http://www.blue-underground.com/movie.php?movie_id=72

Finally, a Maria Rohm interview!! Plus the cover looks ace! I can't wait!

Specs are also up for the two releases of 99 WOMEN:

Single disc: Unrated Director's Cut

Two disc: Unrated Director's Cut + X-rated French Version

What's the deal with the French version? It looks to be 15 minutes longer... is it just a bunch of X-rated inserts added in, and performers other than those in the original cast? Did Jess direct these scenes or did some French distributor have them added in?

Good questions. I also wish to have exact information about this hardcore version. Who produced this? Who shot the inserts and who played in them?
That said, I know 99 WOMEN as one of the most beautifully shot, lyric and even moving Franco films; so, honestly, I cannot see anything good in a version that turns it in a porn.

One more question. According to BU's site, 99 WOMEN's director's cut will run 90 minutes. But "Obsession - the Films of Jess Franco" talks about a 94 minutes German version and a 108 Italian version. What's the truth?

I like very much VENUS IN FURS cover!

Francesco, I agree, the VENUS IN FURS cover is really great. It'll be really something to see these films in a new remastered presentation.

If Blue Underground comes through with more Franco titles after these, they'll really have done an exemplary service to us all. (They've done that already, of course, but with releases as great-looking as these, I just want to see more...)

Can anyone confirm the Maria Rohm Interview on Venus in Furs? It's not listed as an extra on BU's site.

BU already took the disc specs offline... :(

Well! Let's hope they change the runtime. In fact, 90 minutes is a strange runtime: longer than the US version but shorter than the German one. Definitely, it needs more information about this DVD edition.

There are many different versions of this film. I hoped BU would find and release the longest director's cut (if it exists...) like they did with JUSTINE. Various sources talks about a more than 100 minutes longest version.

Then, there is a very problematic scene: the protagonist's rape, which is very differently placed in the US version and in the German and Spanish versions. I have seen both and tend to think that the scene is correctly placed in the German and Spanish versions.

Besides, the Spanish version is heavily cut by Francisco Franco's censorship, but includes interesting additional footage which I would see as bonus scenes, among which a different ending with a delightful Franco's cameo.

99 WOMEN is a very problematic film and I have in fact read that BU had lots of trouble with it. They will have to take many decisions. Till now, what I know is that the director's cut runs 90 minutes and the second disc includes a some years later porn version, maybe shot by Franco, maybe not (but since we haven't yet received any answer about this, I fear it is not by Franco). So, I am worried for this film, still more since I consider it an excellent Franco.
When BU was working on the SADOMANIA DVD, I posted many messages about the risk of a DVD edition lacking the Spanish original track. But they included only the ridicolous English track, spoling an edition which could have been exemplary (obviously, I'm talking about the second edition, not about the first, which had the notorious tinting problem).
BU did some terrific DVD editions, and demonstrated to be a serious label also by replacing the SADOMANIA wrong disc, but they also did some banal mistakes. I fear 99 WOMEN will be the next, but wish that facts give me the lie.

Though I am all for complete versions, I would prefer to see different edits of the films. Much like the Anchor Bay release of Renato Polselli's Delirium - we see the film in the two distinct edits rather than a composite version which includes all the sex and all the violence in one version - and every variation/version having different takes on the same scene included as supplimentary extras. This sex and violence version rather detracts from what the director's original vision was.

That said, Blue Underground are releasing some of the BEST films from Franco's massive work as director and his films, whilst working with Harry Alan Towers are amongst the best work (but by no means the only) which which Franco has made.

I really like the covers too, especially the VENUS IN FURS one.

And if it's true that they have managed to persuade Maria Rohm to participate in an interview, well that's amazing. A must have. A shame that it is too late for the participation of Margaret Lee and James Darren as well, but well, you can't have everything...

I spoke with Jess on the phone last week and he is very happy with these releases, especially VENUS IN FURS, which he calls BLACK ANGEL and continues to be one of his personal favorites. I questioned him closely about the editing process of the Harry Towers productions and he remembers always supervising a final cut but after that these films were cut and recut, added to, censored, expanded for various venues by various distributors. Jess was contracted to deliver an English and sometimes he did a Spanish version. But he doesn't take responsibility for the numerous alternate versions, which were usually cut for specific markets, like the Italian, the hardcore markets, et. al. I don't think most people realize just how many versions of this film existed. Even Jess hasn't seen them all. BU always delivers high quality transfers and I look forward to these, although I can state that Jess didn't make any hardcore version of 99 WOMEN, it'll be a collector's composite which I may watch once. We'll have to see what they present as the "Director's Cut" but I'm delighted these are on the way. I wonder if they tried to contact James Darren though his website where VIF is listed in his filmography.

James Darren released a new CD a year or two ago, so he's still fairly active in show business. I'd like to see him participate in the supplemental features for VIF.

I was a little surprised to see that neither of the specs for these upcoming Franco releases included trailers, unusual for BU. I wonder if there is some sort of copyright holdup on, say, the U.S. trailers from the fact that Republic/Paramount up until recently controlled the titles. Is it that they loosed the titles directly from Harry Alan Towers but they couldn't get access to the promotional materials?