"Underworld"

[sandeano]

Have "Doriana Gray" on DVD. It's part of The Jess Franco Collection released by Erwin Deitrich. He has gone to some trouble to remaster all the releases and give a complete a version of the film as possible. I have 7 of the films on DVD already including "Barbed Wire Dolls", "Love Letters of a Portugese Nun" and "Voodoo Passion". Overall I have about 40 of Franco's film. I haven't seen or heard much about "Claire", but Franco and Rollin are two of my favourite director's so I'll have to check it out. I have "Facveless", I got it more for Caroline Munro who I think was one of the sexiest women of the 70's.

Good stuff. I was wondering about the Deitrich collection, but gave away getting contentious stuff after customs kept opening and seizing my goods.

Bastards.

For several years I was trading tapes with a guy in the UK who ran a specialist video company that dealt in such things and he'd dupe a lot of Franco / Rollin and co stuff for me in return.

Probably have around the same amount of Franco stuff - from "Diary of a Nymphomaniac" and "Erotic Adventures of Frankenstein" to "Phallotasia" and "Virgin Report".

Back in those pre-Martin Bryant days customs did not care what you brought into the country as long as it was for home viewing only. Now they are willing to confiscate at their pleasure, even films which once played at cinemas here.

The thing about these films is how addictive they are, you just have to see more of the maker's work and considering that Franco was so prolific and that so much of his stuff went out in varying versions in different parts of the world, it became a fun hobby to try and track down as many as possible.

No doubt he is an acquired taste and most people think him a talentless hack, but we fans know better.

 

[Left Field]

Good stuff. I was wondering about the Deitrich collection, but gave away getting contentious stuff after customs kept opening and seizing my goods.

Bastards.

For several years I was trading tapes with a guy in the UK who ran a specialist video company that dealt in such things and he'd dupe a lot of Franco / Rollin and co stuff for me in return.

Probably have around the same amount of Franco stuff - from "Diary of a Nymphomaniac" and "Erotic Adventures of Frankenstein" to "Phallotasia" and "Virgin Report".

Back in those pre-Martin Bryant days customs did not care what you brought into the country as long as it was for home viewing only. Now they are willing to confiscate at their pleasure, even films which once played at cinemas here.

The thing about these films is how addictive they are, you just have to see more of the maker's work and considering that Franco was so prolific and that so much of his stuff went out in varying versions in different parts of the world, it became a fun hobby to try and track down as many as possible.

No doubt he is an acquired taste and most people think him a talentless hack, but we fans know better.

DEVO (Friend and Neighbour since Primary School) and I have been importing from the States and Europe for about 5 years, and have yet to have a tape or disc confiscated by Customs. In fact only twice have customs gone through my parcels.

I think Franco is a little poorly treated, sure he is an acquired taste, and some of his over 200 films are real rubbish, but when he is on his game, he is every bit as relevent as other "anti-Catholic" film makers such as Bunuel. I'm not a big fan of his recent films (Killer Barby's, Vampire Blues), but his earlier stuff, inparticular the films with Soledad Miranda are must haves. DEVO and his wife are real Franco-philes, they'd have close to 70 or 80 Jess Franco films on Video or DVD. Also has plenty of Rollin, Fulci, Bava, Argento, Soavi, Martino, Walker and Duggato.

 

[Alkaline]

back to the thread topic now fellas

 

[Left Field]

back to the thread topic now fellas

Jess Franco's Film are a far more interesting topic than Underworld. And most of his women were better looking than Beckinsale as well.

 

[sandeano]

Thought you WERE Devo, actually, under a different handle or something.

I still do get the hard stuff from O/S, but I should say I no longer pay for legit copies (too many expensive ones seized). For a number of years I have been working on a history of exploitation exhibition and distribution in Melbourne and have been trying to locate numerous titles that played here over the years (various mysterious title changes make this an arduous process). Anyway, I have a few like-minded people sending me disguised dupes, which generally get through. A mate in America even puts in little notes to the customs guys aksing how they are, even a Christmas card for them back in December. They opened the package but didn't keep the card.

Yeah, Franco made some real crap and I have had to draw the line at some friends who bang on trying to tell me there is value in some of his worst flicks, they are the sort who think of Joe D'Amato in the same light, but on his day Franco is (was) outstanding.

I'm quite the Bava fan, owning everything he did on either disc or tape and have quite a number of posters of his films too. Argento I've pretty much given up on. Fulci's best was better than anyone's but his worst was repellant. Martino (to me) falls into the same sort of boat as Castelleri and Lenzi, superb genre directors that could turn their hand to whatever flavour was that of the month, but they also have enough junk on their resumes that shows they had bills to pay like th rest of us. Pete Walker is a classic. Got a great book about him which he has signed. House of Whipcord and Four Dimensions of Greta are two of the best british flicks of the 70s. Deodato's genre stuff is terrific, even the later flicks like "Off-Balance" are very good, but recently he seems to be turnng over a new leaf. The last thing I saw was a soppy puke-fest kid's flick he did that was more horrifying than the most notorious of his jungle excursions.

 

[Alkaline]

Jess Franco's Film are a far more interesting topic than Underworld. And most of his women were better looking than Beckinsale as well.

well start another thread then...