Bahía blanca – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1985
Director: Jesús Franco
Writer: Jesús Franco
Cast: Eva León, Lina Romay, Antonio Mayans, Trino Trives, Analía Ivars, Tony Skios, José Llamas, Juan Soler, Ángel Ordiales, Flavia Mayans, Juana de la Morena, Jesús Franco

Release Date: June 26th, 2020
Approximate running time: 98 Minutes 20 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: OOP

"When a battered corpse washes ashore in a small Spanish fishing village, the local community of prostitutes, mobsters and lawmen will begin to seethe with lust, vengeance and murder." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "now scanned in 4K from Spanish, French and German release prints to create the longest and most comprehensive version known to exist."

Bahía blanca comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 23 GB

Feature: 20 GB

Though some source debris remains, the bulk of this transfer is in good shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, and image clarity is strong. Unfortunately, when it comes to the darker scenes, image clarity is rarely optimal, and grain looks very thick. That said, the image does retain an organic look.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. Outside of some minor hiss, this audio track is in good shape: dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a locations featurette titled In The Land of Franco Part 4 (17 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and Spanish with non-removable English subtitles), and an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions and Flowers of Perversion titled Bay of Jess (18 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Summary:

The mid-1980s were a transitional period for Jess Franco; the type of films that he preferred to make, horror mixed with eroticism, were no longer viable. With his options limited, Jess Franco would venture off on his own with his production company, Manacoa Films. That brings us to Bahía Blanca, a murder mystery that's dripping with enough melodrama that it almost veers into Telenovela territory.

The narrative revolves around two sisters who live by themselves on a small island where a man’s body is found. Not believing that his death is an accident, the sheriff opens an investigation. Will the sheriff find the killer, or will he meet a similar fate?

The first thing that I noticed while watching Bahía blanca was how cohesive the narrative is. There are no strange detours or dreamlike logic that Jess Franco employs in some of his films. Also, besides a well-constructed straightforward narrative, Bahía blanca has an ample amount of backstory, arguably more than any other Jess Franco film.

No matter how limited his resources were, throughout his career, Jess Franco always drew from a sizable collection of frequent collaborators. Two notable cast members are Antonio Mayans (Cries of Pleasure) in the role of the sheriff and Lina Romay (Female Vampire) in the role of a mentally challenged woman who lives with her sister on the island. That said, the most memorable performance is Eva León, who portrays a prostitute who runs a bar on the island where she lives with her sister. Though she made a few films with Jess Franco, she’s most remembered for her numerous collaborations with Paul Naschy.

Bahía blanca is drastically different from the type of films that Jess Franco is known for. Sex and violence are two staples of Jess Franco’s cinema; Bahía blanca only sparingly exploits these elements. When it comes to picking visually arresting locations, this is an area where Jess Franco always delivered. That said, despite being known for his leisure pacing, Bahía blanca is slow-moving even by his usual standards. Ultimately, Bahía blanca is a by-the-numbers whodunit that lacks the spontaneity that’s synonymous with Jess Franco’s most celebrated films.

Severin Films gives Bahía blanca its best home media release to date.

Written by Michael Den Boer