We Have Lost Jesús Franco Manera

 

 

Many of us are more than a little saddened, shook-up and stunned this morning by the loss of the great Jess Franco, one of the great, and absolute, auteur's the world of cinema has ever known.  I am at a loss for words to describe the impact Franco, his life and his films have had on me in the last twenty years since I discovered them thanks to Tim Lucas and Video Watchdog.  I adored this man and his unique cinematic dreams have haunted mine like few others. 

It's a heartbreaking loss but the thought of Jess back together with his two greatest muses, Lina and Soledad, in a sweet distant otherworld should bring us all comfort.  We love and miss you Jess and thank you for your great mad genius and spirit. 

Operation Screenshot (Films Of The Seventies) Jess Franco's Doriana Gray (1976)

A Belated Birthday Wish For Jess Franco

Since I missed Jess Franco’s birthday yesterday (check Tim Lucas’ very nice letter to him at Video Watchblog) and since I have been neglectful on writing much on the great man here I thought I would offer up a quick listing of ten of my favorite Franco films.
Even though he is one of my favorite maverick filmmakers, I have probably only seen fifty or so Franco films which makes me pretty much a punk, but even though I still have a ways to go in his filmography my dedication to the man (whom I had the pleasure of meeting about 12 years ago)remains unwavering
So while I continue my journey to seeing as many Jess Franco films as possible, here are ten that continue to haunt my dreams and echo through my waking life. Consider this a late birthday card to one of the most uncompromising and individualistic directors in film history.

In chronological order rather than preference:

Lucky, The Inscrutable (1967): Deliciously energetic and witty spy caper is one of the most purely entertaining films in Franco’s canon and Bruno Nicolai’s score is a real favorite.

Two Undercover Angels (1969): Another trippy spy themed production this time with the unbeatable pair of Janine Reynaud and Rosanna Yanni. The two can also be seen in the equally fun Kiss Me Monster from the same year. Reynaud is of course one of the great figures in Franco’s world and I suspect I will get some well deserved flack for including this rather slight film over Succubus (1968).

Venus In Furs (1969): One of the first Franco films I ever saw and still among my favorites if just for the astonishing performance by Maria Rohm, the lovely photography by Angelo Lotti and the unbelievably great soundtrack from Mike Hugg and Manfred Mann.

Eugenie de Sade (1970): Just about my favorite Franco film. Starring the much missed supernatural Soledad Miranda, this is one of the great films of the seventies and the recent Region 1 DVD is one of the most welcome of the decade.

She Killed In Ecstasy (1971): I actually prefer this one to the incredible and better known Vampyros Lesbos (1971). Miranda continues to prove herself as one of the most hypnotic and mesmerizing presences in screen history here, and the film remains one of Franco’s most haunting.

Female Vampire (1973): Lina Romay steps into Miranda’s shoes and fills them beautifully in this amazingly erotic and powerful film. Of all the versions I prefer The Loves Of Irina version to the one out from Image.

A Virgin Among The Living Dead (1973): Strange and disturbingly beautiful meditation on love and death featuring a really special performance by the mysterious Christina von Blanc…plus that oh so beautiful Nicolai score. I love this film.

Celestine (1974): Charming sex comedy features probably my favorite performance by Lina. While not as progressive or as great as so many of the productions Jess and Lina were mounting in this period, this one remains a personal favorite.

Doriana Grey (1976): Intense and troubling film that I think is among Franco’s finest. Contains another one of Lina’s best performances and Monica Swinn proves absolutely unforgettable.

Macumba Sexual (1983): I just saw this one in the past year and it really floored me. I typically prefer Franco’s work from the late sixties to mid seventies (obviously from the list above) but this one struck me as one of his greatest and most daring films.

So, obviously ten is an impossible number in dealing with Franco as essential titles ranging from The Orloff films to The Perverse Countess to Satanic Sisters to Faceless and so on are missing in action. Still, the ten above constitute some of my favorite films. Check both Robert Monell’s essential I’m In A Jess Franco State Of Mind and of course Tim Lucas’ Video Watchdog and Video Watchblog for the most important, knowledgeable and refreshing work on the world of Jess Franco.

Jess Franco: Here's to Another Year of Going Your Own Way

Today, cinema's most maverick director is celebrating his birthday. Jess Franco has for more than four decades provided audiences with some of the most original and startling images ever committed to film. More often than not the greatest artists are usually criticised or overlooked completely in their lifetime and this has unfortunately sometimes been the case with Jess. Since the early 90s though more and more film fans have been discovering the wonderful, surreal and always unforgettable world of Franco and his films.
I discovered Franco probably in the same way many pepole my age did, by stumbling across a photograph of Soledad Miranda in the early part of the 90s. I'm still not sure if I have ever seen a face as lovely, haunting or pure as Soledad and I soon had in my possession a horribly blurry, cropped and un-subtitled VHS pirated copy of her in Franco's VAMPYROS LESBOS. Even though I was seeing it in the worst possible condition I still knew that I was witnessing a film, actress and director unlike any other.
Solidifying my love for Franco over a decade ago was the groundbreaking coverage in Video Watchdog and book IMMORAL TALES. The mid 90's were a blur of seeking out and ordering different Franco films, some in good quality prints and others in the worst imaginable. Soon people like Soledad, Lina Romay, Maria Rohm and Jess himself started coming up in conversations with other film fanatic friends on a regular basis. It was an extremely exciting time of discovery for a new cinema and a completely fresh way of looking at art.
DVD has been a miracle for Jess Franco fans, I have been able to replace many of my blurry tapes with fine, and sometimes even special editions, discs of my favorite Franco films. Being able to watch the Soledad Miranda films, FEMALE VAMPIRE, VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD or any number of his best films from the sixties and seventies in such high quality still blows my mind. I have only seen fifty or so of his near 200 films and the anticipation of continuing to discover his works still feels like discovering cinema itself. A recent re-watching of MACUMBA SEXUAL on dvd left me as speechless as any film has in a very long time.
I met Jess and Lina once and wrote about it in the early days of this blog. He remains, well into his seventies, one of the most important and unique of all directors.
When thinking about Jess I always remember a line that Montgomery Clift said in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, "A man don't go his own way...he's nothing."
Jess Franco has always gone his own way...Cinema has been the better for it...God bless him.

A Warm Day In New York, April 1971.

Later today I am going to be posting a review to go along with The Bleeding Tree's The Trashy Movie Celebration Blog-a-thon that I heard about from the always great Cinebeats. I had several films in mind and finally decided on either Jess Franco's delightful CELESTINE with Lina Romay or Roger Vadim's 1971 gem PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW.
I have decided on the Vadim flick as I am ultimately more familiar with it and since it was featured at Tarantino's recent Grindhouse festival it seemed more timely.
Here I offer a few ads you would have seen had you lived in the Big Apple and opened up the Times in 1971.
How amazing would it have been to spend a weekend viewing films from directors ranging from Vadim to Casavettes to Van Peebles to Bertolucci? You could have done a double feature with one of the greatest art films ever THE CONFORMIST and the great Amicus anthology THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. Want some comedy and sex? How about Woody Allen's BANANAS paired up with the X-rated SEXUS IN PARADISE? How about some SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG with SAMURAI PART 1.
If they ever build a time machine, 1971 doesn't seem like a bad year for a movie lover to set the dial to.

My PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW review will be up later today.

Lina Romay: Meeting the Muse

Ten years ago or so I was fortunate enough to meet maverick Spanish director Jess Franco and his companion and most frequent collaborator Lina Romay at a film convention in New Jersey. It was an incredibly exciting weekend for me, I was in my early 20s and it was the longest road trip I had ever taken alone. My girlfriend at the time had dropped out at the last minute so I took it alone. At the time I remember thinking that it would have been nice to have someone to share the trip with but my own memories of it, even the car ride up listening to 12 hours of Elvis Costello, are some of my finest.
The weekend was a whirlwind of meeting everyone from Ingrid Pitt to Candy Clark and drooling over incredibly expensive uncut Japanese laserdiscs of films that I only had lousy bootlegs of. My major score was getting a reasonably priced beautiful gatefold issue of Zulawski's Possession which I still have.
The highlight of the weekend was meeting the great Franco and Romay. Ironically I ended up standing in the line to meet them with Craig Ledbetter who operated European Trash Cinema which I had ordered from so many times. Just before the weekend I had watched Franco's Celestine which featured one of Lina's most underrated performances, completely charming, humorous and engaging. This performance had provided me with such a contrast with her dark Female Vampire persona that I had become so used to that I was curious as to what she would be like in person. Happy to report that this dark Spanish Goddess was charming, warm and radiated intelligence in person. I actually barely remember meeting Jess who seemed irritated and tired. It was interesting watching them together, if Jess seemed short with anyone Lina would pull them back over with very sweet small talk understanding that this rare meeting might have some significance for film fans.
It was interesting having a moment with a true genius and maverick like Franco. It felt a bit like going back in time to meet Schiele or any number of misunderstood and dangerous artists. The battle scenes of Chimes of Midnight and those close up of Soledad Miranda's face were zipping through my mind as I mumbled something about liking his films. He promptly waved me off and Lina pulled me back over asking where I was from and what I did. A couple of autographs later and the meeting was over and I caught up in a conversation with Ledbetter about Jose Larraz.
I've seen a lot more Franco and Romay collaborations since that meeting, even the most flawed ones are interesting. The early ones remain my favorites from the twisted intensity of Doriana Grey to her iconic portrayal of Countess Irina all the way to the charming Celestine which I still adore. Franco's lovely muse is one of Spanish films most underrated icons and a really nice woman.