Paris Inconnu via Eugenie De Sade

On my umpteenth rewatch of Eugenie De Sade, courtesy of the lovely Blue Underground DVD, I was reminded of the EUROCINE ART ARCHIVE.
Not only do you have Soledad Miranda and Paul Muller in the funky fresh disguises of the century here, but you also are treated to a nice image touting the Pierre Chevalier film Unknown Paris / Paris Inconnu.

Once More I'm On Cecilia! PLUS...VOKES in the ZOMBIE POOL!

Just one more little tidbit on Cecilia from Blue Underground to follow up. The Eurocine website lists the film here. They list the film as directed by Jess Franco-so perhaps this is where the composite versus original film listing began.

Now then, to continue the Eurocine Art Archive in a whole new direction...uber artist Neil Vokes of The Black Forest, Wicked West, Eagle, Spider-Man and Ninjak fame sat down to watch the always welcome ZOMBIE LAKE. While he was more than a tad underwhelmed he did a quick Christmas sketch for Bruce Holecheck. Bruce is now the proud owner of ZOMBIE POOL!

Hitting a Plaut-Toe with Cecilia + Eurocine Art Archives

Back in this post I had wondered about the upcoming release of the Eurocine film CECILIA. That title is a splice job using footage from Jess Franco's film Aberraciones Sexuales de una mujer casada and new footage shot by Claude Plaut (which is a pseudonym for Olivier Mathot, that name itself a pseudonym for Claude Plaud!). It does appear this is the cut and paste job, which I'm actually very excited for. What I found interesting was the first review I've located on the title over at the wonderful 10,000 Bullets site. Check it out... the film runs about 10 to 15 minutes to long and features scenes that are vintage Franco. Sounds like the standard cut and paste job from Eurocine. However, maybe I'm just warped, but I love to see these paste up variants, because not only does it get some of Eurocine's charm popped on top, but the Franco footage is highlighted as being BETTER than the rest of the footage.

To add to the Eurocine Art Archive, here are the two faces of Cecilia!

Eurocine Want List 1: PIGALLE, CARREFOUR DES ILLUSIONS

The Eurocine Art Project expands yet again. First it was just about Constantin Belinsky, then... good old Eurocine poster art that sucked me in. Now, want lists! If only this concept of feeding my family did not apply, I'd love to do up nice special edition DVDs of several titles that aren't available right now-and many of them are available through Eurocine! This first entry is a film I have yet to see, but looks very interesting. Apparently it is a flick with prostitutes and missing microfilm. Hey, with Pierre Chevalier at the helm and stars like Evelyne Scott, Alice Arno and Pamela Stanford it is a must see. And I've never seen it offered anyplace! So, number one with a bullet from my Eurocine Want List is PIGALLE, Carrefour des Illusions! DVD companies take note. I will buy ONE (1) copy! That is a sale for ya!

Pigalle, Carrefour des Illusions / La Ragazza di Pigalle / Pigalle, Crossways Of Illusion
1971 Celia Films/Eurocine
Directed by Pierre Chevalier
Music by Daniel White
Starring Evelyne Scott, Jean Michel-Dhermay, Beatrice Costantini , Alice Arno, Daniel White, Chantal Broquet and Pamela Stanford

EUROCINE SALES PAGE

A gang use a stip-tease artist on tour in Lebanon in order to smuggle a microfilm out of the country. As soon as the girl lands at Orly field, she is followed by the smugglers who want to get hold of the film. Counterspies make an unsuccessful attempt to trap the smugglers who stage a spectacular kidnapping right in the middle of Paris in order to get the girl, but she has not the film. During the performance of an erotic show in private, an agent makes contact with a friend of the girl. But when the poor girl goes home, she is beaten to death in her bathtub by a hood. Before dying, she is nevertheless able to tell where the secret agent's gang is hiding out; it is an abandoned mansion...

Eurocine Art Archives - Ads Continued!

More ads for the weekend. The Manhunter ad is fantastic, but my favorite of the bunch is easily yet another Zombie Lake image. If you missed the earlier art post for that particular "J.A. Lazer" classic you can check it out here. Nice to see this little newspaper ad contains the credit for Jean Rollin. I'll bet he was thrilled...
Have a groovy weekend and watch some Eurocine!

Eurocine Art Archives - Ads!

Time for more Eurocine Art Archiving with ad mats for your enjoyment. Click 'em for the big versions of course. Some Jess Franco and Paul Naschy, The Paris Sex Murders, A Pigalle thing that makes me wish this was a paperback cover and one really nifty Western. That one is particularly cool if you look at the two bits of art by Belinsky at this post. They used the rough version and did it with pictures!

Jess Franco by Belinsky and Jano!

I was talking to my friend Bob Sargent today and couldn't help but jab him towards finally putting together the Jano book he has been wanting to create for as long as I've known him. Then I realized I could tie Jano in with my recent favorite artist, Belinsky, via the Jess Franco film Devil's Island Lovers.
First we have the Belinsky-a censored version of which appeared on the Image DVD. Then, the Jano artwork. I like both quite a lot, the Jano one follows his montage approach really well. Belinsky goes a bit cleaner-but it works great.
The final picture is a somewhat ugly, yet oddly appealing, video box. No idea who did the art for that one, but the hands from the watery grave of the island's captivity is far more horrific than I would have thought this film could have used to sell it.

Now then, if you dig the Jano art, go to the Eurotrash Paradise and bug the editor of Videooze for that book!!

Eurocine Art Archives - Oasis Of Lost Women

I've watched this bit of Eurocine fun several times, yet never in English. If YOU have a copy...let me know! Great artwork that you have to click to get the full appreciation for, the top one sheet being my favorite. The German DVD sleeve from X-Rated Kult Video is here, which mimics the French one-sheet. Also, the final poster this time is one that supposedly takes stock footage from Oasis. Note the different cast there, it sure sounds like fun.

Eurocine Art Archive - Howard Vernon

In conjunction with The Howard Vernon Quiz entry (which has netted some great answers), here is a detail of the poster for the movie in question over at I'M IN A JESS FRANCO STATE OF MIND.
Good luck with your guesses. This is a detail scan from the poster, just because it matches so well with the photo on Robert's blog. I don't know the artist, but this is a great poster.

Eurocine Art Archives - Zombie Lake

Nothing says fun like Zombie Lake in my warped vision of the world. Sure, it is junk... I know that. But I find it really watchable junk. Here is some artwork for your weekend!

This is a photo of my flimsy yet oh so fun Mexican Lobby Card.

A French Lobby that features the evil ZOMBIES IN A POOL!

A Belgian One Sheet with "Zombie's Lake." Indeed, it is their lake, we just love it.

The censored French artwork...

And here I am, your humble host. What cracks me up about this picture the most is that I'm just SO proud of my giant Zombie Lake poster that it makes me look like a goof, a feat I accomplish on my own. I had to give this huge artwork up to a friend when we had kids, I'll never get to hang it and it is so wonderful it should be displayed. I couldn't even sell it, for fear it would end up in a box. Note: I'm wearing a self made shirt from my old website and I just realized that it is ANOTHER Eurocine poster! Can you guess which one?

Eurocine Art Archives - Female Vampire Press Screening!

Now here is an interesting bit of Eurocine history... a pass for Female Vampire. Look close by clicking and check this thing out! The fluids dripping from above are classic to say the least-and what a tagline. Also of note is that they crammed a few titles in there! Les Avaleuses, The Bare Breast Countess (minus an -ed I see) both come up...but no EROTIKILL? Too bad. This little item makes my day, hope it does yours as well.

Eurocine Art Archives!

On occasion I'm asked what my blog is about? Well, it can only be about the stuff I love and the fun in sharing it. So, I'm rampaging through my Lamberto Bava library and jotting up reviews and stuff-and in the process of compiling all that I'm going to share a bunch of Eurocine art. If you read the previous posts on C. Belinsky we can call that the start (just scroll down)... So, today we have FOUR bits for the distinctly not great but wonderfully sold HELL TRAIN. This Monica Swinn flick is not one of my favorites, but the videobox and artwork is just so tantalizing.

Until the official Eurocine Fansite becomes a reality, I'll plug away by putting this stuff on the web for everyone to see. Enjoy!

Constantin Belinsky part 2- More Eurocine and Monsters!

More Constantin Belinsky for the weekend. Included are several roughs for Eurocine, including a great Orloff And The Invisible Man one. Also another Eugenie version and some western action. After finding the artists first name the search has become easier. Included here are a few other interesting items, especially the Creature From The Black Lagoon re-issue poster. Click the images for larger versions.

Day 2 and I still do not own a Eurocine Belinsky. I'm on the hunt. HAPPY WEEKENDING everyone.

C. Belinsky - THE Great Eurocine Artist

I was recently inspired by a post by Robert Monell on The Invisible Dead at I'm In A Jess Franco State Of Mind. Back in 2001 I attempted to launch a Eurocine fan site on the web. Response was underwhelming, though I did get a good amount of mail regarding my positive review of Zombie Lake. Go figure.
Eurocine is a pet fascination of mine, and though my zoo is full of strange obsessive filmstuff, the land of Lesoeur is something that pulls me back in every so often. This company produced or co-produced some of my favorite Jess Franco films, including Eugenie, Virgin Among The Living Dead, Awful Dr. Orlof, Exorcism / Sadist of Notre Dame amongst others. Not only did they help Franco get these films made, but if you look at the overall career of that wild director you can't help but see the gravity between these two entities. Be it 1962 and The Awful Dr. Orlof or 1989 and Esmeralda Bay-there have been ups and downs, but they are certainly linked, one as important as the other.
But there is much more to Eurocine. The Lesoeur's produced jungle action, sleazy trash, nazisploitation, sex comedies and porno on top. Sometimes all of the above at once. My world would be less fun without Maniac Killer or Othello The Black Commando to rewatch. Never mind Zombie Lake!
However, this is not a post about Eurocine believe it or not. One of the things I enjoy the most is the poster art the company created. From the threadbare to the elaborate, Eurocine always delivered a poster that sold the concept of the film to perfection. After spending hours perusing the Christophe Bier edited Cinema Culte Europeen magazine on Eurocine (a fine document by the way) I came to the conclusion that my favorite Eurocine artist was C. Belinsky. Two problems though. First, I can't find much, if any real, information on him. And on top of that I do not own a single piece of this fine fine art. I have lots of Jess Franco stuff, but no Belinsky! Hopefully this archive of images will change that and I can triumph and post a pic of myself with one. Belinsky's art is unique and I find it amazing to behold. At times the images feel like my memories of the movies-razor sharp in parts and hazy in others.
As an aside to the upcoming Lamberto Bava project, I will post up some Belinsky and hopefully start a new cult of fans. Maybe it is time to dust off SADOMANIACS INC. as the title of that old Eurocine site and see if Daniel Lesoeur would take my call. I wonder if he would be amused by the fact that I'd love to post a complete set of credits, artwork and reviews of these films in English? I think it would be incredible as a resource for fans of European Cult Cinema.

Two rough proposals for Eugenie. I actually find these amongst the most amazing bits of Belinsky items I've seen. Layout work is something I really enjoy looking at, and both of these are brilliant.

And here is the finished poster...incredible not only for the amazing image of the knife in the mirror, but also the likeness to the actors.

Holy Diamonds Of Kilamanjaro. Bienert looks happy and look at that monkey! I love the Eurocine monkey! I believe the same monkey appears in many of the 80's films-even laid up in a hospital bed in Commando Mengele.

Never seen the film, but the cast and all those French words sound cool.

This one is for the Pierre Chevalier directed VIOL. A sleeeeeeeeeeZEEEE film with a young Brigitte Lahie no less. Now that is a great graphic.