The Other Side of the Mirror – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain/France/Portugal, 1973
Director: Jesús Franco
Writers: Nicole Guettard, Jesús Franco
Cast: Emma Cohen, Robert Woods, Françoise Brion, Philippe Lemaire, Alice Arno, Ramiro Oliveros, Howard Vernon, María Bassó, Ada Tauler, Roger Sarbib, Wal Davis

Release Date: October 11th, 2022
Approximate running time: 99 Minutes 29 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.99

"Ana, a young songwriter and piano player, lives alone with her father in a large house on the island of Madeira. She meets a boy and they plan to marry. However when she tells her father of their intentions he tries to persuade her to call off the wedding.

With the help of her aunt, Ana continues with her plans and one day her expensive wedding dress is delivered. Ana puts on the dress and runs happily through the house to find her father. Entering his study she sees, reflected in a mirror, her father hanging by a rope. He has killed himself.

Ana leaves the island for the mainland and gets a job playing with a jazz band. However, she is haunted by visions of her dead father calling to her from beyond the mirror, summoning her to murder any man who gets close to her. Gradually the mirror world takes over Ana’s life until she can no longer separate fantasy from reality." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Brand new digitally restored 4K scan of the film negative”.

The Other Side of the Mirror comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40 GB

Feature: 27.1 GB

If you wanted an English-friendly release of The Other Side of the Mirror, it was only available for purchase via gray market releases. With the previous best home video release being Artus Films' non-English friendly French DVD release from 2014. That was until this latest release from Mondo Macabro, which comes from a brand new 4K scan of the film negative, which looks amazing. The source used for Mondo Macabro’s transfer is in immaculate shape. Colors are nicely saturated, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid, there are no issues with compression, and the image looks organic. That said, it is hard to imagine The Other Side of the Mirror looking better than it does on Mondo Macabro’s Blu-ray.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Spanish, and included with this release are removable English subtitles. The audio is also in excellent shape; there are no issues with distortion or background hiss. Dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. Also, range-wise, this track sounds robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Mondo Macabro preview reel, alternate sequences (3 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French and Spanish, no subtitles), an interview with actor Robert Woods (15 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco (56 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Robert Monell and Rodney Barnett.

Summary:

Throughout Jess Franco’s massive filmography, which consists of over two hundred films, he was known to also shoot additional scenes and/or make complete alternate versions of films. So it's not surprising that The Other Side of the Mirror has three versions: a Spanish version called Al otro lado del espejo, a French version called Le Miroir obscene, and an Italian version called Lo Specchio del piacere. Out of these three versions, it’s the Spanish version that’s closest to Jess Franco’s intended version.

The narrative for the Spanish version revolves around a woman named Ana, whose father commits suicide after learning of her impending wedding. After her father's suicide, Annette starts a new life as a nightclub performer. And though she tries to distance herself from her father's suicide, the trauma from that event continues to haunt her in the form of disturbing visions.

The narratives for the French and Italian versions follow a similar trajectory. Their main difference being a sister's suicide, which is the event that pushes Ana over the edge. It should be noted that the father still commits suicide in the French and Italian versions, albeit later in the film. By preceding his suicide with another character's suicide, his death feels like an afterthought. Another thing that distinguishes the French and Italian versions from the Spanish version is how the French version adds soft-core erotica and the Italian version adds hard-core inserts that disrupt the flow of the story.

One of the more intriguing plot elements that Jess Franco has worked with is a woman being haunted by a mirror in which she sees the reflections of her dead father (Spanish version) and sister (French and Italian versions) after their suicides. And though the finale for all versions features a similar outcome, there’s no denying that the Spanish version is the strongest version, while the two versions' finales lose some of their potency by changing the focus from the father to the sisters’ death.

Without a doubt, The Other Side of the Mirror’s greatest asset is Emma Cohen’s portrayal of Ana. Emma Cohen was a Spanish actress whose more notable films include Cannibal Man, Two Males for Alexa, and Horror Rises from the Tomb. She had previously worked with Jess Franco in a minor role in Count Dracula. She delivers a remarkable performance in her only starring role in a Jess Franco film. And her performance ranks among the finest to ever appear in a Jess Franco film. It is unfortunate that she never starred in another Jess Franco film.

The Spanish version of The Other Side of the Mirror is the closest to Jess Franco’s vision. Though the alternate versions of The Other Side of the Mirror include footage that Jess Franco shot (albeit at a later date), these added moments dilute Jess Franco’s original vision. These extra moments are added in for no other reason than to be titillating or shocking, both of which they are not.

The score for The Other Side of the Mirror is very effective, and the song Ana sings while she plays the piano is hauntingly beautiful. There's also a mournful music cue that’s related to Ana’s father's success in the Spanish version. The score for the Spanish version was composed by Adolfo Waitzman (Residence for Spies), and the score for the French version was composed by André Bénichou (Lorna, The Exorcist). It should be noted that the Spanish and French versions share some musical cues, most notably the song that Annette sings.

Cast in the role of Annette’s father is one of Jess Franco’s most frequent collaborators, Howard Vernon. And though his role is brief, his character's presence looms throughout the film. Another frequent Jess Franco collaborator, Lin Romay, appears in the French and Italian versions in the role of Annette’s sister. Outside of Emma Cohen and Howard Vernon’s performances, no one else really stands out performance-wise.

Visually, The Other Side of the Mirror is one of Jess Franco’s more satisfying films. The use of the mirror to illuminate the loss of a loved one is The Other Side of the Mirror's strongest and most allegorical moment of his career. If there was one film that should convince Jess Franco naysayers that he could deliver when given the proper amount of resources, then that film would be The Other Side of the Mirror. Ultimately, The Other Side of the Mirror is an extraordinary film that’s layered in subtext and it features what is arguably one of Jess Franco’s most potent finales.

In a perfect world, a definitive release would contain all three versions of The Other Side of the Mirror. That said, Mondo Macabro’s excellent release comes with Jess Franco’s preferred version of The Other Side of the Mirror, which comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer