Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Girl from Rio Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 3, 2016

Jess Franco's "The Girl From Rio" a.k.a. "Future Women" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include archival interviews with actress Shirley Eaton, Jess Franco, and producer Harry Alan Towers, and a collection of original promotional materials from around the world and archival production materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Caught

The film is set in beautiful Rio de Janeiro where the handsome undercover detective Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler, The Ugly Ones) is trying to track down the missing daughter (Marta Reves, Kiss Me Monster) of a wealthy businessman. Sutton’s plan is an unusual one. He has seduced the elegant socialite Lesley (Maria Rohm, House of 1000 Dolls) and made her believe that he has stolen ten million dollars and is planning to start a new life someplace safe. He hopes that through Lesley he would be able to attract the people who have kidnapped the businessman’s daughter and then force them to release her.

After visiting a few of Rio’s hottest nightclubs, Sutton and Lesley are cornered by Masius’ (George Sanders, Journey to Italy) men. Somehow the lovers manage to outsmart them and disappear, but soon after Sutton is captured by Sumitra’s (Shirley Eaton, The Million Eyes of Sumuru) scantily clad and incredibly attractive warriors and transported to Femina, a mysterious place where all men have apparently gone the way of the dinosaurs. Sumitra makes love to Sutton and then offers him a deal: He could be the first man to leave Femina alive if he gives her his loot or he can die slowly (after she plays with his body a bit more).

While Sutton is trying to make up his mind, Masius is informed that Sumitra has captured his target and could convince him to give her the stolen money. Like a good businessman, Masius also decides to offer what he believes is a good deal -- and if the deal is rejected, take with force what he is convinced belongs to him.

Jess Franco’s The Girl From Rio is an extremely difficult film to profile. Its characters were created by the great novelist Sax Rohmer (the man responsible for the crazy world of Fu Manchu), but it is a bit like a rescripted vintage euro spy film on steroids. Indeed, it blends a huge dose of action and a small dose of erotica but then it ends up flirting with psychedelica. The end result is a colorful mish-mash of visuals and ideas that can look brilliant or totally amateurish. It all depends on the strength and quality of the liquor one is willing to consume before and while one is viewing the film.

The wackiness of the plot is unquestionably the film’s biggest strength. There are large sequences where nothing makes sense, but because the characters act as if they are part of a serious conspiracy and their presence is of crucial importance the whole thing becomes absolutely fascinating to behold. It is classic Franco material, really, with top-notch B-style and atmosphere that nowadays make many of these types of films look like bizarre vintage masterpieces.

Franco clearly did not have a big budget to work with, but the various costumes and especially the minimalistic decors in Femina look very stylish. The guns and rifles are made of cheap plastic and it is easy to tell, but it hardly matters -- the sound effects are good and the villains still get killed at the right time. The huge explosion at the end, however, is difficult to swallow.

Producer Harry Alan Towers should be credited again for the fantastic locations. (This is a man whose passion for exotic beauty was truly unmatched). The film even uses some really good raw footage from the big carnival in Rio.

While working on The Girl From Rio, Franco and cinematographer Manuel Merino also found time to shoot some footage that was used in the far more provocative 99 Women.

The Girl from Rio Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's The Girl From Rio arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

It immediately becomes obvious that the film has been restored because density is vastly improved. Regrettably, it is also easy to see that light filtering corrections have been applied. While the end result isn't disastrous it is frustrating to know that the film could have looked strikingly lush and vibrant, boasting much stronger organic qualities. As it is there are minor nuances that are actually lost; contrast levels and color balance are also impacted and as a result during various sequences depth isn't as convincing as it should be (see screencaptures #8 and 15). This said, fluidity is substantially better. The blockiness from the old R1 DVD release is also eliminated. Overall image stability is excellent. There are no large debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, or warped frames to report. To sum it all up, the new presentation is undoubtedly superior when compared to the type of quality the DVD release offered, but I have to say that the light filtering is very unfortunate. Once remastered, these films need to be left alone so that they can shine on Blu-ray as they were intended to be seen. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).

The Girl from Rio Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional yellow English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is excellent. The music and psychedelic effects wonderfully balanced and dynamic intensity as good as one can expect it to be in a project of this caliber. The dialog is crisp and stable, but you should know that some overdubbing was done so occasionally you the movement of the lips can be slightly uneven. This isn't a mixing issue, it is how the film was finalized. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

The Girl from Rio Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Poster and Still Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials from around the world and behind the scenes stills. Also included in the gallery are original reprinted synopsis and production credits from an archival press book and reprinted VHS and DVD covers. The gallery was compiled by Gregory Chick.

• Rolling in Rio - in this archival featurette, actress Shirley Eaton recalls how she was approached to play the evil Sumitra, the atmosphere of the film, and the notorious lesbian scene (which was apparently shot with a double); Jess Franco discusses Shirley Eaton's personality, George Sanders' performance and his tragic death, and Alfred Hitchcock's attitude towards the French New Wave; and producer Harry Alan Towers discusses the shooting of The Girl From Rio, as well as the initial work that was done on 99 Women. In English and French, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (15 min).

The Girl from Rio Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jess Franco's The Girl From Rio is a whacky psychedelic thriller that brings together everything that makes the cult Spanish director's work so great. It does not make a whole lot of sense -- and for this type of project this is actually a major bonus -- but it has a truly fantastic atmosphere. As far as vintage European B-films are concerned, The Girl From Rio is one of the very best. Blue Underground's new release is sourced from a recent restoration of the film. The restoration is excellent, but the minor adjustments that were made are unfortunate. Regardless, consider adding it to your collections. RECOMMENDED. (In addition to The Girl From Rio, Blue Underground's new release also includes Lindsay Shonteff's film The Million Eyes of Sumuru).