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6
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6 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
In
a remote South American country, a group of female freedom fighters
are captured and sent to prison. There they are subjected to
terrible tortures at the hands of sadistic Dr. Costa (Howard
Vernon). However, four of the inmates seduce a guard and escape,
and it's up to Costa and the warden to find them before their
barbaric practices are revealed...
Spanish maverick Jess
Franco has made films in virtually every genre imaginable, from
musicals and horror films to comedies and hardcore porn. In
1969, while working for British producer Harry Alan Towers,
he made his first "women in prison" (WIP) film, 99
Women. It was a theme he would return to many times
with varying results. Women In Cellblock
9 isn't one of his stronger efforts in this vein, but
neither is it his worst. The usual thin story serves as a pretext
for nudity, sexuality and insanely protracted torture sequences,
but unlike some of the Italian filmmakers who dabbled in this
field, Franco's entries never become nauseating or offensive.
At their best they actually manage some sound social commentary
and provide ample entertainment. Produced by Erwin C. Dietrich,
the Swiss exploitation mogul, Women in Cellblock 9 isn't so
powerful as Franco's earlier Ilsa The
Wicked Warden or Barbed
Wire Dolls (both 1975), but it is successful in its aim
to provide fun sleazy thrills. In some respects the film is
more successfully Sadean than Ilsa
or Barbed Wire Dolls, and
this is due in no small part to the participation of the great
Howard Vernon, who plays the sadistic Costa to sneering, perverted
perfection. Vernon, an actor whose career included collaborations
with Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Goddard, not to mention plenty
of distinguished stage work, is about as close to a "male mascot"
as Franco's cinema ever got. Without wanting to underestimate
the wonderful performances of Franco regulars like Paul Muller
or Jack Taylor, it is Vernon who inextricably comes to the minds
of many Franco buffs when asked to pick their favorite Franco
leading man. After all, he WAS The
Awful Dr. Orlof. This film gives ample evidence of his prodigious
talents, and he clearly relishes the role of "doctor of pain".
The rest of the cast
is essentially comprised of beautiful starlets and/or non-entities.
Among the former, the true standout is Susan Hemingway, the
star of Franco's lovely adaptation of Love
Letters Of A Portuguese Nun (1976). With all due respect
to such stunning beauties as Janine Reynaud, Maria Rohm, Soledad
Miranda and, of course, Lina Romay, Hemingway gets my personal
vote as the loveliest actress to grace a Franco film. Truly
beautiful and innocently sexy without ever appearing trashy,
she dominates every frame she is in on the power of her looks
alone. She's also a fine actress and if this film doesn't really
allow her to shine, one is advised to check out Portuguese
Nun or Sinfonia Erotica
(1979) and see for yourself. Bleach-blonde Karine Gambier, another
regular from Franco's Dietrich period, is a less interesting
protagonist than Maria Rohm, Rosalba Neri or Romay in earlier
Franco WIP adventures, but she does a decent job in her role
and certainly doesn't put a strain on one's eyes. Few would
argue that the bulk of Franco's WIP films qualify as great art
—
though 99 Women,
with its international cast and gripping situations, and Ilsa
The Wicked Warden, which is amazingly, well, audacious,
may well qualify —
but a film like Women In Cellblock 9
is refreshingly straightforward and frank in its intentions
and Franco does not disappoint. And just when it all seems to
be in the spirit of fun, Franco takes things to a surprising,
rather depressing turn at the end. Competently lensed by Rudolf
Kuttel and featuring a good score by Walter Baumgartner, it's
a solid and enjoyable 78 minutes.
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VIP's
DVD of Women In Cellblock 9 is the
latest in an ongoing Jess Franco Collection that spotlights
the films he directed for Erwin Dietrich. Like previous releases
(including Doriana Grey and the
aforementioned Portuguese Nun) this
is a painstakingly restored presentation that surely looks better
than ever before. The image has been letterboxed at 1.85; compositions
look balanced and correct and the image is enhanced for widescreen
TVs. Print damage is minimal, speaking volumes of the care and
dedication that has been lavished on these releases thus far.
I'm not certain that this film was ever released in an English
language version, but in any event the DVD presents the option
of either a English, German or French language track. Alas, the
English track (presumably newly recorded, a la Doriana
Grey) leaves a lot to be desired. While Howard Vernon almost
invariably recorded his own performances in English, his voice
is not preserved here — a pity, as his distinctive voice would
surely make his diabolical dialog all the more sinister and charming.
Nonetheless, his voice does seem to be present on the German track
so after you see the film once in English, do yourself a treat
and watch it the second time in its original language — it's not
a very dialog heavy movie, anyway.
Subtitles
for the feature have not been provided, and one can only
hope that Dietrich will include this option on his next Franco
release, a sexy variation on Clouzot's Les
Diaboliques titled Sexy Sisters
(1978). Extras are sparse compared to prior VIP releases. You
get the same featurette on the restoration of Jack
The Ripper that has been included on all these releases
(to be fair, one shouldn't assume that everybody will buy all
the VIP discs, so it makes sense to include it on all of them),
a collection of trailers (not just for this film, but for other
Franco and Dietrich films as well), a poster/still gallery and
cast and crew bios.
Alas, while other VIP releases (barring Voodoo
Passion) included interviews with Franco and Dietrich;
this extra is not included here. 12/10/03 |
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