What makes it different from others?

This is How Movies Should Be Made

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

There must have been some creative photography work or it took four years to edit and perhaps add more footage but Soledad died in a car crash Aug 18 1970. How Franco directed her beyond the grave must be one of the arcane skills of this director. Maybe bringing back Monroe, Orson Wells, and some others to act would be a worthwhile event.. but seriously, someone should find out how or why this took so long to make.. Perhaps her accident wasn't. Just part of the trivia this director has created.. I mean really just how many Eugenie did me make - four?? I like Lindberg's the most... and yet I still have to write... to make another line

Eugénie(Soledad Miranda)is a willing participant in her stepfather's Sadean games where they carry out planned "erotic murders" with their success deriving from the lack of worry towards being caught. The murders are often well thought out and orchestrated by Albert Radeck(Paul Muller), Eugénie's stepfather, an author of erotic masochistic tales, who delights in the pleasures of the violence and success they have in committing their sadistic deeds. As this process continues, Albert and Eugénie develop a sexual relationship. Albert confesses to Eugénie that he killed her mother for cheating on him shortly after giving birth to her..and foretells his plans of hara-kiri if Eugénie ever cheated on him. Albert develops a fixation with their games growing more dangerous and complex as a nemesis emerges, a writer/intellectual, the acclaimed Attila Tanner(Jesus Franco)who is an admirer of his and disagrees with his chosen path of murder. Albert designs a new mark, a jazz musician named Paul(Andrés Monales)desiring for Eugénie to seduce him..Albert wishes for Eugénie to break his heart so that he can capture Paul's suicide on film. What Albert doesn't see happening is Eugénie's falling in love with Paul...Eugénie, from her death bed recalls her past with stepfather Albert, narrating the events to Attila Tanner.Jesús Franco's film based on a tale from Marquis de Sade certainly captures a sordid atmosphere..I feel the film is challenging the viewer, by displaying the sexual dynamo Soledad Miranda(..a true screen siren who gives over to the role)in skimpy outfits and nude, often writhing in ecstasy on her bed longing for her step-dad's fingers across her flesh, embracing female victims with soft caresses from her touch and tongue, and sitting on furniture curled up like a little girl lost in her own little world of fantasy. I know that she is committing ghoulish acts, yet I find myself lost to her body, her face, her eyes, her entire being. I want to shake off my passionate feelings for her, because I know the benevolent acts she's capable of. Yet, while I have disdain for her role in multiple deaths, I'm overwhelmed with desire. See, I think that's the film's ultimate success..despite what she does, Eugénie is a goddess who could melt the hearts of many a man(..and woman). That's a credit to the otherworldly beauty of Soledad. As for the premise, as Tanner proclaims, Albert's schemes would soon catch up with him. It's the old adage that if you stick your hand near the flame long enough, eventually you get burned. Both get their just desserts for their infamous crimes. Nicolai's score really enhances this film because, I felt, it captures the eb and flow of Eugénie and Albert through their dark journey which could only yield tragic results. Franco's camera doesn't commit to the more grisly violence, either turning away or moving haphazardly avoiding direct contact with the weapon-of-choice as it pierces flesh..from the films I've seen of Franco, he's never been one for displaying explicitly violent acts. There's plenty of nudity(..Soledad even does a striptease)and a bit of sex. I expected the film to exploit the sexual relationship of Eugénie and Albert, but Franco doesn't embellish on that sleazy aspect too much. While the film has a tendency to "globe-trot", the beauty is never more abundant than when we return to Albert's wintry abode. But, the true beauty of this film, and her countless other pictures, is Soledad Miranda. Franco's lens worships her.

Jess Franco has made so many movies and has been part of the Euro trash consciousness for so long that the "idea" of Franco and his unique work is sometimes more powerful than the films themselves.The exquisite Soledad Miranda is the main reason for spending ninety minutes with EUGENIE. She has a natural, magnetic, erotic presence that is both remote and engaging. She personifies the genre like no other.Eugenie and her stepfather Albert (Paul Muller) indulge in semi-incestuous activities and murder a couple of attractive women for pleasure. A writer, played by Franco himself, usually turns up at the scene of the crime to communicate his approval or sound a warning that their crimes are not going unnoticed.Ms. Miranda spends lots of quality time sitting around in ultra-skimpy skirts and in no skirts at all. Franco never misses an opportunity to glance between her enticing thighs or ogle her pretty bottom. His is the gaze of a true obsessive, and his muse (whom he was romantically involved with for some time) provides us with creamy erotic fantasy.The film has a languorous, dreamy shooting style and the simple, sometimes haunting score (by Bruno Nicolai) smooths over the transitions. Sometimes the shots are out of focus or bumpy, but it doesn't really matter. Clearly, Franco was happy to apply an experimental style to films like this (and VAMPYROS LESBOS, for example) and he achieves a loose, dreamy effect.I must admit, though, that I could have done without Paul Muller's hairy back during his major sex scene with Soledad (but that's just me).

This week-end I have watched another Jess Franco movie, my fifth so far: EUGENIE DE SADE (1970), or as the on-screen title would have it, simply, EUGENIE (by way of the recently released R2 DVD from Oracle Entertainment).Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed by the film itself, especially in view of its reputation as possibly Franco's best. I liked certain aspects of it, surely, but on the whole I felt that it was somewhat overrated. For starters, there are numerous plot-holes which are just too blatant to be left without comment:1. If Albert and Eugenie decided to start filming their murders just prior to meeting Paul (which eventually was to bring about their downfall), where did the footage which Franco's Tanner is watching at the beginning of the film come from?!2. If Albert's intention was always to 'pervert' Eugenie (because as he tells her he had killed her mother for just this purpose), it is hardly plausible that he would have waited this long before attempting anything!3. If Tanner knows just what Albert and Eugenie are up to, why does he need to pester Eugenie on her death-bed in order to discover what makes them 'tick'?4. In her narration, Eugenie refers to Tanner by name (as if he weren't there) rather than address him directly; also, since Albert never had a chance to tell her he killed Paul, let alone how he did it, how come she knows about it?I noticed other stuff that didn't quite come off:· The entire hitch-hiker scene went on 'bloody forever' (as Brian Lindsey had described another scene from the film on the 'Eccentric Cinema' website)· Soledad's strip-tease is more (unintentionally) comical than erotic (though she does otherwise strike a perfect balance between innocence and deadly allure)· The Albert/Eugenie relationship, complete with gratuitous sex scenes, is unconvincing to say the least (Paul Muller is quite good, but miscast, here)!· During Albert's attack on Eugenie, the scene displays a very discreet use of gore for what he is supposed to be doing to her (cut her open with a pair of scissors)!Another aspect I was let down by was the extreme realism of the settings: of course, this may very well be what the subject called for but, to me, when compared to the sunny/tropical settings of EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1969) and A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (1971) – to say nothing of the atmospheric 'noirish' ambiance of THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z (1965) – both the autumnal Parisian backdrop of the first half and the scenes which takes place in a 'mod' (i.e. dated) Berlin seemed too mundane and failed to draw me into the proceedings as much as I would have liked! As for Bruno Nicolai's score (which some consider to be his finest work!), I did not find it to be especially memorable and, indeed, repeated the same motifs over and over.Still, I have to say something about the quality of the DVD itself, because this had a definite bearing on my rather negative reaction to the film. First of all, the English subtitles flashed by very rapidly (causing me to miss some of the dialogue) but, worse than this, too often these did not even match what was being said in French (I can understand the language but I still prefer to watch it accompanied with subtitles)! Besides, in a couple of spots, subtitles appeared on the screen when none of the characters was actually speaking! By the way, does anyone know whether French was this film's original language (could it possibly have been German?); much as the English dubbing was horrid, I did not feel that the dialogue sounded very natural in French either. As was the case with A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD, the theatrical trailer included on the disc featured a number of alternate takes – not to mention that ultra-catchy riff from EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION!I have resisted doing a proper review for this film, as I would like to watch it again before committing myself to pass judgment on it. Suffice to say that, for now, I consider EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION a much better film (perhaps the best Franco I've seen so far), and even A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (by any stretch a less 'coherent' film than EUGENIE DE SADE) was more readily enjoyable. To tell you the truth, my disappointment over EUGENIE DE SADE has practically brought my Franco experience to an indefinite halt. I almost cancelled the orders I made for both EXORCISM (1974) and JACK THE RIPPER (1976) and have postponed my purchase of the R2 DVD editions of VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970) and SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1970). Actually, in a few days I should be getting VHS dubs of 4 (!) new Francos - SUCCUBUS (1967), VENUS IN FURS (1968), LES POSSEDEES DU DIABLE (1974; aka: LORNA THE EXORCIST) and THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME (1979)! Hopefully, when I watch these films my initial 'admiration' for the work of Jess Franco will be re-awakened