Lovers of Devil's Island

1973
4.8| 1h37m| en| More Info
Released: 25 October 1973 Released
Producted By: Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A lawyer finds out that a young couple convicted of murder was in fact framed for the crime and goes to the prison with the hope of freeing them and learns the events that happened to the two from a fellow prisoner who helped them escape.

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Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Alicia I love this movie so much
XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Nigel P There's a lot happening in this Jess Franco film. Set in an unnamed vicinity, Dennis Price (in his final film for Franco, and looking sun-burnt but in healthier than he had in Franco's two recent Frankenstein films) plays lawyer L'avocat Linsday, who - describing himself as aged and alcoholic - discovers that a young couple have been unfairly convicted of murder. He is told of this injustice by former governor Mendoza (Jean Guedes) on his death-bed. Traveling to the austere and corrupt institution in which they are being held, he attempts to sort the matter out.Although this is primarily a 'women in prison' drama, the incarceration element only makes up part of the story. Naturally, such scenes are wonderfully bleak and adorned with much wailing and sobbing. Apart from Price, other Franco regulars on hand are a suitably cruel-looking Luis Barboo as Lenz, the always brilliant Howard Vernon as Colonel Ford, and Anne Libert, who had been so effective as bizarre bird-woman Melisa in 'The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein' is reduced to an unnamed thumb-sucking peripheral prisoner. I believe this is also her final film for Franco.Usual humiliations ensue often involving fighting, torture and cruelty ensue. Raymond (Andrés Resino) and Beatriz (Geneviève Robert), the two lovers of the title, are each lead to believe their partner is dead. Beatriz's naïve goodness puts her at loggerheads with the other inmates, whereas Raymond flirts with exhaustion and hear-death as his work pattern becomes intolerable. There's a pretty twisted love angle involving Raymond's affair with his godmother Emilia (Danielle Godet), which fuels her vendetta against Beatriz, whom Governor Mendoza desires. Have you got all that?Having established Raymond and Beatriz's incarceration as a cruel injustice, Franco's script doesn't seem concerned with any urgency regarding Lindsay's mission in getting them released. Instead, we dwell more on the actions and interactions of the characters, which exploits the various layers of occasionally pantomime sadism that is part of the regular routine (incongruously involving a laser gun at one point). The finale is as low-key as you could imagine and appallingly effective. The last shot we see is of Price's face, crumpled by disgust as he turns and walks away. Price, who died the year this film was released, turns in one of his best performances for Franco. His performances in Franco's more bizarre films were heightened accordingly, but here, he reminds us he still has the talent that made him one of the most popular performers at the earlier stage of his career. Here's to you, Dennis.Interestingly, the other version of this film, known as 'Quarter des femmes' rejects the flashback sequences and inserts instead scenes of extra sex and cruelty, in which Libert enjoys her most substantial scene. It also adds a little extra to Lindsay's final departure, which ends this version of the film less abruptly than the version more widely available.
Claudio Carvalho In an undefined country, the Governor Mendonza (Jean Guedes) summons the lawyer Lindsay (Denis Price) to his death bed to disclose that the lovers Raymond Franval (Andrés Resino) and Beatriz Coblan (Geneviève Robert) are innocents. Mendonza tells that he had an unrequited love for Beatriz while his lover Emilia Franval (Danielle Godet) was jealous of Beatriz. Emilia had had a love affair with her godson Raymond, who ended their relationship to stay with Beatriz. Mendonza plots with Emilia to kill his wealthy sister-in-law Margarita Santiago to frame Raymond and Emília. The lovers are convicted of murder and sentenced to a life imprisonment in separate wings of the Devil's Island prison. Lindsay decides to visit his clients and when he arrives, he meets the inmate Rosa (Jossiane Gibert) that tells the fate of the two lovers."Quartier de Femmes" is an average film by Jess Franco with a disappointing conclusion. The plot is a shallow soap opera with one- dimension characters, with the theme "women in prison", the same that this director explored three years before with "Der Heiße Tod", but with lesser and lesser exploitation. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "Amores Satânicos" ("Satanic Loves")
Graham Greene As was allegedly quite common for Franco's films of this particular era, Devil's Island Lovers / aka The Lovers of Devil's Island / aka Female Quarters (1974) exists in many different versions, some with explicit sex, others with violence, others with very little of the two. The version that I saw was the longer cut that maintains the use of the flashback structure and tones down many of the more obvious Franco exploitation flourishes to present a mostly straight story, which despite never really overcoming it's obvious B-movie/exploitation roots, at least presents an intelligent story well told. Still, depending on the version you see, Devil's Island Lovers could be viewed as either a B-grade treatise on political corruption, dictatorship and the horrors of the death penalty, or as a lurid slice of sexploitation schlock. You have been warned!For me, this isn't a particularly great film; Franco has a reputation for his incredibly low budget productions in which films seem to have been shot in no more than a single take with inexperienced actors and obvious post-production dubbing. Sometimes it works in favour of the subject matter and other times it doesn't. However, having said that, the film here certainly wasn't disinteresting or badly performed, with the atmosphere of the film drawing us in with its lurid characterisations and exploitation clichés, and the general air that anything could happen within the limitless confines of this Gothic, medieval-like prison. On some levels the film and its style reminded me of the early work of Jack Hill, in particular films like Bamboo Doll House (1971) and The Big Bird Cage (1972), with the women in prison subplot and sensational depictions of state corruption and prison guards as grotesque caricatures with a regime of brutal degradation. However, Franco's film lacks the giddy style, playful sleaze and tongue-in-cheek absurdity of Hill's early work, including the films aforementioned, which still stand out as some of the greatest exploitation/low budget film-making ever seen.Given the lack of sleaze in the version that I saw, it is its unknown who this film will really appeal to. I suppose people like myself; hardcore cineastes who genuinely love film and will watch anything no matter how poor a reputation it might have. Certainly, the low budget, rough around the edges style obviously germane to exploitation sub-genre will turn off many viewers unfamiliar with the particular style, while the slight plot and only subtle allusions to political corruption may prove disengaging to those looking for Franco's usual low-rent decadence. Regardless, Devil's Island Lovers is still an interesting film despite the required exploitation factor or the occasional stabs of outré imagination and filth that Franco would occasionally revel in. This is a slight film, though I think it has its charms and does manage to tell a story with obvious socio-political references and shades of hidden depth.
The_Void As with most Franco films I see these days; I was expecting this one to be the pits, but actually; Devil's Island Lovers isn't bad at all - especially by the director's usual standards! Before watching, I thought this was yet another 'women in prison' flick, but after the first few minutes; it would seem that Franco is actually trying to tell a story this time round. The plot concerns a man who has framed the woman he loves and her lover after she 'betrayed' him. Now on his deathbed and wanting to put things right, he tells a lawyer what he did - leaving the lawyer with the task of getting enough evidence together to get the lovers off the hook! As mentioned, this isn't really a women in prison film - although Franco couldn't completely stay away from the genre he (apparently) loves, as we do get to see some females behind bars during this film. However, the prison scenes aren't all that sleazy, which is odd considering Franco's (vast) filmography. The story here isn't likely to actually intrigue anyone, but it really isn't all that bad and I wouldn't hesitate to put Devil's Island Lovers in the top half of a list of Franco's best efforts!

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