Eugenie De Sade

DVD released: January 29, 2008.
Approximate running time: 91 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic 1.66.1 Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono
DVD Release: Blue Underground
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $29.95



Reviewed by:
Troy Howarth on January 28, 2008.
Quick links: [video] [audio] [extras] [overall]
The Film
A perverse writer (Paul Muller) indoctrinates his naive but adoring daughter (Soledad Miranda) into a life of incest and murder....
 
Eugenie De Sade is, in many respects, the definitive Jess Franco film.  Though not as polished as Venus in Furs (1968), it rehearses the director's favorite themes and motifs with bracing honesty and clarity.  As a study in voyeurism, the film is as potent as Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960), though the more overtly exploitative elements may obscure this point for some viewers.
 
The film uses the writings of De Sade as a springboard.  Sooner than attempt the more old fashioned literary approach of Justine (1968), the film brings the characters into the contemporary period and shows just how current the writer's morbid fantasies really are.  The theme of corruption of innocence is nothing new to Franco, but nowhere in his filmography is it as persuasively or chillingly utilized as it is here.  Much of the film's impact can be attributed to the deeply felt performances of Paul Muller and Soledad Miranda.  Fans of Miranda have tended to enshrine Franco's Vampyros Lesbos (1970) as her definitive showcase, but I would have to disagree: Eugenie allows the actress far more range, and she never fails to impress.  She is incredibly effective as the naive innocent whose darker urges are brought to the foreground by her perverted stepfather.  Muller, an accomplished character actor often relegated to minor background characters, clearly relishes a rare opportunity to hold court center stage.  Muller does a magnificent job of suggesting the character's perversity and arrogance, while at the same time evoking a subtle strain of pathos.  Some of the actor's close ups have an icy brilliance that make one regret that so few of his films allowed him similar opportunities.  The supporting cast is headlined by Franco himself, and he does a terrific job as a slimy author who sees the story of murder and incest as an opportunity for a best seller.  Alice Arno (Female Vampire) appears briefly as one of Muller and Miranda's victims.
 
From a strictly technical point of view, the film is decidedly rough edged.  Manuel Merino's cinematography ranges from the lyrical (lots of wonderful snowy landscapes and some haunting still lifes of Miranda) to the sloppy (some shots slip in and out of focus), and production values are very slim.  The end result has something of the texture of a cinema verite production, and Franco uses these deficiencies to his advantage.  These elements are sure to work against the experience for those unaccustomed to - or just unimpressed by - the director's aesthetic, but it works beautifully in giving the film something of the feel of an anthropological examination of the nature of evil.  Bruno Nicolai's score is essentially cobbled together from cues he wrote for other films (the Eugenie theme, for example, is a modified version of a cue used in 99 Women, also directed by Franco) but it works very well indeed. 

While some scenes might have benefited from some tighter cutting, the film moves at a good pace and manages to weave an unusual spell on receptive viewers.  Ultimately, the imperfections are part of what makes it a definitive Franco film: as such, it is an absolutely ideal intro for anybody looking to delve into his daunting filmography.  Apart from that, it is also essential viewing as a prime example of the peculiarly European melding of horror and eroticism.





Video 4/5

Blue Underground's release of Eugnie De Sade is reason to celebrate among Franco fans.  First issued on DVD via the smaller independent outfit Wild East in an inferior transfer further compromised by the absence of the French soundtrack (more on that below), it was then issued in the UK by Oracle - with the French soundtrack, but still looking all the worse for wear.  BU have managed to track down pristine elements, and the film is finally presented in it's intended 1.66 aspect ratio.  The 16x9 transfer is sharp and colorful, so much so that some of the sloppier focus pulls stand out in relief against some of the film's smoother imagery.  The film is fully uncut, and truly looks as good as one could ever hope.



Audio 3/5

BU have included both the English soundtrack as well as the superior French track, with removable English subtitles.  The English track suffers from some changes to Nicolai's music (a long scene of Miranda changing into a gaudy disguise in a nightclub plays with the background music so faint in the English track that it seems to drag on for an eternity; in the French track, Nicolai's poppy nightclub theme makes the scene come to life) as well as stiff vocal performances.  For what it's worth, the track is in decent shape.  Viewers looking to fully appreciate the film are encouraged to go with the French track, which may also use other vocal talent (though it sounds as though Franco did his own dubbing) but is still done with more feeling and competence.  The French track is in good shape - this is, afterall, a poverty row item nearing its fortieth anniversary, so don't expect anything too dynamic, but the music is clearly rendered and dialogue doesn't sound muffled or buried in the sound mix.


Extras 3.5/5

In addition to a theatrical trailer, which uses a memorable cue Nicolai wrote for Franco's *first* crack at Eugenie (Eugenie, The Story of Her Journey into Perversion, 1969), BU have included another wonderful interview with Jess Franco.  Clocking in around 20 minutes, the interview includes plenty of opinionated commentary by the director, who finally lays to rest the rumor that he and Miranda were lovers: the truth, he insists, is that she was like a daughter to him.  A marvelous interview subject, though continuing to look more and more frail with years, the director chain-smokes his way through the piece and offers ample insight into the film and his relationship with the oeuvre of De Sade.



Overall 4/5

One of Franco's greatest films finally gets the release it deserves, thanks to Blue Underground.


Film Rating DVD Rating
Director: Jess Franco
Film:

Writer: Jess Franco
Video:

Released: 1970
Audio:

Cast: Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, Jess Franco, Andre Montchall, Alice Arno
Extras:

Overall:

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