Eugenie.The Story Of Her Journey Into Pe — Eugenie(UHD & Blu Ray)
Eugenie. The Story Of Her Journey Into Perversion is one of the classier & visually sleek examples of Jess Franco’s themes & focuses as a director. The early 1970s film tells of a just into adulthood teen being taken to a deserted island and left to the sleazy whims of a wealthy woman & her depraved brother. The film sits somewhere between troubling softcore, thriller, and horror- with an impressive euro cult cast, taking in the likes of Christopher Lee, Jack Taylor, and Paul Muller. Here from Blue Underground is a double disc UHD & Blu Ray release of the film- taking a new HD scan of the film, new audio commentary from respected commentators/Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, a new interview with one of the film's stars, and a few archive extras.
Eugenie( aka De Sade 70, Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion) appeared in the year 1970. It was a West Germany, Spanish, Liechtenstein, and UK production- which saw Franco teaming up with infamous exploitation producer Harry Alan Towers. It was one of four films Franco made in 1970- the other three were Nightmares Come At Night, The Bloody Judge, and Count Dracula- the last two also featured Christopher Lee in its cast.
The film opens with Madame Saint Ange (Maria Rohm) lying on her bed reading a Marquis de Sade story. Fairly soon she seemingly drifts off into a dream illustrating the tale- where a nude woman is lying on a ritual table- surrounded by both candles and a group of men dressed in red hooded gowns & black netted face masks. Talking over the group in the red velvet smoking jacket is Dolmance(Christopher Lee)- the knife is plunged into her chest. We zoom back to the Madame sitting on the bed- here she rings up privileged/ living with her parents Eugenie (Marie Liljedahl) and they discuss the teen coming to her private islands.
Next, we see Eugenie's lanky & blading father Mistival(Paul Muller) driving out into the desert countryside- here at the side of a dusty road sits a large house. Inside he finds the Madame, and he is most keen to caress & taste her body- she agrees if he allows to let Eugenie to go to her private island and spend the weekend there…he’s unsure at first, but when pushed he accepts her terms.
We then move to the isolated island- where Madame, and her perverse brother Mirveal (Jack Taylor) live in a plush mansion. They have a deaf & dumb housekeeper who is liberally slapped about by the Madame, and an African manservant who plays flamenco guitar Augustin (Anney Kablan).
Initially, the Madame is very charming/ pleasant towards Eugenie- though Mirveal is leering from the off, claiming he’s seen the girl from a distance several times over the last few months- and has lusted after her. The pair start whining & dinning the teen- and at a point she seemingly passes out- with the pair taking her to a red lite bedroom, to touch & fondle her body- but it’s not clear if this is a dream or real.
As the film unfolds the break between reality & sleazy dream seems to blur/ blend- Lee turns up with a selection of men & women dressed in costumes of 18th-century mobility. As the group carry out both out of a few sexual practice & low-key torture. The whole film has a very classy & well-defined air about it- yet at the same time there is the feeling of hazed dreaminess- this occurs in both the use of camera and general visual use- which feeds into the wondering where reality ends & fantasy begins,
Cast wise both Taylor & Muller play well their characters- with the former being an openly leering pervert, and the latter a secretly sleaved, weak & browbeaten by his wife man. Lee's part is fairly small, but he manages to put across a great feeling of sinister uneasy. And Liljedahl is a great fit for the teen getting way out of her depth.
The whole film has a very classy air about it- with wonderful use of camera, scene selection and set-up. And if you are one of those Philistines who believe Franco had little or no talent as a filmmaker- this is one of his films that will certainly disprove that belief.
Moving onto this new dual 4k HD & Blu-Ray release, and we get a truly wonderful new HD print of the film. The colours & tones are so vibrating, and the clarity of the whole thing is wonderfully realized- truly Blue Underground has done a splendid job. Moving onto the new extras, and we get two things. First up is a commentary track from Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. And as we’ve come to expect from these two track pros, this is excellent- been wonderful well researched and observed. They start off by discussing the opening music cue, and those involved in its creation. They talk about the use of coloured jells in one of the scenes, and Franco's use of creative/ effective use of out-of-focus shots. We find out the film was shot during/ around Jan 1969, with a shooting schedule of four weeks. They discuss the differences between the film, and the Marquis De Slade’s original story- apparent the lead character was not so innocent in the book. We find out the lead actress was eighteen when the film was made, and we get a brief discussion about the other two Eugenie films Franco made. We get talk about Sexual Charade- which is a seemingly a lost Franco film from the same period that featured many of the same cast. They talk about Franco in general, his distinctive themes, and ways of filming- and how he is very much a love-or-hate filmmaker. Later on, they discuss how the film pushed the levels of sexual/ violence for the time. There’s chat about how outspoken Mr Lee was about doing any sexual-related scenes, and if he was really aware of these elements in the film. And of course, much, much more- a must-play track. Otherwise, we get an on-screen interview with actor Jack Taylor (24.43) this is in Spanish with English subtitles. The actor discusses how he first met Franco, moving onto discuss the film to hand, his memories of working on other films, and discussing other Franco-connected actors he worked with. Another well worth a play interview.
On the achive side, we get a few things too. Perversion Stories (17.32) which is a collection of interviews with Franco, Writer/Producer Harry Alan Towers, and Stars Marie Liljedahl & Christopher Lee. Stephen Thrower on EUGENIE(18.09) which sees the Franco expert discussing the film. There’s a newly expanded poster & image gallery, and a trailer.
Eugenie... The Story Of Her Journey Into Perversion is an excellent entry point to the world of Jess Franco. And this Blue Underground truly is the best way to see it- with a wonderful new scan, and a great selection of old & new extras alike…so really a must, must-buy!.