Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 27, 2017

"Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1", which contains "The Silence of the Tomb" (1972) and "The Sinister Eyes of Doctor Orloff" (1973), arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of U.S. label Dorado Films. The supplemental features on the disc include a video interview with actor Robert Woods and Jess Franco's originally scripted ending for "The Silence of the Tomb". The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by Alex Mendibil. In Spanish, with optional English, Italian, and Spanish subtitles for the two films. Region-Free.

I consider the overwhelming majority of cult Spanish director Jess Franco’s films to be experimental projects that were meant to fit in already well-defined niches. So it is not exactly surprising that as it evolved Franco’s work went through a number of different cycles because he wanted to sell as much as he wanted to direct. For example, early in his career Franco did a number of fairly straightforward horror films with Gothic overtones; then he moved to psychedelic erotica and gradually started bringing elements of other subgenres to produce some quite exotic films, often with surprisingly good music scores that he personally composed; for a short period of time Franco even directed sexy comedies and adventure films; and eventually he returned to horror thrillers and the occasional explicit adult films. In other words, Franco followed the money, and as long as there were producers willing to hire him, he was ready to work. I mention all of this for two simple reasons: First, because it explains why Franco is credited to have directed well over two hundred films of varying quality. Second, because it makes it easy to understand why during the years a lot of Franco’s less successful films disappeared from the market and were extremely difficult to track down.

This recent release from U.S. label Dorado Films has two 'forgotten' films that Franco directed in the early ‘70s: The Silence of the Tomb and The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff. Both are low-budget thrillers and excellent examples of the type of experimental work that Franco loved to do quickly whenever he ran out of money (which is something that occurred fairly often throughout his career). They are also exactly the type of ‘smaller’ films that have not been easy to see because of poor distribution arrangements and different rights complications.

The first film, The Silence of the Tomb, was apparently inspired by a novel written by Enrique James, which I am not familiar with, but given the few awkward twists that occur in it I think that it is fair to speculate that Franco’s adaptation is about as faithful as are his multiple takes on Sax Rohrmer’s novels about Fu Manchu. The plot revolves around the successful actress Annette Lamark (Glenda Allen) who invites a group of her closest friends to join her for a big party on her private island. Soon after the guests arrive, however, someone kidnaps Annette’s young son and leaves a note demanding that she pays a large sum of money if she wants to see him again. The party mood of course instantly disappears and everyone begins looking for the missing boy, but in the ensuing chaos a mysterious killer goes berserk.

By traditional Franco standards The Silence of the Tomb is a pretty conservative film, which is probably the main reason why it failed to make a lasting impression. After the boy disappears Franco instantly alters the ambience to bring some of that psychedelic edge that his better ‘70s films have, but without any sleaze to spice up the mystery the switch never works as intended. The end result is an occasionally intriguing but ultimately underwhelming conventional thriller.

The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff is a superior film that has plenty of the fluid mysticism that occasionally makes Franco look like a remarkable stylist. Its main protagonist is a beautiful young girl named Melissa Comfort (Montserrat Prous) who has spent the majority of her life in a wheelchair and frequently struggles with intense nightmares in which she relives the tragic death of her wealthy father. In a series of uneven episodes it is revealed that some of Melissa’s relatives intend to kill her so that they can take control of her inheritance, but the arrival of the mysterious Dr. Orloff (William Berger) unleashes a chain reaction of strange events that collapse their plan and at the same time profoundly alter the personality of the tormented girl.

This isn’t the first Franco film in which Dr. Orloff makes an appearance, but it is the only one that works better as a multi-layered psychological thriller than as a traditional Gothic horror piece. With a bigger budget and a better polished script Franco likely would have had quite a gem because the story actually provides many logical, not forced, opportunities for the type of genre overlapping that he was extremely fond of.

*Franco and Vernon did some pretty wild films during the '70s. Two that are particularly effective and share some of the period ambience that is present in The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff are How To Seduce A Virgin and Countess Perverse. Arguably the best one from the period, however, is She Killed in Ecstasy.

Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratios of 2.35:1 and 1.23:1, granted 1080p transfers and encoded with MPEG-4, The Silence of the Tomb and The Sinister Eyes of Doctor Orloff arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Dorado Films.

My understanding is that the release was sourced from masters that were struck in 4K from the only 35mm elements that the label had, without any extensive restoration work. In other words, the label essentially chose to put these 'forgotten' films on Blu-ray with the best quality they could offer. Here's what you get if your order the Blu-ray:

The Silence of the Tomb - There are all sorts of different inherited limitations, from various traces of fading to minor color instability to inconsistent depth and clarity to sporadic density fluctuations. In other words, the transfer retains all of the age-related imperfections that exist on the only element Dorado Films has in its vaults. The good news is that no one has attempted to do any wild digital corrections to 'rebalance' the image and hide or eliminate the limitations. What this means is that while ideally the film can look better, the current transfer still has plenty of organic qualities -- not always solid but enough to know and feel that you are watching an aged film.

The Sinister Eyes of Doctor Orloff - First, for some reason the film was likely cropped, and my feeling is that it was probably shot in the 1.85:1 ratio. This being said, the element that was used to produce the master was in much better condition than the one that Dorado Films worked with for The Silence of the Tomb. Density is notably better, contrast and highlights are better balanced, and the color scheme has a wider and stronger range of primaries and nuances. You are still going to see traces of fading, as well as some minor scratches, debris, and specks.

(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).

Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The two films arrive with Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Optional English, Italian, Spanish subtitles are provided for each film.

For the most part depth and clarity are quite good. Lossless tracks would have been preferable, but I think that given the manner in which these films were rescued and brought to Blu-ray -- without any extensive restoration work -- the difference in quality likely would have been minimal at best. The good news is that there are no serious distortions or audio dropouts, though unevenness can be heard on both tracks.

Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Enidia Chats with Robert Woods - presented here is a filmed conversation with Robert Woods in which he shares his thoughts on working with Jess Franco as well as the different type of appreciation his films have had in Europe. The actor also recalls his contribution to The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Original Ending for The Silence of the Tomb - presented here is Jess Franco's originally scripted ending for The Silence of the Tomb. With text descriptions. (3 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by Alex Mendibil.

• Trailers - a gallery of trailers for other Dorado Films releases.

Jess Franco's Forgotten Films Vol 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The first Blu-ray release from U.S. label Dorado Films includes two very rare films from cult Spanish director Jess Franco. Ideally both should look a lot better in high-definition, but I know exactly what the folks at the label were trying to accomplish, which is to give fans of the director's work a chance to see decent presentations of these 'forgotten' films. I really enjoyed the second film, The Sinister Eyes of Doctor Orloff, which has plenty of the fluid mysticism that occasionally makes Franco look like a remarkable stylist. RECOMMENDED (to Franco fans).