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Summary: The answer to existential angst and post-modern doubt?
Review: ... If alien anthropologists came to earth to study us in our natural habitat during the late sixties/early seventies, what would their version of a Discovery Channel Special look like?Well wonder no more! As it turns out, a director named Jess Franco answered that question in 1971 with the release of his Vampyros Lesbos. Vampyros Lesbos starts out much like the Disney Nature films of that era, except this time, human beings are the lemmings being driven over the cliff to make some sort of nefarious artistic point. The film begins with the camera pointing at the sun rising over a ship at sea. Or it could be of the setting sun. We [the viewer] don't know because we are not told what direction we're facing. An alien anthropologist starts narrating something, probably something like "As the sun rises (or sets) over the Mediterranean, the Vampyro Lesbo rises from her lair to dress and then consume her prey." Most of the time, the camera just tells the story with the alien anthropologist narrator probably interjecting expository information as he/it feels is needed for his/its intended audience. While the subject of this documentary seems to primarily be the vampyros lesbos, every so often other inhabitants of this great planet of ours is discussed/shown, including that mightiest of birds of prey: the mighty kite. From the human point of view, the movie is highly disturbing. It has the paper-thin plot, as one might expect, as well as the explicit nudity/erotic scenes to propel that paper-thin plot along. But all the while the thought nags: What if it isn't nature show, but a cooking show? Is our beloved earth the equivalent of an intergalactic four-star restaurant or just another fast-food drive-thru? The DVD has a nice picture quality but is thin on the extras. The movie is in German with English subtitles and there's a trailer that is in German with no subtitles. The thing I would like most as an extra for this kind of film would be a commentary track by a Jess Franco super fan and/or a short bio on the key players or some sort of trivia. But overall, I feel this is a very good buy and I will probably be thinking about this film weeks from now. Or, at least days.
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Summary: if it takes a review like mine to seduce you...
Review: ...then likely this film is not for you. i'm thrilled to actually own my own copy of this, my favorite jess franco film.
the indie film annals are overloaded with writings about franco and his movies. they will always be there for you. if you are an established franco fan, i think you can look forward to this one with supreme confidence.
Rating: 
Summary: A sober Franco film.
Review: Don't be fooled by the title of the film. This is one of the more mainstream of Jess Franco's film, you could probably show it to your religious grandmother. It's erotic but not in that sleazy perverse way like Ilsa-The Wicked Warden or Female Vampire with one scene as a exception where Jess Franco himself plays a sadist who loves torturing women that he captures. But still it's sexy and elegant much thanks to the two beautiful female leads Soledad Miranda and Ewa Stroemberg. Miranda plays the lesbian vampire seducing Stroemberg. Dennis Price is the doctor who studies vampires cause he wants to be one himself and be immortal. The weird music is also one of the highlights, it gives the film a psychedelic atmosphere. And watch the film with the german dubbing, it makes the film even weirder. I give this film "just" 4 stars since it lacks the outrageous perverse atmosphere that many other of Franco's films have. But still it's gold worth and a must in your filmcollection.
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Summary: What in the heck is this ??
Review: Dont be fooled by reviews that hightly rate this film. The film is very confusing. From an erotic stand point the film is more tease then please. As soon as your into a scene its done or your turned away from it.Left to let your mind wander. From a horror stand point its very confusing. I only gave it 2 stars because the women are very attractive. Trust me folks rent this one.
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Summary: A fan of J Franco
Review: First off, I'm mad beacuse I just heard a new special edition of Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstacy are comming out in October, which will probably be better than the out of print synapse dvd we all have. Anyway, if you like soft core movies, vampire movies, psychadelic sountracks and scores, funky cool heavenly sets, constant zoom shots, movies that on first viewing dont make much sense, then watch this one with friends. If you are a fan of the director i dont think you would be reading this, but if you are a newbie and are doing some reasearch to know with what movie of his to start with, this will definitely do. Be aware that like probalby 100% of people who watch this movie for the first time, you will be mesmerized and will fall in love with the beautiful Soledad Miranda.
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Summary: WOW
Review: I'm not gonna talk about the music. Everyone does. Just suffice to say that Soledad Miranda is the most beautiful woman ever committed to celluloid. Her lips betray frailty but her eyes are like steel. With her face (and body), she should have been one of the top actresses in the world. One moment in particular: in the dance sequence at the beginning, she crawls out from under the girl and looks up with these gorgeous eyes. And your just like DAMN. And plus she spends at least 85% of the film in revealing outfits, if not just outright naked. And her dance sequences in the nightclub are prime material. My only problem with the movie is that it's obvious that Franco took one dance sequence (with the mannequin-girl), and split it up into two parts of the movie. He should have had another whole sequence in the middle of the film, maybe that number with her in a thong, thigh highs, and a chain - the one you see the tail end of.
But these are minor quibbles. The soundtrack is groovy, the women are beautiful. This is out of print - buy it now. It'll just get more expensive. If it doesn't scare you, it'll at least thrill you in all the right places.
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Summary: Psychadelic-lesbian soft-core vampire-horror action!
Review: In the early 70s, some filmmakers did a lot more experimenting with sexuality and art than happens these days. Many of them combined the psychadelia movement of the time with the laissez-faire sexual attitude in their movie expression. You can see this in many of the "midnight movies" of the 70s. Vampyros Lesbos certainly is a midnight movie, but unlike many midnight movies this one seems to click together a lot more. The scenes may be overpretentious at times but there are times when the film works, in its erotic-acid-trip imagination. Part of the reason for this is the tape-loop accented psychedelic-bachelor-pad score, which adds a lot to the mood and seperates this film from some of Jess Franco's other efforts. I wouldn't call this a "good" film but it is a very effective "genre" film. This is one of the better examples of midnight arthouse out there. The DVD gets one higher star than I'd assign to the movie itself, because the movie picture quality looks much better than I've ever seen it before.
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Summary: Very challenging but wonderful
Review: Jesus "Jess" Franco is a director that's sort of a secret amongst serious horror film fans. If you're the type of casual fan of the genre who thinks that "Friday the 13th," "Halloween," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" are the best films the horror industry ever made, you have never heard of Jess Franco. If you think the "Leprechaun" franchise constitutes the apogee of the horror genre, you have never heard of Jess Franco. If you think collecting Wes Craven and John Carpenter films are as far as you need to go to balance out your DVD collection, you have never heard of Jess Franco. I don't mean to give the impression that Franco is the best directorial talent ever seen in the field, because he definitely isn't, but I have found that knowledge about some of this man's films is one of the best ways to distinguish the novices from the veterans. His best known film remains "Vampyros Lesbos," a fascinating take on the age-old vampire legend. This movie isn't for everyone, so look for something milder like "The Blood of Fu Manchu," "Faceless," or "Ilsa, The Wicked Warden" if you wish to adapt to his style by degrees. Whatever you decide to do, Jess Franco might just surprise you.
"Vampyros Lesbos" is an amazing film in ways not initially obvious. The plot is as thin as a communion wafer, and on the surface about as interesting as one. Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Stromberg), a beautiful blonde, heads to Turkey to assist the enigmatic Countess Nadine Carody (Soledad Miranda) clear up some paperwork about an inheritance. That the inheritance has something to do with a Count Dracula never impresses itself on Westinghouse's mind. Weird things start happening shortly after the affable Linda turns up; she starts having strange dreams about Nadine, and her meetings with Carody take on a decidedly sensual subtext. As for the Countess, she spends her free time performing erotic dance routines at a local club. It takes awhile to get around to specific plot points, but when the movie does "Vampyros Lesbos" takes off. We learn that Carody is, of course, an ancient vampire, and we also learn she has designs on the clueless Linda. Recall how nearly every vampire movie you've ever seen has a male bloodsucker preying on women? Well, Franco was one of the few who turned that archaic formula on its head by having a female vampire seek female companionship. Without coming right out and saying it, you do know what I mean, right? Look at the title of the movie again. Yep, you got it.
As the movie progresses, we see Linda rapidly falling under the spell of Countess Carody. The two women spend an inordinate amount of time frolicking together before Linda heads off to an asylum. Her husband Omar (Andres Monales) arrives on the scene and sees what's happening, so he enlists the aid of the asylum's doctors to figure out what his wife is up to. One of the shrinks, Doctor Seward, seems to know more about vampires than any reasonable person should. It turns out that Seward and Carody know each other, but the doctor has had enough of the Countess and tries to destroy her in order to free Linda. Confused? Yeah, you should be. The plot IS convoluted. Jess Franco even shows up in a strange minor role as Memmet, some weird killer that lives in a basement abducting women. But don't worry; the film does make sense as you watch it, and is in fact a fairly dutiful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. See if you can match the characters in the movie with the characters in the novel. That ought to help. But "Vampyros Lesbos" differs from Stoker's novel in fundamental ways. Miranda's vampire sunbathes, and religious iconography almost never appears in the film. Even the way to slay a vampire differs from nearly all other film versions of the Dracula legend.
I think the obtuseness of the film, and it can be obtuse when it wants to be, is due to the dreamlike quality of the production. Franco relies heavily on symbolism, hazy cinematography, zoom shots, and the sun blasted atmosphere of Turkey to realize a beautifully complex film. The best aspect of the movie will always be the luscious Soledad Miranda. This is one beautiful woman, and it's quite tragic that she perished in a car accident shortly after production wrapped on this film. I suspect if all vampires looked like the Countess Carody, there would be a rush of male suitors willing to bare their necks at the drop of a hat. Aside from the wondrous Miranda, and the abundant nudity in nearly every scene of the film, the music usually draws many comments. I didn't think the organ heavy psychedelic score was that spectacular, which surprised me because I'm a big fan of organ heavy psychedelic music, but I began losing enthusiasm for it after the same pieces kept playing over and over.
I would like to personally thank Synapse for putting this film out on DVD. The version here is in German with English subtitles, and although the quality looks bad thanks to a lot of jumping around every time a scene changes, that's more the fault of the source material than it is of the company that put this film on disc. Unfortunately, this DVD edition contains only a trailer as an extra. Hopefully, a new edition will contain interviews with Franco and some other much needed goodies. I really liked "Vampyros Lesbos." It's a strange film that intrigues viewers who watch it with the right frame of mind. Don't go into this expecting a bloodbath because you will be disappointed. Instead, look for something more cerebral and you should have a good time.
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Summary: Alas, Soledad Miranda
Review: Let yourself fall under the spell of this campy, corny and yet quite effective little '70s Eurotrash remake of DRACULA. I'd been wanting to see this film for well over a decade when I first heard of it in a book called THE SEAL OF DRACULA that contained some enticing photos from it. Finally, with the advent of DVD, movies previously difficult to obtain on VHS are now on sale down at Best Buy! Oh hooray for mass market American culture. In VAMPYROS LESBOS, director Jess Franco inverts the story so that all the male characters are female and has all the action take place in broad daylight. Perhaps the best example of this is is when Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Stromberg as the Harker character) meets Countess Carody for the first time--it's Soledad Miranda, the mysterious, exotic and doomed Portugese beauty in all her resplendent glory: tanned, moist and clad in a white bikini, her depthless eyes shielded by huge sunglasses. A vampire sunbathing! How cool. Of course they promptly head to a secluded beach for some nude frolicking. Delightful! Along with the well-known soundtrack, VAMPYROS LESBOS offers lots of funny arthouse satire, and a fairly efficient plotline. But the real reason to watch this film is for the one and only Soledad Miranda, who across thirty years still has the power to captivate viewers. With those surreal, dreamy sequences of her dancing with a mannequin, and her frequent nude scenes, you too will find her clouding your mind. Sadly, she was killed in a car accident not long after finishing this film. Alas, Soledad Miranda...
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Summary: franco's most talked about film
Review: sure, we've all heard about this one throughout the years & some of us even own the soundtrack which is still big in clubs throughout the world even today. but how many of us can actually say we've had the chance to see this fun film? if nothing else, you should atleast view vampyres lesbos for the performance of the late, but lovely soldedad miranda. if you love watching salma hayek grace the screen, you will nearly die while watching ms. miranda indulge in sensual, vampiric activity. contrary to what the title might suggest or what mr. franco's films are normally like, this one is rather tame but artistic nevertheless. i couldn't say that i would watch this with my religious grandmother. here we have a beautiful countess carody who has inherited all dracula's wolrdly goods & she has an insatiable taste for women's blood. to make things more complicated, we have a pyschopath running around the island who has lost his wife to the countess. if this weren't enough, we have a dcotor who's been doing pyschological research on vmapires & he treats a woman named alga who constantly swears the countess carody is coming or that she can feel her presence. at the heart of all this, we find our heroine who dreams of countess each nite & then meets her in the person to assist her with business. needless to say, our heroine has been somewhat drawn to the countess since the beginning of the film through her dreams initially & then later on dancing with a mannequin on stage. instead of bats & rats, we have flying kites & a water creature. obviously, franco does want to stay true to the campy horror genre but i love his campy twist. lesbos is wicked, sinful, & ironically funny but sure to please. get your copy today before this goes out of print for a million years.
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