What do you think?
Rate this book
The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco
Flowers of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco, Volume Two
Jesús “Jess” Franco is an iconic figure in world cinema. His sexually charged, fearlessly personal style of filmmaking has never been in vogue with mainstream critics, but for lovers of the strange and sado-erotic he is a magician, spinning his unique and disturbing dream worlds from the cheapest of budgets.
In the world of Jess Franco freedom was the key, and he pushed at the boundaries of taste and censorship repeatedly, throughout an astonishingly varied career spanning sixty years. The director of more than 180 films, at his most prolific he worked in a supercharged frenzy that yielded as many as twelve titles per year, making him one of the most generative auteurs of all time.
Franco's taste for the sexy and horrific, his lifelong obsession with the Marquis De Sade, and his roving hand-held camera style launched a whole new strain of erotic cinema. Disturbing, exciting, and defiantly avant-garde, films such as Necronomicon, Vampyros Lesbos, Virgin Among the Living Dead, and Venus in Furs are among the jewels of European horror, while a plethora of multiple versions, re-edits and echoes of earlier works turn the Franco experience into a dizzying hall of mirrors, further entrancing the viewer who dares enter Franco's domain.
Stephen Thrower has devoted five years to examining each and every Franco film. This book―the second in a two-volume set―delves into the latter half of Franco's career, covering titles including Shining Sex, Barbed Wire Dolls, Swedish Nympho Slaves, and Lilian the Perverted Virgin.
Assisted by the esteemed critic and researcher Julian Grainger, Thrower shines a light into the darkest corners of the Franco filmography and uncovers previously unknown and unsuspected facts about their casts, crews, and production histories.
Unparalleled in scope and ambition, Flowers of Perversion brings Franco's career into focus with a landmark study that aims to provide the definitive assessment of Jess Franco's labyrinthine film universe.
In the world of Jess Franco freedom was the key, and he pushed at the boundaries of taste and censorship repeatedly, throughout an astonishingly varied career spanning sixty years. The director of more than 180 films, at his most prolific he worked in a supercharged frenzy that yielded as many as twelve titles per year, making him one of the most generative auteurs of all time.
Franco's taste for the sexy and horrific, his lifelong obsession with the Marquis De Sade, and his roving hand-held camera style launched a whole new strain of erotic cinema. Disturbing, exciting, and defiantly avant-garde, films such as Necronomicon, Vampyros Lesbos, Virgin Among the Living Dead, and Venus in Furs are among the jewels of European horror, while a plethora of multiple versions, re-edits and echoes of earlier works turn the Franco experience into a dizzying hall of mirrors, further entrancing the viewer who dares enter Franco's domain.
Stephen Thrower has devoted five years to examining each and every Franco film. This book―the second in a two-volume set―delves into the latter half of Franco's career, covering titles including Shining Sex, Barbed Wire Dolls, Swedish Nympho Slaves, and Lilian the Perverted Virgin.
Assisted by the esteemed critic and researcher Julian Grainger, Thrower shines a light into the darkest corners of the Franco filmography and uncovers previously unknown and unsuspected facts about their casts, crews, and production histories.
Unparalleled in scope and ambition, Flowers of Perversion brings Franco's career into focus with a landmark study that aims to provide the definitive assessment of Jess Franco's labyrinthine film universe.
- GenresFilm
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2018
7 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2019
Rigorously researched, immaculately designed and wonderfully insightful book. If you’re a Franco fan, drop everything and read this book now.
January 17, 2025
Stephen Thrower’s epic second volume on the most prolific director in cinema history delves into every Jess Franco movie from 1975 - 2013, which collectively took a total of ten years to write (covering 171 feature films by the director.) That’s 56 horror films, 41 crime films, 38 sex dramas, 18 porn films, 13 adventures, 2 musicals, 2 experimental films, and 1 historical drama. I can’t believe this book exists, and Thrower somehow plotted a coherent chronology by acting as cult cinema’s Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. Concerned about the outrageous eBay price tag on these tomes? Rest easy knowing that these volumes are pure gold for your cinephile chambers, priceless investments you will not regret adding to your cart, even if they require taking out a mortgage on your home. See you on the other side…
April 26, 2025
Thrower, Stephen - Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco, Volume 2
Monumental book on the cinema of Jess Franco.
This explores the films from 1975 – 2013. Reviews, opinions, running times, various versions.
Masses of photos. Screengrabs, stills, private snapshots.
Backstories, locations, ongoing events and changes in the film industry.
For the casual viewer, maybe not, although the price has always been reasonable, if not downright tempting. For buffs who like Franco, or just appreciate him, this is essential.
Personally, I took my time with this, taking a year to read front to back.
It is easy to get overwhelmed, and discouraged, as when Franco and crew make lesser films, usually owning to financial necessities.
Monumental book on the cinema of Jess Franco.
This explores the films from 1975 – 2013. Reviews, opinions, running times, various versions.
Masses of photos. Screengrabs, stills, private snapshots.
Backstories, locations, ongoing events and changes in the film industry.
For the casual viewer, maybe not, although the price has always been reasonable, if not downright tempting. For buffs who like Franco, or just appreciate him, this is essential.
Personally, I took my time with this, taking a year to read front to back.
It is easy to get overwhelmed, and discouraged, as when Franco and crew make lesser films, usually owning to financial necessities.
April 28, 2024
Absolutely outstanding on Jess Franco's 40 year career on bizarre movies: Linda Romay fully nude, women behind bars, Downtown, The Picture of Doriana Gray (!), obscure German sexploitation, Ilsa the Wicked Warden (look at the features of Dyanna Thorne), cannibals, virgins, killers, Tender Flesh, Lust for Frankenstein... the list goes on and on. The movie stills and actresses are outstanding. Highly recommended. He's the King of Bizarre!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews