Directing
May 11, 1930
Madrid, Spain
Jesús Franco
Directing
Biography
Jesús "Jess" Franco was a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England. Though he had some American box office success with Necronomicon, his first women-in-prison film Ninety-Nine Women, and his two Christopher Lee films, The Bloody Judge and Count Dracula, he never achieved wide commercial success. Franco moved from Spain to France in 1970 so that he could make more violent and sexual films, and it was at this point that his career began to go downhill commercially, as he turned to low-budget filmmaking with a heavier accent on adult-oriented films. Although he produced a few well-received, low budget horror films in the early 70's, many people in the industry considered him a porn director due to the huge number of X-rated adult films he began churning out. Franco returned to low-budget horror in a brief comeback period from 1980-1983, but after 1983, his career took a second downturn. With the exception of Faceless and Killer Barbies, his films after 1984 are quite disliked and obscure due to their incredibly low budgets. Franco has nevertheless retained a large cult following through the years with his sexually-charged horror films, some of which are regarded as masterpieces by his avid followers.
Feature Films (128)
After the death of Victor Frankenstein, two figures vie for control of his monster and the radical technology that created him: the scientist's daughter, and an immortal wizard assisted by a blind bird-woman with an unquenchable thirst for blood.
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein
The evil mastermind Fu Manchu plots his latest scheme to basically freeze over the Earth's oceans with his diabolical new device. Opposing him is his arch-nemesis, Interpol's very British Nayland Smith.
The Castle of Fu Manchu
A faithful adaptation of the classic tale portrays Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.
Count Dracula
A mineral is discovered which can turn metal to gold or humans into zombies. When the mineral is stolen, secret agents are sent in to get the mineral back!
The Devil Came from Akasava
A London slasher pack the suitcases of his victims before stabbing them to death in this adaptation of Edgar Wallace's 'Secret of the Black Suitcases.'
The Corpse Packs His Bags
A pretty American teenager from New Jersey goes on vacation in the south of Spain where she is unknowingly stalked by the vampire.
Vampire Blues
A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of "Blind Target", Jesus Franco's story of a woman who becomes a celebrity in America with her exposure of the corruption in her home country, only to be taken prisoner by the same people she tried to bring down when she returns there. Includes interviews with the director Jess Franco, as well as footage of all the work that went into the film.
Antena Criminal: Making a Jess Franco Movie
A woman seeks to avenge her father's death using a local dancer, with long poisonous fingernails, to do her bidding.
The Diabolical Dr. Z
Featurette starring actor Eric Falk and producer Erwin C. Dietrich about the making of Jess Franco's 'Barbed Wire Dolls'.
Falks Frauen
Who was Joe D'Amato aka. Aristide Massaccesi? A genius of horror in the USA, a master of eroticism in France, the king of porn in Italy. A man with a thousand pseudonyms capable of making over 200 films while simultaneously holding the roles of producer, director, author, director of photography and even camera operator. An artisan of cinema as he liked to call himself, capable of working on all film genres. From spaghetti western to post-atomic, decamerotic to glossy eroticism, and blockbuster porn to bloody horror. Guided by the aesthetics of extremes and supported by an undeniable technical ability, Joe D’Amato pushed himself, and the viewer, beyond all limits following with dedication three rigid principles that have become his stylistic code: Amaze, Shock, Scandalize.
Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess
Rachel Sheppard is a millionaire’s daughter, kidnapped for ransom and tortured in the weird and wonderful Virtual Hell of Dr Wong. Nelly and her toyboy assistant call on the help of the world’s greatest magician, Johnny Cagliostro.
Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell
Television & Series (3)
Eurotika is a Channel 4 documentary film on European exploitation cinema. The documentary is similarly themed to Pete Tombs's book Immoral Tales: European Sex and Horror Movies 1956-1984. During the 1960s and 1970s, European low-budget films went kinky, emerging as a new type of cinema that blended eroticism, surrealism, horror, and over-the-top atmospherics.
Eurotika!
Mr.Manolito and Mr.Estrafalario– characters of Valle-Inclán’s plays– spend the last days of Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship chasing the plays written by their admired Valle-Inclán whose works are banned by a Government Law. One day, they find a piece of The Daughter of the Captain, a portrait of the crazy soldiers who returned home after losing the Spanish Colonies. In other occasion, they attend one of the limited performances of Valle-Inclán’s:The deceiving Mr. Friolera. They are just longing for the best premiere ever: the Second Spanish Republic, a drama on for a very short time. It was a beautiful dream thought, like the Esperpentos (strange-looking characters) of Valle-Inclán.
Martes de Carnaval
The likes of Antoine de Caunes, Jean Paul Gaultier, Davina McCall, and Lolo Ferrari are your guides to the weird and wonderful in Europe and beyond. How else would you learn about pubic hairdressers, the Penis Olympics, or the latest Japanese sex toys?