THE Final Picture SHOW: EUGENIE DE SADE

EUGENIE DE SADE

"Pleasure is ever at somebody else's expense."The late, great Soledad Miranda is linked by Franco regular Paul Muller for what is frequently cited as the most faithful celluloid adaptation of a Marquis De Sade tale. Based on the novella "Eugenie De Franval", Franco's take involves a most unsavoury relationship between Eugenie and her stepfather, Albert Radeck.

In De Sade's story, their condition was actually father and daughter, with a very sea change occuring on Eugenie's 14th birthday when Albert made her his mistress. Although Franco changed much of the original narrative - therefore falling well short of any claim pertaining to that 'most faithful' tag - his edition is almost certainly live with the feeling of De SadeThe film begins as Atilla Tanner (Franco) sits at the bedside of Eugenie, who promises to touch her report on discipline that Tanner kills her on completion. Tanner, an author who aims to save a life on the Franval's, agrees and sits back to try every sordid detail of their spirit and crimes.Although Eugenie De Sade runs for less than 90 minutes, Franco crams an awfully lot into his film; particularly during a remarkable first act, sowing the seeds of revolt as Albert introduces Eugenie to the delights of pornography, making it open there are to be no boundaries. As the match grow ever closer, Albert announces a business trip to Paris, where the pair will put the 'perfect crime'.Although Franco steered clear of replicating De Sade's father and daughter partnership, he undoubtedly succeeds in creating an unsettling air of familial perversity, with shots of Eugenie's teddy bear reminding us that a hitherto innocent young daughter is now approach the dark side of human nature; an entrance that is pronounced by Albert's confession that he was strained to kill Eugenie's mother, in rank to rise and prepare his intended one true love (Albert's wife, and a third party named Valmont, both figure strongly in De Sade's novella).Soon, Eugenie is a willing accomplice in Albert's request for the ultimate in erotic entertainment, though his demands will eventually contribute to the realization of his worst nightmare.The subsequent downwards spiral is, perhaps, too fresh to truly catch fire - particularly during a most unlikely courtship between Eugenie and one of her intended conquests (musician Paul, played by weakest link Andre Montcall) but Miranda and Muller never lose a pose en route to the tragic conclusion.As with most Franco films, there are a pair of scenes that actually do linger in the memory: the De Franval's first execution is captured on camera as a new model (Alice Arno) takes office in a photo shoot that will culminate in her death. It's here that Eugenie makes her killer's debut, taking the character of make-up artist, producer and executioner. As Albert's camera approaches a frenzied climax, Bruno Nicolai's lyrical score suddenly mutates into disorientating free-form jazz; a head-spinning combination that will surely wipe the smile off the case of any Franco detractor. The second inspired set-piece occurs when the De Franval's develop a preference for hitchhikers; this time, it's Greta Schmidt (playing terminal chatterbox Kitty) who joins the ranks of Franco's 'slaughtered broads', taking centre-stage in a party game that must reckon as one of Franco's most erotic creations. The man himself also plays a substantial role in presence of the camera, emerging as a directorial detective who loathes and admires his quarry.Eugenie De Sade was the first major leading role for Soledad Miranda who, to avoid shaming her parents, used the pseudonym 'Susan Korday' (aka Korder): this disguise would be used again for Spanish language prints of films where Miranda was needed to appear nude, and the key was a combination of novelist Jacqueline Susann and the great Alexander Korda. While it's a real joy to see one of her most affecting performances, it's also a really moving experience as one is seldom more than a minute away from remembering that her time amongst us was all too short.Thanks to the wonderful medium of DVD, Eugenie De Sade has joined a growing library of prime cuts from the Spanish maestro. The Region 1 release - from Wild East Productions - apparently contains an acceptable transfer of this low budget film, with the added incentive of an "Unfinished Franco" supplement, comprising of 18 minutes of footage from 3 aborted projects shot in b&w between 1978-80 (one segment featuring Susan Hemmingway). While Oracle Entertainment's Region 2 UK release does not include this footage, their demonstration of the primary characteristic is gracious and sharp, with strong colours. By all accounts, this is a far superior transfer though Franco completists may well look beyond this delicately balanced trade-off and buy both.