Vampyros Lesbos (1971)

[pro-bassoonist]

Vampyros Lesbos Blu-ray

U.S. distributors Severin Films have confirmed that they will release on Blu-ray two cult films directed by Jess Franco: She Killed in Ecstasy (1971), starring Soledad Miranda, Fred Williams, and Paul Muller, and Vampyros Lesbos (1971), starring Soledad Miranda, Dennis Price, and Ewa Strömberg. Official release dates are yet to be announced, but the two titles are expected to be on the market in 2015.

Vampyros Lesbos

Countess Nadine Carody, a vampire with an insatiable thirst for female blood, lures women to her isolated island to love...then kill...her victims! Linda Westinghouse comes to the island and falls under the vampire's seductive spell, only to find a living nightmare she may never be able to escape. A tripped-out mixture of nudity, softcore lesbianism, vampires, outrageous sets and world famous soundtrack, Vampyros Lesbos is now available for the first time ever on home video in the United States. Recently resurfacing as a cult classic after almost thirty years, Vampyros Lesbos has restarted a dance craze phenomenon across the globe with its psychedelic musical score! So, be sure to watch Vampyros Lesbos today...or Countess Carody just might SUCK YOU DRY!

Pro-B

[Wireduck1]

Great news.

[AaronJ]

Awesome. Very, very fun movie.

[RiFiFi1955]

I admit I have never seen this but looking forward to it, that Soledad Miranda was definitely a beauty. What is the original or preferred language for this film anyway?

[javi92]

So does Severin have a good track record as far as the quality of their releases?

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by javi92

So does Severin have a good track record as far as the quality of their releases?

Considering that it has come from Pro-B then I would say yes

Have a look thru the thread ~https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=213188

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by javi92

So does Severin have a good track record as far as the quality of their releases?

Mixed opinion here, based on their DVDs. You'd have a "Perversion Story" (Fulci) that would look pretty good, then a "The Psychic" (Fulci) which is full of aliasing and worse looking than unauthorized releases.


That said, it will be nice to replace the Synapse non-anamorphic DVD! The Image DVD (although anamorphic) was badly cropped in certain scenes, so I avoided that one.

[billyearle]

One of my holy grails. I think this would be a much better intro to Franco (it & She Killed in Ecstasy were mine) than any of the blurays yet released.
Being there is a German release of these two just coming out, I'm supposing this won't be from an old master. Just hope it looks near as great as it should.
Off topic, but someone mentioned Fulci's The Psychic, and there is a new German BD of that coming out also. Could Synapse be working on that too? The German release is English friendly (unless it has forced subs), but is fairly expensive. Also hoping for cheaper domestic releases of all the very expensive Giallo releases coming from DE.

[Undeadcow]

Looking forward to picking up Vampyros Lesbos on blu-ray, the uncompressed soundtrack should be fun. Hopefully someone can push out Lorna the Exorcist on high definition.

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

What is the original or preferred language for this film anyway?

Originally shot in Spanish but the dubbed German language version is considered superior because it includes extended scenes and more sexual content.

Originally Posted by javi92

So does Severin have a good track record as far as the quality of their releases?

Sometimes Severin publishes inferior quality stuff using the best possible elements (like with Straw Hill, including a disclaimer). In the Synapse Vampyros Lesbos DVD, which I have in hand, the linear notes from Don May indicate "I have never worked on a more difficult project... the negatives were damaged to the point of being unusable" so Synapse used a print originating from "UK video release" with "tears, scratches," and "mysterious black slugs that appear intermittently." Apparently Image released an edition of Vampyros Lesbos using better elements but with framing that looked different so quality of Severin's source withstanding there is some weirdness with elements.

[Thomas Irwin]

Incredible news. One of the best announcements of the year for me. And it's been a great year already. Vampyros Lesbos was my most wanted Franco title on Blu-ray - Jess Franco being one of my favorite directors of the '70s. A heck of a good way to close out a great year of announcements.

[ZeTi]

Yes ... hope they'll use the Soledad Miranda cover.

[Wireduck1]

'Vampyros Lesbos' is being released in German in 2 weeks time by Elea-Media.
Available through Amazon.de

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Wireduck1

'Vampyros Lesbos' is being released in German in 2 weeks time by Elea-Media.
Available through Amazon.de

[Show spoiler]

That is a totally kick-ass cover.

[billyearle]

Kind of hoping someone posts stills from the German BD when it's out. Either it could be a hint at what Severin's will look like, or an alternative if the Severin turns out different or badly...but I still hope for the best from Severin. Except for Santa Sangre, all the Severins I've watched so far are all right. I think their Bloody Moon was one of the better looking Franco BDs so far, though that's because of the sources available, I assumed.

[Thomas Irwin]

Originally Posted by billyearle

Kind of hoping someone posts stills from the German BD when it's out. Either it could be a hint at what Severin's will look like, or an alternative if the Severin turns out different or badly...but I still hope for the best from Severin. Except for Santa Sangre, all the Severins I've watched so far are all right. I think their Bloody Moon was one of the better looking Franco BDs so far, though that's because of the sources available, I assumed.

I only own a couple of Severin titles, but the last one I purchased, The Hot Nights of Linda, I thought looked fantastic. I'm really looking forward to this one, particularly if it looks as good as my last purchase. I think they do really great work with what they're given.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Thomas Irwin

I only own a couple of Severin titles, but the last one I purchased, The Hot Nights of Linda, I thought looked fantastic. I'm really looking forward to this one, particularly if it looks as good as my last purchase. I think they do really great work with what they're given.

I wholeheartedly agree Thomas. Given the existing elements -- as well as the additional footage that was inserted later on -- this particular release is essentially the definitive release of the film. Very good package

Pro-B

[KFelon]

I'm glad they were able to get interviews for this one and She Killed in Ecstasy with Uncle Jess before he passed away.

[billyearle]

Originally Posted by Thomas Irwin

I only own a couple of Severin titles, but the last one I purchased, The Hot Nights of Linda, I thought looked fantastic. I'm really looking forward to this one, particularly if it looks as good as my last purchase. I think they do really great work with what they're given.

I'm basically with you on this one. My tone was only a bit anxious due to some of the comments here getting me nervous. I've been quite happy with all their titles I watched so far, Bloody Moon being a standout in the Franco releases. There's also that Murphy's Law fear, that one of my all time most hoped for blu-ray releases will have something wrong with it. I'm still thinking the German release will be a good sneak preview, because I doubt Severin will mess up a good source (unless that Santa Sangre being washed out was their fault, but they haven't done anything else like that).

[Bates_Motel]

One month until release of this and She Killed in Ecstasy and still no pre-order link anywhere? Not even on Severin's site.

[HuggyBear73]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

One month until release of this and She Killed in Ecstasy and still no pre-order link anywhere? Not even on Severin's site.

And where is the Vampyros Lesbos pre-order?