Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

99 Women Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 3, 2017

Jess Franco's "99 Women" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film; deleted scenes; archival featurette with the Spanish director; new featurette with film historian Stephen Thrower; original promotional materials compiled by Gregory Chick; and more. Also included with this release is a CD with Bruno Nicolai's original soundtrack for the film and 20-page illustrated booklet with writings on the film and and technical credits. In English, with optional English, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The prisoners

99 Women is arguably cult Spanish director Jess Franco’s biggest women-in-prison (WIP) project. According to Franco, the idea for it came from producer Harry Alan Towers while the two were in Rio de Janeiro to shoot the sexy psychedelic thriller The Girl from Rio.

The story is very familiar. A group of young women are brought to an isolated prison built on a giant rock somewhere around Alicante in Spain. Before they are placed in giant cages, the women are given numbers and ordered to forget their names until it is time for them to return to society.

The beautiful Marie (Maria Rohm, House of 1000 Dolls), who gets number 99, immediately impresses Zoie (Rosalba Neri, Slaughter Hotel) and she attempts to befriend her, but they quickly discover that their expectations of each other are very different. Nevertheless, later on the two women team up and create a plan to outsmart the prison guards and escape in the nearby forest.

Before the breakout the women are repeatedly humiliated and tortured by the evil lesbian warden Thelma Diaz (Mercedes McCambridge, Johnny Guitar), who also controls the island’s naïve and corrupt governor (Herbert Lom, Night and the City). When word about her deeds reaches the Minister of Justice he attempts to replace her with the much more reasonable Leonie Caroll (Maria Schell, Le Notti Bianche), but Thelma again finds a way to trick the governor and he agrees to destroy her substitute with a fabricated report.

The biggest attraction in this film is the fantastic female cast. Apparently Franco and Towers did not have a big budget to work with, but somehow they managed to convince all these beautiful European actresses to join their project and this is basically the one and only reason why they were successful. Despite some initial concerns from their U.S. partners the film received decent coverage in Variety, people went to see it, and abroad the distribution rights were easily sold in multiple territories. (Franco even agreed to shoot some additional erotic footage that was later on used for longer versions of the film; an even more explicit version of the film with new inserts shot by Bruno Mattei was also distributed in France).

The unrated director’s cut of the film that is included on this release does not have any risky material. (A different three-disc set with the explicit French version of the film is also available). The prison action is also nowhere near as intense as that witnessed in some of the similarly themed films that Roger Corman produced. So this is essentially an exotic period adventure film that has more of the classic qualities that Towers liked than the edgy material that Franco will introduce a few years later with Ilsa - The Mad Butcher.

The film has an unusually diverse soundtrack that blends beautiful symphonic music and dreamy jazz themes that make it look a lot more expensive and ambitious than it really was. It was created by the legendary Italian composer and conductor Bruno Nicolai (Adios Sabata, Caligula).

99 Women Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's 99 Women arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

The release is sourced from what appears to be an outstanding 4K restoration and reconstruction of the film, but the end result is very disappointing. Indeed, the entire film has been filtered with digital tools and detail and depth are seriously compromised. (For the record, I do not refer to the opening credits, which come from a secondary source. The right thing was done there and I have zero problems with the fact that they convey inherited softness). A lot of the wider panoramic shots, in particular, look very weak, as depth is severely lacking and a lot of, and in some cases nearly all, background details are lost (see screencaptures #11, 12, and 14). There are sporadic close-ups where the effects of the filtering are not as distracting, but the only reason why the quality is better there is actually the strength of the 4K restoration. In other words, you can begin to see what the end result could have been if the filtering adjustments had been avoided (see an example in screencapture #4). Still, during footage where light is restricted the type of artificial flatness that these digital adjustments introduce immediately becomes obvious (see screencapture #3). The color grading is very good, but the filter has also wiped out some gentle nuances (typically by expanding blacks and grays). Image stability is very good. A few tiny flecks remain, but there are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn/warped frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

99 Women Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional yellow English, French, and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Depth and clarity are very good throughout the entire film. Because the film was later on officially overdubbed some mild unevenness occasionally can be heard, but the effects are never distracting. The music is well rounded and easily adds the type of dramatic enhancements that the film demands from it. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.

99 Women Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Jess' Women - Interview with Director Jess Franco - in this archival video interview, director Jess Franco recalls how producer Harry Alan Towers approached him with the original idea about 99 Women while they were in Rio de Janeiro to shoot The Girl from Rio and the shooting of the principal footage off the coast of Alicante in Spain, and discusses his interactions with various cast members before and during the shooting of the film. Jess Franco also addresses the censorship laws in Spain at the time (with some interesting comments about the different cultural attitudes towards erotica and striptease in Barcelona and Madrid), the additional erotic scenes that were shot later on, and the film's distribution history in Europe and the U.S. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (18 min, 480/60i).

• Jess, Harry & 99 Women - in this new featurette, film historian Stephen Thrower discusses Jess Franco's professional relationship with producer Harry Alan Towers and some of the key films they created together, including 99 Women and its exploitation qualities. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080p).

• Deleted & Alternate Scenes - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Marie's Flashback (5 min, 480/60i).
  2. Zoe's Flashback (16 min, 480/60i).
  3. Extended Ending (2 min, 480/60i).

• Theatrical Trailer - original theatrical trailer for 99 Women. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Poster & Still Gallery - original posters, UK press book, lobby cards, B&W stills, color stills, and video & soundtrack covers. The collection was compiled by Gregory Chick.

• Cover Art - reversible Blu-ray cover with original poster art.

• Soundtrack/CD - Bruno Nicolai's original soundtrack for 99 Women is included on a separate CD.

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring writings on the film by film historian Stephen Thrower and technical credits.

99 Women Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have to speculate at this point that perhaps the top people at Blue Underground are not aware that they are not getting the optimal product that they are paying for. It is very clear to me that the label is trying to create the definitive editions for many popular cult titles -- it is why the label is paying for brand new 4K restorations/remasters and in some cases is even going the extra mile to include the original soundtracks of these films on a separate CD. There are people at the label that care, and it shows. However, either someone isn't paying attention when the final master is delivered or a technician somewhere is carelessly making adjustments that are ultimately destroying the restorations/remasters that are commissioned. This is the one and only scenario that explains the massive gap in quality between the outstanding presentations of Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence -- both releases sourced from 4K remasters -- and 99 Women, Eugenie, and The Girl From Rio. The first two are prime examples of how 4K restorations and remasters should transition to Blu-ray -- unfiltered, with very strong organic qualities. The last three are digital interpretations by someone, almost certainly a technician/digital artist in a lab, that have absolutely nothing to do with the original vision of the people that directed the films. I don't know if I can make it any clearer. Hopefully, someone at the label will make the necessary changes now because the type of quality that we currently see on its Blu-ray releases simply isn't good enough.