Eugenie...
The Story of Her Journey Into Perversion
(1970)/Marquis
De Sade's Justine
(1969/3 Disc Limited Editions/Blue Underground Blu-rays w/CD)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Film: C+/C
This
past year has seen many great releases of classic Jess Franco films
on Blu-ray. A few months back we had Vampiros
Lesbos
(eventually 2 releases) and She
Killed In Ecstasy
(all reviewed elsewhere on this site). Now we have these superb
three disc releases by Blue Underground that include not only these
two great bizarre but interesting European films re-mastered with
plenty of great extras, collectible booklets, and the original film
soundtracks to make this release a must for fans of Jess Franco and
the erotic work of author Marquis De Sade!
Eugenie...
The Story of Her Journey Into Perversion
(1970)
A
very 1970's exploitation piece by controversial and stylistic
director Jess Franco, Eugenie
is the story of an innocent girl that goes to spend the weekend on an
island with a woman and her brother, but soon she finds herself
entangled in a web of dream-like sexual experiments. Beautifully
shot and full of plenty of nudity, drugs, sadomasochism, and
surrealistic erotic sequences to satisfy any exploitation fan.
The
film stars the late Christopher Lee, Marie Liljedahl (the luscious
star of Inga),
Jack Taylor (Succubus)
and Maria Rohm (Justine)
and is based on the novel Philosophy
in the Boudoir
by the Marquis de Sade.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and
superb audio tracks in lossless DTS-HD Mono and lossy Dolby Digital
Mono, the film has not looked or sounded as good as it does on the
Blu-ray since its original theatrical release. Then we get extras
that include...
Perversion
Stories - Interviews with Director Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan
Towers, and Stars Marie Liljedahl & Christopher Lee
Stephen
Thrower on Eugenie
- Interview with the author of "Murderous Passions: The
Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco"
Theatrical
Trailer
Poster
& Still Gallery
Bonus
Collectable Booklet includes writing by author Stephen Thrower
and
the Bonus CD - Eugenie Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Bruno
Nicolai
Justine
(1969)
A
longer and more twisted tale than Eugenie
comes Jess Franco with the Marquis De Sade's Justine.
Romina
Power stars as the title character Justine, who is a virgin cast out
of a French orphanage and thrust into a depraved world of
prostitution, predatory lesbians, a fugitive murderess (Mercedes
McCambridge), bondage, branding, and one supremely sadistic monk (an
outrageous performance by Jack Palance). It's a twisted tale of
strange desires, perverse pleasures and the ultimate corruption of
innocence as told by the Marquis de Sade. This is definitely not a
film for the faint of heart and makes 50
Shades of Grey
look like a Disney cartoon!
Justine
stars Power, Palance, McCambridge, Maria Rohm, Akim Tamiroff, Howard
Vernon, Rosalba Neri, and Klaus Kinski in what is an unusual cast
indeed.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a full frame aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and
a beautiful sounding, lossless DTS-HD Mono track and lossy Dolby
Digital Mono tracks, much like Eugenie, the film has never looked or
sounded this good on disc before. Kudos to Blue Underground on their
excellent achievement here!
Special
Features include:
The
Perils And Pleasures Of Justine - Interviews with Co-Writer/Director
Jess Franco and Producer Harry Alan Towers
Stephen
Thrower on JUSTINE - Interview with the author of "Murderous
Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco"
French
Trailer
Poster
& Still Gallery
Bonus
Collectable Booklet includes writing by author Stephen Thrower
and
Bonus CD - JUSTINE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Bruno
Nicolai
All
in all, these are cool films to add to your collection but certainly
apply to a niche crowd. Not quite pornography but pretty close, be
sure to check out these restored erotic films by Jess Franco on
Blu-ray and they make show you the 1970's in a whole new light.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
