting of MARIENBAD's Sacha Pitoeff as the antique dealer. The plot, main characters and ambiance of L'IMMORTELLE are virtually recreated in Franco's PAROXISMUS/VENUS IN FURS.

(C) Robert Monell, 2009






22 August, 2009

Have you really SEEN it?

image

Have you seen DRACULA CONTRA FRANKENSTEIN (1971)?
 
Even if you have...
 
you probably haven't....
 
 
Go to www.cinemadrome.yuku.com for some thoughts on
 
the film
 
the versions
 
the DVD's



Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Try it now.

18 August, 2009

Soledad Miranda: July 9, 1943 - August 18, 1970



I don't exactly remember what I was doing on August 18th, 1970, the day Soledad Miranda died after a car accident near Lisbon, Portugal. I had heard of Jess Franco the year before but she was not on my radar. I didn't know about VAMPYROS LESBOS or EUGENIE DE SADE or any of her previous non Jess Franco films.

Since her death she has become an icon. After dying at the age of 27 she has become immortal. I often wonder what would have happened to her if she had lived. She was going to sign a contract with CCC executive Artur Brauner. She was set to appear in another Franco film. She might have gone onto further international stardom in the 1970s and perhaps would have eventually worked in German television. Perhaps she would have retired from cinema, as she had previously done to focus on her family.

Who knows? She was certainly a multifaceted talent and could play polar opposites as she does in EL CONDE DRACULA and VAMPYROS LESBOS. In one she's a victim in the other a predator. In EUGENIE DE SADE she's both.

I'm particularly interested in seeing some of her earlier non-Jess Franco work. I guess this is a day to think about her... what could have been and what was.

Thanks to www.soledadmiranda.com for the above image. Please visit this essential site today.






16 August, 2009

ABERRACIONES SEXUALES DE UNA MUJER CASADA (1981)


The real deal...

I recently revisited the original Spanish version of CECILIA, which Eurocine expanded and reedited. Lensed on the same Sintra, Portugal locations as A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (1971), I noted that the location of the title character's (Muriel Montossey aka Vicky Adams) nude swim is the same as the nude swim which Christina Von Blanc took in VIRGIN... nine years earlier. This time I noticed that the camera angles are also the same! Some would criticize this as laziness or unimaginative repetition. For me it creates a welcome sense of obsessive (mine) deja vu.

There's an excellent review [in Spanish] by Alex on his essential Jess Franco blog, EL FRANCONOMICON of the original 1980 Spanish version of what later became CECILIA when Eurocine took over and had actor-director Olivier Mathot film about twenty minutes of inserts shot in France. Mathot aka Cole Polly/Claude Plaut, is a better actor (a Franco icon in EXORCISM/THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME and a number of his 70s French films) than director. The inserts are rather bland, silly and add nothing, but disrupt the mood of hermetic eroticism of the original. As Jess Franco insists on the CECILIA DVD interview featurette, "There is no Cecilia!" The Mathot footage features the actor at a party with some upscale hedonists who have nothing to do with the main plot and some tourist views of Emmanuelle/Cecilia in Paris.

CECILIA runs about 105m and is out on an excellent BU DVD with a French language track as well as in English. Aberraciones is in Spanish only on the 85m print I have [thanks to ECC], shorter than the 98m print reviewed by Alex. But it's far superior in terms of a mood of exotic, humid fantasy. It all takes place in the lush tropical gardens near Sintra, Portugal, and, as pointed out above, the location itself acts as Franco's commentary and allows him to create his personal environment for his take on the EMMANUELLE franchise.


The Eurocine-Mathot shot inserts are glossy sleaze, Franco's film is pulp poetry. There's a difference. You don't need to understand Spanish to understand that the film's focus is on female degradation/humiliation/rape fantasies within the structure of an open, "romantic" marriage. At the end, Franco seems to lean toward heterosexual monogamy as a nesting preference, after bursts of dangerous sexual experimentation.

Tropical plants and wild flowers abound from the opening credit sequence to the final image of a floral arrangement, a Buddha like ceramic and a tray of long stemmed glasses. Pull focus. Fin.

In between are long, languorous strolls by the characters and Soler's very mobile camera, slowly tracking past the tropical vegetation decorating the fantasy villa, a castle of erotic hallucinations.

If you've only seen CECILIA it's worth giving Aberraciones sexuales de una mujer casada a look. It's shorter, more to-the-point, plays best in Spanish and is 100% Jess Franco....

Thanks to Alex for the image.

Thanks to Eric Cotenas for helping me see ABERACCIONES SEXUALES DE UNA MUJER CASADA.

(C) Robert Monell, 2009





13 August, 2009

IS THE THE DVD ERA COMING TO AN END?


Vintage OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES VHS...

I keep advising a friend who has amassed a sizable vintage VHS collection over the last three decades to transfer them to DVD-R before they are gone forever. He keeps resisting and he may have a point. These oversized box/Mom n' Pop video store/grey market treasures may be the real deal when the inevitable end comes to the present DVD era. The end may already be in sight.

A few weeks ago a fascinating article in TIME magazine on the impact of NETFLIX on DVD buyer's habits and on popular culture in general caught my eye. TIME movie critic Richard Corliss laments the passing of the likes of Kim's Video in Manhattan while noting that DVD sales have dropped by nearly 20% in the first half of 2009. At the same time NETFLIX rentals have surged. People may be going out to see movies in theaters more often but they are purchasing fewer DVD's and renting more. He speculates that we are possibly at the end of the DVD era and heading into a Streaming Video era, where movies will be delivered on the Internet and TV through cable providers and Internet hookups. In fact, it's already happening. You can download just about anything off the Internet, including legitimately released DVD content. This has to be hurting sales. You can download movies that have never been on video or DVD anywhere. You can even download movies currently playing at your local multiplex.

I tend to think he has a point. DVD's will be around for some time but people have less disposable income in the wake of the economic downturn and would rather rent or download content out of economic necessity. I can't blame them. It's free and easy. It's only a matter of time before it all becomes Corporate. Market value may be damned, but it is rarely ignored.

We've seen the end of the VHS/Mom and Pop Video store era (and I really miss those venues), the coming and going of Laser discs. I'm buying fewer DVD's myself, but I still don't plan to get into frequent downloading or streaming video or increase my mainstream movie going.

But I do wonder what the DVD landscape will look like, say, five years from now. Will Blu-ray DVD be booming or struggling. If people can't afford regular DVD's...

I'm going to appreciate my own collection of vintage VHS more.





10 August, 2009

Who is Carloto Perla?









Carloto Perla is credited as the singer who delivers those eerie voodoo tribal rhythms in Jess Franco's DEVIL HUNTER. The director is also co-credited with the score of that film. Perla's distinctive vocals can also be heard on the tracks of such JF 1980s films as MACUMBA SEXUAL, LA NOCHE DE LOS SEXOS ABIERTOS and the Spanish version of OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES. Although he gets onscreen credit on certain films, on others he's uncredited.

I've always thought his vocals add considerable moody ambiance to the proceedings of these films. But I would like to know more about him. Is he Spanish? Portuguese? He is also associated with a group called the Hildagos or Hidalgos or something like that... I can't properly read the musics credit on the dupey video I own of Franco's L' ESCLAVA BLANCA (1985). Does anyone know anything more about him and that group?





04 August, 2009

Lucio Fulci's WHITE FANG (1973)


Peter Welbeck aka Harry Alan Towers contributed to the script on this intelligent Lucio Fulci adaptation of Jack London's story.

I wanted to watch a Harry Alan Towers related film last night so I put on my old [cut and fullscreen] prerecord of the Towers co-scripted and Lucio Fulci directed WHITE FANG (1973). It's an above average adventure based on the writings on Jack London.

Spaghetti Western legend Franco Nero [DJANGO] is featured as Jason Scott, a New York Herald Tribute journalist who uncovers the corrupt activities of a sleazy business developer in Dawson City during the gold rush. This story is intertwined with the story of the half-wolf dog White Fang who is trapped by Charlie (Daniel Martin), an Eskimo, and his young son. The boy befriends the dog, but the father mistrusts its wolfish nature. The animal, of course, saves the boy. After getting badly mauled by a bear in a sadistic show put on by the villain, White Fang comes back to save the day when the town is threatened by the businessman's planned sabotage of a dam. There are some fairly disturbing scenes of violence here, but they seems to be an integral part of the story and ambiance.

It sounds corny but it's not. The animals are well-trained, completely credible and have as much character as the humans. John Steiner makes a memorable, slimy villain with his slicked back hair and laser stare. He looks like one of those moustache twirling cads in an silent film. This could actually be called a communist western considering that private business interests are presented as evil and self destroying while collective action sets things right. It also has something to say about human nature. When a gold strike in Nome is announced the locals can't wait to abandon the town. Once can really sense Fulci's hand here. This is the same director who made DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING the year before.

Excellent cinematography by Erico Menczer and an atmospheric score by maestro Carlo Rustichelli really boost the action.

A strong supporting cast includes Virni Lisa, Harry Carey Jr., Rik Battaglia and Fernando Rey.

I sure wish I could have seen this in 2.35:1 with good video quality. This needs to be on a deluxe DVD with the Fulci-directed follow up, Ritorno di Zanna Bianca. Joe D'Amato reportedly helped out with some scenes in these films.

Fulci's Eurowesterns, especially MASSACRE TIME (1966) and FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE (1975,) are among the best the genre has to offer.

I'm not certain of Towers exact contribution to the script but this is a well-written, multi-layered Jack London screen adaptation.



1974
RETURN OF WHITE FANG
a.k.a. Challenge to White Fang, Ritorno di Zanna Bianca, Le Retour de Buck le Loup, Die Teufelsschlucht der wilden Wölfe. 1974.
Directed by Lucio Fulci. Produced by Ermanno Donati. Written by Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, Alberto Silvestri. Cinematography by Silvano Ippoliti. Music by Carlo Rustichelli.
Cast: Harry Carey Jr. (Tarwater), Renato Cestie (Bill), Raimund Harmstorf (Kurt Jansen), Virna Lisi (Evangeline), Franco Nero (Jason Scott), Werner Pochath (Bandit), John Steiner (Beauty Smith), Donald O'Brien (Bandit), Renato De Carmine (Leclerc).

1973
WHITE FANG
a.k.a. Zanna Bianca, Colmillo blanco, Croc-blanc. 1973.
Directed by Lucio Fulci. Produced by Ermanno Donati. S/P- Roberto Gianviti, Piero Regnolli, Peter Welbeck, Guy Elmes, Thomas Keyes, Guillaume Roux. Cinematography by Erico Menczer. Second unit director: Tonino Ricci. Music by Carlo Rustichelli. 101 min.
Cast: Carole André (Krista Oatley), Ricardo Battaglia (Jim Hall), Harry Carey Jr., Daniele Dublino (Chester), Raimund Harmstorf (Kurl Jansen), Virna Lisi (Evangeline), Daniel Martín (Charlie), Franco Nero (Jason Scott), Fernando Rey (The Priest), John Steiner (Beauty Smith).








03 August, 2009

HARRY ALAN TOWERS (1920-2009)


Harry Alan Towers calling Orson Welles... or Jess Franco!


Maria Rohm, the wife of Harry Alan Towers, was featured in what many consider to be Jess Franco's best film. Ironically, Towers didn't write this one...



Few appreciated the Towers-Franco-Christopher Lee Fu Manchu productions...




The Towers produced THE GIRL FROM RIO (1968) was supposed to be a sequel to his 1967 production THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU. It turned out to be a cut above the Towers-Franco Fu Manchu-Sax Rohmer projects.


Below is the copy from VARIETY, Sunday, August 2:

"Prolific B-movie producer and writer Harry Alan Towers, who made more than 100 films working with cult stalwarts such as Christopher Lee and director Jess Franco, died of heart failure in Toronto on Aug. 2. He was 89.
While Towers generally worked on low-budget fare, he favored literary adaptations by such writers as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Alan Poe, Agatha Christie and Edgar Wallace.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he wrote and produced dozens of films, sometimes credited as Peter Welbeck. Among the actors he worked with were Orson Welles, Michael York, Michael Caine, Richard Harris, James Earl Jones and Tony Curtis.

Towers often shot in locations such as South Africa, Ireland and Bulgaria on films such as “The Face of Fu Manchu,” Iran-filmed “Ten Little Indians,” South African classic adaptation “Cry the Beloved Country” and “Klondike Fever.”

His association with Italian giallo auteur Franco produced films which have become underground classics including “Venus in Furs,” “Eugenie,” “Marquis de Sade: Justine” and “Night of the Blood Monster.” "

The somewhat amusing description of Franco an an "Italian giallo auteur" indicates the state of confusion which still surrounds his career among the mainstream press. But it must be some kind of coup that the legendary publication now considers VENUS IN FURS and NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER aks THE BLOODY JUDGE as underground classics!

Towers was a rogue writer-producer who produced many entertaining films, many of which he wrote under the beard Peter Welbeck. His script for Franco's EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1970) qualifies as one of the best things he ever wrote. He also supplied our "Italian giallo auteur" with larger than usual budgets and such international stars as Christopher Lee (EL CONDE DRACULA), Jack Palance (JUSTINE), George Sanders (THE GIRL FROM RIO) and Mercedes McCambridge (99 WOMEN) among others.

Towers also produced the Orson Welles radio program THE LIVES OF HARRY LIME (1951-52) and the 1972 film version of TREASURE ISLAND, featuring Welles. This was a project which Welles attempted as an actor-producer in 1965 with none other than Jess Franco as director! Not surprisingly, it was never completed.

I'm attempting to list favorite Harry Alan Towers produced films. Candidates would include THE FACE OF FU MANCHU (1965), THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU (1967), among others.

Towers also wrote the Spaghetti Western/adventure WHITE FANG (1975), directed by Lucio Fulci.

The complete adventures of this lovable rogue have yet to be told...






01 August, 2009

VIRGIN... SE

 

 

Thanks to David Z. for posting about this SE of A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD
which contains an infamous orgy sequence. I've always found this scene, which
was filmed several years after the original's completion without Jess Franco's
involvement, to be somewhat in the same spirit of Cinema-Bis surrealism as the
the Franco-shot footage.

Information and images can be found at David's TOMB WHOM IT MAY CONCERN blog.

David has emailed me that the sequence was apparently directed by Pierre Querut, a Jess Franco/Eurocine associate. I believe that Querut may be the actor who plays
the sleazy Madeira police inspector who dismisses Dr. Roberts in FEMALE VAMPIRE.

This insert features a masked queen (Alice Arno) presiding over a garden orgy. One
of the participants is Wal Davis/Waldemar Wohlfarht (THE HORRIBLE SEXY VAMPIRE, YUKA). There will be more on him in a future blog.


More information can be found at Jeremy Richey's Fascination: The Jean Rollin Experience blog where the director comments on his involvement.

Rollin directed some, but not all, of the added scenes.

Both blogs are linked on the left sidebar.






Get your vacation photos on your phone! Click here.