Jess Franco

[snipsmovies]

Are those two Jess Franco collections from AB any good ? Picked them up for rental while cheap over Xmas and waiting for them to arrive. Over the two sets I think there are 14 films altogether.

Have seen snippets of Franco over the years but not a great deal.

Anyone else picked them up ?

[Philleh]

I guess it depends on your Franco threshold. I have the films that Severin have released (which are pretty much all included in the 2nd box set), and they are a mixed bag. Sexual Story of O, MAcumba Sexual are fun enough. The others are pretty boring.

Check out 99 Women though, my personal fave Franco movie.

[herman]

yeah 99 women is good

[Philleh]

The Blue Underground releases are fab though

One is the director's cut and the other an X-rated producer's cut... take your pick

[Peter Neal]

I haven't seen the Franco flicks in the second ABUK set yet, but I incidently have all the movies cut in the first set (apart from "Sexy Sisters") also in the form of an uncut German set (which lacks all the extras available in the ABUK set plus comes without English subs for the preferrable German language track).
Not to forget, the ABUK set offers a small, stylish DVD case for every disc whereas you have to fold out the German set "Masters of Horror" style.

All I can say after comparing the versions is that ABUK have done an admirable job with the BBFC requested cuts. They don't really harm the quality of the movies as much as you'd expect and when something does look cut, it's usually rather due to Franco's "experimental" style of editing than the fault of the UK release. I guessed the place of nearly all the cuts wrong prior to getting the uncut discs.

Even the cut-by-6-(!!!)-mins UK version of "Loveletters from a Portugese Nun" is actually watchable!

I personally like his Erwin C Dietrich produced stuff best, but there's still tons of Franco I have to seek out at some point.

[vipco]

Are the UK versions of Sadomania and Ilsa the Wicked Warden cut.? I ask as it says on Sadomania that AB has restored its scenes of depravity and violence and Ilsa is labeled the directors Ed. and was just wondering how much they were cut by.
I suppose its hard to know what the fully uncut print of some Franco films are as one country gets a different version than others due to its views on sex or violence .
My fav Franco films are Bloody Moon and Oasis of the Zombies.

[Peter Neal]

They're both cut in their ABUK releases, but unless you're a die-hard fan and Franco completist there's no reason not to go with the UK DVDs if you can get them at a reasonable prize.

[Philleh]

I know Sadomania was cut by a seond or two for a needle being inserted into a inmates breast and drawing blood... which was not done via special effects, just good ol' fashioned reality!

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Philleh

The Blue Underground releases are fab though

One is the director's cut and the other an X-rated producer's cut... take your pick

Which is the most explicit mate?

[Angel]

Originally Posted by Philleh

I know Sadomania was cut by a seond or two for a needle being inserted into a inmates breast and drawing blood... which was not done via special effects, just good ol' fashioned reality!

An unsimulated shot then? Sounds a bit vicious. On the whole it seems to have got off quite lightly considering its previous ban and the BBFC cutting about 40m from the early 80's cinema release.

There are similar shots to the above in Lamberto Bava's The Torturer.