Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco Hardcover – May 1, 2015

Little did I know what wonders would be found in the package that arrived at my doorstep the other day. I know many of you Franco fans out there are wondering about the quality and research that can constitute a retrospective on the cinema of Director Jesus Franco . Well, look no further for author Stephen Thrower with assistance from Julian Grainger has accomplished this and even more. This is Volume One of ,it seems, a two volume series and this one covers the years of 1959 thru 1974 starting with 'TENEMOS 18 ANOS' and ending with 'LES GRANDES EMMERDEUCES ' aka 'THE COLOSSAL BLOODY NUISANCES '. Each film is presented by year release, alternate titles, production companies involved in the films release, theatrical distributors, a timeline of the shooting date to the theatrical release, cast and credits, full synopsis of the film, production notes, a full review of the film , reflections on the cast and crew, Franco on screen (cameos he appeared in ) the films locations, the films music , connections( where the film echoes other Franco films or ideas of films to come) ,other versions of the film, and press coverage on each film. Had enough? There's more. The book has a forward by actress Monica Swinn, a wonderful introduction to what constitutes a Franco film experience, a section on the Eurocine production company and a conversation between the author and Franco and his muse, Lina Romay conducted in 2010 . There is still more but that's for you to find out. The book is super saturated with rare stills and photos plus 2 color sections which will knock your eyes out. Author Thrower has greatly improved since his other tome 'BEYOND TERROR- THE FILMS OF LUCIO FULCI discussing each films positives and negatives without seeming redundant. It has almost been two decades since the first serious book on the Director 'OBSESSION- THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO scribed by Lucas Balbo , Peter Bluminstock and Christian Kessler was published and since then , hard to find prints of his films have become readily available thru DVD and BLU-RAY making this series of books long over due and we are blessed that Stephen Thrower and Julian Grainger have taken up the gauntlet. Don't let the book's price throw you off, it is worth the treasures found within it's massive bulk and I think I read that it is a limited edition so act fast. Alongside author Tim Lucas's quintessential tome on Director Mario Bava 'ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK', this first volume on Director Jesus Franco is essential for fans and film scholars alike and it would be a tragedy for any serious genre fan to be without it.

If you are a student of the films of Jesus Franco, this is your textbook. Hopefully he comes out with volume 2 soon!

Great book, great service. Buy with confidence.

Amazon's gonna have to do a lot better. The cost here is outrageous !!

Everything was wonderful

I’ve never seen an author (like Stephen Thrower) repeatedly disparage the very subject matter (i.e movies) he writes about. Movie after movie book after book he “puts down” the movies as if they’re all garbage I don’t understand why he’s involved in the subject matter to begin with if he likes such few movies hitherto discussed. As I’ve said before a lousy Giallo movie is better than a great contemporary movie. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad Giallo movie (from the 1970's anyways). Of course I’m probably the only one that feels that way.

great

Stephen Throwers book about Jesus Franco was foreshadowed several years ago. Many delays must have occurred and for a long time I thought it would never see the light of day. And if so, maybe just as a small pamphlet or the like. My joy was therefore great when the book finally appeared, for it exceeded every expectations!Why write a book about Jesus Franco. Who is he and how many film buffs really know his name. For it is obvious, Franco is neither well known or particularly recognized as a director in wide film circles. One should be over average interested in films and especially the genre often referred to as “sleaze”, to have encountered his name.Jesus Franco was born in 1930 in Spain. He started his career as a director and actor in the 50s and made over his career over 300 films. Impressive numbers indeed.Franco has virtually been through all movie genres including, horror, crime, porn, zombies, vampires, comedies and even science fiction (sort of!) Always with a very personal touch and distinctive expression. Let it be clear Franco has never sought the conventional and ordinary. He is a director who orients himself towards the unconventional, quirky and often the bold and challenging. Thus one often refers to Franco's films as "dreamlike" with little emphasis on linear or logical structure. Seeing Franco can be a unique and rewarding experience but can also challenge one's patience and critical thinking a lot.For those of us who enjoy Franco, I think the fact that his films have such a different look is just a factor to heighten their appeal. One gets glimpses into a universe where other laws seem to rule and where the quirky and bizarre elevates to the norm.One of Franco's "specials" are showing nude women on film. Franco started as a filmmaker in an age where a naked woman's breast on film was almost unheard of. In that sense one can claim that Franco was a "pioneer." He pushed boundaries and broke some taboos, which secured him a certain reputation as "dangerous" in the puritan community in Spain at that time, but also ensured a large audience for his films wherever they were allowed to be shown. Let it be said that measured against today's standards these films seems completely harmless. Today`s appeal lies rather in the charming, innocent and nostalgic.Franco was always very conscious of the zeitgeist, music, decor, architecture, design and costumes. These are elements that are given great attention in his films and that undoubtedly helps make many of them into a visual feast. Seeing Franco movies from the late 60's and early 70's is to embark on a journey through time. A time that might admittedly never have existed in reality, but what does that matter. It is also from this period Franco's best films emerge.Franco was known for working quickly. He managed to make movies on very low budgets and for him often the actual process of making films was the most important. Not necessarily the result. This may sound strange, but it illustrates well Francos restless soul. He always searched for something new and quickly left the past behind. This shows well in his films. Many of them seem sloppy and half-finished. That it is not possible to deny. Yet they always contain scenes that impresses and astounds.Throwers book (which is the first of two volumes) addresses Franco's career chronologically from the beginning in the late 50's until 1970. The book is very dainty in large format and packed with both black and white and color images. Thrower devotes one chapter to every film, each with thorough analysis and various information about actors, music, location, reception and other trivia.I must say I am amazed at how wonderful this book has turned out to be. It surpasses my greatest expectations. It is obvious that there lies a huge workload behind with thorough, time-consuming and extensive research. I take my hat off to you Stephen!Many may have seen Stephen Thrower in the extras in some of the newer Franco DVDs. The bearded gentleman with insightful analysis.The book is also very well written. Thrower demonstrates great insight not only on Franco, but also towards films in general. He is simply a very talented writer: analytical, critical and fun. I look forward to the next book. I can hardly wait!

Stephen Thrower deserves a medal for all the years of extensive and headache-inducing research that went into producing these two volumes of writings on the films of cult director Jess Franco. Not only has Thrower tracked down just about every single one of Franco's near 200 feature-films; he's also managed to find a lot of the many alternative language cuts of the films (a practice in which Franco was infamous for assembling and reassembling his films for different markets.) and has written extensively about the production of the films and the reactions they received upon release.It's a shame that Jess Franco's films are still thought of as being too 'niche' or snobbishly looked down upon as pornographic trash even today by people that think being a 'film buff' means having a weekly Cineworld pass, as I think many of Franco's higher quality works (and even some of his poorer quality ones) deserve more attention. But I guess his work is never going to be to a lot people's tastes. But I like to share the often used example that Franco approached cinema in the same way that a jazz musician might approach an improvised solo on the alto-sax. He often had a very free-form approach to film-making, and whilst his unconventional methods didn't always make a lot of sense to viewers, he often managed to create a strange and dreamlike atmosphere on screen. And that is why he was a truly individual and distinctive film-maker and Stephen Thrower's two books on him will hopefully enlighten a few more into seeing Franco's importance in film history.

Wonderful! Fantastic! This book is great. Service was great. It came much faster than expected.

Ein großartiges Buch für Franco-Fans mit ein paar Fehlern zum Selberraten, und nicht immer muss man die Meinung des Autors teilen. Aber Fehler lassen sich bei einem so umfangreichen Werk zum Regisseur Franco genausowenig vermeiden wie die Ansichten zu einzelnen Filmen differenzieren. Erstmalig ist eine Chronologie vorhanden, in welcher Reihenfolge und zu welchem Zeitpunkt die Filme entstanden sind. Da manche erst nach Jahren veröffentlicht wurden, war das für bisherige Autoren schwer zu überblicken. Ebenso gibt es einen gute Informationen zu Fassungsunterschieden, auch hier mit unvermeidbaren Lücken. Trotzdem: 5 Sterne und allergrößten Respekt für Stephen Thrower und seine jahrelange Arbeit an diesem Buch. Und neben bereits bekanntem Bildmaterial aus einzelnen Filmszenen bietet der Fototeil zahlreiche bisher nie gesehene Behind-The-Scenes-Aufnahmen. Band 1 deckt die Jahre bis 1974 ab, und man kann nur hoffen, dass bald Band 2 erscheint, bei welchem Verlag auch immer.

Right. It's a great book. It is massive, crammed with page after page of fantastically researched, informative text and tons of brilliant photos. If you are remotely interested in this strange corner of cinema you should buy this now. Five stars no doubt. May I take a second to address the elephant in the room? Jesus Franco Manera made terrible movies. Despite Stephen Thrower's gallant attempt to make a case for viewing his better (?) films as showing Franco's love of cinema and freedom, what the viewer actually experiences is so lacking in passion and skill that the vast majority of his output is borderline unwatchable. Read this fascinating book but beware, attempting to follow the authors advice and view lots of Jess Franco movies may be damaging to your mental health.

I have to give this book a 5 star rating as it seems so thorough and well-researched. It's certainly an essential purchase for any collector of Franco's films. Reasonably priced, too.But the Devil - or in this case, the Demon - is in the detail. The book arrived almost at the same time as my latest Franco purchase, the Blu-ray Redemption edition of The Demons, So I decided to see what Mr. Thrower had written about it. All good except for one thing: he cites the date it was rejected by the BBFC as the 23rd March, but the filming date as circa May. Hopefully this is a one-off typo.