Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Eugenie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 2, 2016

Jess Franco's "Eugenie" a.k.a. "De Sade 70" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the release include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with film historian Stephen Thrower; large collection of promotional materials; and archival featurette with cast and crew interviews. Also included with this release is a CD with Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack for the film, as well as 18-page illustrated booklet with writings on the film and technical credits, In English, with optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The players

It immediately becomes obvious that the intent was to produce a serious adaptation of Marquis de Sade’s novel Philosophy in the Boudoir. There are a few segments where Jess Franco unleashes his imagination in a familiar fashion, but Eugenie does not enter that risky territory that some of the director’s more controversial films visit. It is a solid production with stars that truly look like stars.

The young and innocent Eugenie (Marie Liljedahl, The Seduction of Inga) is approached by the elegant Madame Saint Ange (Maria Rohm, Venus in Furs) who offers to take her away from her conservative parents for a few days. Madame then seduces her prominent father (Paul Muller) and he agrees to let her go.

A day later, Madame takes Eugenie to her luxurious villa on a beautiful island. The two women are greeted by Madame’s handsome stepbrother, Mirvel (Jack Taylor), who immediately shows interest in Eugenie. Very soon, however, it becomes clear that Madame and Mirvel are determined to corrupt their young and innocent guest. Initially, the carnal games excite Eugenie, but then they begin to scare her.

Meanwhile, a group of unexpected guests emerges from the shadows, led by a tall and demanding respect nobleman named Dolmance (Christopher Lee, The Oblong Box).

The film is rather unusual because its atmosphere becomes its story. There are a few interesting twists -- with the most effective one featuring Lee -- but one should not expect to be wowed by a succession of carefully scripted events. Indeed, as soon as the main characters arrive on the island Franco moves them into a different reality and essentially begins playing with one’s expectations. The effect is difficult to accurately describe, but for the most part, it feels a bit like being in a constantly evolving surreal dream. (Recently, French director Jean-Claude Brisseau has been very successful in his introduction of similar shifts in many of his erotic films).

What makes the film even more attractive is the fact that the actors exude tremendous confidence and some even have that classic Hollywood appearance. Lee was apparently unaware of the true nature of Franco’s film -- which is something film historian Stephen Thrower has rightfully questioned as it is difficult to imagine that Lee was under the impression that a project based on de Sade’s work would look drastically different -- but his mannerisms work perfectly for the desired visual style. Taylor and especially Rohm also bring the type of class and elegance a lot of other similarly themed films typically lack. So, this film not only has a tremendous atmosphere but also the sophisticated appearance of a very serious production.

As is often the case with Franco’s films from the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, some rough spots eventually emerge (different awkward zooms, some uneven transitions, etc.). It is probably safe to assume that time was a factor during the shooting process and therefore a lot of different scenes were done quickly, but it is also true that the editing of Franco’s films has always been somewhat inconsistent.

The trippy soundtrack was created by the legendary Italian composer Bruno Nicolai (Sergio Martino's Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, Tinto Brass' Caligula).

Eugenie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's Eugenie arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

The film was recently restored in 4K and it appears that the end result was quite wonderful. Indeed, a lot of the daylight footage looks significantly better balanced and clarity is improved (see screencaptures #1 and 14). However, some minor denoising corrections have been applied as well. Rather predictably, there are areas of the film where depth is inconsistent. The end result is still quite pleasing, but it isn't difficult to see where the dynamic range should be much better (you can see the flatness that emerges in screencaptures #3, 12, and 13). It needs to be said that there are also segments that are awkwardly lensed -- clarity fluctuates and it seems like the visuals are slightly out of focus. However, this isn't too surprising because these types of inconsistencies are quite common in Jess Franco's films. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Generally speaking, the colors are stable and rather nicely saturated. The nuances are also good, though some could be further expanded (the filtering has impacted some of the nuances). Image stability is good. Finally, a few specks pop up, but there are no large debris, cuts, or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-Free release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Eugenie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Mastrer Audio 2.0. Optional yellow English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Generally speaking, clarity, sharpness and depth are good, but as it is the case with a lot of Jess Franco films some unevenness is occasionally felt. What really impresses is how clean the audio is -- there is no distracting background hiss and the pops from previous release have been completely removed. The music has an enormously important role throughout the film and thankfully it remains well balanced. Dynamic intensity is good.

Eugenie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - restored original trailer for Eugenie. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Poster & Still Gallery - an excellent collection of posters, advertising materials (clippings, stills), lobby cards, black-and-white stills, color stills, and video and soundtrack covers from around the world. The gallery was compiled by Gregory Chick.

• Stephen Thrower on Eugenie - in this new video interview, Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco, discusses the placement of Eugenie in Jess Franco's body of work, the film's tone and atmosphere, Maria Rohm's presence and the manner in which she is framed and shot, Christopher Lee's involvement with the film, the original Eugenie story, the film's troubled distribution history, etc. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

• Perversion Stories - this featurette takes a closer look at the production history of Eugenie. Included in it are archival interviews with director Jess Franco, actress Marie Liljedahl, producer Harry Alan Towers, and Christopher Lee. In English and French, with imposed yellow English subtitles where necessary. (18 min, 480/60i).

• Soundtrack - Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack for Eugenie is presented on a separate CD. Licensed by Beat Records. (19 tracks).

• Booklet - 18-page illustrated booklet featuring "Justine Among The Swingers: Jess Franco's Eugenie". (By Stephen Thrower, adapted from his book Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco. Strange Attractor Press. Available from www.strangeattractor.co.uk).

• Cover - reversible cover.

Eugenie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eugenie is one of the best films Jess Franco created during what I consider to be his best period (the late 1960s and early 1970s). It is a very atmospheric film with an excellent cast and a wonderful soundtrack from Bruno Nicolai. Like Marquis de Sade's Justine, Eugenie has been fully restored in 4K and it appears that the end result was really quite wonderful. However, the technical presentation here isn't as impressive. I still think that the release is worth picking up, but the truth is that Eugenie could have looked every bit as magnificent as Marquis de Sade's Justine. RECOMMENDED.