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Jess Franco Double Bill, Volume 2 (Devil's Island Lovers/Night of the Assassins)
R0 - United Kingdom - Tartan Video Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (4th April 2007). |
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The Film
 Disc 1 **Devil's Island Lovers AKA Los Amantes de la isla del Diablo (1974) Director/writer Jess Franco was in decent form when he made Spanish (co-) productions in the 1970s. “Jess Franco Double Bill, Volume 1” from UK based “Tartan Video” was already quite an interesting package (including “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein AKA Drácula contra Frankenstein (1972)” and “The Curse of Frankenstein AKA La Maldición de Frankenstein (1972)”) and “Volume 2” is definitely recommended for the fans of the Spanish born director. We start off with “Devil's Island Lovers AKA Los Amantes de la isla del Diablo (1974)”, a semi-WIP (women in prison) film, which eventually is a rather serious drama, steering almost clear from the exploitation-aspects of this sub-genre. Good things are already heard during the opening credits, where the majestic, “spaghetti western”-type theme kicks off, from composer Bruno Nicolai. Somewhere in South America, Governor Carlos Mendoza (Jean Guedes) is on his deathbed. It´s time to make his last confession and reveal his darkest sin to the lawyer Linsday (Dennis Price - as Denis Price, in one of his last roles). He is starting to tell about his life some years earlier, when he was deeply in love with a young girl Beatriz Coblan (Geneviève Robert - as Genevieve Deloir). Too bad that Beatriz is already in love with the younger man called Raymond Franval (Andrés Resino), the godson of the old lover of Mendoza, Emilia De Franval (Danielle Godet). Emilia has also a doomed obsession of her own - to Raymond, and when she finds about the affair of Raymond and Beatriz, she wants the old fashioned revenge; if she can´t have him - nobody can. She knows that the young couple are also revolutionaries (they´re living under a dictatorship), which will be the key to getting Mendoza involved and he has also his own agenda of revenge and money. Emilia lures Raymond and Beatriz to the late night dinner by saying that she and Mendoza are getting married, but instead of a nice meal, both are drugged and dragged to the basement of the other house, where one poor woman is already tied up. Mendoza stabs the woman in cold blood and places the murder weapon in to the hand of the innocent Raymond. Police will arrive soon, only finding the couple and the murdered woman, along with the planted “political documents” and the bloody weapon. The judge is having an easy time to lay down the law to the rebels; both Beatriz and Raymond are sentenced to death for murder and treason. Emilia uses her influence to change the sentence into “prison for life”, but this is done in the most nasty way possible; both Raymond and Beatriz think that the other one is dead and they go to prison heartbroken. After hearing this story, the lawyer Linsday will personally visit the prison in the island, where Colonel Ford (Howard Vernon) is letting him talk to one of the female convicts Rosa (Josyane Gibert - as Jossiane Gibert). Another story will be told by her, since she was the one that was helping Beatriz and Raymond. Before this, both were suffering from the ruthless life of confinement; Beatriz from cold prison director Mrs Cardel (Rosa Palomar - as Rosa Palomares) and Raymond from warden Lieutenant Weckler (Jean-Louis Collins - as Jean L. Collins). We´ll learn what the fate was of Raymond and Beatriz - once the naïve lovers, but now in a mercy of lies and deception, locked down in a place where they can only meet in their memories. Will they see each other once more? “Devil's Island Lovers” is a pretty effective drama, which despite some confusing story developments manage to stay interesting and well made. I like the fact that the film (or should I say “version”, there´s also the more explicit “French version”) is more seriously done and not a typical “sleazy WIP-film” that we have often seen from Franco. Characters are quite believable and Dennis Price (you could see that he´s not well in health) is probably the most memorable actor, playing the compassionate lawyer (his acting is really good in the last scenes of the film). There´s also a genuine “friendship” between the two women this time. Both Rosa and Beatriz will change in the movie, Rosa from being opportunist and self-centered to a woman who could suddenly risk her own life to help the friend and reserve natured Beatriz will be active again. Both do things that could end their life, but at the same doing the only thing that feels right. Rosa wants to help and Beatriz will have to at least try to unite with her great love Raymond. Since this is still “Franco´s film”, you have his zooms and unfocused shots in selected scenes, which probably will make some viewers restless. The “low budget” feel is also present and that together with a rather mediocre dub (in terms of lip movement), even this film will most likely feel somewhat amateurish for the casual viewers. Still, “Devil's Island Lovers” is an “above average” film from Franco, where the more serious tone definitely works in the films favour. Other actors worth mentioning are Luis Barboo - as Luis Bar-Boo, playing “Lenz”) and Britt Nichols - as Brit Nichols, playing “Maria”). Disc 2 **Night of the Assassins AKA La Noche de los asesinos (1976) If the first film was full of different characters, there are even more in “Night of the Assassins AKA La Noche de los asesinos (1976)” (known in the US as “Night of the Skull” - also the DVD). In the big mansion in 19th Century Louisiana, the Lord Archibald Percival Marion is reading excerpts from “the Book of the Apocalypse” (where the upcoming murders are inspired) and a grim faith is awaiting him in this very same, stormy night. He´s basically buried alive in the wet yard by the masked killer, only his hands - still reaching for the sky, are visible from the ground, when his wife Lady Cecilia Marion (Maribel Hidalgo) finds him. Inspector Bore (Vicente Roca) jumps onto the case and is very keen to see the will from Lord Archibald - there are plenty of suspects. The reading of the will summon all of them to the same room at the “Park Manor” mansion; wife Lady Cecilia Marion, daughter Rita Derian (Lina Romay), cousin Baron Simon Tobias (William Berger) with his wife lady Marta Tobias (Evelyne Scott), along with servants Rufus (Luis Barboo) and Deborah Potts (Yelena Samarina). Many of them are quite shocked to find out that, since the death was murder, everything is going to young Rita, a vulnerable girl that her aunt Lady Marion hates (she also hits her from time to time when she´s drunk). Soon also the man from Scotland Yard, Major Oliver Brooks (Alberto Dalbés) joins suddenly to the investigation. This is still just the beginning and in the next night Lady Marion is also brutally murdered, left to die at the cliffs near the sea (“killed by the force of the wind”). Further more, Inspector Bore receives updated info from London about the new will, apparently made by Lord Marion secretly, several weeks before moving to the area. This will include also his cousin Albert Pagan (Dan van Husen) with his wife, along with his illegitimate son Alfred Marion (Antonio Mayans). This time the will is divided to many parties. When the body of Lady Marion is found, Inspector Bore suspends the execution of the will until the murders are solved. The body count will increase… The rather unusual opening credits lift the scenes from the film (confusing at first) and refer to the story of “The Cat and the Canary” by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is partly inspiried by the stage play, but it wasn´t written by Poe (it was written by John Willard in 1922). It´s also widely reported that the British author Edgar Wallace is another source for the film (novel “The Case of the Frightened Lady (1931)” sounds about right). In any case, it was very interesting to see Franco at the helm of the “Whodunit?”-type of story, also influenced by the Italian “Giallo” and German “Krimi” films. The film has some difficulties to keep things focused (also meaning the camera!) and the film pales in the comparison of the really respected European productions operating the same area. Franco still keeps the visual world nicely dark and moody and the killer is actually quite effective in both looks and how he executes his plans. You have plenty of rain and storm, suspicious characters looking suspiciously at each other, the killer stalking and inspectors at work. All this works fairly well, but rarely in a way that it could´ve. Franco´s visual style doesn´t necessarily work in a story like this one and outside a few actual murder scenes, the tension is not very high. There are also too many characters that “steal” the focus from each other (the film is like a long introduction of the family members) and in the end hardly anyone is that interesting anymore. Pacing is also too typical for Franco, which might mean the “sleeping pills” for certain group of viewers. The dialogue is not always that worthy to be inspired by the likes of Poe and Wallace. Here´s my favorite dialogue exchange: Doctor: “Do you suspect anybody?” Inspector: “No.” Doctor: “A madman?” Inspector: “..Or revenge.” Doctor: “Revenge of a Madman then”. “Night of the Assassins” is even lighter on the “exploitation” than the first film on this set and basically the only scene close to that is when Lady Marian briefly whips Rita (in clothes). This is a wise choice, since I can´t really see that the proper murder mystery would require sex and nudity - that would break the mood once and for all (although there are a few scenes where you could´ve had that “more explicit” version, as many times is the case with Franco-films). Despite its flaws and the fact that it can be somewhat a dull affair, “Night of the Assassins” is a definitely recommended Franco-film, showing that he can do the “more serious” films also and for the wider audience. The actors are capable, production values are good enough and the story in its core is pure murder mystery. It´s the Franco´s direction and pacing (along with his “zooms”) that can´t lift the film among the best of them, so Giallo-buffs might lower their expectations, as well as the “exploitation-fans” who are better not to wait for any typical nudity. Note, that director (also co-writer under the pseudonym “James P. Johnson”) Jess Franco has also a cameo, playing a slightly drunken Eddie.
Video
Disc 1 **Devil's Island Lovers AKA Los Amantes de la isla del Diablo (1974) The film is presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 and it doesn´t look fully pristine. The image has softness, some murkiness and the colours tend to be a bit washed out, but the transfer is quite clear (only some film artifacts here and there) and for the obscure film like this the image is decent. “Devil's Island Lovers” has more “daylight” scenes compared to the other film on this DVD (which alone makes it overall look better), but the darker areas have some compression issues (at least via upscaled). I can´t say that this is a great transfer, but for the Franco-fans most likely quite pleasing (meaning that many times these films have been years available only in shoddy VHS-copies and bootlegs). The OAR 2.35:1 is also a definitive plus (there´s a small black bar on the left side of the frame, probably not visible in all TV-screens due the overscan). The version is question is the “Spanish version” of the film (running 77:15 minutes - PAL), which (like already pointed out) is not including any “soft core” shots or similar. The alternate “French version” (“Quartier de femmes”) is also available, which includes more sexually and violently explicit material (apparently not all additional material is “explicit”, though - and there are some dialogue differences due to the Spanish censors). It includes some additional footage and extended versions of selected scenes, but is actually slightly shorter in running time. This is mainly because the opening scenes (Governor Mendoza confessing to lawyer Linsday from his deathbed) are not included in the “French version”. More info about the scenes in the “French version” can be found from the “extras”-section of this review. Further more, the “Latarnia Forums” has reported that approx. 12 seconds of footage is missing from the “Spanish version”. The scene in question happens between Rosa and Beatriz after the Rosa´s fight with Lola (Gogó Rojo). The scene cuts in the DVD at the timecode 46:37 (PAL) and you can hear that the music cuts off more rapidly. At least part of this missing bit can be seen in the “deleted scenes” section (women stand up and are about to leave from the room). The reason is probably print damage or it just wasn´t included in the source print. “Single layer” disc is coded “R0” and there are 16 chapters. Disc 2 **Night of the Assassins AKA La Noche de los asesinos (1976) The transfer is presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 and it´s in many ways quite similar to the “Devil's Island Lovers”. Softness is there, along with the murkiness and pale colours, and dark scenes reveal compression issues. It could be that “Night of the Assassins” is a bit darker (probably also softer) and since there are many dark scenes in the film, it eventually makes the transfer look a bit inferior. I would still say that the transfer is still fair and by no means something that you should avoid because it´s not fully equal to the best of them. Neither of the films on this set probably have looked better in home video before. “Single layer” disc is again coded “R0”, and there are 16 chapters. The film runs 78:39 minutes (PAL).
Audio
Disc 1 **Devil's Island Lovers AKA Los Amantes de la isla del Diablo (1974) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono-track is the only audio choice, and you have also optional English, AND English HoH subtitles. The dialogue is quite clear and although the track is a bit muffled, it´s pretty good effort. Hiss is also almost surprisingly minimal. Disc 2 **Night of the Assassins AKA La Noche de los asesinos (1976) Audio is also quite similar to the “Devil's Island Lovers”, so the dialogue is clear and there are no major issues. The background hiss sounded a bit more audible in this track, but not significantly. The track is Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, with optional English and English HoH subtitles.
Extras
Disc 1 **Devil's Island Lovers AKA Los Amantes de la isla del Diablo (1974) Compilation of 14 Deleted & alternative scenes from the “French version” runs 31:38 minutes. They´re presented in widescreen (taken from the worn out VHS, probably from the collection of Marc Morris) and are in French - with optional English subtitles. They´re roughly as follows (might include minor SPOILERS): 1) French opening credits, including the longer “intro text” after the credits. 2) Collection of footage showing, how the female prisoners are humiliated by the prison guards. Rosa (Josyane Gibert) is scrubbing the floor in the courtyard, while some guard lifts her skirt and elsewhere a few naked prisoners are strapped to the wall, while the soft balls are been thrown on their bare buttocks (!). Looks unintentionally funny more than horrific. 3) Scene where Mrs Cardel (Rosa Palomar) is whipping bending Lola (Gogó Rojo) near her table. Scene is now almost twice as longer. 4) Rosa is seducing Beatriz (Geneviève Robert) and is trying to kiss her. After that, Rosa is whipped in the buttocks and Lieutenant Weckler (Jean-Louis Collins) is having sex with her - with his trousers on, I might add. Like in some other scenes, Rosa´s thoughts can be heard from time to time. 5) After the fight with Lola, Beatriz is helping Rosa and Lola is getting electric shocks because she started the fight. Scene seems to be longer now. 6) Lieutenant Weckler and Rosa after having sex, talk about Raymond Franval. Rosa is now naked, while in the “Spanish version” she was clothed. Scene ends when Rosa is coming to her cell. 7) Beatriz is letting “herself go”, and she and Rosa end up in an intimate situation in their cell. The third girl in the cell is watching and starting to get aroused herself. 8 ) Lieutenant Weckler and Rosa having a second conversation about Raymond. In the dialogue Rosa is implying that Raymond is “a real looker”, so the dialogue is different. 9) Near the end on the outside, Rosa tricks the guard by seducing him. The scene is now considerable longer, when Rosa and the guard are having fun and for the good measure, second woman comes along (who is soon having sex with the guard, while Rosa is watching). This scene is more explicit and quite long. The scene ends in the alert and Rosa´s plan is discovered. 10) Rosa´s torturing scene, while she is having electric shocks. These scenes are now longer. 11) Same scene continues, this time with “high beam laser” (another a bit intentionally funny moment). 12) Same scene, more laser. 13) Same scene, aftermath. 14) Ending scene, where the prisoners are shot in the head (to make sure) after execution. French end credits also included. Disc 2 **Night of the Assassins AKA La Noche de los asesinos (1976) Only extra is German Alternative title sequence (1:51 minutes) under the name “Im Schatten Des Mörders”.
Overall
Another good “Double Bill”, which shows that “Tartan Video” has continued to work with the Franco-collectors, who have provided “Deleted scenes” and insight about the alternate versions. The films in question are also the more “mature” work by the known exploitation-director and therefore worth a look even if you´re not familiar with his work. The quality is not top notch, but still quite fair. Hopefully the “Volume 3” will be another winner. For more info, please visit the homepage of Tartan Video (UK).
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