7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An innocent girl goes to spend the weekend on an island with a woman and her brother, but soon she finds herself entangled in a web of dream-like sexual experiments.
Starring: Marie Liljedahl, Maria Rohm, Jack Taylor (II), Christopher Lee, Paul MullerHorror | 100% |
Erotic | 60% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD, 1 CD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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
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).
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 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.
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