Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2024

Jess Franco's "Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by cricic and novelist Tim Lucas; archival program with actress Jacqueline Laurent; archival program with editor Gerard Kikoine; archival program with writer and critic Stephen Thrower; and more. In French and English, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

Jess Franco made Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac three years after Jens Jorgen Thorsen made Quiet Days in Clichy. Three years is probably what it took Franco to notice Quiet Days in Clichy and then do a film a bit like it. How do we know this? There is a lot of content with men and women who worked with Franco in which they confirm that he spent plenty of time in Paris and was very aware of the type of smaller films directors were shooting across Europe. They also confirm that in Paris Franco had great contacts, which is how he was able to book many European actors and do films for French producers. These were the typical quick films Franco shot over the years, which played in select theaters in just a few big cities. While not a quick film, Quiet Days in Clichy is a lot like the films Franco was shooting -- it was meant to be one thing but turned out something completely different. (A reminder: Quiet Days in Clichy is not remembered as an unconventional but terrific adaptation of Henry Miller's popular novel. It is remembered for being an unusually explicit for its time film that works well as a time capsule).

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is essentially a loose variation of Quiet Days in Clichy but with different characters and locations. Considering that Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is not in any way related to Miller’s novel, how is this possible? The story that is told in Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is a ruse, just as the adapted original material from Miller’s novel in Quiet Days in Clichy is, which is why structurally these films are similar. However, the main reason these films look very similar is the casual and perhaps unintentional manner in which they preserve bits of 1970s reality. Quiet Days in Clichy unquestionably does it better, but only because Franco chose to shoot more explicit material rather than outdoor footage. (Quiet Days in Clichy did not provide the blueprint for these types of time capsules either. It is modeled after Jean Rouch's Chronicle of a Summer, one of the key Nouvelle Vague films).

The main protagonist in Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is a provincial girl (Montserrat Prous) who commits suicide after her life becomes an unbearable nightmare. Franco begins her story with the end, which comes after the girl seduces a heavily inebriated middle-aged man in a nightclub and several hours later slits her throat in his hotel room. When the police discover the girl’s bloodied body, the middle-aged man is arrested and accused of killing her. To find out whether he is innocent, as he claims, his wife (Jacqueline Laurent) then begins reconstructing the dead girl’s past and meets a Countess (Anne Libert), who was once her best friend and lover. Through the Countess’ detailed recollections, the wife is able to understand how the girl gave up on life and why no one could prevent her seemingly inevitable self-destruction.

After the summation of the provincial girl’s story, it may seem like it is easier to compare Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac to Jean Luc-Godard’s Vivre sa vie, but these films could not be any more dissimilar. Indeed, Vivre sa vie does not have any explicit material, and Godard‘s understanding and utilization of structure and style accomplish vastly different things in it.

The most interesting aspect of Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is that it somehow manages to produce a meaningful message about a 1970s reality full of brainwashed thrill seekers, dangerous chameleons, and predators that could easily corrupt and destroy the innocent. It is formulated and delivered in a typical Franco fashion, meaning that it can very easily be misinterpreted, but it is there. It is very difficult to discover other such messages in Franco’s films from the same period, or later.

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.53:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

I added Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac to my library after Mondo Macabro produced this DVD release in 2010. I did a few quick comparisons, in multiple areas, and it appears that the same master was used to prepare the Blu-ray release. (Obviously, you get a 1080p presentation, not a 480/60i presentation). I think that the upgrade is very good. On my system, every single area that I tested looked significantly better. Declination and depth, in particular, were very nice, but not only because the density levels of the visuals were superior. On the DVD release, there is blockiness in various backgrounds that is missing on the Blu-ray release. Color reproduction and balance are better as well. In fact, more often than not, saturation levels are dramatically better, and depth benefits quite a lot. Grain exposure could be better, but I did not notice any serious anomalies. Image stability is good. However, there are a few spots on the current master where tiny bumps can be spotted. A few small blemishes can be spotted as well. One last thing. The framing inconsistencies that you would see are inherited. This is how Franco positioned the camera and did some shots. See screencapture #14. (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).

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the French track.

Both tracks feature overdubbing. Also, some actors utter their lines in French, and some in English. I have tested both and think that they are fine, so pick the one you prefer. These tracks have practically identical dynamic ranges, which are hardly impressive, and the dialog/narration is similarly clear. This being said, you should expect to hear plenty of minor unevenness, especially on the English track, but this is how the overdubbing was recorded. Also, the English translation on the French track and the English dialog/narration are quite different. I think that the French track and English translation are frequently quite a bit more vulgar. I did not encounter any audio dropouts or similar anomalies to report in our review.

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Jacqueline Laurent - in this archival interview, actress Jacqueline Laurent discusses her career and some of the more memorable parts she did over the years. Mrs. Laurent also recalls her contribution to Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac and discusses Jess Franco's working methods. This interview was conduced by Eric St-Cyr in Canada in 2018 for French label Le Chat Qui Fume. In French, with English subtitled. (24 min).

• Interview with Anne Libert - in this archival interview, actress Anne Libert recalls how she started her acting career, how she handled nude acting, and what it was like to work on Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac. The interview was conducted for French label Le Chat Qui Fume in 2023. In French, with English subtitled. (24 min).

• Interview with Gerard Kikoine - in this archival interview, Gerard Kikoine, who did the dubbing and editing on Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac attempts to remember what it was like working on the film and discusses Jess Franco's directing methods. Mr. Kikoine also comments on cinematographer Robert de Nesle's work. The interview was conducted for French label Le Chat Qui Fume in 2023. In French, with English subtitled. (21 min).

• Interview with Stephen Thrower - in this archival interview, author and critic Stephen Thrower discusses the conception and production of Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac, In English, not subtitled (28 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by novelist and critic Tim Lucas.

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

No one knows exactly what was happening in Jess Franco's head when he began working on Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac in the early 1970s. The other films Franco directed at the time are subversive mind-benders or conventional exploitation projects, so their message, if they had one, was, well, pretty bad. Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac produces a meaningful message about a 1970s reality full of brainwashed thrill seekers, dangerous chameleons, and predators that could easily corrupt and destroy the innocent. I think that it is a very close relative of Jens Jorgen Thorsen's Quiet Days in Clichy, which came out a few years before it, but it is difficult to tell with absolute certainty whether and how Franco might have been influenced by it. I would not place it among Franco's best films, but it is definitely worth seeing. RECOMMENDED.