Original subtitles

Hello, my name is Jess Franco.

I am a director of Spanish origin, as people say in France.

I have done most of my films outside of Spain.

I have been making movies for a long time...

...which means that I have made movies throughout General Franco's regime.

As a director, I have made movies just about everywhere...

in England, France, Germany, Italy, the United States...

...sometimes under various aliases.

Hello, my name is Lina Romay.

I am an actress, originally from Spain.

I have been in quite a few movies, not especially in Spain and maybe this is...

...the reason why you haven't heard much about me.

I too have worked under different aliases.

I am very happy to be watching this film.

So then, what can I tell you?

You are seeing the first images, here underthe credits.

I made this movie about twelve, fourteen years ago, right?

Yes, approximately.

We shot the film in Paris.

It's a French film.

It is not a Spanish co-production.

The producer was Mr. Ren� Ch�teau who wrote the script.

He was credited as Fred Castle, scriptwriter...

...but he is the same person, Mr. Ren� Ch�teau.

We shot the film in Paris in six weeks, also in the suburbs of Paris.

And in the middle of the winter.

As you can see it's Christmas in Paris.

That's because it was really Christmas when we shot the film.

I had a great cast forthis film.

As you can see, the actors are well known,

really great people,

We also had a large crew, something that I don't usually have.

There were even some technicians whom I did not know.

And I would see people on the set, that I didn't even know.

Because Ren� Ch�teau didn't want to have a big production...

...because he was used to it at the time...

...when he was in partnership with Jean-Paul Belmondo...

and he made huge budget films with him...

he made big movies with Henri Verneuil or directors of that caliber.

His films were commercial films, but they were well made.

And so I decided to make a smaller production forthis film because...

...it put me more at ease.

I like it when I know everyone is the film, and what everyone does.

But that was not the case here.

What is more, Ren� was very nervous during the shooting.

It was his first time as a solo producer.

And so he was full of doubts, he could not sleep.

He would call in the middle of the night to tell me...

...let's fire this guy, let's change that, etc. He was really hysterical.

But in spite of all this, the film turned out quite well.

For example, the director of photography did a superb job.

Maurice Fellous is a great director of photography...

...he was also very nervous...

...yet he was very logical and very good.

The crew was all very, very good.

The only problem was that, with Ren� being anxious.

We changed technicians, almost every week,

...but after it was not... most of the team did not change.

The composer was Mr. Romano Musumarra...

...an Italian composer who has written pop themes...

...who was going to write the rest of the soundtrack.

However, when he saw a first editing of the film...

...he was afraid because he thought it was a horrible film, dreadful...

...he could not even look at the screen.

And so he decided, finally, together we decided...

...that we would keep his songs, his pop music...

...but forthe rest of the soundtrack...

...Daniel White and I would write our own music...

...mostly forthe dramatic and horror scenes.

Nevertheless, I am not 100% happy at how the film turned out...

...I think we spent too much for some things and not enough for others.

At the beginning, the special effects were fine...

...but Ren� Ch�teau wanted to prepare them as we were shooting.

I was used to the American and every one else's way of doing things...

...which is to shoot the movie first, and then...

...to create all the effects in a studio after.

But he was afraid that the special effects would not match the sequences.

And so we lost a lot of time...

and even the quality suffered...

...because if they go out, if the special effects men work in their studio...

...they have all the elements all the things that they need to do a good job.

But if they have to work on location, where the film is being shot...

...and most of the time we were in real settings, real places...

...it's not the same forthem.

But it was fine as far as I was concerned...

I did not mind going along with what Ren� Ch�teau wanted to do.

But if there's a tiny problem, even something small...

...you have to stop shooting and that's it!

They do not have all the equipment they need to do it, to make corrections.

As far as I am concerned, after all these years...

...I like this film a bit more.

I detested it when I finished making it...

...because of all these irritations, these problems.

I didn't do the editing.

I was there because I wanted to be there...

...and Ren� Ch�teau did not want me to be there...

...maybe he wanted to direct the editing himself.

I believe the end result is quite good; it lacks originality...

...it's not particularly classy, but...

it is professionally well-made, sturdy.

That's really all I can tell you.

Could you tell me a little about the actors in this movie...

...the stars such as Helmut Berger, Brigitte Lahaie and others?

Well, Ren� and I made the decisions; we always picked the cast together.

First we discussed them...

...because he wanted some actors that maybe I did not want, etc.

But in principle, we agreed very easily about the leading actors because...

...for example...

...if someone proposes St�phane Audran for a role in the movie...

...you say yes right away...

...because it's a privilege to have an actress like her...

...for what is practically a secondary role, your know?

Helmut?

Helmut was for us, for me and for Ren�, ideal forthe part.

His agent was difficult however and we had a problem, Ren� and I...

...with Helmut's agent, but in the end we were able to get him...

...and that was good.

At the time, Helmut had the reputation...

...of being a very difficult actorto work with...

...he was very difficult because he would disappear...

...he would leave in the middle of shooting, things like that.

But as a matter of fact, as far as I am concerned...

...he went out only one night during the shooting of the film.

The following morning he wasrt there...

...but by 2 PM, he got there.

...He hadrt shaved but that was all, you know?

He was really adorable.

Now, about Brigitte Lahaie.

Brigitte Lahaie is someone I already knew well.

Already, I had made three films with her...

...one was Dark Mission...

...with Chris Mitchum...

...where she had an important part and played it quite well.

I knew her from the time she was in erotic or porno movies...

...or whatever you want to call them.

Personally, I don't like to use the word "porno"...

...not because I am afraid of it...

...because people don't really know what the word means.

So, if you say something is porno, it's like a label...

...you are classified "X"...

...and, of course, I hate being classified.

Brigitte is a true actress... very charming...

...pleasant and cooperative.

All I can tell you is that, as we were shooting the film...

...it was very easy to work with her.

Additionally, as an actress she played her part to perfection.

Even Helmut, who is generally used to working with great actors...

...loved her very much, found her a fine person.

There were other roles...

...played by Chris Mitchum and Telly Savalas.

These are well-known highly quoted actors who had important roles...

...although not leading ones.

We formed a group all together, more or less.

Anton Diffring, same situation.

Caroline Munro. I had wanted to work with her for a long time...

...and I was lucky when I thought she could play this part...

...I don't remember if it was him, Ren�...

...who said the name Caroline Munro first or if it was me...

...but it does not matter. We both agreed to have her...

...since the beginning.

She was a wonderful girl, and I think she was superb...

...in the way she played her character.

As far as production is concerned...

...I have no criticism. I found it very, very good.

The only comment I would like to make is literary.

What I mean is that Pr�dateurs de la nuit [1988-a.k.a. Faceless]...

...at the beginning...

...is Gritos en la noche also [1962] - A.k.a. L'Horrible Docteur Orlof...

...The Awful Dr. Orlof, Cries in the Night, it's Dr. Orlof...

It's the same plot.

You may say it is also like Les Yeux sans visage...

...perhaps it was heavily influenced by Les Yeux Sans Visage,

But I can tell you is that I made Gritos en la noche...

...exactly around the same time...

...Franju [Georges Franju - 1912-1987] Was making Les Yeux sans visage.

I was shooting the film in Madrid...

...he was in Paris, but we didn't have any connection.

We both didn't know about the other film...

...and I am sure that Franju didn't either.

You know, ideas are born in the belly.

Since our ideas came from the same source...

...it's Edgar Wallace...

...who created the story.

I always loved Edgar Wallace's work although it isn't well considered.

He's a writer with crazy good ideas.

One of his best writing was the body snatcher novel...

...which is the same departure point of Faceless.

My name isn't on the script.

It isn't in the credits but I worked on it.

I didn't work as much as the co-writers...

...but like John Ford and Howard Hughes.

They all worked on the scripts they filmed...

...but they didn't sign the script.

Since I was not very proud of the script,

I didn't insist in having my name in the credits.

Of course, I helped develop the script.

In the end, about thirty people did!

I don't really know how many because,

every week, Ren� would call a new author and ask him to help,

to add, orto take out things.

But, when all is said and done, I think the end result is clear enough,

the story is clearly written, it's O.K.

Were you satisfied with Telly Savalas & Chris Mitchum's performances?

Were they very professional or not?

Perfect, perfect. I have absolutely no criticism.

You know, the more important the actor is...

...the less problems he gives you.

There are exceptions, of course, but generally speaking...

Telly Savalas, for example, he came,

went to inspect his costumes, his make-up, and was very professional.

He arrived on time, and he knew everything that he had to know.

He was always near the set, always nearby.

Now this is normal for Americans but in Europe it's more difficult.

The actors finish a scene and then want to have a drink,

orthey take a stroll and you don't know where they are.

On the other hand, American actors, at least my experience with...

...classy actors such as Jack Palance or George Kennedy.

George Kennedy would ask my permission to go to the bathroom!

And Telly Savalas belonged to the same generation,

by which I mean to say that they were super professional.

As far as Mitchum is concerned, he's a buddy,

we have known each other for a long time and we are close friends.

He is a wonderful guy.

Also, Telly Savalas made films in Europe, in Italy and in Spain.

He is not part of the American "studio system" only...

...he also has a European method...

Yes, of course, because in any case,

this film was not very European in that sense,

because Ren� Chateau is a great admirer of classic Hollywood,

and so he followed a method, an American way of doing things.

I am also happy because as far as production is concerned...

...I have no criticism,

American films are among the best films in the world.

From that point of view, Americans have a great sense of organization.

No, there was no problem in that area, or maybe very small problems...

...between Ren� and myself,

but they were never about actors or about the shooting.

The problem is that at times he would become a bit hysterical,

because he was afraid we might go overthe budget...

...but that was not the case.

I have almost 200 movies under my belt...

...and I don't think I ever went overthe budget once.

I would say no, that I cannot shoot the film,

but I think we directors ought to be on the same side as production.

And so he was the same, but at the same time, and it's normal...

...it was his very first production, and he had personal dramas...

...things of this sort.

Tell me, all the locations of this film, were they shot in Paris or in a studio?

No, we shot only a few scenes in the studio, only for some things.

But in general we shot in natural settings.

Of course, we scouted the outdoor locations for about two months,

and then we shot the entire film in Paris; we made it in Paris,

either in the city orthe suburbs, but not fartherthan that.

And we shot all the scenes that we needed, and it was perfect,

because Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Being able to make a film on location in Paris is really a special gift.

In all the indoor scenes, there is a natural atmosphere,

as if it the scenes were not shot in a studio...

Yes, that's right, because we shot very very few scenes in the studio...

...very little.

For example, you see here the clinic, it was no longer in use...

...but a clinic nevertheless.

So, it was very practical, we worked with the art director,

and we changed what we found convenient to the shooting...

but as a matter of fact, it's a clinic. It's a real clinic.

The night-club, it's a real night-club.

Everything is more or less what is represented in the film.

And it was difficult, for example, for Maurice Fellous to light up the clinic,

because the hallways were narrow...

...there was not sufficient space forthe machinery.

But it worked fine nevertheless.

So, was it difficult to shoot the scenes in a real clinic?

No, no, you know, I am used to shooting most of my films...

...in natural settings.

I know this, and when I go scouting for locations...

...I always take this factor into consideration.

For example, what you see in that scene is the doctor's house...

...the interior.

It's a real apartment.

We found it in a marvelous, fantastic corner of Paris.

At the time I had no problems because Ren� Ch�teau knew that...

...for example, we had to spend good money to have beautiful settings...

...to rent them.

That's how it was.

Could you talk a little about the special effects on Christiane Jears face...

...was it difficult to make?

It took a long time.

It was terrible.

At the minimum, it took from two to three hours of makeup each time.

Was she pleasant even with that horrible makeup on her face?

ROMAY Well, she was not happy because she is a very pretty girl...

...and so...

That's my experience about women with good faces...

...who must play the role of ugly women even if they are not.

I do not know of a single actress who likes to be sabotaged.

Not one.

But it was you also.

Sometime her makeup was already...

There's Lina, can you tell?

It's Lina Romay.

She plays the role of the sweet Mrs. Orloff.

I am supposed to be eighty.

That's serious...

But having had very good surgery...

Yes, because she was operated on by her husband.

And Howard Vernon, who plays Dr. Orloff, is superb as usual,

but it was not the great role that he has always deserved.

He deserved to have a more important careerthan the one he had...

...because after Le Silence de la Mer (1947 - a.k.a. The silent sea)...

...with Jean-Pierre Melville...

...where he was wonderful and received many prizes for it...

...he could have had a sensational career but he refused to.

He preferred to be independent and to lead his own life...

...to have a life, that's what he wanted...

...and so he accepted the roles that commercial actors...

...or agencies prefer.

Finally, I think he was right.

He was one of your most unusual and favorite actors, right?

Yes, of course, after making the first film with him...

...the Horrible Docteur Orlof [1962 - a.k.a. The Awful Dr. Orloff],

I picked him for a lot of films because I thought he was superb.

And I want to say right away that I met Howard thanks to a producer...

...with whom I made many films that sometimes I was not too happy about.

In any case, he introduced Howard to me as a possible choice...

...forthe first Docteur Orlof.

I was really happy because I had already heard of Howard Vernon...

...from the other French films he made...

But afterthat he made other films where he was superb...

...he worked with Bernard Borderie forthe Eddie Constantine vehicles.

He was superb, for example in Godard's Alphaville.

1965, Alphaville, the strange case of Lemmy Caution.

That photograph, is it Lina in that photograph?

It's Lina, yes, yes.

Yes, yes, it's me, yes. I had to go one day forthe photos.

What I wanted to say is that Howard was not only a wonderful actor...

...but also an extraordinary human being.

He was very pleasant and had a brilliant sense of humor.

And he was very kind, spoke several languages, all languages...

...and for me it was a pleasure to work with him, as I did, many times.

True, Howard was really a great guy.

Also very intelligent.

I don't know whether you are aware of it... but he was Fritz Lang's assistant.

Is it true?

Yes, and also the assistant to Jean-Pierre Melville.

And so I know that he is a guy who knows his trade perfectly.

He also wrote very well, both in English and in French.

What is more, he was an exceptional photographer.

He published some books of photographs taken in Switzerland...

...and in France.

And so he was a real man, you know, a really swell guy.

Extraordinarily classy and full of human qualities.

He had very small, tiny roles in films,

such as this one and the films of Walerian Borowczyk, etc.?

Yes, he was in a lot of movies.

The truth is that he chose his own freedom...

...and one cannot blame him forthat.

I myself have chosen my own freedom...

...and perhaps I never worked for MGM but I am happier...

Is this the same clinic?

Yes, yes, it's the same clinic.

We shot all the scenes that take place in the clinic right there.

As forthe other scenes, we used Helmut's private apartment...

which was not too far.

These scenes, do they take place in the clinic?

Yes, yes, it's in the clinic.

Of course, our art department did some work adding things, tricks, etc.

Usually, at the end of each day after we finished shooting...

...I would go with my assistant and my director of photography...

...the boys from the art and decoration department...

...to see the setting forthe following day and put all the details in place.

Sometimes we added tricks.

But generally speaking, the film was an easy one to make...

...as far as sets were concerned.

Very easy.

Was Zalcberg your assistant In this movie?

Was he your assistant in this film?

Who's that?

The actor, Zalcberg Was he?

No, no, in this film, I had three or four assistants.

Yes, a new one almost every week.

Yes. My assistants always had problems with the production...

...with Ren� Ch�teau.

Of course.

He would come on the set and say: I have just changed your assistant.

Why?

It's because, in principle, they were not super-assistants...

...in the sense of French traditional cinema.

They were somewhat improvised as assistants, and less expensive.

Personally, in France I had exceptional assistants such as Pierre Lary...

...who later became a director.

For example, he was also the assistant to Bu�uel.

Pierre Lary was a great professional...

...but his problem was that when we actually made the movie...

...the two orthree people that I knew were exceptional...

...already had commitments, they were not free to work for us.

Here there's an air of fetishism...

...like in your other films from the previous years, the 70'es, for example?

Yes, this film was a collaboration between Ren� and myself.

I must say that something was very clear...

...the day that Ren� Ch�teau decided that I was going to be the director...

...it's because he already had many contacts in the area of shooting...

...of how to look at the actors, the atmosphere, all of this.

And he was, he is still a little more of a snob than I am.

I am not very snobbish.

But he is, in the sense that he follows the latest fashion, he is � la mode.

And so, at the time, the new masters, the new master of fantasy films...

...was Stuart Gordon.

And so he wanted, he wanted to pay homage to Stuart Gordon...

...which we also used as Zalcberg's character name in the film...

...and Faceless so contains many quotes from today's horror films...

...which we intended.

Here is St�phane Audran, Chabrol's wife

Yes, St�phane Audran, Chabrol's ex-wife...

...St�phane Audran is a great actress, you know?

It was a pleasure shooting the film with such a face.

She knew her job.

But it was very funny because, during the filming, we shot scenes...

...we worked, we had discussions...

...but we never paid each other compliments.

Here, this is a special effect, it's one of the best SFPX effect of the film...

Ah yes, yes.

Yes, this is spectacular.

We did it right there, as we were shooting the sequence...

...with St�phane, not after, not another day in a studio.

She was right there on the set.

St�phane was very happy to have the syringe in the eye...

Yes, the syringe needle in the eye.

Yes, very pretty.

Because, also, St�phane was very good...

...she is also a fan of Horror films, so it was very easy...

...a pleasure to work with her.

As I said, we never exchanged compliments...

...but right at the end, when she finished shooting her scenes, she said...

...You are a damn good director...

...because you got everything you wanted out of me, and easily too.

I did, and it wasrt difficult, because you are great.

Brigitte is very nice, I find that she played her character well.

It was difficult for her, you know...

...because everywhere in the world people despise actors...

...who have worked in sexy or porno movies.

And here, there was a feeling... what I want to say is that...

...apart from Helmut and St�phane Audran...

...the secondary actors were a little scandalized of seeing...

...the queen of French porno play a normal part...

...and an important one too.

They were alljealous.

But that's because most people are idiots.

Ah yes, indeed.

This scene, is it in a real...?

Yes, yes, it's a night club, a night club, a disco.

It's been a disco for a long time, a night club.

There, that's nearthe Champs Elys�es.

But the scene takes place during the day, not at night, right?

They take place when the club shuts down...

...because usually they would close at three in the morning...

...orthereabouts. That's when we would start shooting.

This is the follow-up.

And that's the apartment of...

Who is that photographer?

The director of photography?

The photographer is in this scene?

Ah, you mean the actor who plays the part of the photographer?

I have forgotten his name, I don't remember it any more...

...but he was funny, he was great.

There you see Ch�teau, he had introduced us, that's how I met him.

And Chris was great, Chris Mitchum.

He also resembles his father more and more, it's incredible.

He also has some scenes with Mitchum.

Usually I would operate the camera myself

so I can see what happens exactly in front of the camera...

...how the actors interact, for example.

I preferto be the one who judges...

...not the camera operator, maybe he knows the technical aspects...

...more than I do, but he doesn't really know what I want from the actors.

And so I can tell you that sometimes I would shoot...

...and Chris would enter into the part, and it was wonderful...

...he was really like his father.

I think Chris also made some films in Europe, not only in America.

Yes, of course he made films all overthe world.

He made films in the Philippines also.

I don't know what he did in the Philippines but he worked a lot there.

He had been hired to be the hero in some action films with sequels.

I don't know which production company but they put out...

...three hundred films per year, orthereabouts.

These films are forthe Asian market, the Far East...

...they almost never show them in Europe or in the United States.

This scene adds some humorto this horror film.

Yes, it's intentional, if you want to know,

because my training has been very much � la Hitchcock.

I find that Alfred Hitchcock, who is the genius of the horror genre...

...and of fantasy and police stories, it doesn't matter,

he knew how to break the tension with short, amusing moments.

Further more, you will obtain a better reaction from the audience...

...when you are in the middle of telling a very tragic or violent story...

...and you create a break to introduce a sequence...

...with some humor or a trick...

...the audience who is under tension thinks jumps of joy...

...it's the easiest trick in the world, to scare then make laugh.

And so I chose this method since my very first film in this genre,

The Awful Dr Orlof also contains some funny stories...

...some funny moments.

In the Hitchcock movies, even the most frightening ones...

...there are always break-up points like this,

and I find it all very well, because in life...

...I think not everything is frightening.

Even in the worst situations there can be a funny moment.

And I think that in this genre of movies you need that sort of details...

...if those small details are well-calibrated, quite well-balanced in the film.

This scene was rathertaboo for the 1980s... not in the seventies...

...but in the eighties it was because of death, of feminism.

No.

I had no problems with censorship.

It's taboo in the sense that there's a trio...

...because they are ready to make love, because they don't really do it.

But no, in France, censorship is funny...

...France is one of the most intellectual and evolved countries in the world...

...and they do not worry too much about erotic scenes...

...or scenes with nudity.

What I mean to say is that we never had a problem with it.

As a matter of fact, you don't see anything in this film...

...just a naked breast, there are no scenes of sexual violence.

Because given the censorship criteria that we have all overthe world...

...you can do very risqu� erotic scenes...

...but they cannot be violent at the same time.

That's a no-no.

You can see for yourself that this set of scenes is almost for kids.

Today you could even show it on prime time television.

Nobody would get offended.

What you see there, Telly Savalas' scenes, we shot them at La D�fense.

You know, it's a section of Paris that's completely new...

...it's very American.

It could pass for any large American city.

Even Telly was surprised, because he did not know this side of Paris...

...and so...

Tell me, what we see framed in the window, near Chris Mitchum

...is that the Eiffel tower?

He is in his hotel room, and...

Ah, yes, yes, from the hotel room...

...because we shot these scenes in front of the Eiffel Tower.

It's not a fake, not a trick, it's really the Eiffel Tower.

The scene with Anton here in the old Paris and the scene with Telly...

...in the 'Americar Paris.

American, there you have it!

It's the contrast between the two.

Yes, you are right. Anton Diffring.

It the old and new Paris.

Yes, it is.

Anton Diffring, who was an excellent actor.

So, so, what are your memories of working with him?

My best memories are seeing him in his British films period.

He did a full series of films there.

He had a very menacing presence.

He looked dangerous from the instant he would appear on screen.

He was really an excellent actor.

I think he was Austrian, but he had an English passport...

...when he started working forthose British films.

It was a real pleasure to work with him.

At the time we started the shooting, he was already ill.

He had a heart disease.

He died from it not very long after we completed shooting.

I think he died a year later.

But it wasrt showing, since his character in the film...

...didn't need to show any physical strength, like stunt or fights.

Yet he had to walk upstairs and downstairs several times,

and he did it without even mentioning me he was sick.

He was a really great professional.

From the point of view of personal attention, it was very easy...

...because he knew how...

You know, there is something I find very important...

...and I learned it from the Americans.

It's that actors are not subordinates.

An actor is a collaborator as much as...

...and even more than the technicians.

And so I believe that one must work with them and seduce them.

Because they are easily seduced.

As soon as he feels loved, an actor will cooperate with you.

With Anton, from the first day we were striving forthis.

And so we had an exceptional time together.

This sequence that you are watching...

...we had to shoot it quite a few times because there were many angles...

...many planes.

It was perfect, perfect.

And also, when it came to knowing his lines, knowing what to do...

...he was sensational.

Finally, I find that when you put everything on a scale...

...the actors in which I am interested the most are English first of all...

...then Germans and Americans.

When I say Americans, I say it for one reason only...

...i.e. That most of the actors in the American film industry...

...have Irish or English or Canadian or German roots.

But basically, they are one hundred percent American actors.

Do you have a preference for English American or European actors...

...because they come from different schools?

Yes.

I don't care for Mediterranean actors, in principle.

But there are exceptions of course.

I don't know - for example, I like Marcello Mastroianni.

Of course, there are great actors everywhere.

But when it comes to schools, in my opinion...

...the English school is the best, and the German is second best.

By this I mean that their actors are true professionals...

...who study and work long years before acting.

And even if these schools are different, still they come together...

...as you can see.

It's not difficult to think that Helmut Berger could be an English actor.

The schools produce almost identical results.

I believe Helmut Berger did his training as an actor...

...in London in the sixties.

Yes, of course.

And he came, and he was received.

I was talking with him about the Austrian school...

...which is really a fantastic school.

Before his experiences with Visconti in Italy...

Of course, but Visconti was a bit heavy, which was good for him...

...because he helped Helmut a lot and introduced him to people.

And I believe that... I was having some serious conversations...

...with Helmut, because I am not an old-fashioned guy...

...and so we talked about Visconti.

He told me that Visconti was the love of his life...

...and he cried when he said that.

He was really sincere.

And so Helmut did not have the kind of luck that he deserved...

...because he was too much in pain because he missed Visconti.

However, he is an excellent actor.

And finally, all of them: Klaus Kinsky, him, Karl Maria Brandauer...

...all these actors who are most or less, let's say, Germanic like Helmut...

...learned at the school of Fritz Kortner...

...the Das Spielhaus of Fritz Kortner.

And I am surprised, because he was... according to what everyone said...

...he was a real bastard, difficult to get along with, terrible...

...but a genius nevertheless when it came to training actors.

I love the plastic surgery scene.

It's next, right?

We are almost there.

This scene, this commentary, is it for plastic surgery...

...or is it a commentary on this particular milieu...

...or is it only forthe film's story?

No, no, it's forthe story.

There is no message?

No, there is no message.

I hate messages.

Finally, it's not that I hate messages, I only hate explicit messages.

How about implicit?

I prefer implicit.

Let's say that people... Listen, it's like following...

...let's say that the school I prefer...

...is the literary school of classic American writers.

Which means that when you read Hemmingway, Faulkner, even Caldwell...

...they are telling you stories.

It's only after, when you close the book, that you say to yourself:

Ah, let's see now.

So the situation of the blacks in the South was terrible.

But it's up to you to reflect, to arrive at this conclusion...

...because what they have told you is a story, nothing more.

Here, I think this sequence is terrible.

This is where Musumarra stopped watching the film...

...and said that he did not want to write the background music...

...because it meant that he would have to...

...look at this particular sequence several times.

This particular scene, are there any special effects...

...and who created them in this film?

You'll see, a young Frenchman made the special effects...

...he was make-up assistant to Stuart Freeborn.

For me, Stuart is a master.

He is Irish, and has won two orthree Oscars.

He is brilliant.

I had the pleasure of working with him in my Fu Man chus, in my Dracula.

He was in charge of the make-up effects.

He is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Here, this scene is grotesque.

Yes.

Here are the sound effects. Ah, no!

This is Hamlet, right? "To be or not to be".

No, it's Yorick.

I thought of Yorick when he picks up the head just so.

He needs another little darling to make love to.

Of course. He hasn't practiced in a long time...

Ah, yes, it's like playing the piano...

There are two orthree escapades that we wanted to take out...

...because they are too explicit, they remind one of Dachau and all that.

But we did not bother.

I guess everyone understands the reference, right?

I think that either Florence Gu�rin...

...or another actress had a porno career in Italy.

Not porno.

Not porno... soft core...

Soft core, yes. But I don't think she ever made a porno movie.

Her films were popular in Italy as well. She had a name.

She was a little silly, but cute. You can see that.

Was she very popular in France at the time?

No, she has never been well-known in France.

The actors don't say: Look, that's Florence Gu�rin?

Yes, but that's because of the publicity...

However I don't think that Florence was ever quoted as highly as Brigitte.

She was nice, sure.

In any case, she filled the character's shoes perfectly.

There are plenty of scenes in discos in this film.

Yes. I love them.

...in the night-clubs. I think that...

All my films have similar settings, because...

...do you know what was the first thing I did in my life?

I was a jazz musician, a pop music musician, etc.

I worked a lot in night clubs, discoth�ques, in... jazz clubs.

Let's say that it's a world that I know pretty well.

Because in many of your films there are scenes...

...in discos and also at the theater.

Yes, yes.

Everything is a spectacle...

Yes, yes. The spectacle, yes... it's there that...

He's good here.

I live. I see your face.

What about the cast, were the actors all your first choice forthis film...

...or did you have other ideas forthem?

While we were shooting, or before when we were getting the film ready?

At first, I always do something that I also learned from the Americans.

I list three names, the names of three actors for each part.

As a matter of fact, in this case...

...I think that all of them...

...100% were one of the three names I had listed for each one.

So you see.

It's also because Ren� and I had practically the same viewpoint.

In this film there is a sort of "porno chic" in some of the sequences...

...for example, the scene with Gu�rin.

Ah yes, but no, it's not porno.

Porno chic...

For me, Porno chic is, for example Andrew Blake films...

...but it's still porno, very elegant, with laces, right?

Here there is a classic detail moment of erotic cinema...

...but we had fun doing it, you know?

What was your experience with this Polish actor...

when he had to speak English?

He spoke English.

He spoke a very poor English, but he learned his lines in English...

...poor guy, and he had a terrible accent, but we did not dub him.

It's betterthis way, because the lip movements are in English...

...not in French, because as you know...

...there are problems when we use the Romance languages...

...people use more head, face expressions, things like that.

The same actors are more cool when they speak English...

...less super-expressive.

I think it's rather strange that in this film the soundtrack...

...has a pop theme more than a jazz theme.

In your other films you have jazz backgrounds, right?

Is it more modern?

What is more modern, this one here?

Yes.

Modern in the sense that it's contemporary pop music?

But I try to do it often.

The proof is that if you see my films of the last ten years...

...the musical themes are as modern as possible.

I am now preparing a new version of the Horrible docteur Orlof

and I already have Iron Maiders music for it.

There is nothing more modern than that.

And I love it because I am a musician myself and so I follow evolutions...

...in music.

What I detest is stupid music, and there is plenty around...

...but quality movies...

I don't know whether it was your idea, but in the film, Lahaie...

...the Angel of Death, is a blonde, while the victims are all...

Brunettes?

Yes.

It's a coincidence.

It's something that Ren� and I never discussed.

But the idea came from a film with Florence Gu�rin we saw on T.V.

She is dark.

She is the only blonde.

But the victims... Let me think back.

Evidently... she's brunette.

St�phane Audran, she is not a blonde.

She is a redhead.

Yes.

She is not actually a redhead but she is not a brunette either.

No, I think it's a sort of coincidence.

Because we did not intend all the victims to be brunettes.

For all the victims, did you have to rebuild the face...

...of Helmut Berger's sister who's a brunette?

Maybe it's because we brunettes are smarterthan blondes.

I don't know. I had not noticed.

I had not noticed it.

Neither did I.

But these are remarks that people...

Sometimes I ask myself questions...

...And so, if you turned the camera this way it must have been...

...because you were thinking... But I was not thinking!

I did it that way because that's how I felt.

That's all.

Was this the only film that you made with Ren� Ch�teau?

Which one, this?

Yes.

This film, is it your only cooperative venture with...

Yes, the only one. Because he did not produce any more films.

That's an important reason.

Also, because I don't know that we could have come to an agreement...

...because Ren� is a one-film man.

He is not a man to make many films or work without interruption.

He is not American in that sense.

He produces one film, he puts all of himself into it, gets sick from it...

...scream and weeps.

But he only does one film and this one worked out very well.

Afterthe film, I went my own way.

I know that he wanted to produce more films.

He talked to me about it, and he told me, and he was very kind...

...that he was very satisfied with the film, that he liked it very much.

We spoke after we finished the film, you know?

He told me: I know that you hate this film but I love it.

If you have a project that you want me to consider...

I will try to be very open, I will try to follow you.

But, as a matter of fact, there is something...

...that we should not forget about Ren� Ch�teau...

...it's the fact that he is primarily an excellent distributor, of videos...

...DVD's now, but especially videos.

The Ren� Ch�teau company logo with the panther...

...comes from the video.

At the time, he had purchased - a monumental expense...

he had purchased a lot of French films from thirties and forties...

...most films by Jean Cocteau and Marcel Carn�.

He had done an enormous distribution effort and launched the films...

...with lovely photographs, new cases, things like that.

He produced no more films.

He was not unappy about this one, because it has fared well...

...it was successful, it fared well.

There... maybe there is too...

...too much blood... I find that it's not very effective.

Where are we now?

Place Pigalle, this is Place Pigalle.

The Moulin Rouge?

Here is everything. All the clich�s.

Yes, it is a Paris clich�, yes.

Yes, it is a Paris clich�.

This is Megatown, it's the club where we shot some scenes.

It was incredibly crowded.

It was impossible to shoot, with that large crowd.

We had to get authorization to set up the cameras and the lights...

...while the patrons were dancing - these are real live scenes.

We added some props, the light triangle, but as for everything else...

...it's the real floor.

It was the week-end of course, a Friday night.

So Megatown is real?

Yes, yes, it was a very popular discoth�que in Paris at the time.

Was this an advertisement forthe night-club?

I think... I don't know.

Ren� was a friend of one of the club's owners...

...the one who gave him permission forthis.

I am sure he must have paid something, but not a fortune.

Ren� was a very popular guy in Paris.

Less now, because he lives most of the year on the C�te d'Azur.

He is rarely in Paris.

It makes sense: He has a lovely house near St. Tropez...

...in that lovely Mediterranean climate.

Is he still involved in films or not?

No, but he was never really involved in film.

The only film he ever made is this one, with me.

It's because he was a partner ofJean-Paul Belmondo...

...ofJean-Paul Belmondo's brother forthe production.

He was a partner, but it was Belmondo who handled the business...

...not him.

Ren� began as a set photographer.

He was a great still photographer.

Telly, Telly was...

It was funny when he used to pronounce St. Clowd...

...instead of "St. Cloud", All Americans do it. St. Clowd.

Have you been to St. Cloud?

It's a very pretty, let's say elegant, residential district in Paris.

For us, forthose of us who know Paris well...

...it's strange to think that in St. Cloud there is a place like this clinic...

...with these crimes, because in general it's an elegant neighborhood.

Maybe because of this, they also have crimes, but we don't know.

When we were shooting, Ren�'s drama...

...was that he thought that Maurice Fellous was too slow.

The director of photography.

But it's not true, he was not very slow.

He was not the fastest, but he was working at an average pace...

...that would have allowed us to finish the film within schedule...

...but Ren� was afraid.

And so he hired another team, a second unit.

In this predicament, I remembered my classics.

And so I did exactly what Ken Annakin had done...

...in The Battle of the Bulge, 1965 a.k.a. La bataille des Ardennes.

In that film, the Americans imposed a director forthe second unit.

And so he said: Fine. It's O.K.

Now what did he do... He had the second unit shoot wide shots...

...any sort of stupid shots that he did not use.

He himself shot all the important scenes, the action sequences.

And so I did the same.

I used the second unit fortwo days, I had them shoot some scenes.

The rest I did myself because I can't work in that kind of situation.

I want to direct all the film's shots...

...not the shots that production wants from me, right?

The woman who is on a bed...

...attached, tied, yes...

People said often about this film that it's not a very Jess Franco film.

I think they are wrong.

It's very much a Jess Franco film.

Well, the story is almost mine, the development of events...

...follows very closely my own cinema;

the same can be said forthe relationship between the characters.

Ren� was aware of this before we started the film...

...and that's what he wanted.

Was there a good rapport among the actors of the cast?

Ah, yes. Very good. Very good, maybe even very, extra good.

Some even had flirts, affairs.

Some of the actors did, during the shooting.

I was always the last one to know...

...as if I had been the husband of all these women.

But I had a suspicion... that Caroline and Mitchum became an item...

Is there tension here? Caroline is at the door...

Yes.

She really slaps him in this scene.

At first, she was afraid... She could not bearto...

...Ah, does this bother you?

No, it doesn't bother me at all.

Finally, he wasrt very happy about it and neither was I.

She really slapped him.

We did three takes of this scene.

In the first one, she did not go all the way.

She slapped him but not hard enough.

But afterwards...

This guy is an excellent actor, Gordon, Gerard Zalcberg.

He is a great stage actor.

He had done a lot of theater, for example, with Robert Hossein.

He was very good.

He is brilliant, don't you think?

If you think that in general...

...he always played the parts of a gallant gentleman, things like that.

But here he is rough, and he is good at it.

Don't go there! Don't go!

At the Brussels Festival it's very comical...

...because at the Fantastic Film Festival that's held in Brussels...

...there is always a group of young people who yell...

...and generally have a good time.

It's amusing, but they also talk to the screen.

They say: "Don't go there, don't go, he's going to kill you, the bastard!"

Is this the first nude scene in the film?

The second, because there was...

...the other woman, in the other room is the first nudity in the film...

I don't think so. There is another scene in the cell...

...with another naked girl... but you see very little...

She sees the corpse.

I think that the horror scenes in the film have an English flavor...

but I don't mean modern English cinema.

I am referring to the old English cinema.

There is an English cinema known by a few which I love.

They are the films of Walter Foley or Leslie Arliss.

Maybe you don't know this director. Do you like him? No?

I don't know, maybe, I don't know.

You don't know what? Oh, I am sorry...

The films of Walter Foley.

Do you know Foley? He's a director.

Do you like his films or not?

Yes.

Great!

Because he's not very well known in England.

I asked a lot of times and they say: Who? Walter Foley, what's that?

I don't think England is a country of movie lovers.

However, Leslie Arliss, do you remember Leslie Arliss?

He was also a very good director.

He did, for example,

The Door with Seven Locks [1940]. Do you remember?

Yes.

With very good actors, such as...

I rememberthe film.

Marius Goring. Do you remember? Leslie Banks. Fantastic actors!

Don't go in there, don't go!

...and he goes right there like an idiot.

The scene with the face...

It's a very sadistic idea.

The skin is perfect... perfect.

No, not the pencil, not the pencil

Is this still the same clinic?

Yes, it's always the same clinic.

It was perfect because we could shoot the entire day...

...since the clinic was not operative, it had shut down.

There were no patients, no doctors, no one. It was like a set.

Do you know Paris well?

Me? Yes, a little bit, yes.

Where's this clinic?

The 15th arrondissement.

It was shot in a 15th century building?

No, I mean the 15th "arrondissement," the 15th district...

...that's both popular and residential.

In general, it's a rather elegant neighborhood.

The clinic was there.

It had not been successful.

It was closed.

That is pure Jess Franco.

Jumping scenes.

Was it difficult to create these special effects?

Yes, very difficult. It took us an entire day to prepare this.

Of course, it's an important sequence in the film.

There...

I love these moments, don't you?

Ah, yes...

It's here that Musumarra, the Italian composer, fell down, he fainted...

He was gone.

I love this image very much.

It's a very strong image.

But it's not possible... the victim's lips... it's not possible.

And yet, with all the gore scenes, it's rathertimid?

I don't like gore a lot. I made, more or less, two gore films.

And I tried to have as little gore as possible in them...

because what good are very long scenes?

I think three feet of a Hitchcock movie, such as Psycho, for example...

...are much strongerthan a twenty-minute gore scene.

As a matter of fact, I think people make gore films because...

...there is a young audience that likes to make fun of them.

They laugh as they watch the guts and all those tricks.

I think it's total hogwash, it's fake, but they like it, they laugh...

...they applaud, and all of that.

But I don't think this is cinema.

I think it's butchery.

For Brigitte also it was a showcase...

...because she is wearing different clothes in each scene.

Yes.

Either a skirt or something else... She is a very glamorous nurse.

Yes.

An homage to Edgar Allan Poe.

Yes, the black cat, right?

Here, this is where Ren� and I had the biggest discussion...

...because he wanted a happy ending...

...rescuing the girl.

And I refused. I said no.

Leave it open so it's not clear whether he reaches her on time.

Because I find it is more into today's aesthetics...

...not knowing if she is going to live or die.

You didn't want a happy ending.

So was the ending of this film, the finale, your choice?

Yes, yes. Totally.

Ren� would have preferred a happy ending.

What's a happy ending?

The happy end?

What is the original ending of this film...

...in the Ren� Ch�teau-Fred Castle story, in the original treatment...

...what is the original happy ending that has been removed from the film?

Telly Savalas arrives on time to save the couple, and the girl is freed.

But I much preferred not to know.

Yes. It's more ambiguous?

Ambiguous, yes. Yes. It's much closerto real life.

Those guys are super happy...

...and the others are croaking in the basement.

And we see Telly Savalas board the plane and...

...he'll try to save them.

If he'll make it or not... in the next film...

Telly is the kind of actor I love because he does nothing.

I find that having it all inside of you, is everything.

He is magnificent.

The bastard looks great.

He has great manners, Telly Savalas, a great actor.

I was very glad of having made this film with him.

He was not a small man.

He is dead now.

Now that I think of it, there's quite a few people who have passed on...

...since we made the film.

There was Telly Savalas, and Anton Diffring.

Thank you very much, Jess... thank you very much, Lina...

for your assistance and your commentary.

You are welcome.

It was a pleasure to talk about the film with you.

In general, when we have these sorts of meetings to see a film...

and discuss it, most people ask only dumb questions.

For example: Were you excited while you were shooting...

What do you mean, was I excited?

I am excited that I am shooting, but not by otherthings, you know?