posted
All you have to do is say Franco to get you off into a rant haha
I do the same, I WILL find a third film of his that is good if it kills me Posts: 4057 | From: uk | Registered: May 2007 | Site Updates: 0
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A third film!!! You are hilarious. I actually have three: Gritos en La Noche a/k/a The Awful Dr. Orloff, Vampyros Lesbos, and She Killed in Ecstasy. The Bloody Judge, The Sadistic Baron von Klaus, The Sadist of Notre Dame, and Count Dracula come close to being "good." I don't think that anything else is really at that level. Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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What about Necronomicon, Venus In Furs, both Eugenie's, Lorna, Sinner, and on.. and on.. and on..
The fun thing about the Franco universe is that certain characters return in many movies throughout his career, even when there's been 40 years in between. Plus numerous characters from different movies seem to be related to one another, which creates some sort of labyrinthine puzzle nearly impossible to solve.
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I have not seen Lorna and Sinner, but the others you mentioned, while "professional looking" Franco films, aren't favorites.
I agree with you about his characters. How many films has Morpho been in? Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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According to the Imdb the character Al Pereira popped up in twelve different Jess Franco movies between 1964 and 2013.
In his book Murderous Passions, Stephen Thrower noticed the name Radeck turns up quite a lot as well in Franco movies. Both male and female characters carry that surname in several of his movies, possibly indicating they're related. Maybe these characters are part of a bigger picture spread out over multiple movies.. Who knows ?
And at some point in Vampyros Lesbos, the Countess Carody mentions the mystical character 'Queen Of The Night'. Fast forward two years, and actress Anne Libert plays that very character (to great effect) in A Virgin Among The Living Dead.
I actually like the loose narrative structure and melancholic, even downbeat atmosphere of his movies. They intrigue me, and i'm not bothered by any technical shortcomings along the way.
[ 24. April 2016, 13:36: Message edited by: Johnny Roarke is reckless ]
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Helen_S
Hiding behind the shower curtain.....
Member # 5804
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Oh yes, Al Pereira! Was that the name of a Franco relative or something that he used it so many times?
Johnny, just to show you that Franco won't come between us, I actually have a copy of Tim Lucas's definitive hardbound book about Franco's career. Man, even if you have only a passing interest in Franco, this thing--long out of print--is amazing. It's gorgeously laid out with a full analysis of every film and unbelievable, beautifully reproduced stills. It's a coffee table book that I dare not leave out on the coffee table. ROFL
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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posted
According to the Stephen Thrower book the name Al Pereira is sourced from Hal Pereira, an art-director who worked on almost all Hitchcock movies in the 1950s, and was nominated for an Oscar 23 times !
Here's another interesting connection between two Franco movies (again taken from the Murderous Passions book):
In Attack Of The Robots (1965) (which i haven't seen, by the way.. nor do i own a copy), there's a particular line of dialogue that goes : "Pereira used to be one of the best. He's the one who caught Paul Vogel.. Remember?"
Fast forward nine (!) years, and the character Paul Vogel turns up as the murderous sex maniac in Exorcism (1974).. played by Jess Franco himself !
Quite intriguing, isn't it ? Posts: 2176 | From: The Netherlands | Registered: Jun 2011 | Site Updates: 0
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That is fascinating! Attack of the Robots was the first Franco film I saw when I was a kid. (Even at around age 12, I thought that it wasn't good.) I own the special edition DVD of Exorcism a/k/a The Sadist of Notre Dame, and I do like parts of it. It's one of Franco's better films and probably his best acting job. What's interesting to me about Exorcism is the quesition of how much Franco is really acting and how much is he just working through his fetishes and demons. LOL
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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Watched Camille 2000 (1969). Really, really good, slightly erotic drama based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils.
"Marguerite, a beautiful woman of affairs, falls for the young and promising Armand, but sacrifices her love for him for the sake of his future and reputation." (IMDb)
I happen to love these love story gone bad films with sad endings. Maybe it´s the finnish melancholy in me The same goes with music.
The movie has great production values, nice settings and the cast did a wonderful job. The leading lady Daniele Gaubert looks divine and was 25 years when the film was made. She was only 44 when she sadly passed away in 1987. The only negative thing here is the typical 60s "groovy" soundtrack, the main theme was good though.
I own two more Randal Metzger films, The Lickerish Quartet and Score. I need to check those out asap.
Posts: 7054 | From: Finland | Registered: Feb 2008 | Site Updates: 7
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The Flying Deuces (1939) is an atypical Laurel and Hardy vehicle. Rather than being set in their own locale, it relocates them first to Paris, and then, after a failed attempt to propose marriage, to the French Foreign Legion, where Olly tries to forget the girl.
There are some lovely set pieces and cross-talk arguments of the type that made the duo so loved, and it's nice to see how stumbling inadvertently from one disaster to another should be done.
The only thing with Laurel and Hardy films now is that they do seem extremely dated, and the effects are unconvincing to say the least.
I would mark this movie as no more than a seven usually, but I'm going to give it 8/10 because - as usual - you get to see a couple of great double-takes from the wonderful Jimmy Finlayson as the Jailer...
Posts: 3646 | From: Shermer, IL - where else? | Registered: Mar 2001 | Site Updates: 37
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My Favorite Brunette from 1947 starred Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr, and cameos from Alan ladd and the ever-present Bing Crosby.
Gentle fun as a baby photographer with a dream of being a private investigator gets his wish when he's drawn ever deeper into a kidnap/murder plot involving Ms Lamour as his beautiful client.
No real surprises in the plot, but plenty of cracking chase sequences and the kind of role Hope was famous for.
Posts: 3646 | From: Shermer, IL - where else? | Registered: Mar 2001 | Site Updates: 37
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A film that is largely based on true events, this tense euro-thriller stars Jon Voight as Peter Miller, a young Journalist who, after reading the diary of a recently deceased German Jew who documented his trials in wartime concentration camps, determines to follow up on the leads and bring the camp commandant to justice. The deeper he gets, the more dangerous things become as he is battling ODESSA, a secret organisation of former Nazi officials who are now in positions of authority under assumed identities.
Voight is superb in this role, mixing idealism, naivety and stubbornness wonderfully. The support cast includes Mary Tamm as his girlfriend Siggi; Maximilian Schell as the target, Eduard Roschmann; Schell's sister Maria as Miller's mother, and Derek Jacobi and Garfield Morgan in smaller roles.
Overall, it's a well crafted, tense and well delivered movie. The knowledge that much of it is based on real historic events adds a level of engagement that you don't get from pure fiction thrillers.
Posts: 3646 | From: Shermer, IL - where else? | Registered: Mar 2001 | Site Updates: 37
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I agree. The Odessa File is a really well-done film with a fine Jon Voight performance. He's been so hammy in movies lately that I tend to forget what a fine actor he can be.
[ 28. April 2016, 10:05: Message edited by: Crash ]
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Helen_S
Hiding behind the shower curtain.....
Member # 5804
posted
How To Murder Your Wife (1965) starring Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi and Terry-thomas.
Stanley, a syndicated cartoonist and confirmed bachelor finds himself married after a drunken party. Whilst his new wife is beautiful and sexy, she is also Italian and speaks no English. As Stanley's life is turned upside down, he and his valet Charles start musing on a way to return life to its previous blissful state. Things take a sinister turn, and when she disappears...
Lovely comedy about the challenges men experience with - and without - the controlling hand of a wife. Lemmon shows excellent comic timing, Terry-thomas is simply his wonderful self, and Virna Lisi is gorgeous.
Posts: 3646 | From: Shermer, IL - where else? | Registered: Mar 2001 | Site Updates: 37
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posted
The Gambler (1974) James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton
James Caan is a University lecturer (apparently) who gambles like a fool. Worth it just for Caan's chest rug and the scene with Huggy Bear as a pimp.
Straight Time (1978) Dustin Hoffman, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, Theresa Russell, M. Emmet Walsh, Kathy Bates
Hoffman plays an ex-con not trying to go straight. Dustin gives us a glimpse of his 'little Hoff' in the movie. Now that's method.
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Theresa Russell is really great in Straight Time. She's always been one of my favorite actresses, yet despite amazing performances in this film, Bad Timing, Insignificance, Black Widow, and Wh***, she never had the career of an A-list actress. That's such a shame. She's brilliant in just about everything she does.
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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It's true. She always gives understated performances. She also never got a breakthrough role (in terms of commercial success). Maybe that's why she she seemed to drop off the map?
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I think that you are right. Her closest flirt with mainstream success was the modest hit she had with Debra Winger, Black Widow. She then had leads in Physical Evidence and Impulse, but they flopped. I'm glad to see though that she's managed to keep working over the years.
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
posted
Well, if you work closely with Nicholas Roeg, you´re pretty far from mainstream But that doesn´t mean you make bad films, quite the opposite.
Russell did lots of interesting stuff during the 80s and i also own Straight Time but haven´t watched it yet. Same with Eureka and Physical Evidence. The Razor´s Edge starring Bill Murray is fantastic, Black Widow is pretty good and i also remember liking Track 29 as weird as it is. Impulse was decent, i liked Whore and of course i love her in Wild Things because i love everyone in that film Posts: 7054 | From: Finland | Registered: Feb 2008 | Site Updates: 7
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I agree with you. She was excellent in The Razor's Edge, pretty much stealing the movie out from under Bill Murray if that is possible.
I always found Russell and Roeg to be an interesting pair. They were married for a very long time. He was much older than she was. And Russell always managed to shine in the roles that Roeg cast her in. Her performance in Bad Timing is one of the great female movie performances ever, yet few have seen it. Russell was as good as Meryl Streep in her prime, but few noticed.
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