ROOM 4 - Comptoir Français du Film Production Titles on DVD in 2010

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Exciting developments in Francoland! DVD maestros Mondo Macabro have announced that they’re soon to release three ‘volumes’ of Jess Franco on DVD, drawn from the archives of Robert De Nesle’s Comptoir Français du Film Production. De Nesle died in 1978, but Mondo Macabro’s Pete Tombs has successfully negotiated with the current rights holders to bring us some of the key works in Franco’s filmography. No titles have been officially confirmed as yet, but the list of probable contenders (excluding those already officially available) includes:

Trois filles nues dans l'ile de Robinson
Les ébranlées
Le journal intime d'une nymphomane aka Sinner
Un capitaine de quinze ans
Plaisir à trois
La comtesse perverse
Maciste contre la reine des Amazones
Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide
Le miroir obscène aka Al otro lado del espejo
Célestine, bonne à tout faire
Les possédées du diable (Lorna l'exorciste)
L'homme le plus sexy du monde aka Le jouisseur
Les nonnes en folie aka Les chatouilleuses
Les grandes emmerdeuses
Elles font tout
Je brûle de partout
Cocktail spécial

While we're waiting for confirmation of the specific titles, here's a quick picture tour of the De Nesle era - I wonder if any of these movies will be included in the line-up?

UPDATE: Mondo Macabro have announced the first three titles!

Le journal intime d'une nymphomane

La comtesse perverse

Les possédées du diable (Lorna l'exorciste)

This is fantastic news. The imminent arrival on DVD of Franco's delirious Comtesse Perverse and his morbid masterpiece Les possédées du diable is hugely significant, while the choice of Le journal intime d'une nymphomane should establish beyond argument the quality and power of this complex, melancholy work. Apparently, if these three do well (expect the first around May 2010), other titles will follow. I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that the tragic beauty of Al otro lado del espejo and the Sadean brilliance of Plaisir à trois put these two ahead of the pack. Of the others, I'm also especially fond of the delightful and effortlessly weird Les Grandes Emmerdeuses, and I harbour a strange love for the beautifully photographed but totally wacko 'muscleman epic' Les Gloutonnes, De Nesle's sexed-up version of Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide. Of the sex comedies, I suspect Trois filles nues dans l'ile de Robinson is the meatiest, and Les chatouilleuses the slightest, although fans of naughty nuns may disagree!

COMMENTS REOPENED

My apologies. Back on the 31st Oct I accidentally switched the option for reader comments to 'members only'. This has now been corrected.

SEVEN DOORS NO.5 - 2nd POST: JUST SAY YES

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If the words "Total Mass Retain" or " Moon gate, climber, Turn round, glider" ring any bells for you, it's possible you'll enjoy my 'Epiphanies' piece in UK-based music magazine The Wire this month. That's right, I'm spreading the love for British Progressive Rock giants Yes. The Wire is published monthly - the issue in question, #310, is out now dated December 2009, and features the artist known as Sensational on the cover.

SEVEN DOORS NO.5 - 1ST POST: Cyclobe music to premiere at The Tate, St. Ives, Saturday 21st November

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A new composition by Cyclobe, The Woods are Alive with the Smell of His Coming, will be premiered at the Tate St. Ives, Cornwall, on the 21st of November as part of an exhibition entitled The Dark Monarch - Magic and Modernity in British Art. The exhibition comprises work by a wide variety of artists; Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth, Austin Osman Spare, Ithell Colquhoun, David Noonan, Richard Dadd, Derek Jarman, Samuel Palmer and Damien Hirst to name but a few. Cyclobe's audio presentation is a twenty minute pre-recorded piece which is due to be released on our forthcoming album early in the new year. The event, a specially created symposium in conjunction with the exhibition, includes a variety of discussions and lectures from exhibition curators Martin Clark, Michael Bracewell and Alun Rowlands. Chris Stephens, Curator (Modern British Art) & Head of Displays at Tate Britain will also be present, as well as exhibiting artists Jeremy Millar, Mark Titchner and Clare Woods. There will be a screening of the Incredible String Band documentary Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending with director Peter Neal in attendance, and a short film by Angela Cockayne and Philip Hoare (author of England's Lost Eden). From his own collection, Ossian Brown has contributed the 1955 painting The Qliphoth by Austin Osman Spare, part of the 'Contexture of Being' series, for the exhibition's beautiful catalogue. Unfortunately, having only just confirmed our involvement we've not been able to share information about this sooner. We will be present at the event and look forward to seeing anyone who's able to attend. Tickets are limited so please check with the gallery for availability.

With our best wishes,
Ossian Brown and Stephen Thrower
15th November 2009

For ticket and schedule information please visit:
http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/eventseducation/talksdiscussions/20550.htm

and Cyclobe's home site:
http://www.cyclobe.com