Tender Flesh (1997) is probably the best place to start, even though this is still a bit more conventional (by Franco standards) than the majority of the One Shot Productions (this title actually being the first collaboration between Franco and Kevin Collins & Peter Blumenstock's One Shot Productions). It's also just at the tail end of Franco's career when he was still shooting on film so acts as a bit of a transition piece. Killer Barbys (his last film before the One Shot phase) and Lust for Frankenstein, both not very good but a littler more accessible than the remainder of the One Shot stuff, would act as a primer for delving into this later period (which has a handful of his worst films). You actually might want to check out a documentary shot during the filming of Blind Target (better than the previous two mentioned, but not as accessible as those two out of the gate) called Antena Criminal: Making a Jess Franco Movie which gives a behind the scenes look at the making of the One Shot films as this greatly helps put how these films come together, are created, and put into context.
More Franco on Blu-ray coming from Redemption: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=13337519#post13337519 Title hasn't officially been announced yet, but rumour from a good source says it's The Diabolical Dr. Z.
This announcement seems legit. https://www.facebook.com/kinolorber...3000.231011660280895/1243933865655331/?type=3
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein is coming to Blu-ray in Germany from Alive. http://www.alive-ag.de/index.php?page=artikel&ArtikelNr=6417698
I've seen three Jess Franco movies so far: Bloody Moon: I totally enjoy this sleazy, silly slasher wannabe. I even remember one of the jump scares working pretty well on my first viewing of it. Wanda, the Wicked Warden: I was hoping this would take me on the same dirty ride as Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS, but I found myself missing something. A Virgin Among the Living Dead: Easily the smartest, most artistic of the three. I liked it, but more on an intellectual level than a visceral one. For you Franco nuts, which of his movies would you recommend to someone who is primarily a horror fan? Also, based on what I've seen, Jess Franco was quite comfortable with Lesbianism. I'm curious: Do any of his movies feature gay male characters?
Faceless is one. Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, Lorna the Exorcist and Female Vampire will also do the trick. I also like Nightmares Come At Night, but it's not overtly horrific. Others have far more experience with Franco than I, but those are the ones that come to mind. I am also primarily a horror fan.
For getting started on Franco as a horror fan these are good choices to begin with/seek out first: Vampyros Lesbos, Succubus, Exorcism, Female Vampire, The Awful Dr. Orlof, The Sadistic Baron von Klaus, The Diabolical Dr. Z, Count Dracula, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter, Jack the Ripper, Faceless, and Oasis of the Zombies. If you're hooked on Franco after that, there's over 170 movies and countless more variations/re-cuts to total well over 200 to absorb. You can find my continually updated lists of seen/ranked Franco films here - http://horrordvds.com/community/threads/jess-franco-report-card.43186/ and here - https://letterboxd.com/tybap/list/jess-franco-report-card/ There are lots of gay and bisexual male characters throughout Franco's filmography and he worked with gay actors (Howard Vernon), but Franco has always been more interested in women and women as main characters and the male characters in his movies are always in the back with women front and centre. There are a few but very rarely do his films feature leading male characters. Franco himself plays a gay character in Sadomania.
Before watching the extras on the Virgin Among the Living Dead disc, I wasn't aware that there were two additional cuts with extra material shot by other directors. I remember seeing the scenes on YouTube with Christina (a stand-in, actually)being chased by zombies in basic but effective makeup, and even if they didn't work within the context of Franco's vision, I still liked them. Included on the disc is the super lame Princess of Eroticism scene where Christina (again a stand-in) enters with a group of semi-nude couples, whom she points at with her wand, bidding them to have intercourse. I'm not quite sure where to start with Franco - Oasis of the Living Dead looks more primitive than I'm ready to appreciate, and some of the erotic ones, like Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstacy, do seem intriguing, but they might be a little too slow for me if they lose themselves in eroticism at the expense of pace and horror. Thank your for your comments on Franco's male characters, MS. I've always appreciated how older genre movies were often more socially progressive than their mainstream counterparts.
You'll want to note right away then that Franco only made films at his own pace, so you really have to let go of any preconceived conventions and just get lost in his style which is wholly unique to his work. Bloody Moon and Faceless are pretty much the only horror films he made that offer conventional horror film pacing.
Severin just announced via Facebook that four more Jess Franco titles are in the works (seeing as today is Franco's birthday), all at various stages of production. The first title to be announced sometime soon. https://www.facebook.com/severinfil...39375155037/10158746710085038/?type=3&theater
I just popped in to say the same thing! Well, I guess we can start speculating! (though I have no clue, outside of possible upgrades).
Sadomania also has a transgender lead. But I think even she ends up doing mostly lesbians stuff. Also Macumba Sexual. She's been in a lot of films, I hadn't realized. I finished the Dorado double feature last week and it was some nice workman like Franco if not explicitly Franco-esque. They were more crime /mystery than horror but were entertaining enough if for Montserrat Prous alone.
I attended the Mad Monster Party Arizona show this past weekend. Stopped by the Severin table, made a pretty big purchase, & got some information. They gave me a catalog which had a bunch of coming attractions. None of the titles included release dates. Looks like three of the four new Franco titles will be (who knows it what order?): Jack the Ripper Shining Sex Two Female Spies with Flowered Panties
