THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME Blu-ray Review – Jess Franco Builds Another New Film Out Of Old Parts
Anthony Arrigo
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Starring Jess Franco, Lina Romay, Olivier Mathot, Pierre Taylou
Directed by Jess Franco
Distributed by Severin Films
Something I mentioned in a previous review is that Severin Films is slowly but surely turning me into, well… not a fan but at the very least someone who can appreciate the work of Jess Franco. The Sadist of Notre Dame (1979) is my third trip to the well and, in this case (as with many others), it’s filled with reclaimed water. The “water” in this case being Franco’s L’éventreur de Notre-Dame (1975), better known as Exorcisms, which comprises around 75% of this “new” feature’s running time. Franco filmed 25-minutes of fresh footage, edited it into his prior picture and released it under this new title. The basic storyline is more or less intact, with Franco adding in additional character development for his lead, a couple additional deaths, and a tweaked finale that ends on a reflective note.
Mathis Vogel (Jess Franco) is a former priest turned vagrant who roams the streets of Paris at night, killing streetwalking ladies under the guise of God’s guidance. Mathis is a complex man; deeply religious, his mission in life is to vanquish sin wherever possible. Of course, his myopic view limits that quest to killing “loose” women, whom he views as impure and in dire need of redemption – and “loose” is used loosely because transgressions can range from being a legit hooker to simply giving Mathis prurient thoughts. Someone clearly has intimacy issues. In his off time, Mathis enjoys submitting his short stories to a local BDSM rag, and they prove to be extremely popular.
There is also a lesbian subplot involving black mass rituals and graphic torture, including one girl tied to an upside-down cross who dies after being stabbed in the vagina. Mathis doesn’t just get off on impaling women with his little blade, though. He spends plenty of time skulking around in the shadows, creeping on salacious acts and “priming the pump” before the urge to kill becomes too great to ignore. Despite all of this extreme malfeasance Mathis remains a man loyal to the cloth, regularly confessing his sins and worshiping at the altar. The cops spend much of the film clueless or unwilling to act, allowing Mathis to focus on his own internal struggle and not worry about playing cat-and-mouse with the local police.
A large part of my appreciation for Franco is his ambition to improve past projects, which I am learning is a common trait of his work. The last film of his I watched prior to this, Sinfonia Erotica (1980), was a reworking of an earlier film, too. Skimming a few reviews, it sounds as though Sadist is an improvement over Exorcisms thanks to some story tightening and additional violence. My knowledge of Franco has always been limited but if you know anything it’s that he made a lot of films and they were frequently re-edited and re-titled for different markets. This creates a fun treasure hunt for his fans since many of these alternate cuts used differing footage, making each a unique viewing experience.
Sexuality and violence are ubiquitous commodities in Franco’s world and Sadist is full of both. Acts of violence seem more important to Franco than the aftermath, since he rarely seems to linger on bloody FX work. These are crimes of passion, not necessarily malice, and Franco puts more emphasis on the “what” these women do than the “how” they get offed. I’m sure 14-year-old me would have been ecstatic over the inclusion of a satanic lesbian BDSM cult – and that isn’t to say older-me doesn’t like it, too – but the plotline with Mathis and his nightly perversions is more interesting than anything going on here. It feels added in for the sake of gratuity, which is again part and parcel if Franco is making a film, but I think it’s a credit to Franco’s direction and acting (even if both are ambitiously average) that his psychological story is intriguing.
Severin Films rescued this film from complete obscurity, commissioning a new 4K scan of the only surviving print available – a 35mm exhibition print. Expectations for the 1.66:1 1080p image should be tempered (not that I suspect any of Franco’s fans expect visual resplendence) but the picture isn’t all that bad. Film grain is often heavy but it moves like it should without clumping up or becoming too noisy. Colors look decent, contrast is decent, and shadow delineation is a little muddy, which poses a slight problem since large chunks take place under the cloak of night. White flecks and scratches are evident but they add a little of that old 42nd St. charm to the feature.
Audio is available in a trio of languages: Spanish, English, or Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono. Normally, I’d go for the English dub on a film like this but that track suffers from hissing issues and the dubbing loses a lot in translation. The French track has some hissing, too. The Spanish track is the most proficient of the three, and the subtitles tell a richer story than the dub. The frequent use of organ scoring adds an ethereal quality that I really dug. Subtitles are available in English SDH and English.
The Gory Days of Le Brady – This interesting piece discusses the history of an infamous Parisian theater known for genre screenings.
Stephen Thrower on The Sadist of Notre Dame – Another richly informative piece from frequent Arrow Video collaborator Thrower, whose knowledge on all things Franco never fails to impress.
Audio commentary is available on selected scenes with Franco webmaster Robert Morell.
Treblemakers is an interview with Alain Petit, an author who has written about Franco, who talks about the various cuts of this film.
Special Features:
- BRAND NEW 4K REMASTER AND UNCENSORED PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- The Gory Days of Le Brady – Documentary short on the legendary Parisian horror cinema
- Stephen Thrower on Sadist of Notre Dame – Interview with the author of “Murderous Passions – The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco.”
- Selected Scenes Commentary with “I’m In a Jess Franco State of Mind” Webmaster Robert Monell
- Treblemakers – Interview with Alain Petit, author of “Jess Franco Ou Les Prosperites Des Bis.”
- Audio: English and Spanish, with optional English subtitles
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The Sadist of Notre Dame
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Special Features
Summary
You have to admire Franco’s devotion to growth and willingness to improve past pictures. Severin Films has once again delivered a forgotten film in the best condition possible, with a well done 4K restoration and a small but worthwhile selection of bonus features.
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