RAVISHING DANY (1972)
& THE GIRL CAN'T STOP! (1965)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 83 Minutes 13 Seconds (Ravishing Dany); 91 Minutes 29 Seconds (Girl Can't Stop)
Audio: French and English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with English Subtitles (Ravishing Dany), French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with English Subtitles(Girl Can't Stop)
Audio: French and English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with English Subtitles (Ravishing Dany), French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with English Subtitles(Girl Can't Stop)
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) (Ravishing Dany), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) (Girl Cant Stop)
Director: Willy Rozier
Cast: Sandra Julien, Jürgen Drews, Michel Paulin, Jacqueline Laurent, Jacques Dynam, Lisa Livane, Jacques Marbeuf, Angelo Bassi
Mondo Macabro are back at it, digging up and restoring delicious nuggets of wild, world cinema that might otherwise have been lost to the dustbins of cinema history, this time we get French double-feature highlighting two films of the late French director Willy Rozier (1901-1983). First up is the sex-comedy Ravishing Dany (1972) aka Dany la ravageuse, aka Hitchhooker wherein freelance fashion model Danielle (aka Dany) (Sandra Julien, Shiver of the Vampires) is looking to buy a car, so she needs to save some money. To that end she decides to save her travel per diem cash allowance and hitchhike to her various modeling gigs around France, all the while Dany narrates her wild adventure to viewers.
Cast: Sandra Julien, Jürgen Drews, Michel Paulin, Jacqueline Laurent, Jacques Dynam, Lisa Livane, Jacques Marbeuf, Angelo Bassi
Mondo Macabro are back at it, digging up and restoring delicious nuggets of wild, world cinema that might otherwise have been lost to the dustbins of cinema history, this time we get French double-feature highlighting two films of the late French director Willy Rozier (1901-1983). First up is the sex-comedy Ravishing Dany (1972) aka Dany la ravageuse, aka Hitchhooker wherein freelance fashion model Danielle (aka Dany) (Sandra Julien, Shiver of the Vampires) is looking to buy a car, so she needs to save some money. To that end she decides to save her travel per diem cash allowance and hitchhike to her various modeling gigs around France, all the while Dany narrates her wild adventure to viewers.
That's the set-up, and other than that there's not really a plot at play here, it's just brief vignettes of her thumbing it on the open road where she is picked up by a number of creepy, bizarre, often dangerous men and women, put in sexual situations that can get a bit harrowing, but it's all in the name of getting sexy Dany naked and in bed with someone, willingly or otherwise. These encounters emerge by way of a horny butterfly collector, a sheep obsessed escaped mental patient with a butcher knife, a hearse driver who gets off by making it near the corpses in the backseat, an Italian countess who seems invites Dany to her home and lets her butler viciously flagellate the hitchhiker with a whip while and then lets her husband have her way with her, a singing hippy in drag, a trio of bank robbers on the lam; and a few other oddball twist and turns.
It's a silly bit of softcore sexploitation with a smattering of near-harrowing assaults that are not pleasant but are not lingered on much either, nor is anything else for that matter. It's a cute little flick and star Sandra Julian is a pleasing eyeful of red-haired sexiness; just watching her thumb her way through these oft time roughie-styled adventures is good fun, just don't expect much story to accompany the episodic tale.
Audio/Video: Both films arrive on region-free Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro restored in 2K from the original 35mm OCN, Ravishing Dany in 1.37:1 fullscreen and Girl Can't Stop in 1.66:1 widescreen. These both look fantastic, the sources are in excellent shape, the film grain looks organic throughout. Fine detail is quite pleasing and the colors of Ravishing Dany are nicely saturated, while the B&W Girl Can't Stop! has excellent contrast and grayscale, plus black levels on both films are quite pleasing. Audio on Ravishing Dany comes by way of French or English DTS-HD MA 2.0, while Girl Can't Stop features only the original French, also in DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English subtitles. All options sounds great, cleanly delivered dialogue and score, well-balanced, and no issues with source related hiss or distortion.
Special Features:
- Brand new 2k restoration from original negative
- Interview with director’s daughter, Catherine Rozier (17:42)
- Featurette: Dany and the Censors (25:27)
- Christophe Bier reads Willy Rozier (19:57)
- Ravishing Dany Theatrical Trailer (1:31)
The second feature from director Willy Rozier is the earlier shot noir-ish black and white thriller Girl Can't Stop (1965). Set in Greece it follows the exploits of the jet set by way of degenerate gambler Manuel (Georges Rivière, Castle of Blood) who has been losing big time at the roulette table, so much so that he and his pal hatch a plan to get his wife Tassoula (Xenia Kalogeropoulou) to sleep with wealthy banker Giorgian Kaledis (Jean Sobieski, Death Laid An Egg) in hopes of securing some additional funds by way of blackmail, unaware that his wife is looking to get out of their marriage and sees the banker as a possible way out. However, both are unaware that Kaledis enjoys watching his one-eyed servant Kior Ali (Georges Lycan) sadistically whip women. This was a better film that the main feature to be honest, though it lacks the presence of Sandra Julien, though it still has plenty of beauties on display, the noir styled thriller plot, attractive locations and lensing, and minor exploitation elements make for a pretty entertaining watch.
Audio/Video: Both films arrive on region-free Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro restored in 2K from the original 35mm OCN, Ravishing Dany in 1.37:1 fullscreen and Girl Can't Stop in 1.66:1 widescreen. These both look fantastic, the sources are in excellent shape, the film grain looks organic throughout. Fine detail is quite pleasing and the colors of Ravishing Dany are nicely saturated, while the B&W Girl Can't Stop! has excellent contrast and grayscale, plus black levels on both films are quite pleasing. Audio on Ravishing Dany comes by way of French or English DTS-HD MA 2.0, while Girl Can't Stop features only the original French, also in DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English subtitles. All options sounds great, cleanly delivered dialogue and score, well-balanced, and no issues with source related hiss or distortion.
A nice array of French-language extras accompany this double-feature; we get an 18-min Interview with director’s daughter, Catherine Rozier who discusses her father's life and career, his films and what she remembers about accompanying her father on a few shoots. The 20-min Christophe Bier reads Willy Rozier features Bier reading an interview with Rozier that also digs into his life, career and filmography. The 25-min Dany and the Censors (25:27) also with Bier who digs through archives that detail the censorship Rozier's film faced, putting it into context with the era in which it was released. The disc extras are buttoned-up with 2-minutes Alternate Scenes, these are XXX inserts created to appeal to markets looking for post Deep Throat hardcore films, plus a 2-min Theatrical Trailer for the main feature. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- Brand new 2k restoration from original negative
- Interview with director’s daughter, Catherine Rozier (17:42)
- Featurette: Dany and the Censors (25:27)
- Christophe Bier reads Willy Rozier (19:57)
- Ravishing Dany Theatrical Trailer (1:31)
- Alternate scenes (2:08)
- Full length feature: The Girl Can't Stop! (1965)
- Full length feature: The Girl Can't Stop! (1965)
Willy Rozier is a new name to me, I'd never heard of him before but this double-feature, and it was a fun introduction to at least a couple of his tawdry French flicks. I appreciate Mondo Macabro for once again taking the deep-plunge into the vaults and coming up with these rarities, lovingly restored and presented with some excellent extras that gave me an appreciation for the filmmaker.
Screenshots form the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray:
Ravishing Dany (1972)
Girl Can't Stop (1972)
Extras:
