Die Marquise von Sade

Lina Romay is stunning in a dual role here, in an atmospheric hardcore feature loosely inspired by "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Her principal role is that of "Doriana" Gray, a mysterious young lesbian living in a secluded castle. The kicker is that Doriana has a twin sister who's been institutionalized practically from birth. Despite her many sexual encounters, Doriana isn't able to derive any real satisfaction from them, while the twin sister simultaneously experiences enough sexual ecstasy for the both of them.

Directed by Romay's extremely prolific filmmaker husband, Jess Franco, this is interesting as far as adult films go. It foregoes such things as story in favour of multiple sex scenes, both lesbian and heterosexual. (Doriana has a male servant named Ziros (Raymond Hardy) who gets his fair share of action.) The abundant female and male nudity will definitely keep viewers happy. There's even a hint of something like vampirism due to the fact that people don't always survive these sexual unions. Franco's film does seem to have *some* intellectual aspirations, given that Doriana is interviewed by a journalist (Monica Swinn) who is intrigued by her personality and lifestyle. And "Die Marquise von Sade" is attractively photographed (by Peter Baumgartner and Franco himself) and designed, with an amusing sitar-based music score composed by Walter Baumgartner.

Of course, the main reason to watch is to see Romay, Franco's longtime muse, in a thoroughly uninhibited performance. She's quite enticing.

Seven out of 10.

Directed by the prolific Jesús Franco, "Die Marquise von Sade" is a 1976 erotic thriller that delves into the twisted psyche of its titular character, the Marquise. Lina Romay's captivating performance as the Marquise is undoubtedly the film's strongest asset, as she navigates the character's descent into increasingly depraved and sadistic behavior with a magnetic intensity.

However, the movie's narrative struggles to fully coalesce its thematic ambitions, resulting in an uneven viewing experience. While the lush, Gothic-infused visuals and Franco's distinctive directorial style enhance the film's unsettling and erotically-charged atmosphere, the pacing and structure often feel disjointed, with moments of gripping tension intermingled with more languid, dialogue-heavy sequences.

One aspect that is sure to polarize audiences is the inclusion of unsimulated sexual content, including a graphic blow job scene and masturbation sequences featuring Romay. These explicit moments, while undoubtedly pushing the boundaries of erotic cinema, do not always feel seamlessly integrated into the narrative, at times threatening to overshadow the film's thematic depth.

The Marquise's motivations and the societal/historical context that shaped her disturbing worldview are intriguing, but the film never quite reaches the level of psychological insight one might hope for. Ultimately, "Die Marquise von Sade" is a film that will likely appeal most to ardent fans of Jesús Franco's oeuvre and those seeking a provocative, visually striking exploration of the darker aspects of human sexuality. For others, the uneven execution and explicit content may prove to be a barrier to a fully satisfying cinematic experience.

In my humble opinion this is one of the best Jess Franco films ever. Lina Romay is hot as hell, mostly spending her time masturbating away. The film has an eerie hallucinatory feeling to it, like watching porn in slow motion while on dope. Beware: There are two versions on the market, one is softcore and not that good, one is full hardcore and that's the one I'm refering to. Erwin C.Dietrich told me he was given this film as a gift from Jess Franco in gratitude but never really done anything with it. Finally, due to the DVD revolution it's finally out on silver disc, And it's looking absolutely stunning! Check it out!

Doriana Grey should please Franco's admirers, leaving others alternately bored, confused, and aroused in spite of themselves. As with others of the director's films, there's a dreamlike quality to the proceedings, with wealthy and ennui-afflicted recluse Doriana strolling leisurely through her home or staring at the sky between sexual encounters played out to tranquil sitar music.

Some of the actors seem to be playing their parts in a trance, as if hypnotized before shooting, like the cast of Herzog's Heart of Glass. The English dubbing, too, is mostly monotone, which only enhances, rather than hurts, the timeless, otherworldly atmosphere, with dialogue ranging from the seemingly lofty ("It is the destiny of all beauty to be destroyed") to the simply lewd ("Go down on me").

The DVD, as of writing, has long gone out of print, but Franco enthusiasts are encouraged to look for this one. The staring, frightening lust expressed in Lina Romay's eyes alone is worth at least one visit to her château.

Doriana Grey (1976)

*** (out of 4)

Art-house and porn collide in this extremely bizarre and mildly poetic film from Spanish director Jess Franco. A young woman (Lina Romay), with vampire like qualities, lives alone in a castle where a new reporter (Monica Swinn) comes to do a story on her. It appears Doriana needs to suck the life out of various men and women, in a sexual way, in order to stay young but she gets none of the sexual feelings out of it. Those go to her sister, also played by Romay, who is locked up in an asylum where she goes through various sexual fits whenever Doriana is with someone. If you've seen VAMPYROS LESBOS or even FEMALE VAMPIRE then you know what to expect with the "sucking life out of someone". Being Franco, this is done with sexual heat and this time out it crosses into hardcore range. I think a lot of hardcore scenes are rather ugly and unerotic but I think that's the point. The rather ugly sex scenes really make you feel the fact that Doriana isn't getting any pleasure out of the situations either. Franco likes to give graphic close ups of the sexual act and his way of filming them is rather ugly and dull but I mean both of them in a good way. I personally prefer FEMALE VAMPIRE but this is still a rather surreal film that mixes both genres. Romay turns in a fairly good performance even though I think she goes way too over the top with the locked up sister. Some of her "masturbation fits" are also a bit over the top with Franco's slowed down camera but outside of that there's not too much to complain about. The hardcore scenes will certainly keep a lot of people away but then again, Franco's name alone keeps a lot of people away. This isn't a pretty film but it's not suppose to be and that's where the films magic really is.