Cecilia Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Cecilia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 12, 2025

Jess Franco's "Cecilia" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Jess Franco; new program with author and critic Stephen Thrower; documentary film; vintage production and publicity materials; and newly restored vintage trailer. In English, French, or Spanish, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Serious collectors of European genre films are well acquainted with the French studio Eurocine. It is a small studio that has in its catalog quite a few good Jess Franco films, like The Awful Dr. Orlof and Eugenie de Sade, and several notorious cult films, like Alan Payet’s Hitler's Last Train a.k.a. Helltrain and Juan Fortuny’s The Man with the Severed Head a.k.a. Crimson. During the DVD era, most of Eurocine’s films were tackled by various legitimate and not-so-legitimate boutique labels. In contrast, during the Blu-ray era, only select bigger ones have seen proper releases by legitimate boutique labels. For collectors with Region-Free DVD/Blu-ray players, these films have been pretty easy to track down.

I have not seen every single film in Eurocine’s catalog. Some horror films in it do not appeal to me, and a few have not had legitimate English-friendly releases since the VHS days. However, from the ones that I have seen, which I also own and are close to half of all films in Eurocine’s catalog, Franco’s Cecilia is unquestionably the most ambitious, carefully polished, and elegant. Interestingly, the current version of Cecilia is not the original film Franco shot. The current version, which was finalized after Eurocine acquired the rights to Cecilia, incorporates additional footage shot by Olivier Mathot. But this footage, which is essentially a few very short flashbacks, has nothing to do with why Cecilia is unlike the rest of the exploitation, erotic, horror, and action films in Eurocine’s catalog. The main reason Cecilia is a different and better film is this: it emulates, and very effectively, Just Jaeckin’s Emmanuelle, which had become a huge hit in France and other European markets nearly a decade earlier.

Despite the inclusion of Mathot’s footage, however, Cecilia still does things that allow it to adopt an identity typical for Franco’s original projects. For example, even though it visits carefully selected, breathtakingly beautiful locations, Cecilia remains a notably fluid film. (While far more restrained, Franco’s quick cuts and zooms, as well as his favorite extreme close-ups, are again everywhere). Also, the jazzy/trippy harmonies flooding the narrative are as crucial for the desired by Franco atmosphere as the visuals and their arrangement. All cast members are enthusiastically improvising, too, creating a lot of memorable, unique content.

As in Emmanuelle, the narrative has an episodic structure, and the female lead (Muriel Montosse) is again a bored young wife whose husband is a busy diplomat (Antonio Mayans). An unplanned, intense sexual experience again inspires the wife to embark on a journey of sensual exploration. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, as in Emmanuelle, the wife is eventually presented with a difficult dilemma. Unlike Emmanuelle, however, Cecilia presents a complete romantic story, rather than a fragment of it, highlighting its most memorable fireworks.

The cast also includes Franco’s muse Lina Romay, the beautiful Ana Paula, and Antonio do Cabo.

Blue Underground’s Blu-ray release presents three versions of Cecilia: English and French, both fully uncut and recently restored in 2K. Franco's original cut of Cecilia, dubbed in Spanish, also restored in 2K, is included as a bonus feature as well. It is also presented with a different title, Sexual Aberrations of a Housewife, which according to Franco was imperfect but the original title for his film.

Cecilia Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

The release introduces a gorgeous 2K restoration, which is easily one of the best I have seen done for a Jess Franco film. Except for a few white nicks that pop up during the opening, which could have been removed with digital tools, everything else looks as great as I believe it can. All visuals boast outstanding delineation, clarity, and depth, and even in areas where Franco's usual camera tricks create unevenness, all visuals still have a tremendously attractive appearance. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Also, the entire 2K restoration is graded with fantastic care and understanding of how a period film should look. Unsurprisingly, all primaries and all supporting nuances are perfectly set, ensuring that all brighter daylight footage and all darker indoor and outdoor footage looks equally great. For this reason, several sections of the film boast the type of dynamic range that typically native 4K content produces. Image stability is excellent. (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).

Cecilia Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH (for the English track) and English (for the French track) subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Both tracks feature overdubbing, most of it not very good, and virtually everyone would choose to view Cecilia with the English track. However, the original track for the final version of the film, distributed by Eurocine, is the French track. Whichever of these tracks you choose, you will quickly notice areas with noticeable unevenness, which is inherited. Also, while effective, Daniel White's jazzy/trippy harmonies do not create any memorable dynamic contrasts, either. This is also an inherited limitation. The English translation of the French dialogue is very good, and I was happy to see that the optional English subtitles are yellow.

*Franco's original cut of Cecilia, dubbed in Spanish, is included as a bonus feature as well. The Spanish track is a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional yellow English subtitles are provided.

Cecilia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Spanish Version - presented here is Jess Franco's original cut of Cecilia, in Spanish, with optional English subtitles. According to Franco, Sexual Aberrations of a Housewife was a poor title that deserved to be altered. Restored in 2K. Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0. 1080p. (88 min).

• Sexual Aberrations of Cecilia - in this archival program, Jess Franco explains why he disliked the original title of his film, Sexual Aberrations of a Housewife, and comments on its production in Sintra, Portugal. Franco also discusses the journey of Muriel Montosse's character and what it was like to work with the French actress, who had a wonderful reputation in France. In English, with English subtitle. (17 min).

• Amoral Fantasies - in this new program, author and critic Stephen Thrower discusses the conception, production, and reception of Cecilia. Thrower also comments on Eurocine's 'new' version of Cecilia. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Franco-Philes: Musings on Madrid's B-Movie Maverick - this documentary film takes a closer look at the career and legacy of Jess Franco. Included in it are interviews with critic John Martin, critic Rachael Nisbet, Mike Hostench (drputy directorof the Sitges International Film Festival), and Daniel Lesoeur (Eurocine), amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (69 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a fully restored original trailer for Cecilia. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Still Gallery - a large collection of original production stills and vintage publicity materials for Cecilia from around the world. The collection was compiled by Gregory Chick.

Cecilia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jess Franco frequently shared different, contradicting stories about the conception and production of his films, which should not be surprising because he made hundreds of them. However, Franco also loved creating interesting stories that had little to do with what he had done during his busiest periods. I do not know what the real story about Cecilia is and how exactly this film came to exist. The final version of it that was prepared on behalf of the French studio Eurocine is not Franco's cut. However, Franco's cut is not lost, and it does not take a genius to realize that it emulates Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle. (For what it's worth, I absolutely believe that the additional footage shot by Olivier Mathot was supposed to enhance precisely this obvious relationship. Whether it succeeds is irrelevant). The longer version and Franco's cut are good films because both take full advantage of the stunning property in Sintra, Portugal, where the bored wife embarks on her journey. Blue Underground's Blu-ray release introduces three versions of Cecilia -- English, French, and Spanish -- beautifully restored in 2K and presented with a great selection of bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.