The Seduction of She Killed in Ecstasy (Sie tötete in Ekstase)

So, after several years (a few too many, in fact), and right out of the blue, I'd decided to re-watch "She Killed in Ecstasy" last night. This, despite the fact that my just-arrived and still-wrapped brand new Nightmares Come at Night blu-ray is sitting on the coffee table in the living room. That's alright, we'll get to that one later. Now, I never did purchase that nice anamorphicly enhanced second DVD release that Image put out a few years after the Synapse Films version... Nope, I still have that first DVD release. Well, still have...?

To tell this story properly, one would have to recall, or imagine, the far-away time of 2002. It was near the end of my four-year employment at Blockbuster Video and I'd owned a DVD player for about a year and a half at this point, and I'd had an internet connection for not much longer than that. I don't exactly remember what the catalyst was, though it was probably the Immoral Tales book I'd been toting around from apartment to apartment for the previous 5 years and still hadn't read all the way through (this book now, by the way, is one of the more cherished possessions in my library) -- but whatever it was that ignited my sudden interest, I found myself suddenly obsessed with the idea Jess Franco and his films. I wanted to find out as much as I could about him, and I looked up anything I could find on the man and his movies on the internet, printing several of the pages off. I also photocopied pages from that Immoral Tales tome so I could highlight the shit out of it. And Soledad Miranda... Oh, my. The beauty, and the mystique that surrounded her -- the mystery and terrible coincidence around her tragically young death -- and the idyllic thoughts that Jess Franco could have so much loyalty to his reciprocally loyal muses, more so that I'd ever witnessed from any auteur at that point... I was enthralled. I also immediately began researching Jess Franco titles and available DVDs - which were, in fact, not all that easy to come by in North Vancouver back in 2002 - well, there was one store called Tom's Video that stocked a copy of Vampyros Lesbos to rent, but by the time I got to it the disc was scratched to shit and I couldn't watch it. However, I did find a couple of titles at a wholesaler DVD warehouse in Vancouver, but I decided, ultimately, to go through the catalogue distributors that supplied the Blockbuster Video I was working at. After all, I was a manager, I could order videos. I found, recently, that I still have that order confirmation sheet.

   "Female Vampire DVD": $35.99

   "She Killed in Ecstasy DVD": $49.99

The prices were nuts, but I ordered them anyway and then just sold them to myself at Blockbuster's computer-default DVD pricing, which was $29.99 per title. Plus my employee discount, which was 10 or 20 percent - I can't remember anymore, it's been too long. I do remember being so excited to watch these movies, I was ready to blow open my mind to the Jess Franco experience, and by the time the DVDs arrived at the store I'd found another spot downtown Vancouver called A&B Sound that had stocked three Jess Franco DVD titles from Anchor Bay. So I bought the original Succubus DVD release as well.

2002, that was. I was not ready for Jess Franco. I watched all three films, and I think my jaw was touching the floor (or at least it was by the end of the third movie). My reaction was not a good one to seeing the likes of Lina Romay walking directly into the camera (even bumping it!), the strange jump-cuts and shots that began out-of-focus or zoomed it, slightly missed their target, and re-adjusted. Plus the video on all of the DVDs were full of dirt, scratches, sound-pops. What the hell??? No thank you, sirs and ma'ams, I was definitely not ready for Franco. I actually went and returned all three DVDs to my store for a full (or perhaps inflated, for my troubles) refund. Even the Succubus DVD that hadn't even come from my store in the first place (we used the same video distributor to A&B Sound, anyway, so they did give me a Return Authorization Number for all three). Good thing we had a shrink-wrapping machine in the store. I was left reeling from that cinematic experience. I remember thinking that each Franco disc I put would be better - had to be better! But the aesthetics looked similar, the stories too damned dreamy and the narratives too disjointed.

Well, if you're reading this, then you've obviously seen what this blog is about - and so you know my initial shock at Jess Franco's films eventually wore off, and not so long after turned to something of a curious appreciation. A couple of years went by and the more accessible Franco films like Two Undercover Angels (Anchor Bay), Exorcism (Synapse), and soon, Vampyros Lesbos (I bought the Image re-release that had just come out - I would have stuck with Synapse, but I seriously couldn't find a copy at that time for less than 45 bucks!), well, they began to grow on me. And I kept trying different films, kept dipping my toes into his world. And looking back, I seriously think (scratch that, I know) that Soledad Miranda, or at least the ideaof Soledad Miranda, was what kept me going back to those waters to dip my toes in. I had no idea how deep those waters were at that time... 

Eventually, when the stars aligned, I came across that Synapse DVD of She Killed in Ecstasy at a second-hand shop that is now long gone from Granville Street & Robson in the heart Vancouver. Image Entertainment had already, by now, re-released that film, but somehow I needed to reconnect myself with that original one. Plus it was $14.99, pretty cheap back then. Female Vampire came back to me via a friend who had also purchased it somewhere along the way, and disliked it, and then that copy was replaced once again by the 4-film Jess Franco Collection from Image, and then finally to be replaced by the recent Blu-ray from Redemption. So I've ended up owning that damned film four times! I didn't replace Succubus until Blue Underground re-released it a couple of years after that (we're around 2006 now, for those of you trying to keep track). I obviously have a good amount of love for all of these films now, and often they just keep getting better with each viewing.

And now, we're at last night, and I was putting that old Synapse DVD into the player for the third time in my life (and my third player, too -- but that DVD is still the same old one from 2005). No, it didn't magically turn anamorphic sitting there in my box of European DVDs, but it was magical, anyway, as I got sucked right back into the locales of that the film (that seriously rival those amazing locations of Countess Perverse and How to Seduce a Virgin), and fully engaged with the amazing on-screen charisma of Soledad... That camera loved her as much as Franco did. Or perhaps, Franco's camera did, anyway. After this third viewing of She Killed in Ecstasy I'm reminded and reaffirmed as to why it has a place at the very, very tip-top of my all-time favorite Jess Franco movie (where there remains a spot for Succubus to share, as well). With each repeat viewing the magic of Franco's unique eye and Soledad's performance, almost like a artistic dancer of the cinema, seems to be getting even more potent. So no, I was not ready for Franco in 2002.

And I suppose that now, it's high time for the Vampyros Lesbos re-watch.

Special thanks to soledadmiranda.com

How to Seduce a Virgin (more awesome Franco locales)

I wasn't going to write about this until the end of the week, but damnit, it was actually one of the best Franco films I've seen in a while -- so obviously, I couldn't resist. The story is one set in the world a Jess Franco sub-sub genre -- it's a heist-style film told as an erotic thriller, much in the vein of Nightmares Come at Night (a film recently released on Blu-ray that will hopefully be arriving in my mailbox very soon). Okay, that might be a bit of a mislead, as there's no heist, per say, it's more of an intricate-come-convoluted plot devised by Franco, concerning a wealthy couple and their attempts to seduce their virgin neighbor for their own erotic and homicidal means and ends. The satire and subtext in this film (yes, I said subtext) alludes to some criticisms on the mental health profession at the time, and the treatment of patients - or rather, the perfunctory treatment of ill patients. The cinematography, again of the vérité-style, (much like "Sinner" and "Female Vampire"), is some of the best, though I was surprised to see the film presented as 1.33:1 (4x3), yet it does look very nice. The locations, once again, add to the cinematography and overall atmosphere, and with the participation (also once again) of the lovely Alice Arno and Lina Romay, it makes an amazing companion piece to Franco's   Countess Perverse (also available thanks to Mondo Macabro DVD). The lovely and charming Tania Busselier plays the virginistic neighbor, Alice Arno stoically plays the Countess, and Lina Romay plays the part of the deceptively simple-minded woman-child and sort-of-slave to the wealthy couple -- Romay who, by the way, gives one of the best, understated, and still most bizarre performances of her long career with director Franco. This film is extremely long on sex and has style in abundance (sometimes seeming to offer a little nod to Jean Rollin as well as the French La Nouvelle Vague, it also maintains Franco's artistic obsession with mannequins), it's quite simply one of the most engaging and mesmerizing film of the late Jess Franco's that I've seen in recent memory.

(Thanks to AV Maniacs for some of the stills)

Diaries of nymphomaniacs

I was actually intending to write something about this topic last month (May), alas, time continues to bleed away from me - often profusely. At any rate, it turns out that a post this month regarding cinematic nymphomania might be timely after all, as Lars von Trier's Nymph(o)maniac double-shot comes out on blu-ray soon. This is not an ad for that movie, I only mention it for the timely reference. No, you'd do much better with the Mondo Macabro release of Jess Franco's take on what's pretty much the same damned story. In Franco's film, "Sinner", or, if you prefer, "Diary of a Nymphomaniac", he also explores the emotional depression of our lead charachter, our nymphomaniac, who in this case was somewhat tricked into her lifestyle at the beginning of the movie. With a lot on hand-held camerawork and fantastic locations, the movie itself is more of a cinéma vérité style, even more so than that of Vampyros Lesbos or She Killed in Ecstasy (in my recollection of those films). Also, this film, Sinner, is done with a far more sensitive approach to the characters and with a celebration of the art of film (even if unintentional) over von Trier's epic meandering of pretension and the simplistic form he (von Trier) takes in trying to reach for some sort of human understanding. Unfortunately, von Trier's attempt to explore human beings seems to come from a filmmaker who has all the initial understanding of human beings of a young child, or perhaps one going into adolescence. Upon the release of von Trier's earlier Antichrist, I'd read one review branding him and the film "misogynistic". At the time I did not agree, I was not seeing Antichrist in that light. Nor did I see his follow-up, Melancholia, in that light... But after experiencing nearly (or over?) 5 hours of Nymph(o)maniac last month at the Vancouver Film Centre, and in the wake of his (finally) complete (and self-described) "depression - trilogy", I have no choice but to see clearly what von Trier thinks of women: crazy, whiny, teasing, whores. Never mind what he thinks of men. No, he's not misogynistic, von Trier is pretty misanthropic all around. I realise some will argue the art of von Trier is in him trying to explore depression, mostly his own, through his cinematic characters. I'll go back to Jess Franco as an argument then: Diary of a Nymphomaniac. This is also a film about depression, despair, and sex addiction in a far different context than von Trier's glossy offering. Diary, or "Sinner", is a good film, even though it's still rough around the edges, like most of Franco's films. And yes, it's dark -- and in some ways it's a more serious offering than Nymph(o)maniac -- and yet through the darkness of the drama there's a charm., there's some light, creating its failure to be pretentious on the same level (scratch that, the same planet) as LvT's Nymph(o)maniac.

It was also interesting for me to discover that "Sinner" was a film shot between the muses. We'd just lost Soledad Miranda, and Jess Franco had shot Sinner after her death but before he would find his next muse, Lina Romay, which actually makes this film a little more important in the history of Franco's filmography. (This is all spoken about on the Mondo Macabro DVD). Fine actress Montserrat Prous steps into the leading role here, doing quite a good job of it. She's also worked with Franco in his films The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff and The Lustful Amazons in the early-to-mid seventies. Her female lover in "Sinner" is played by Anne Libert (probably most known for Otto, der Pflaumenpflucker), who is also very attractive and engaging in this film. So, I've tacked on a cool still from Pflaumenpflucker for your viewing pleasure, too.

Mondo Macabro released this movie on DVD a little while ago now, and as usual, the extra interviews and documents on this disc really go towards making this a whole Jess Franco experience - which is something MM has always been so good with in their releases. Thanks to them for putting this little gem out for us to see!

Locations, Locations, Locations

View from the Burrard Street bridge, West side.

 * * *

Lorna (Lina Romay) and friend...
Pamela Stanford.

Vancouver is very nice in the spring and summertime. Near where I live there are several beaches, a long sea-wall, and countless '70's apartment buildings. Very inspiring, actually, and walking around this part of the city, almost without fail, makes me think of Franco's films. If you want to see some seriously exploited and unexplainably awesome 70's locations, you need to check out a couple of these fairly recent releases from the amazing Mondo Macabro:

 

1. Lorna the Exorcist

Great kitschy interiors and exteriors from 1970's Europe... And of course, great looking actresses, too! Lina Romay plays a somewhat insane woman who may or may not be the target of some Satanic goings-ons... Takes place in France.

2. Countess Perverse

(or: The Perverse Countess)

 Again, lovely actresses (including Lina Romay again), and you die a little at huntress Alice Arno running naked through the Spanish beaches with a bow & arrow. Not exactly for the Hunger Games crowd, this little piece of gorgeous exploitation was shot on and around some very impressive water-surrounded locations in Spain.

A huge thanks and acknowledgments go to The Bloodshot Eye and The House of Self-Indulgence, where most of these awesome pictures were found. Check out their articles on these Franco film... and more!

Remembering Anchor Bay (US/Canada)....

...Anyone still have any of these? I replaced mine a few years ago with the Blue Underground re-releases, but I now wish I'd hung onto them.

Euro fun

 After getting back to Canada from a European trip, in which I'd acquired a few Cinematic finds (that were now piling up in my to-be-watched home video stack), I figured I'd best get to some of these flicks before the dust started accumulating. I threw on a lengthy (2 hours & 20 minutes) Austrian/Ukrainian film titled Import/Export, which was gorgeously shot (apparently by the cameraman behind Erin Brockovich) - and it made me realize a couple of things...

1.) A movie should have more to it than just looking gorgeous. As spring begins to bloom I can see many a gorgeous thing just by looking out a window or stepping outside.

2.) I think I'm done with Euro neo-realism for now. Yes, I am definitely more in the mood for things along that titillating line of the fantastique. I need me a little Franco! Good thing some of the late auteur's works were also in that aforementioned dust-gathering pile.

I yanked Redemption's new-ish blu-ray of A Virgin Among the Living Dead right out from the middle of that stack. I think I may have written about this movie in the past, I remembered liking it when I first experienced it in that Image Entertainment four-film "Jess Franco Collection" DVD box set (Jesus, that was years ago!), the very version that had been (ahem) co-directed by Jean Rollin. 

Alright, so A Virgin Among the Living Dead was hardly a collaboration. Instead, Jean Rollin shot a bunch of Zombie insert-shots and the movie was marketed as a zombie/horror flick. But now, thanks to the awesome folks at Redemption, Kino Lorber, and Eurocine in France, (of course), we have Jess Franco's original version scanned from its original 35mm film negative. This official version, titled Christina, Princess of Eroticism, is Franco's 79-minute no-zombie vision, brought to life again! Watching it in this incarnation, I actually felt a bit giddy. I'd forgotten that this film had some very cool locations and wonderfully lush exterior shots, and to boot, Franco's simpler story of a woman, Christina, visiting her family mansion that may or may not be haunted - is actually quite charming. There are sexual situations and erotic photography, to be sure, and thankfully the bizarre and needless 5-minute softcore insertion of a lame front-lawn orgy was not restored back into Franco's original version

(although it is available to view as a supplemental feature on the blu-ray). The story spirals down into a multiple-twist final act that comes off more dreamy than actual thriller, very much in true Franco style, as far as I'm concerned. Matched with some truly inspired photography, either by Franco or his cinematographer, this is actually a nicely engaging little piece of the director's repertoire that shows while he may not have been a genius, the man was truly an artist.

As a side-note, the beautiful (and still dusty & scratchy) presentation of Christina, Princess of Eroticism brought to mind one of Redemption/Kino's earlier re-releases: Female Vampire, with the late Lina Romay. The blu-ray for that film is highly recommended, I felt like I was watching it for the first time! Check these things out!

-V.