When I received The Girl from Rio (1969) last week, a wave of excitement rushed over me. Not only would it be the first time I’d seen a Jess Franco film in 4K, but it’d also be the first time I had an opportunity to write about a Franco film. While it might not be in my top movies from him, it’s still an excellent opportunity to discuss what I love so much about him as a filmmaker. On September 26th, Blue Underground will release this jam-packed special edition into the wild, and it’s a psychedelic ride.
Sumuru (Shirley Eaton) is a supervillain like no other. Her diabolical plan is streamlined to control and enslave the men of the planet. She has an army of female warriors waiting for her to give the order. Thinking she’s about to step into world domination, she must re-evaluate the situation when Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler) is kidnapped by her.
Thinking he’s just some playboy, Sumuru gets more than she bargained for when Sir Masius (George Sanders) comes looking for Sutton and the $10 million he stole from the notorious crime boss. The two will clash in a battle of the sexes unlike anything Brazil has witnessed before.
This is a film I’ve had numerous copies of over the years under different titles (different cuts as well), like Future Women. The picture is crisp and clean, and the psychedelic colors of this raunchy tale take you into a world only Franco can deliver. There’s an occasional blemish, but nothing to bat an eye at.
If you appreciate all Jess Franco has accomplished throughout his fifty-plus-year career in film, then this will be the disc to put on the shelf next to all the others. Having been credited with over two hundred films, make sure it’s a big shelf because they’re coming out pretty rapidly. The Girl from Rio is pretty tame compared to much of his catalog, but the cast seems to be enjoying themselves, and it all works.
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Blue Underground stepped to the plate and packed the release with both new and old extras. On the 4K disc, there’s a brand new audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. You’ll find the remainder of the extras on the second disc, a standard Blu-ray.
It features a new interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco, additional scenes from the German release, and the RiffTrax Edition with Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. It also includes previously released content like an interview with Franco, Harry Alan Towers, and Shirley Eaton, a trim real, and a poster/still gallery.
I love this edition and will most certainly retire my previous ones. I’m so happy to see all these labels giving Franco’s work a new life and a chance to acquire a larger audience for his wacky brand of entertainment.
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 on a jam-packed special edition 4K Blu-ray on September 26th. Here's our review!){kind=link}