Ravishing Dany – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: France, 1972 (Ravishing Dany), France/Greece, 1965 (The Girl Can't Stop)
Director: Willy Rozier (Both Films)
Cast: Sandra Julien, Jürgen Drews, Michel Paulin, Jacqueline Laurent, Jacques Dynam, Lisa Livane, Jacques Marbeuf, Angelo Bassi, Sébastien Floche, Jacques Hansenne (Ravishing Dany), Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Georges Rivière, Jean Sobieski, Claude Cerval, Jenny Astruc, Jacques Harden, Zeta Apostolou, Georges Lycan, Despo Diamantidou, Dimos Starenios, Kostas Baladimas (The Girl Can't Stop)

Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Approximate running times: 83 Minutes 12 Seconds (Ravishing Dany), 92 Minutes 39 Seconds (The Girl Can't Stop)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Ravishing Dany), 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Girl Can't Stop)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French (Both Films), DTS-HD Mono English (Ravishing Dany)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Surely one of the weirdest “sex comedies” ever, the story concerns Danielle (’Dany to my friends’), a freelance fashion model in early 1970s France, played here by Sandra Julien of The Shiver of the Vampires fame. She wants to buy a car and so is saving the travel portion of her fee for that purpose. To get from gig to gig she hitchhikes." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Ravishing Dany), 4.5/5 (The Girl Can't Stop)

Here’s the information provided about Ravishing Dany's transfer, “Brand new 2k restoration from original negative.”

Ravishing Dany comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 15.6 GB (Ravishing Dany), 18.8 GB (The Girl Can't Stop)

The source used for Ravishing Dany is in great shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and the image looks organic.

The source used for The Girl Can't Stop looks excellent. Image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid, compression is very good, and the image looks organic.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono French - Ravishing Dany), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Ravishing Dany), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono French - The Girl Can't Stop)

Ravishing Dany comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in French and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Though both of these tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, The French-language track sounds more robust. Included are removable English subtitles for the French-language track. It should be noted that the English-language track has some dialog in French and Italian.

The Girl Can't Stop comes with one audio option: a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. This track sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for Ravishing Dany (1 minute 30 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), XXX inserts (2 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono with music from the film playing over the inserts), an interview with director’s daughter, Catherine Rozier (17 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a featurette titled Christophe Bier reads Willy Rozier (19 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a featurette tilted Dany and the Censors (25 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), and a bonus feature film, The Girl Can't Stop.

Summary:

Though both films that are included as part of this release were directed by Willy Rozier, If you went blind into Ravishing Dany and The Girl Can't Stop without knowing anything about these two films, you would be hard pressed to see a distinctive style. Also, it is interesting how much cinema evolved in the seven years between these two films when it comes to onscreen nudity and depictions of sex.

Ravishing Dany: The narrative revolves around Dany, a freelance fashion model who saves money by hitchhiking from job to job. Along the way, she meets an assortment of sexual deviants who try to take advantage of her.

The main attraction of Ravishing Dany is Sandra Julien in the title role. She rose to prominence in the early 1970s, notably starring in Jean Rollin’s The Shiver of the Vampires. By the mid-1970s, she would disappear as quickly as she arrived on the scene.

She is perfectly cast in the role of Dany, a character who serves as an object of desire. And her curvaceous frame ensures that she more than fulfills this role. Needless to say, she spends plenty of time topless or nude.

Content-wise, Ravishing Dany is pretty standard fare for 1970s softcore erotica. Like most of its contemporaries, the plot is secondary to the moments of erotica. With the narrative being nothing more than a means to showcase Sandra Julien in a series of risque moments. That said, most of the moments of erotica and onscreen nudity are actually brief.

Some of the colorful characters that the protagonist meets in her sexual misadventures include a man who confuses women and sheep, a man who escaped from an asylum, a transvestite singer, a prince, and a priest. That said, there is an abundance of absurd moments that ensure there is never a dull moment. Another strength is a briskly paced narrative. Ultimately, despite its predictability, Ravishing Dany is an entertaining romp that fans of 1970s softcore cinema should enjoy.

The Girl Can't Stop: The narrative revolves around a businessman on the verge of bankruptcy who uses his wife to seduce a banker in hopes that he will give him the needed cash flow. Along the way, his wife becomes too attached to the banker, putting their scheme in jeopardy.

What starts off as a melodrama quickly evolves into something that's closer to film noir. At the heart of The Girl Can't Stop is a tale about blackmail that has an ample amount of well-placed twists, notably a superb ending that perfectly brings everything together that preceded.

Performance-wise, the cast is all great in their roles, especially Georges Rivière (Castle of Blood) in the role of Manuel Liparos, the husband who is more concerned about money than his wife. Another performance of note is that of Jenny Astruc in the role of Marika, a femme fatale-like character.

At just under ninety-three minutes in length, there are a few times where the narrative tends to drag. Fortunately, these moments do not serve to derail the narrative flow, which for the most part does a good job building momentum.

The Girl Can’t Stop is a French-Greek co-production that was shot in Greece. And from a production standpoint, it takes full advantage of Greece's picturesque landscapes. Also, though blackmail is the central theme, another theme that runs throughout is pleasure and pain. With the banker character forcing S&M upon unsuspecting women. That said, despite some of the illicit subject matter, The Girl Can’t Stop does not dive full-on into the realm of exploitation cinema. Ultimately, The Girl Can’t Stop is a well-made crime drama that at times exceeds the sum of its parts.

Ravishing Dany is a solid release from Mondo Macabro that gives both films strong audio/video presentations and a trio of informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer