JESS FRANCO'S FORGOTTEN FILMS VOL.1
THE SILENCE OF THE TOMBS (1972) & THE SINISTER EYES OF DR. ORLOFF (1973)
Label: Dorado Films
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 85 Minutes / 81 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Full Screen (1.33:1) / Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: Spanish Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 with Optional English, Italian, and Spanish Subtitles
Director: Jess Franco
Cast: Montserrat Prous, Albert Dalbés, Glenda Allen, Mario Alex / Montserrat Prous, William Berger, Robert Woods, Edmund Purdom
THE SILENCE OF THE TOMBS (1972)
When movie star Annette (Glenda Allen, TV's Space: 1999) invites her Hollywood friends to her isolated island home for a weekend getaway they get more than the expected 70s loving, drinking and dancing, the weekend quickly devolves into a whirlwind of kidnapping, murder and weirdness.
We're introduced to Annette's weird sister, the suspicious Valerie (Montserrat Prous, The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff) who lives on the island where she cares for movie star Annette's young son Christian. No sooner has the star arrived on the island with her movie making friends when we are treated to some sinister voice-over narration from Valerie, who loathes her famous sister, wishing her dead, along with her Hollywood-type group of friends, which include her lawyer-lover Vincent (Mario Álex, School of Death), former lover and Christian's father Jean-Paul (Francisco Acosta, Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac), movie producer Jerome (Luis Induni, Night of the Howling Beast) photographer Vera (Yelena Samarina, Murder Mansion), and Annette's personal bodyguard Juan (Alberto Dalbes, Cut-Throats Nine)
Things begin to go astray when Valerie overhears Annette with her son's father, who wants custody of Christian, which angers Valerie. Later that night the boy is kidnapped and a demand for a large ransom is left next to the boy's bloodied bed. In short order the guests begin to be killed off in a way that is much like Ten Little Indians. The guests cannot escape the island as the only transport to the mainland has been blown up with one of the guest's aboard, and there is no other boat arriving on the island till after the weekend. Who's the kidnapping-murderer, is it one of the guests, or perhaps the increasingly erratic sister, or maybe the suspicious housekeeper Laura (Kali Hansa, Countess Perverse) or the shady caretaker Pongo (Manuel Pereiro, Satan's Blood)?
Franco's love for Mediterranean island locations is on full display, however, the lurid eroticism is toned way down in this one, not typical for him. Also unusual is that the story is a fairly linear, a psychological murder mystery along the lines of an Agatha Christie story, though it is actually adapted from a novel by author Enrique Jarber. The film has some decent lensing from cinematographer Javier Pérez Zofio (Franco's Night of the Assassins) who also did some second unit on the Agatha Christie adaptation Ten Little Indians(1974). We also get a cool jazzy score from Jess Franco himself plus contributions from composer Fernando García Morcillo (The Cannibal Man).
Montserrat Prous as Valerie really anchored the film for me, I love her wide-eyed stare, while she doesn't have the sexual allure of later Franco muses Soledad Miranda or Lina Romay, she does manage to cast her own spell upon you with those deep, mysterious eyes, giving a delightfully unhinged performance. She makes for an easy suspect early on, but when the bodies begin to pile-up Valerie winds up with a double-barrel shotgun in her hands and is a total badass.
Franco manages to muster up some great atmosphere towards the end with Prouse wandering around the dark island house with a gas lantern in one hand and the shotgun in the other, casting shadows and expecting danger to leap from the dark at every turn, she's ready for just about anything, except for maybe the shocker of an ending, which is completely nutso.
THE SINISTER EYES OF DR. ORLOFF (1973)
In Jess Franco's The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (1973) Melissa Comfort (Montserrat Prous, Diary of a Nymphomaniac) is a young woman who is without the use of her legs since childbirth. Nightly she is haunted by nightmares of her father's mysterious death years earlier. In the horrific recurring dream her father (a cameo by director Franco) stumbles to her and drips blood onto her nightgown, she awakens terrified and screaming. She lives with her conniving step sister Martha (Loreta Tovar, The Night of the Sorcerers), her aunt Flora (Kali Hansa,
Countess Perverse), and a loyal butler named Mathews (Jose Manuel Martin, Curse of the Devil).
The family calls on a psychiatrist who is a friend of the family, the titular and sinister Dr. Orloff, played by the steely eyed William Berger (Five Dolls for An August Moon). Given the title of the film it will come as little surprise that the doctor, and members of her family, are conspiring against the wheelchair bound invalid. His diabolical plan involves using a disorienting combination of drugs and hypnosis to coerce Melissa into violently murdering the other members of her family. In a weird twist Melissa is able to walk on her own, but only under the post-hypnotic commands of the evil-eyed Dr. Orloff.
I think Berger is fantastic in the role as the evil master of hypnotism, this is definitely his vehicle, stealing nearly every scene in the film in my opinion. A suspicious folk-singer neighbor alerts Inspector Crosby (Edmund Purdom, Pieces) that something just ain't right over at the Comfort house, but will it work in her favor?
I remember watching this movie the first time, I had to double check and be sure this was a legit Jess Franco film as it was a nearly bloodless affair with only a hint of nudity, not what I'd come to expect at that point from the master of Euro sleaze. However, the film has some terrific psychological horror elements and an atmosphere that is enhanced by a haunting score composed by Franco himself. Spoilers, my favorite scenario in the film has the butler Matthews whisking Melissa away to safety in the trunk of a car after overhearing the conspiracy against her, only to be murdered by Melissa (under the hypnotic command of Dr. Orloff) on a misty road.
Sadly the lovely Lina Romay (The Hot Nights of Linda) appears only briefly in the film, which was a bit of a let down for me. The movie could certainly be considered slow paced, but it picks up towards the end. It has some decent visuals but largely lacks the visceral and erotic flavorings I crave when watching a Franco film, this might be one for the Franco lovers and completest only I think. The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (1973) is not the stuff of euro sleaze legend but it is a tasty slice of 70's Spanish psycho-sleaze with a mesmerizing performance from William Berger as the evil hypnotist.
Audio/Video: The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (1973) was previously released on DVD from Intervision a few years previously. That previous release was sourced from a 1" tape and was a soft, smeary VHS image that left a lot to be desired. Dorado Films prsents both of the film are sourced from 35mm theatrical prints, and scanned in 4K. The boost in quality for The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff is clearly evident, the fine detail, clarity and colors are richer, but the print is well-worn with loads of white speckling and some print damage and fading. That said, this is a worthy upgrade, but come to it with lowered expectations.
The Silence of the Tomb(1972) is making it's digital home video debut with this release, also sourced from a 35mm theatrical print, but nicely framed in the scope widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio. It looks overly bright and a bit washed out in places, softer than the full frame Sinister Eyes, also sporting some print damage and age-related celluloid wear, but still very watchable and treat to see in HD.
Both films feature lossy Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono with optional English, Spanish and Italian subtitles. There's some minor audio distortion but overall a solid, though lossy, audio presentation.
Extras on the disc include 24-min of movie trailers for possible upcoming releases from Dorado Films, a 15-min chat with ageing actor Robert Woods (The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff) who speaks about the collaborative European style of movie making in the 70s, working with Franco, the audio syncing process of the time, and being convinced by William Berger and Edmund Purdom to come down to Spain and work with Franco. Woods also touches on how Jess appeared in his films like Hitchcock, and his distaste for his more erotic fare. There are also script pages which include an alternate ending for the movie. Additionally there's a 2-page booklet with writing on the film from Alex Mendibil. There's also an Ultimate edition of this release from Dorado Films with alternate artwork and a 24-page collector's booklet, but the on disc extras are exactly the same.
Special Features:
- Video Chat With Robert Woods (15 min) HD
- Script of Original Ending for Silence of the Tomb
- Trailer: El Asesino No Está Solo (4 min) HD, Camino Solitario (6 min) HD, The Counselor (4 min) HD, Crimes of The Black Cat (4 min) DH, Horrible sexy Vampire (3 min) HD, Knife of Ice (3 min) HD
- Collector's Booklet with writing by Alex Mendibil
This is a nice Jess Franco double-feature from Dorado Films, both films look reasonably solid in 1080p HD, with the previously issued The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff
looking significantly better than the previous standar-definition release from Intervision.
