Franco Noir Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Franco Noir Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 24, 2021

In a typically informative supplement featuring Stephen Thrower which is included on this release, Thrower makes a perhaps cautionary statement warning those who may think they know the "story" of Jess Franco to think again, at least if they presume that some of his more lurid horror and sex suffused entries which appeared throughout the sixties and seventies in particular are the sum total of Franco's filmography. Thrower in fact makes a rather cogent case that Franco in his early years was at least a relatively more mainstream director, and the two films aggregated for this release help to support that thesis. Both of the offerings in this set have style to spare and also feature storylines that would have been completely at home in any of the hard boiled post-World War II noir productions that Columbia in particular could churn out, at least initially for the American market. The fact that, depending on whether various online sources and/or a statement on the very cover of this release are cited, either Death Whistles the Blues or Rififi in the City or possibly both together were enough to convince Orson Welles to hire Franco as his assistant on Chimes at Midnight may allude to the unabashed style of these offerings, and there is a certain florid Wellesian quality to the framings of both films, and Death Whistles the Blues in particular seems willfully evocative of one of Welles' better remembered efforts.

Reviews of the two films included on this release can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Death Whistles the Blues Blu-ray review

Rififí in the City Blu-ray review

Franco Noir Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Franco Noir Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Franco Noir Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Franco Noir (SD; 1:06:37) is an interesting interview with Stephen Thrower, who provides some generalist background on Franco as well as more detailed comments about the films included on this release.

Franco Noir Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I freely admit that I'm not always the biggest fan of some of the films that actually brought Jess Franco the most attention, but the two films in this set are really a rather pleasant surprise, with fun, twisty plots, good performances and some really bracing stylistic choices. Technical merits are generally solid, and the Stephen Thrower supplement very well done. Recommended.