Rock's Cheapo Theatre of the Damned

I guess I should hit up the few Franco films available on Tubi soon. I’ve always been wary of his style, however.

Still willing to give him a chance, of course.

Part of me wants to say that his style has shifted enough over the years that you'll probably find at least a few films that you gel to.


But part of me wants to say that you'll get more out of him if you watch films from the different styles and see how they compare in their handling of a common set of themes and images.


He's someone who gets easier to appreciate the more you see, so long as you're willing to meet him halfway on a given film, even if your early adventures might be rough going.

I suppose it was assumed already, but I am adding Jess Franco to the official list of thread topics. This is a constitutional system, not a common law system.

He was a stylish son-of-a-gun wasn't he?

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Captain's Log
My Collection

In one of his movies, he had his shirt unbuttoned like halfway down his chest. Jess, you are not good looking enough to pull that off, sorry.

I am in kind of a funk this evening and needed something light, and when I went through my Criterion watchlist it was like Violence at Noon, Arabetto, and this one. So here we are.

So far it is delightful (I'm like a third of the way in), and an amazing side effect of all the chest close-ups is the strange impression that her breasts are like separate characters. I just watched a scene where the script might as well have read "Crystal spoons some sugar into her drink. Her breasts watch with interest." Or "Crystal is troubled. Her breasts gaze sadly out the window."

I also quite liked the part where she finds her lover's little book of phone numbers and then she just stares in to the camera for what feels like forever and then . . . walks out of the frame.

Finally, every time they show a shot of Crystal topless I get sympathetic back pains.

I thought you didn't usually care for that kind of thing, though?

There's something about the blunt way Wishman films Morgan's breasts, combined with Morgan's confident presence, that I think it trips over from leering into campy and downright strange. Wishman clearly is not getting off on this and apparently didn't care for Morgan personally, so you get a very different energy than you do from someone like a Russ Meyer.

I think it's in one of my other queues. Ah, yes, iTunes.

Showing the Business: How Hollywood Sees Porn

In case you missed this Letterboxd feature. I didn't find it very illuminating, but I was reminded of your recent criticism of X.

I forgot Letterboxd had articles, haha.


Glad to see Kamikaze Hearts get a shout out. One of my favourite first time viewings last year. And I think it's finally available on Blu-ray from Kino.

Normally I don't.

But this isn't your typical "Oh, we just happen to meet our female protagonist in the shower she she soaps her body" kind of male-gaze ogling.

The relationship between the movie and Crystal's breasts is really complicated and bizarre. Obviously it is the extremity of them that is the thing drawing in the viewer, but they are also so extreme that it kind of leaves the boundary of typical leering. There were multiple times that her breasts were shot in a way that seems designed to make them seem unappealing, like several shots in reflections or with a fish-eye lens that distort the size and proportion of her anatomy in unflattering ways.

There's also something really melancholy about the way that the main character is portrayed. While the film is obviously firmly in exploitation/freak show territory, the way that it never totally gets a handle on the main character makes it a strange viewing experience.

Curious to read what you think of Bad Girls Go to Hell and Indecent Desires if you've seen them. There's a tension between the plight of the female protagonists and the sexploitation delivery that's very much part of the movies' effect.

I haven't seen either, but I see they are both on the Criterion Channel as part of the Wishman collection.

lol yeah, went through all those titles earlier in the year. Wishman had an early lead in my most watched directors, although she's fallen behind since. Probably because I binged all those Richard Kern shorts.


I should note that those 2 movies contain sexual assault (and similar content). I found them less sleazy than the subject matter would suggest, but figured I should give you a heads up. Definitely less lighthearted than her Chesty Morgan movies.

I appreciate the heads up!

I just spent 14 hours helping my sister deliver her baby, and the experience has certainly got me processing some emotions about female bodies. (And also wondering how @Wooley would respond to the following assertion: "Oh, anesthesiologists are not nice. They can be great at their jobs, but they are not friendly." LOL. This from a nurse who was citing the man who did my sister's epidural as an exception to the rule.)

Anyone familiar with Eros + Massacre? This sounds intriguing, but what am I in for? It’s on Tubi and I’m gearing up to watch it tomorrow.

I didn’t want to read too much about it but….is this a Pink film? Or would it fall under erotic thriller?

I'm interested in checking it out because it stars Mariko Okada, but the runtime is keeping me away.

Now that you bring it up, I think the treatment of women's bodies is kind of a recurring theme in most of the Wishmans I've seen. Probably the most extreme example is Let Me Die A Woman, which alternates a really fascinating interview with a trans woman with really uncomfortable and invasive depictions of trans people's bodies. (The movie is most notable for a graphic sex change operation scene.) I don't think I've seen a movie this sympathetic and gawking at the same time.

Yeah, I noticed the runtime as well, which is why I’m choosing to watch it this weekend with nothing else in my slate.

I could never do that during the work week.