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Jess Franco Double Bill, Volume 1 (Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein / The Curse of Frankenstein)
R2 - United Kingdom - Tartan Video UK Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (5th September 2006). |
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The Film
 Disc 1 Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein AKA Drácula contra Frankenstein (1972) Spanish born director/co-writer Jess Franco has over 180 directorial-credits to his name, and in the horror and exploitation-genres he has basically tried everything. It´s no wonder then, that he also tackled the famous stories of Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster, and created again something that only his wild cinematic mind can create. Pairing these two “larger than life” (or should I say “death”) movie monsters is not anything new, since they´ve appeared together already in the films such as “House of Frankenstein (1944)”, “House of Dracula (1945)” and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)” from the Universal heydays, and there were also (just to name a few) low budget affairs like “Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)”; cameos in “One More Time (1970)”, directed by Jerry Lewis; an appearance in the cult TV-series “Doctor Who” (“The Chase, 1965”) as robots; part of the “monster posse” in “The Monster Squad (1987)”; and of course the very disappointing “Van Helsing (2004)”. It´s quite obvious that Franco´s take on the subject was a nod to the old Universal-classics. During the opening minutes of “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”, the sensual woman in her long boots and open shirt (easy now, fellas) is about to rest after a hard day, but after the attack from Count Dracula (Howard Vernon) himself, the rest becomes quite permanent. Soon the old count can be spotted outside the house of Dr. Jonathan Seward (Alberto Dalbés) - Dracula´s nemesis, who also has a female patient, and not a very stable one. After examining the current victim from the village, Dr. Seward sees the bite marks on the neck of the dead woman, and takes the horse carriage ride himself to the castle of Dracula (in a quite effective and moody scene in the morning light, I might add). He does what has got to be done if you want to destroy the “creature of the night”; stabbing Dracula straight in the heart. Only the dead bat remains in the coffin, while Dr. Seward rides away. Enter Dr. Rainer Von Frankenstein (Dennis Price) and his assistant Morpho (Luis Barboo), who now move into the empty castle of Dracula. He soon sets up his laboratory and, voila!, Frankenstein's Monster (Fernando Bilbao) is alive again. The monster soon goes to work, and kidnaps the cabaret singer for his master. This poor woman is now the essential part of the sinister plan from Dr. Frankenstein, since with the help of her fresh blood, he resurrects Dracula in all his glory. With the centre piece now in place and the “The Lord of Vampires” in his possession, Dr. Frankenstein can proceed to his ultimate goal, creating the army of shadows with the powers that he has through Dracula… When you have an auteur such as Jess Franco, with his huge body of work, it often seems that you either find his work very interesting, or simply don´t - there is no middle ground. It would be a bit too easy, even mean, to say that those who generally don´t like his work are the ones that don´t really understand it, but it´s quite safe to say that concentrating on the obvious aspects connected to this films doesn´t necessarily cut it - you simply have to dig deeper. Odd European low budget productions, awkward camera movements and zooms, amateurish actors and scenes, and a strange mix of sex, violence, horror, exploitation - even surrealism and “art-house”, are something that are usually there in one way or another, but with Franco, there is usually more for those who want to start searching. Of course, his films are clearly not for everyone and some of his films can be quite “bad”, but sometimes they do get “bad press” way too easily. You could say that Franco did everything from 10$ trash to the films that many people call masterpieces. So which one is “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”? Somewhere in the middle ground I believe, as often his films are. The approach of the film is rather moody and stylish, and you don´t actually have much dialogue in the film at all - images and action speaks mostly for itself, and when you have some words, it´s in the form of the “thoughts” from Dr. Frankenstein. This in the end favours the film, since from the start it´s maintaining the certain atmosphere of gothic horror and dreamlike imagery, and manages to pay the homage to the Universal classics somewhere along the way, in “Franco style”. This means that the director adds his usual ingredients of constant zooms and unorthodox editing, which with the general strangeness hurts the credibility of the film to be considered as a truly worthy homage to the legendary horror-figures. The general feel is still “too Franco-ish” and odd to please the more mainstream-fans, and although the film is not very graphic or explicit this time, there´s a glimpse of eroticism (along with Dracula, a few female vampires are also introduced) and twisted aspects (in one scene Morpho kisses passionately the dead victim before disposing her) to alienate those viewers who like to keep things simple, pleasant, and straightforward. And those things, Franco hardly ever is. “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein” is not a bad film at all, and for those who want to keep “digging deeper”, it offers a quite moody atmosphere and rewarding qualities under the partly confusing plot and pacing - and the obvious low budget qualities. Howard Vernon as “Dracula” is not something that will be remembered when people talk about the best performance of the Count, but he doesn´t ruin the film (I have to wonder if his face was paralysed with the mouth open), and the Frankenstein’s Monster has the nicely “old school” look. I also liked the character Amira, the Gypsy (Geneviève Robert - as Genevieve Deloir), who senses the evil and offers some unexpected help in a form of a third famous monster (a very acrobatic one, I might add). In the end I felt that Franco did manage to achieve something from the old-fashioned “good versus evil”-setting, and I believe that “Dr. Frankenstein versus Dr. Seward” is the real force of the film that eventually makes it work - in some degree, that is. Disc 2 The Curse of Frankenstein AKA La Maldición de Frankenstein (1972) “The Curse of Frankenstein” (also known in English as “The Rites of Frankenstein”, like the R1-release) is a perfect companion piece to “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”, since both were done in the same year, and both have a very similar casting and characters, and mood also. Director/co-writer Jess Franco does a small acting part right in the opening scenes as “Morpho” - the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein (again played by Dennis Price), while these two are back “at work” in the laboratory. This time Frankenstein's Monster (again Fernando Bilbao) has gotten a human brain, so he can actually speak some things. The celebration won´t last long, since suddenly the strange vampire woman with hairy claws, Melisa (Anne Libert) and servant Caronte (Luis Barboo) storm to the laboratory, stabbing Morpho (Barboo actually played “Morpho” in the earlier film, which is at least interesting) and biting and scratching Dr. Frankenstein until he´s half dead. Their real mission, however, is to steal The Monster and take it to another even more sinister character; Cagliostro (right after Dracula, played by Howard Vernon). In the castle the blind Melisa has a vision that will reveal the true plan of Cagliostro (he also speaks through Melisa – by transmitting orders “magnetically”!); The Monster has to capture young virgins to “satisfy the desires” of Cagliostro, and later on the bodies will be used for experiments. With all this Cagliostro is planning to create his new “super race”, by first creating a bride for The Monster. Is this (strange) enough for Franco? No Sir. We´ll also meet again Dr. Seward (again played by Alberto Dalbés - as Albert Dalbes), who has the surprising patient on his table. His old nemesis Dr. Frankenstein, almost at his last breath, begs to Dr. Seward to save his beloved Monster, now more like a human, with brain and all. Onto the scene enters also Inspector Tanner (Daniel White - also the composer of the film), who´s very keen to get the bottom of this mysterious case. Oh, and wait, Vera Frankenstein (Beatriz Savón), the daughter of Dr. Frankenstein and a doctor herself, will hide something under her sweet presence, and soon she´ll steal the body of his father, full of vengeful thoughts. Eventually this is only half of the story, since with “The Curse of Frankenstein”, Franco mixes up everything from the gothic monsters and mad scientists to zombies and bird women, and includes some familiar exploitation scenes with “women in chains” and scenes of whipping in the dungeons (less explicit than in the French-version, though). Character of Melisa seems to have some tendencies to enjoy pain - especially when she´s the one causing it. “The Curse of Frankenstein” is a film that could´ve been much better, since it´s clearly having many interesting characters and plenty of action “going on” all the time. Unfortunately, too much is “going on” and eventually the film is starting to feel rather confusing, when it jumps to the different locations and introduces scenes that don´t really work together, hurting the pace. The Spanish version also includes the additional sub plot involving the Gypsy called Esmeralda (Lina Romay), which at first feels intriguing, but since it´s not really going anywhere, it´s the last nail to the coffin to make at least half of the audience wonder what´s the purpose of this character? Again, this is by no means a complete disaster, but it loses something after the midpoint of the film, and at least the “gothic”-elements are being overrun by the typical Franco imagery of exploitation and zooming (not as severe as in the “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”), which could´ve left more in the background this time. For the horror-fans this still offers a few scenes of blood, but nothing very explicit. It seems that many viewers don´t care much of the performance by Alberto Dalbés as “Dr. Seward” but I actually enjoyed the “poor mans Sherlock Holmes and Watson” at work, when him and Inspector Tanner are trying to stop the evil Cagliostro. They are also involved in the most hilarious re-animating scene (later involving the bottle of acid) I´ve seen since “Re-Animator (1985)”; truly priceless. They don´t leave the poor guy to stay dead during the film, I´ll tell you that. I wasn´t that keen on the look of Frankenstein's Monster this time, since instead of the “old fashion” look seeing on the first disc, it´s painted silver in this one. Sure, I guess the monster is “more human” this time anyway, but it looks too “futuristic” in the film that is not in that nature. The charm of the film lies in the fact that it´s such a strange film and goes many times “over the top”, creating something that´s quite hard to imagine in any other film as Franco´s. It also includes some very nice visual scenes, like the obvious one in the forest where these ghouls in white are wandering. The film can be confusing, and includes some rather pointless plot points, but the horror film can´t really be more unique and odd like this one - which is both at the same time.
Video
Disc 1 Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein AKA Drácula contra Frankenstein (1972) “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein” is presented in Anamorphic (approx.) 1.85:1, and is cropped from the original aspect ratio of 2.35.1 (the opening titles are approx. 2.35:1, but don´t let that fool you). Note, that the whole image is slightly windowboxed, and it could be that Tartan didn´t want that the “overscan” of certain TV-sets to crop the image even more than already is the case. Then again, just speculating. The aspect ratio is obviously the first disappointment, and there are more to come. The general look of the print is quite mediocre; murky, colours partly faded, soft, and with a fair share of film artifacts and some print damage. Line shimmering and compression artifacts were also present in selected scenes. It seems that certain scenes are pulled from the inferior source, and quite frankly those are not much better than VHS. Fortunately, the majority of the film is not at that bad a level, and if you have to ask yourself the question “Does this look so bad that I can´t watch it or enjoy it?”, the answer is “no”. This is still the best that the film has looked on DVD to my knowledge (since its R1-counterpart is non-Anamorphic), so that´s good to remember also. Apparently the transfer was also the only one provided by the licensor, so it just could be that Tartan had to choose between this and not to release the film at all. The disc includes the “Spanish version” of the film bearing the title “Drácula contra Frankenstein”, which runs 78:46 minutes (PAL). This version is actually a bit shorter than the “English version” of the film, and all the differences can be found from the “Extras” of the disc. In short, one shot is cut from the Dracula´s first attack, and the English version also adds the “Frankenstein's journal”-narration segment to the film. One additional voice-over and different credits rounds up the differences. “Single layer” disc is coded “R2” (even, when back cover says “R0”), and there are 16 chapters. Disc 2 The Curse of Frankenstein AKA La Maldición de Frankenstein (1972) “The Curse of Frankenstein” is presented in Anamorphic (approx.) 2.35.1, so it´s not cropped like the first film on the set. The general look of the transfer is better than “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein” in almost every department, being a bit sharper and cleaner, and colours are actually quite good. Darker scenes don´t look that good; they include some compression artifacts and often look simply “too dark”, but part of the blame can be put on the original (low budget) production. This can also be seen in some scenes, which are partly overexposed or just don´t look very professional when it comes to cinematography (a few scenes, like the one where Vera meets The Monster for a first time, are soft throughout, and I can only assume that this is done on purpose - or accident). Not a pristine transfer, but a clear improvement from the first film on the set, and considering the genre that we´re dealing here, the transfer is satisfying. As Brad Stevens explains in the text notes in the extras, the version included in this set is the “Clothed Spanish version”, running 81:25 minutes (PAL). This means that it´s not the more explicit and erotic “Unclothed French version” called “The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein AKA Les Expériences érotiques de Frankenstein”, which was also dubbed in English. Even when in the “Unclothed version” several scenes are longer (not surprisingly those that include some sex and violence), the “Spanish version” still runs longer partly because of the subplot involving Esmeralda (5 scenes). It has been said that the shorter “Unclothed version” is the one that Franco prefers, but the “Clothed version” is still a must for the fans of his work, since in the end it includes some exclusive scenes and alternate shots. “Single layer” disc is again coded “R2”, and there are 16 chapters.
Audio
Disc 1 Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein AKA Drácula contra Frankenstein (1972) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono-track is the only audio choice, and you have also optional English AND English HoH subtitles (way to go Tartan - although a few scenes with Spanish text are not annoyingly subtitled). Like already pointed out, there isn´t much dialogue in the film, and the audio is generally a bit better than you would expect after the disappointing visuals. The track still has a noticeable hiss and some crackles and pops, but the dialogue is still relatively clear. Could be worse. Disc 2 The Curse of Frankenstein AKA La Maldición de Frankenstein (1972) The only audio track is again Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, and optional English and English HoH subtitles are included. The audio is also in better quality than the one in “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”, and although there is some hiss, it´s quite mild this time and not really distracting. Dialogue is at a good level, and the track is generally cleaner. It can be added, that the film has now much more dialogue, so it´s nice that it comes clear.
Extras
Disc 1 Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein AKA Drácula contra Frankenstein (1972) There´s only one extra-feature, but it´s a very welcome addition to the disc. 6 Deleted & alternative scenes runs 10:06 minutes, and are taken from the collection of Marc Morris from “Nucleus Films”. Here are the scenes (there are no subtitles, and these are taken from a rather worn out tape-source, presented in WS somewhere around 2.00:1 and 2.35:1): -“Alternative titles”: These are the English opening credits (“Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”), which also list that the “English version” is from David Mills and is directed (meaning the dub) by Richard McNamara. -“Dracula´s First Attack (Extended scene)”: This scene includes one additional shot of the victim of Dracula after the biting. After the Count is moving away from his victim, we see a close-up of the wound and some blood that´s not included in the Spanish version. -“Frankenstein's Journal (Deleted sequence)”: This is a narration scene in English (with sliding text on the “pages of the diary”) about the diary written by Dr. Frankenstein. Interestingly, the diary says “Emmanuel Seward” instead of “Jonathan Seward”. -“…Extract the Silver Spike… (Additional Voice-over)”: In the English version and in the scene where Dr. Frankenstein first opens the coffin of Dracula as a “bat”, an additional voice-over can be heard. -“Alternative End Card”: This says “The End”, while the Spanish version says “FIN”. -“The Screaming Dead (Alternative US titles)”: The film was also known with this title in the US, and here´s the title sequence bearing that particular name. Presented in 4:3, so the look is very much cropped. Disc 2 The Curse of Frankenstein AKA La Maldición de Frankenstein (1972) Again, we have Deleted & alternative scenes in 1.85:1, running 21:36 minutes. These include approx. 18 segments from “Unclothed French version” called “The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein AKA Les Expériences érotiques de Frankenstein” (these are not “X-rated” material, though), and are in English (no subtitles). There´s intro text explaining the scenes, which are (rougly) as follows (note, that these probably include some SPOILERS). 1> English opening credits, “The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein”. 2> Melisa and Caronte are sneaking in the laboratory of Dr. Frankenstein. Generally the costume from Melisa is now revealing, so basically when she´s in the scene, Franco shot two variants. 3> Melisa and Caronte storm to the lab. 4> Introduction of Cagliostro in his castle, and in this version he has two naked ladies over his bed. Guards are taking them away while Cagliostro is saying “bitches!”. The scene continues with the first talk between Melisa and her master. 5> Female victim is changing her clothes, while Melisa is watching through the window. Nakedness. 6> The Monster attacks the room where the female victim is. The scene continues to the castle where she has been taken and Melisa is talking (as usual). 7> Female victim, who´s head will be severed. Victim is not totally naked, but the pyjama is wide open. 8> Portrait of the lady is being drawn. This time the model is naked. 9> Longer “whipping scene”, where both victims are naked. The highlight for the exploitation fans; I assume. 10> Melisa talking to Vera Frankenstein. Cagliostro is present. 11> Melisa and Cagliostro, and the female victim on the operating table. Naked of course. 12> Female victim. 13> Longer scenes from the laboratory, where the female victim is resurrected. The scene continues, where Melisa is having her twisted pleasure with the male prisoner. This scene also now longer. 14> Female victim in the ending scenes. 15-17> Female victim, Melisa talking. Last part includes the end melee. 18> English end credits.
Overall
It comes to a matter of taste which film of these two you prefer the most, but those who like Franco´s work probably can´t resist the odd charm that these low budget features have, and choose both. For those people UK´s “Tartan Video” has done a favour with pairing these two films in the same release, since after all “The Curse of Frankenstein” is almost like a sequel of some sort. If I had to choose, I personally would choose “Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein”, probably because it´s capturing the mood of these old stories better and is less “exploitation”. Besides, it has more coverage for the monsters. The technical aspects on the DVD are a bit of a mixed pack (one mediocre and one good), but overall I would say that for the fans this is still a must buy. For the rest of the curious ones out there, this is a semi-recommended low budget horror double feature, with many interesting aspects and camp-attitude. Just don´t take it too seriously, a´ight? For more info, please visit the homepage of Tartan Video (UK).
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