Eugenie de Sade - Blue Underground (DVD)

Theatrical Release Date: Liechtenstein/France, 1973
Director: Jesús Franco
Writer: Jesús Franco
Cast: Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, Andrea Montchal, Greta Schmidt, Alice Arno, Jesús Franco

Release Date: January 29th, 2008
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 42 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono French, Dolby Digital English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $14.95

"Esteemed author Albert Radeck is the toast of the Berlin literati and the object of his stepdaughter Eugenie's affections. However, when his doe-eyed little darling unmasks her sophisticated father figure as a sex-crazed psychopath obsessed with perpetrating the perfect crime, she transforms from innocent ward to a willing accomplice. The deadly duo seduce and destroy everyone in their path - until Eugenie's charms spark a jealous rage in Albert that threatens to consume them both." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "remastered from its recently discovered original negative."

Eugenie de Sade comes of a dual layer DVD.

Disc Size: 6.8 GB

Before this release, Eugenie de Sade had two DVD releases: in North America by Wild East and in the UK by Oracle. Both of these releases had drawbacks, like cropping the image, colors that looked off, and edge enhancement. In 2008, we had a third release, this time via Blue Underground, which sources their release from the film’s original negative, and the difference in this release when compared to the two previous releases is monumental. Colors have never looked as vibrant or accurate, and details look equally sharp in the background and foreground. Also, Blue Underground’s source looks great, free of print debris.

Audio: 3.5/5 (Dolby Digital Mono French, Dolby Digital English)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital mono mix in French and a Dolby Digital mono mix in English. Both of these audio tracks sound clear and balanced, and range wise they are very good. Included are removable English subtitles for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an interview with director Jess Franco titled Franco de Sade (20 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles). 

Summary:

Albert Radeck is a controversial author who has been raising his daughter, Eugenie, since her mother passed away shortly after she was born. Eugenie has always idolized her father, and when he comes to her with the idea of how to commit the perfect crime, she readily joins him in his diabolical game of murder and deceit. They become closer with each crime they commit—that is, until the day when Eugenie allows another man into her life, which enrages Albert by pushing him over the edge and further isolating him from the only person he ever loved.

No one more than the Marquis de Sade had a larger impact on the cinema of Jess Franco; several of his films were inspired by or referenced the literary works of the Marquis de Sade. Despite being born in different centuries, their views on sadism and eroticism are mirror images of each other. Though Jess Franco has made many films that incorporate elements of the Marquis de Sade, only a handful of films are faithful adaptations, notably Justine de Sade, Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey into Perversion, and Justine and Eugenie de Sade.

This time around, though, Jess Franco goes for a modern-day retelling instead of making a period-era film. The narrative and its characters lend themselves to anytime and anywhere, as they are timeless in quality. The killers' identities are known from the start, and they commit murders in a more natural or crude way, driving home the brutality of their acts. Jess Franco once again places sex at the forefront, but this time without any eroticism. And though Jess Franco is known for pushing boundaries, especially when it comes to erotica, Eugenie de Sade is his most subdued Marquis de Sade adaptation.

The main draw of Eugenie de Sade is Soledad Miranda’s (She Killed in Ecstasy) portrayal of the protagonist in what would be her final completed role. She delivers a memorable performance, which is arguably one of her best. The standout moment is a strip tease her character performs to lure a victim for the murderess game she plays with her father. And there is a scene where she turns what could have been another sexy moment into an unintentional comedy moment as she struggles to remove clothing. Paul Muller (Vampyros Lesbos) is fantastic in the role of Eugenie’s deviant father.

From a production standpoint, Jess Franco once again exhibits his ability to maximize his limited resources. Visually, Eugenie de Sade looks great, and they do a great job reinforcing the dark subject matter. Composer Bruno Nicolai delivers a superb score that heightens the mood. If some music cues in the score cause a feeling of Déjà vu for you, it's because they are recycled music cues from films Bruno Nicolai and Jess Franco had previously worked on. Ultimately, Eugenie de Sade is a solid adaptation of Marquis de Sade’s novel Eugenie de Franval.

Eugenie de Sade gets a strong release from Blue Underground that comes with a good audio/video presentation and informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer