Watch Downtown For Free

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Captivating movie !

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I'd suggest this is for Jess Franco completists only. Or perhaps I am simply not a fan of his 'comedy' films. This is a romp, really, a good excuse to show off Lina Romay in a state of undress with some wildly intimate, almost gynaecological shots that are in no way erotic, just invasive.Director Jess Franco also stars in Al Pereira, a down-on-his-luck detective. He plays this rare starring role well; the character is often inebriated, and he certainly looks that way. He also indulges in some of the many sex romps that occur, often with real-life partner Romay, playing Cynthia, and also with Lola (Martine Stedil). These women are strippers and con artists, and their slender story is told us in rapid-fire fashion thanks to Christine Lembach's chatty script.On the subject of Romay and Stedil: should I justify the fact that, despite the unflattering directorial obsessions with their genitalia, I think they look stunning throughout? This is one of the most exploitative of exploitation Franco I have seen, and as such, it is impossible not to comment on the players. Of other regulars, it is good to see Monica Swinn and Paul Muller albeit in subsidiary roles.The relentless musical jazzy dirge accompanies most scenes. Like in most films from this director, it seems wholly inappropriate for the 'action', but unusually, Walter Baumgartner's contribution is entirely unmemorable. Sadly, this is the weakest of all Franco/Erwin C. Dietrich's collaborations. Al Pireira would return to Jess's stable at the very end of his career (and life), played by long term collaborator Antonio Mayans.

With "Downtown", Jess Franco tries to be Humphrey Bogart - and needless to say, he fails! Although Franco frequently made appearances in front of the camera in his films, this is a rare case of him holding the main role, thus giving himself the opportunity to roll around with 3 different naked women (2 at the same time, actually). At least he admits at one point, with remarkable humbleness, that he is no Robert Redford or Alain Delon! He plays a down-and-out private detective operating in Puerto Rico who becomes the patsy of beautiful, full-figured Lina Romay and knockout blonde Martine Stedil. He also does a lot of hard-boiled voice-over narration, which (I hope) is not intended to be taken too seriously ("She was like an icicle that I couldn't stop licking!"). At least this film does attempt to have a plot, which is more than can be said for other Franco efforts. However, I continue to find his "gynecologist's approach" to the women's bodies rather off-putting. There are a lot of other parameters to screen eroticism besides explicit nudity and extreme close-ups, but Franco does not seem to be very familiar with them. ** out of 4.

It's always amusing to watch Jess Franco convert the elements of any film genre into a confused, sleazy spectacle, and Downtown: Die Nackten Puppen der Underwelt is no exception. As if the genre of film noir wasn't already replete with clichéd scenarios, here comes Jess Franco's interpretation, a furiously banal, incredibly sloppy, crotch-shot-filled piece of cinematic madness that's overall worth watching.Downtown tells the story of a private detective and two con-women strippers, one of whom sings hilarious showtunes in English, even though it's clear she doesn't understand a word of what she's saying. It stars Franco, no less, in the main role, and features much of the cast of other Franco/Dietrich collaborations, including the scrumptious Martine Stedil and of course, Lina Romay. The latter two partake in ample nude squirming, in an admirable attempt to portray sexual activity.The story of Downtown doesn't so much unfold before your eyes as it is babbled at you in rapid-fire, bullet-speed dubbed German narration and dialog spoken by a bunch of naked non-German-speaking actors. There's much talk about what's taking place and why, but not much action to depict it on screen, with most of the non-narrated footage devoted to the aforementioned nude squirming and occasional night club music acts. However, to Franco's credit, Downtown's storyline, though confusing and at times insane, is more developed than in most of his other flicks. I recommend Downtown over other Franco/Dietrich features like Sexy Sisters or Rolls-Royce Baby, but definitely not over Barbed Wire Dolls.

Everything about this noir-ish tale about a smalltime private dick (a tour-de-force performance by Franco himself) is wonderfully endearing. Hypnotic minutelong macro-close-ups of undulating vaginas, cheesy Lina Romay-cabaré-routines and a cool performance only Paul Müller is capable of (I love that guy). This movie has it all.Franco's private eye is hired by Lina Romay's character to snare her husband with compromising photos of him canoodling with his mistress (The utterly gorgeous Martine Stedil). Needless to say, things go beump (no I didn't spell it wrong, I merely emulated inspector Closeau) in the night and Franco has to do some real detective work.I love the way Franco played the lead in this one. He glides around town like a little micro mini-pimp womanizing and looking sleepy (and sleazy, mind you) as always. I also like the way he bumps into the camera shaking the frame when jumping over a hedge.And finally, we get to see the most blatant case of the director Franco taking care of the actor Franco, when throwing himself head first into a threesome with Lina Romay and Martine Stedil, eagerly masturbating them both, for real, on camera. That's dedication to your art if I ever saw it.And that's the reason I'm a Francophile-He always has something unique up his sleeve you least expected to see. And, let's face it, a fat man bobbing up and down between two vaginas, was truly unexpected. He shoots. He scores. Like always.Apemolecule