Countdown to Esmeralda Bay – Full Moon Features (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain/France, 1990
Director: Jesús Franco
Writers: Daniel Lesoeur, H.L. Rostaine, Jesús Franco
Cast: Robert Forster, George Kennedy, Fernando Rey, Ramon Estevez, Silvia Tortosa, Craig Hill, Teri Vallee, Brett Halsey, Daniel Grimm, Lina Romay, Jean-Pierre Delamour, Antonio Mayans, Karin Well

Release Date: May 14th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 95 Minutes 1 Second
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $21.95

"When an arms-dealing American (George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke) begins selling weapons to the local rebels, he stirs the ire of a hot-headed General (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown, Alligator) and raises the blood-pressure of the country's hapless president (Fernando Rey, The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie). As tensions rise, a Priest who has had enough (Franco regular Antonio Mayans, White Cannibal Queen, Zombie Lake) takes command of the rebels and leads his people to the battle of their lives in Esmeralda Bay!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Remastered from the original 35MM Negative."

Countdown to Esmeralda Bay comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 19.3 GB

Feature: 17.8 GB

The source looks great; flesh tones look correct, colors are very good, image clarity is generally strong, and compression is good. That said, during darker moments, image clarity is not always as convincing as it should be.

Audio: 3.5/5 (Dolby Digital 5.1 English), 3/5 (Dolby Digital Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English and a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English. The stereo track has background noise that is more noticeable than it is on the 5.1 track. That said, range-wise, both tracks are serviceable, the dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras include a theatrical trailer for Countdown to Esmeralda Bay (1 minute 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras are trailers for Barb Wire Dolls, Naked Girl Murdered in the Park, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, Sexy Sisters, Voodoo Passion and Women in Cellblock 9.

Summary:

Directed by Jess Franco, a prolific filmmaker who made more than 200 films and whose career spanned seven decades. Countdown to Esmeralda Bay comes from his later period, right before he made the move to shooting on video.

A civil war erupts between rebels and the oppressive government regime of a Central American country.

The 1980s were fertile with far-fetched action films that put style above substance. And though Jess Franco had made some action films, in the late 1980s he would enter the 1980s action fray as these types of films were on their way out. Countdown to Esmeralda Bay is the second of three 1980s-style bombastic action films directed by Jess Franco. The other two films are Dark Mission and Night of the Eagles.

What is an action film without stock footage? The last thirty minutes of Countdown to Esmeralda Bay are mostly stock footage of tanks, aircraft carriers, and numerous other uses of military footage as Jess Franco tries to expand the epic scope of the war he is trying to create. The action scenes are definitely a product of their time, with many bullets flying by without ever spilling too much blood.

Though Jess Franco has worked with some stacked casts of instantly recognizable actors and actresses, Countdown to Esmeralda Bay has one of his stronger casts for his post-1970s output. The two most recognizable faces are Robert Forster (Vigilante) in the role of Madero, a colonel trying to install himself as a dictator, and George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke) in the role of an arms dealer named Wilson. Countdown to Esmeralda Bay reteams Fernando Rey with Jess Franco, twenty-three years before Attack of the Robots.

Ramon Estevez, who previously worked with Jess Franco on Night of the Eagles, has one of the more prominent roles as a revolutionary named Andres. Other notable cast members include Craig Hill (The Blood-Stained Shadow), Brett Halsey (Four Times That Night), Karin Well (The Convent of Sinners), Antonio Mayans (Cries of Pleasure), and Lina Romay (Female Vampire). That said, the entire cast is enjoyable and entertaining in their various roles.

Visually, Countdown to Esmeralda Bay is totally devoid of Jess Franco’s visual flourishes. The result is a film that doesn’t do much beyond cannibalizing all the 1980’s action film cliches. That said, Countdown to Esmeralda Bay does feature some beautiful locations, which Jess Franco takes full advantage of. Also, there are a handful of well-executed crazy action sequences, many of which Jess Franco emphasizes by gratuitously using slow motion. Composer Luis Bacalov’s (Django) magnificent score is the highlight of Countdown to Esmeralda Bay. Ultimately, Countdown to Esmeralda Bay is a forgettable film that relies too much on its action sequences.

Countdown to Esmeralda Bay makes its way to Blu-ray via a serviceable release that leaves a lot of room for improvement.

Written by Michael Den Boer