It just seems like month after month, a film from Jess Franco’s catalog makes its way to Blu-ray, and I couldn’t be happier. With over five decades in the business and more than two hundred films, there’s plenty of stuff that needs to be released. We’ll probably never get everything he did put out, but the wealth of films becoming available is phenomenal.
While it may have previously been available on DVD, Full Moon has just released Franco’s wacky, softcore spy film Blue Rita (1977) on Special Edition Blu-ray. We may not need it on Blu-ray, but I’ve certainly wanted it, and my prayers have been answered.
Blue Rita (Marianne Flety) is an exotic dancer who owns her own gentleman’s club as a way to hide her secret identity as a Communist spy. The basement of the club holds another secret, it’s a place where she, along with her devoted band of strippers, erotically torture rich businessmen with their unique methods in order to extract classified information.
After being sexually abused by men as a child, she has sworn them off and is now devoted to making them pay. Interpol learns of her nefarious plans and takes a beat to plan out how to move forward, but Rita isn’t your average dancer. She has skills and is ready to use them.
While it is pretty standard with many releases, the fact this set includes both the DVD and Blu-ray is one of its greatest assets. I started watching Blue Rita on the DVD, then switched to the Blu-ray about halfway through. There is a massive difference in picture quality between the two discs. The DVD tends to be rough and a bit darker, and most of the features on It have these digital lines going through it. It’s noticeable but not a deal breaker.
When you get into the Blu-ray, the picture is crisp and vibrant and actually allows the audience to appreciate the art Franco was creating. He plays a lot with colors, most notably blues, reds, and whites. With the HD remaster, they pop and glow, which I wasn’t really expecting. It’s obvious the film was made with a tight budget, but the lighting actually breathes new life into a set which is used in several scenes.
There’s a bedroom which is used quite a bit and is completely white. In one scene, it is brightly lit, and the natural colors just bounce off the white. Later in the film, the room is used again, this time, it’s darker, and the blue and red lighting comes through, delivering a different aesthetic to the room. I don’t think I could have appreciated those scenes the way I did had the Blu-ray not been so well constructed. I know it’s just a room, but lighting creates an atmosphere, and when you’re working with next to nothing, the ability to be creative with it becomes essential, and this release appears to go to lengths to make sure the audience realizes it.
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Though the picture is crisp, and the colors have been properly corrected, there’s still a hint of grain and a few noticeable scratches that preserve the grindhouse aesthetic of the film. There are a modest amount of bonus features: an interview with actor Eric Falk on the DVD, an audio interview with Peter Strickland about Jess Franco conducted by Chris Alexander, a rare photo gallery, and trailers.
I’m pleasantly surprised by this release, and the movie itself is loads of fun. I truly hope Full Moon continues down this path with other releases like this one. It’s so good, but if I had to make a single complaint, I would have liked to have an audio track with the original language as opposed to just the English dub. The dubbing is fine, but having the choice to switch would have been cool.
Overall, a rock-solid release from Full Moon and a must-own release.
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