Cries of Pleasure Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Cries of Pleasure Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 19, 2020

Jess Franco's "Cries of Pleasure" a.k.a. "Gemidos de Placer" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the disc include two new programs with critic and author Stephen Thrower as well as archival interviews with the director and his muse, Lina Romay. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The visitor

I have always viewed Jess Franco as an unusually interesting cult director rather than a misunderstood master who carved his niche in an extremely competitive business. Franco left a massive number of films and the truth is that quite a few of them are not particularly good. But here’s the important detail about his legacy that his detractors miss: even his bad films are still quite interesting. How so? Well, some are genre-benders that get crushed by their ridiculous ambitions. Then there are fascinating production misfires that reveal a lot about the era in which they emerged from. The Spaniard also intentionally shot some absolutely mad films that aimed to alter the cinematic definition of bad. Needless to say, folks that view and judge Franco’s films through the same conventional prism they utilize for all other films are quite simply wasting their time.

This recent release from Severin Films introduces a little seen -- at least in North America -- gem named Cries of Pleasure (Gemidos de placer) which Franco completed in the early ‘80s for a small production company in Spain. (In a new program that is included on this release, Stephen Thrower shares very interesting information about the couple that ran the company and explains why for years virtually all of the films that Franco did for it, including Cries of Pleasure, remained elusive). It is loosely based on a story by Marquis de Sade, but it is an original Franco project that essentially does the genre-bending I mentioned earlier. It is a slightly mad film as well, likely because it was completed with the liberating power of recreational drugs.

The film does not tell a conventional story, or at least not one that might have been carefully scripted. In a posh villa somewhere in Costa del Sol, a man (Antonio Mayans) introduces his new friend (Lina Romay) to his emotionally unstable wife (Rocio Freixas) and shortly after, together with their maid (Elisa Vela), they engage in various sexual games. Initially, the man is the dominant player that calls all the shots, but the more intense the games become, the more the women begin to overpower him. However, despite being fully aware of the changing nature of the games, the man refuses to stop them because he cannot resist the carnal pleasure(s) they provide him with.

The lovemaking is the story, so the film essentially becomes one long sexual séance where all of the players switch to a trance-like mode. Is this a great concept for a film? Well, let’s just say that another director working with the minuscule budget that Franco apparently had at his disposal would have produced something very tasteless and most likely even ugly. With Franco behind the camera, this film looks amusing to say the least, at times even surprisingly stylish. It starts as a romantic thriller and then quickly moves to the ‘other side’ where the only thing that matters is the intensity of the sexual séance. How is this different from what pornographic films do? Pornographic films do not build up a unique atmosphere to impress their audience, they only care about the mechanics of the sexual acts their characters engage in.

There are a few short segments in Roger Corman's The Trip that temporarily visit the ‘other side’ in much the same way, only in it the camera captures the exact moments when its characters take drugs to initiate the séance. In Franco’s film drugs are never seen but it definitely feels like the actors are under the influence of, well, something, so while it lasts their séance looks entirely authentic. This is essentially what makes Cries of Pleasure worth viewing -- it is a very atmospheric trip, with a touch of De Sade-esque madness that is allowed to flourish in a contemporary setting.

*Severin Films’ release of Cries of Pleasure is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was struck from the original camera negative. The film is also fully uncut.

Cries of Pleasure Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cries of Pleasure arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K master. Even though this remaster retains a few tiny scratches and blemishes, I like it a lot. In fact, I think that it is one of the more convincing organic remasters done for a Jess Franco that I have seen in recent years. So, the best news is that there are no traces of problematic digital work. (You can see such on Vampyros Lesbos). Predictably, the entire film has a rather nice organic appearance. Encoding optimizations could have been made to make the presentation even more convincing, but on my system the film looks just fine. The color grading is convincing. However, a few indoor sequences capture light in unusual ways which create the impression that balance is temporarily disrupted. It is not. This is just a limitation of the photography, which by the way is quite common on many Franco films. Image stability is very good. All in all, even though there is some room for minor cosmetic improvements, I like the technical presentation of Cries of Pleasure a lot. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Cries of Pleasure Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When Turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The dialog is clear and stable. A few small pops can be heard, but there are no serious age-related imperfections, such as distortions. Dynamic intensity is a tad uneven, but my guess is that this is how the audio was mixed. (This is another common limitation on many Jess Franco films). The English translation is very good.

Cries of Pleasure Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• In the Land of Franco: Part One - back in January of 2020, Severin Films released a promotional trailer for Stephen Thrower's exclusive new program In The Land of Franco in which he visits various locations throughout Europe where Jess Franco shot many of his popular cult films. Presented here is part one of the program. Part two of the program can be found on the label's recent release of Night of Open Sex. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• When Donald Met Jess and Lina: Part One - presented here is an archival interview with Jess Franco and his muse Lina Romay, which was conducted by American filmmaker Donald Farmer in 1993 at Hotel Cap Negret in Altea, Spain, during the production of Jungle of Fear. The bulk of the information addresses the duo's cinematic/cult images, the promotion and exhibition of erotic films in Spain, and the director's working methods. Part two of the interview can be found on the recent release of Night of Open Sex. In English and Spanish, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (12 min, 1080i).

• Jess Franco's Golden Years - in this new video program, Stephen Thrower discusses Jess Franco's 'Spanish period' during the '80s -- which covered his professional relationship with Spanish production company Golden Films Internacional, S.A. -- the films he made at the time and why most because elusive for years, as well as the production and unique qualities of Cries of Pleasure. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).

Cries of Pleasure Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If I had to rank all of the erotic films from Jess Franco's oeuvre that I have seen to date, I would place Cries of Pleasure toward the very top. There are a few like She Killed in Ecstasy and Vampyros Lesbos that have vastly superior production values, but the long sexual séance that is chronicled in Cries of Pleasure oozes atmosphere that is too pure to have been crafted entirely in Franco's head. The people that made the film in the lavish villa in Costa del Sol went on some kind of a trip, and while it lasted, Franco shot the best of it. I could be wrong, but this is the only take on the film that makes perfect sense to me. Severin Films' release is sourced from a very nice recent 4K master and comes with three excellent bonus features. It is also Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.