Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1973
Director: Jesús Franco
Writers: Jesús Franco, Elisabeth Ledu de Nesle
Cast: Montserrat Prous, Anne Libert, Kali Hansa, Jacqueline Laurent, Howard Vernon, Doris Thomas, Francisco Acosta, Manuel Pereiro, Jesús Franco

Release Date: December 19th, 2023
Approximate running time: 86 Minutes 40 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.99

"a moody tale of one woman’s sexual evolution and shocking demise, told through the eyes of those who knew her. When Linda (Montserrat Prous) dies in the arms of her lover (Manuel Pereiro), the man’s wife (Jacqueline Laurent) investigates the dead woman’s past, to try and clear her husband’s name. As it weaves together the tangled threads of Linda’s tragic life." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.9 GB

Feature: 27.1 GB

No information is provided about the source used for this transfer. That said, it appears that the source is the same one used for Le Chat Qui Fume’s 2018 Blu-ray/DVD combo release since source-related damage is in the same places. Details look crisp, colors look correct, and there are no issues with compression. Though this transfer appears to come from the same source Le Chat Qui Fume used for their release, Kino Lorber’s release has a stronger encode.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in French. Both audio mixes sound clear and balanced throughout. Included with this release are removable English subtitles. These audio tracks are on par with the audio tracks that Le Chat Qui Fume used for their 2018 Blu-ray/DVD combo release.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview titled Fear and Desire with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco (27 minutes 36 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Jacqueline Laurent titled Life Under the Camera (23 minutes 3 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English and French with removable English subtitles for French), an interview with actress Anne Libert titled Cinema is History (20 minutes 52 seconds, DTS-HD stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with editor Gérard Kikoïne titled Kiko’s Nympho Diary (20 minutes 5 seconds, DTS-HD stereo French with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with novelist and film critic Tim Lucas, and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

The narrative revolves around a young girl from the country named Linda Vargas, whose innocence is taken away due to the perversity she encounters shortly after her arrival in the big bad city. The narrative is primarily told via a flashback by those who came into contact with Linda. With the first half of the film being told via a character named Countess Anna de Monterey’s point of view, The second half of the film shifts the focus to memories from Linda’s diary. Overall, the plot of Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is one of Franco's most coherent and reality-based erotica films.The story is fascinating from start to finish. There is no fat that needs to be trimmed here as there is never a dull moment.

The cast is exceptional and it features many Jess Franco regulars like Howard Vernon, Montserrat Prous and Anne Libert. Howard Vernon (The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus, Diabolical Doctor Z.) steals every scene he is in despite only having a secondary role. Howard Vernon plays a doctor who tries to cure Linda’s sexual appetite. Howard Vernon doesn’t look like any doctor that I have ever seen. He wears white pastel suits and sunglasses making him look like a detective straight out of Miami Vice.

In the lead role of Linda, there is an actress named Montserrat Prous (The Silence of the Tomb, The Sinister Eyes of Doctor Orloff), who worked with Jess Franco a half-dozen times. Montserrat Prous’s solid performance is what totally sells this film. Through her performance, she actually makes Linda a character who one can sympathize with despite her lack of morals. Montserrat Prous is one of the most beautiful women to ever work with Jess Franco, and it is a shame that she is not held in higher regard among Francophiles.

Another standout role is Anne Libert as Countess Anna de Monterey. Most Jess Franco fans will recognize Anne Libert from films like The Demons, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein, Dracula’s Daughter, A Virgin Among the Living Dead, and Devil’s Island Lovers. My favorite moment with Anne Libert is her first scene, where she is sitting in a law chair on the patio in the sun with oval-shaped sunglasses on.

Visually, Jess Franco is in top form, and one of his more prominent techniques, zooming, is mysteriously missing in this film. And Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac, like so many Jess Franco films, features a nightclub scene. This scene is reminiscent of the one from Vampiros Lesbos with the way it uses red and the way the two female performers interact. Jess Franco even makes a cameo as a detective in Sinner.

What makes Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac so enjoyable is the journey of why Linda died. The narrative, while focusing mostly on Linda as a nymphomaniac, is actually a revenge film in disguise. Even in Linda’s fragile state of mind, she still has the fortitude to devise a devious and poetic revenge against the person who helped shape the sinner she became. The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac features a progressive rock sounding score that also features more rhythmic and percussive musical motifs. The films of Jess Franco are most known for their jazz-infused musical scores, and I liked how Jess Franco embraced a more rock-oriented score for Sinner. Ultimately, Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac is a De Sade-like morality tale about the loss of innocence and the aftermath that follows.

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac gets an excellent release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer