The Erotic Rites of Jesús Franco: A Blu-ray Guide

[goodstuff]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Pre-order is live at Mondo Macabro!


Link

[Show spoiler]

Specs/extras:

Thanks for the heads up! Preordered

[anthonyls]

It would be great if some studio (I'm looking at you, Arrow) would put together a box set of all of his films, along with a handy book detailing all the films in the set... Just like they did with their Walerian Borowczyk set. I would buy that in a heart beat. Even if it was $300-$400.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by anthonyls

Even if it was $300-$400.

$400 for 194 full-length films would be one hell of a bargain!

[thenoblecollector]

Among my most wanted Jess Franco titles on Blu-ray is 1973's THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR and its hardcore counterpart; THE OBSCENE MIRROR. I'm sure the film has been on Mondo Macabro's and Severin Films radar for a very long time.

For those not familiar with the film here are some words about the film by Tim Lucas.

Franco's AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO Restored! by Tim Lucas

[anthonyls]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

$400 for 194 full-length films would be one hell of a bargain!

OK, maybe not all of his films. How about his top 25 then... for $200 - $300? That would still be awesome! I've only seen a few of his films... so this would be a great introduction/exploration of his career.

[bruce holecheck]

Date and specs for Blue Underground's Fu Manchu-fer:

The Fu Manchu Double Feature Blu-ray will be released on May 30, 2017!

THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU:
From his secret lair deep within the South American jungle, international super-villain Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee of COUNT DRACULA) and his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) reveal their latest diabolical plot for world domination: ten beautiful women are infected with an ancient poison so deadly that one kiss from their lips will bring instant death and lead to a global plague. Now the Asian madman’s nemesis, Nayland Smith (Richard Greene of TALES FROM THE CRYPT), must desperately hunt an antidote in a savage land where rape and torture reign and the ultimate evil lies in THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU. Maria Rohm (VENUS IN FURS) and Shirley Eaton (GOLDFINGER) co-star in this wild Fu Manchu feature written and produced by Harry Alan Towers (EUGENIE) and directed by the one and only Jess Franco (VAMPYROS LESBOS). Also known as KISS AND KILL, AGAINST ALL ODDS, and KISS OF DEATH, Blue Underground presents THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU in High Definition, complete with additional scenes of nudity and violence!

THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU:
Christopher Lee (THE LORD OF THE RINGS) returns as the diabolical super-villain who, along with his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin of CASINO ROYALE), creates a fiendish new chemical weapon that will turn the seas into a giant block of ice. But when his archenemy Nayland Smith (Richard Greene of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD) tracks the madman's trail of kidnapping, murder and massive global destruction, he himself becomes trapped in Fu Manchu’s impenetrable lair of cruelty. Can any of the world’s top secret agents (including a wild performance by Jess Franco) now stop the cold-blooded terror that lives in THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU? Maria Perschy (THE GHOST GALLEON) and Rosalba Neri (99 WOMEN) co-star in this notorious sequel directed by Jess Franco (THE BLOODY JUDGE) that marked Christopher Lee’s final performance as the infamous Chinese madman. Now Blue Underground presents THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU in High Definition, packed with Extras for a disc full of Fu Manchu mayhem!

Extras:
• The Rise of Fu Manchu - Interviews with Director Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan Towers, and Stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, & Shirley Eaton
• The Fall of Fu Manchu - Interviews with Director Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan Towers, and Stars Christopher Lee & Tsai Chin
• Theatrical Trailers
• Poster & Still Galleries

Video Specs: Widescreen 1.66:1
Audio Specs: English DTS-HD Mono
Optional Subtitles: English SDH
ALL REGIONS

[NoirFan]

Now let's hope it's on the Justine end of the transfer spectrum, and not the 99 Women/Eugenie one! (Also, it's too bad there's no new Thrower featurette and/or a Lucas commentary.)

Edit: A Franco trailer gallery would have been a nice little bonus as well!

[indravayu]

Originally Posted by thenoblecollector

Among my most wanted Jess Franco titles on Blu-ray is 1973's THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR and its hardcore counterpart; THE OBSCENE MIRROR. I'm sure the film has been on Mondo Macabro's and Severin Films radar for a very long time.

For those not familiar with the film here are some words about the film by Tim Lucas.

Franco's AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO Restored! by Tim Lucas

I definitely need to see this one!

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by anthonyls

OK, maybe not all of his films. How about his top 25 then... for $200 - $300? That would still be awesome! I've only seen a few of his films... so this would be a great introduction/exploration of his career.

I've purchased most of the Redemption/Kino titles for under $11 - when DD has a 15% code combined with a pre-existing Redemption sale, and 4% topcashback factored in, the prices are dirt-cheap. I'd be on the lookout for the next such sale at DD - they may do one for St. Patrick's Day. (I can already picture their stupid shark mascot with green gills and a beer clutched in one fin...) Exorcism, for example, is on sale now at $14.20, but would be $12.07 with a 15% off code. (Add 48 cents back from topcashback and you're down to $11.59.) Presumably the other Redemption Franco titles would be similarly priced.

[NoirFan]

Juego sucio en Casablanca (Dirty Game in Casablanca) was the poll winner to be paired with Camino Solitario on Volume 2 of Dorado's 'Forgotten Franco' series.


And it appears that further sets are planned as well, although they are somewhat dependent on pre-orders (so please support the line early and often!)

Originally Posted by Dorado email

I would assume that Vol.3 and 4 will be doable this year, Vol 1. although it did not do spectacular on our presale it seems to be doing better now on Amazon and other outlets. So, if we keep getting support on the presale's we can keep bring the extras and double features and actually recover the majority of our expenses on the street releases.

I also received this reply from BU regarding further Franco:

Originally Posted by Blue Underground email

We’re working on securing rights to bring some more Jess Franco to Blu-ray, but nothing that we can report yet beyond the FU MANCHU Double Feature.

[thenoblecollector]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

[CENTER]

Juego sucio en Casablanca (Dirty Game in Casablanca) was the poll winner to be paired with Camino Solitario on Volume 2 of Dorado's 'Forgotten Franco' series.

And it appears that further sets are planned as well, although they are somewhat dependent on pre-orders (so please support the line early and often!)

I also received this reply from BU regarding further Franco:

CAMINO SOLITARIO (1983) / DIRTY GAME IN CASABLANCA (1984) should make for a nice combo, slightly different in tone that a lot of the Franco currently available on Blu-ray.

Again, I'm not sure if the logistics or funds will afford it, but I'd love to see some input from Stephen Thrower on this release. I'm assuming that he's at least aware of JESS FRANCO'S FORGOTTEN FILMS VOLUME ONE and of Dorado's ambitions for the series.

It's positive to hear that Blue Underground is pursuing more Franco for Blu-ray; or films in general. There's a worry when a label simply starts reissuing films with minimal communication beyond a press release and lacking any new content; I'm sure the FU MANCHU double feature is a means to an end, i.e. to bring in some additional funds without significant outlay, that's standard business practice to help fund more expensive projects. The FU MANCHU films are my least favourite Franco films but I'll definitely be picking up the release to support Bill Lustig and team. I love Blue Underground and definitely don't want to see them go anywhere.

[babybreese]

Originally Posted by thenoblecollector

Among my most wanted Jess Franco titles on Blu-ray is 1973's THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR and its hardcore counterpart; THE OBSCENE MIRROR.

Licencor is selling these as 2 separate titles instead of 1 and they want to much $$$...Mondo Macabro has said it's not happening through them.

Only release so far is the French DVD, it looks very nice.

[babybreese]

Originally Posted by thenoblecollector

If the primary Jess Franco group on Facebook is to be believed it sounds like the new Kino/Redemption Franco acquisition is
THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z (1966)

I hope that Tim Lucas is called on for a commentary for this one.

He already did one for the German release, which was locked for 5 years ( released Sept 2012 ).
It should be clear to use now, it's a very good track.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by thenoblecollector

Again, I'm not sure if the logistics or funds will afford it, but I'd love to see some input from Stephen Thrower on this release. I'm assuming that he's at least aware of JESS FRANCO'S FORGOTTEN FILMS VOLUME ONE and of Dorado's ambitions for the series.

As would I, but his capsule reviews of the two films in the first set are pretty critical - he dubs Silence of the Tomb 'A strong contender for Jess Franco's dullest film' and The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff 'deeply disappointing' - so perhaps his participation was diplomatically demured by either party! I will suggest to Dorado that they consider contacting him for an interview (I did mention that they might want to explore the possibility of a BD50 for the next installment), though perhaps a couple of folks could also spread the word on Facebook - the more feedback they get, the more likely they are to pursue such a collaboration. Of course, as they noted in their email, additional/further extras will be at least partially contingent on strong sales (pre- and otherwise) for earlier entries.

[thenoblecollector]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

As would I, but his capsule reviews of the two films in the first set are pretty critical - he dubs Silence of the Tomb 'A strong contender for Jess Franco's dullest film' and The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff 'deeply disappointing' - so perhaps his participation was diplomatically demured by either party! I will suggest to Dorado that they consider contacting him for an interview (I did mention that they might want to explore the possibility of a BD50 for the next installment), though perhaps a couple of folks could also spread the word on Facebook - the more feedback they get, the more likely they are to pursue such a collaboration. Of course, as they noted in their email, additional/further extras will be at least partially contingent on strong sales (pre- and otherwise) for earlier entries.

I sent them an email with some feedback today.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

A couple of the German discs - Wicked Women and Voodoo Passion - are only $9.71 plus shipping (once VAT is removed) on Amazon.de. If any of the other Golden Goya discs drop down to similarly dirt-cheap levels, I'll post 'em in this thread.

Die Sklavinnen (that's Swedish Nympho Slaves to you and me) is $11.26 plus shipping (once VAT is removed). The two titles quoted above are still at the same discounted prices.

[thenoblecollector]

The same person that seemingly confirmed that Jess Franco's THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z (1966) is headed to Blu-ray in the U.S. via Redemption has also now seemingly confirmed that KILLER BARBYS (1996) is also headed to Blu-ray in the U.S. via Redemption. Fantastic news if true.

[NoirFan]

I'm a bit wary of Franco's post-80's work (by reputation only, I haven't seen any of it), is Killer Barbys considered a step above his other films of that period?

[thenoblecollector]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I'm a bit wary of Franco's post-80's work (by reputation only, I haven't seen any of it), is Killer Barbys considered a step above his other films of that period?

If you appreciate Jess Franco's most authored and personal 1980's work; EROTIC SYMPHONY (1980), MACUMBA SEXUAL (1983), NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND DESIRES (1984), MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) to name a few, I'd say that you're ready to move onto his more contemporary work.

[NoirFan]

I love Night, but Macumba and Mansion are still on my to-watch list. I'm a late-comer to Francoland, and have just begun to wade into the shallow end of his filmography, having only watched twenty movies, a mere pittance! But I will certainly give anything that isn't shot on video a chance. (And it looks like Killer Barbys just makes that cut, with his follow-up, Tender Flesh, being the last non-SOV Franco film.)