I will immediately qualify the lead by adding that "Venus In Furs" is definitely not for everyone, or even most people. But it shows what Franco could do when he took his time and did things right.
Franco did something like 180 films, and some of them were just plain awful ("Oasis Of Zombies" and "Castle Of Fu Manchu" come to mind) and yet you can admire his devotion to a certain level and style of movie making. And "Venus In Furs" shows off just about every preoccupation he has, and all his favorite gimmicks and tropes in one spot, along with a couple of strong performances and a plot with a central mystery which mostly justifies all the various fetishes and perversions on display. There's even a little bit of actual human emotion and tragedy to be seen, mostly with the black female jazz singer and her protracted anguish over losing her lover to implacable, mysterious forces that no decent human could outwit or outmaneuver.
The jazz soundtrack adds a lot to the atmosphere as well - integrated believably into the structure of events because the protagonist is a jazz trumpet player and a lot of the scenes are "live performance" scenes in various smoky cabarets and after-hours clubs. It's way, way better than a typical cheap giallo's habit of playing funky jazz numbers that seem to have no bearing on anything happening on screen.
So - well thought out, very "organic" in feel and plot structure, some interesting looking actors and strong performances, and a lot of heady atmosphere. But on the other hand, it's about a sexually obsessed young man and a mostly naked woman and the way she seduces and kills the perverts who murdered her. So, you, know..."She Kills In Ecstasy" with a supernatural bent.
If that appeals to you, or you really like Franco and you haven't seen this yet - have at it.
Franco did something like 180 films, and some of them were just plain awful ("Oasis Of Zombies" and "Castle Of Fu Manchu" come to mind) and yet you can admire his devotion to a certain level and style of movie making. And "Venus In Furs" shows off just about every preoccupation he has, and all his favorite gimmicks and tropes in one spot, along with a couple of strong performances and a plot with a central mystery which mostly justifies all the various fetishes and perversions on display. There's even a little bit of actual human emotion and tragedy to be seen, mostly with the black female jazz singer and her protracted anguish over losing her lover to implacable, mysterious forces that no decent human could outwit or outmaneuver.
The jazz soundtrack adds a lot to the atmosphere as well - integrated believably into the structure of events because the protagonist is a jazz trumpet player and a lot of the scenes are "live performance" scenes in various smoky cabarets and after-hours clubs. It's way, way better than a typical cheap giallo's habit of playing funky jazz numbers that seem to have no bearing on anything happening on screen.
So - well thought out, very "organic" in feel and plot structure, some interesting looking actors and strong performances, and a lot of heady atmosphere. But on the other hand, it's about a sexually obsessed young man and a mostly naked woman and the way she seduces and kills the perverts who murdered her. So, you, know..."She Kills In Ecstasy" with a supernatural bent.
If that appeals to you, or you really like Franco and you haven't seen this yet - have at it.