Doriana Gray – Delirium Home Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Switzerland, 1976
Director: Jesús Franco
Writer: Jesús Franco
Cast: Lina Romay, Monica Swinn, Raymond Hardy, Peggy Markoff, Martine Stedil, Andrea Rigano

Release Date: December 4th, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 79 Minutes 3 Seconds (Hardcore Version), 72 Minutes 21 Seconds (Softcore Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (Hardcore Version), DTS-HD 5.1 English (Hardcore Version), DTS-HD Mono German (Softcore Version)
Subtitles: English (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $41.98

"Lina Romay stars as vampiric aristocrat Doriana Gray, a fluid-drinking succubus who shares a strange bond with her sexually voracious twin sister. It seems that when one woman feels aroused, the other sibling experiences every sensation, a phenomenon that is illustrated in shocking, salacious detail when a sexy young reporter comes to call." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Both Versions)

Doriana Gray comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41 GB

Feature: 21.2 GB (Hardcore Version), 17.1 GB (Softcore Version)

No information is provided about the source used for either version. That said, both are in excellent shape; only a few minor specks of debris remain. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, there are no issues with compression, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono German), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English)

There are two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English for the hardcore version. Although both tracks have some very minor background hiss, dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented. There is one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in German for the softcore version. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented. Both versions come with removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a English-language trailer (1 minute 7 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a German-language trailer (1 minute 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German, no English subtitles), an archival interview with director Jess Franco, producer Erwin Dietrich, and actress Lina Roma (11 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German, English and French with non-removable English subtitles for German and French), an audio commentary with author and film historian Troy Howarth for the hardcore version, the softcore version of Doriana Gray (72 Minutes 21 Seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, DTS-HD mono German with removable English subtitles), and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 2,000 copies).

Summary:

Doriana Gray was one of eighteen films that Jess Franco made with producer Erwin Dietrich over a three-year period. Their collaboration began with Downtown and ended with Girls After Midnight.

The narrative revolves around two sisters, one who lives isolated in a castle, while the other is locked away in an asylum.

Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray is a very loose interpretation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. While in the source novel there is a painting that is the source of the protagonists' youth and beauty, Jess Franco’s film protagonist gets her source of power from draining her lovers during orgasm. Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray scenario feels familiar; that’s because it is closer to his film Female Vampire than it is to The Picture of Dorian Gray. Although Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray was released under the alternate title Marquise de Sade, none of its content rises to the level of Jess Franco’s other De Sade films.

Throughout his career Jess Franco had distinctive periods that were marked by his producer collaborators, his most celebrated being the films he made with Harry Alan Towers, Artur Brauner, and Robert de Nesle. His longest collaboration was with Marius Lesoeur; in the mid-to-late 1970s, he worked extensively with Erwin C. Dietrich, and in the early 1980s, he had his last significant collaboration with Golden Films Internacional. Where most of these collaborations offered Jess Franco a lot of room to create his distinct brand of cinema, most of his films with Erwin C. Dietrich feel more like a director for hire than his usual standard fare.

Jess Franco's films always have striking locations, which greatly added to the story he wanted to tell, no matter what else was going on. What Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray lacks in resources, it channels through its main location, a castle, and its exquisite landscapes in the surrounding areas. Visually, Jess Franco employs his usual tricks, notably his overreliance on zoom shots. That said, while not one of his stronger films visually, he does manage to deliver a few arresting moments.

The main reason to watch and enjoy Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray is Lina Romay’s dual portrayal of Doriana Gray and her twin sister. From 1973 until the end of her life in 2012, she was an integral part of Jess Franco’s cinema, serving as his muse. Although some viewers might find her portrayal of the sister in the asylum to be over the top, in my opinion she is equally compelling in both roles. When talking about Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray, one cannot gloss over how awful the English language dub is, and it's a shame that both versions of this release don’t have the German language track. Ultimately, Jess Franco’s hardcore fans will thoroughly enjoy Doriana Gray, while it is not a good starting point for the uninitiated.

Delirium Home Video gives Jess Franco’s Doriana Gray a first-rate release that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of informative extras. Recommended.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer