On DVD: Women Behind Bars

Directed By Jess Franco

Starring Jess Franco

I am an unabashed Franco fan.  I love the overt torridness and exploitation (even when the true exploitation and torrid nature isn't as prevalent as the box art might lead you to believe) of his films, the use of the lush surrounding as a way to up the production values (wide shots of beautiful vistas in Spain, Italy, and other exotic locales), and the purposeful and accidental humor.  Now, the man has done over 200 films so not all of them can be classics but more often than not there's some redeeming factor, so I was naturally excited to see Women Behind Bars.

The Movie

This film begins with a  diamond heist and a double cross.  One of the thieves takes out his partners to steal the diamonds from them.  The only thing in the way of him succeeding with his plan is a woman, or actually two of them.  His girlfriend Shirley has discovered that he's been cheating on her so she kills him.  So, of course, she is hauled away to a women's prison.

In the prison there are villains who want the diamonds and they believe that Shirley killed her man for them.  So this leads to the scene in the film that is most talked about.  In hopes of getting Shirley to give up the location of the diamonds the villains hook her up to a machine that shocks her girly bits.  Now this scene follows through on the promotional promise, it's disturbing and it'll stay with you for a while after you see it.

Here's my favorite thing about the movie though, the director of the film Jess Franco plays one of the leads in this film.  Fans of Franco know what an enthusiastic character he is in real life so it was fun to see him in the film.  His character Bill, is a private investigator hired by the owner of the diamonds to retrieve them.

In the end this film plot-wise isn't strong enough for the causal viewer.  It's a bit slow moving and predictable.  If you are a fan of exploitation, and more importantly of Jess Franco, this film is worth a look.  There's some nudity and one notable soft-core scene between Shirley and another girl but overall the actual exploitation elements are not a reason to buy this film.  What I like about this film, and most Franco films, is that he is able to instill them with this torrid Euro-trash feel that makes you feel like you're seeing something way dirtier than it is.  Franco's classic wide scenic shots that zoom tight into something that doesn't necessarily matter are in full effect as are the campy dialogue scenes.  Franco has done way better films than this but fans of Euro-trash exploitation should check this one out.

6.5/10

The Video

Blue Underground almost always does a great job with these films and this one is no surprise.  The vivid colors shine in this transfer and detail is mostly strong.  The expected grain is present and there are a few instances of edge enhancement.  Overall for such an old niche film this film looks great here.

8/10

The Audio

This DVD is pretty weak in the audio presentation and below what I expected from Blue Underground.  All we get is a mono selection.  The mono presentation is fairly well done with little distortion and the mix within the mono presentation is clean and clear.  Now, if you are familiar with these types of films you'll know what to expect with the funky dubbing and you love it or hate it.  Now, I actually enjoy the dubbing as it ads an additional layer of unintentional humor to the proceedings.  I am disappointed not to see the original language track with subtitles though.

6/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

Again, Blue Underground always does a great job with packaging utilizing the classic over the top selling of films like this.  The single disc is presented in a standard amaray case with a slipcover featuring matching artwork to the cover of the amaray case.  The artwork is classic retro exploitation stuff that really sells the film, in fact overselling it as it should do.

The big extra here is an all to brief interview with Franco called Back Behind Bars where he discusses the film and shares some interesting stories from the production.  There's also some modern footage of the locales that are cool to see.

Other than that there's a theatrical trailer.  The level of extras here is weak compared to many of Blue Underground's releases but as little as there is we do get hear from Franco himself....

5/10

This is nowhere near the classic Franco that we know from films such as 99 Women or Vampyros Lesbos but fans of Euro-trash and of Franco's work should at least give it a rent.

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

The Review

The Movie 6.5/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 6/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

-Stephen Lackey