Jean Rollin vampire films on Blu-ray - Reviews

[bgart13]

Watch 'em on Netflix first, if they're still streaming.

[oildude]

I am wondering if Kino will release a box set of the films a few months after the individual releases like they did with the Sophia Loren movies. The box set was cheaper than individual releases.

Is this all there is for Rollin or is this the first of a wave of his films? I seem to recall reading something a while back about there being more in the pipeline.

[DarknessBDJM]

Originally Posted by HuggyBear73

So are these vampire flicks just euro-sleeze or do they have some substance? Again, these are blind buys for me. But I love coming across good vampire films that I've never heard of before.

Rollin always had nice photography in his films that set it apart from other films of this ilk. His films came across as classier than others with that surreal horror-erotica style.

[fudgeismade]

Originally Posted by DarknessBDJM

Rollin always had nice photography in his films that set it apart from other films of this ilk. His films came across as classier than others with that surreal horror-erotica style.

Good description. I've always thought of Rollin's films as being dream-like, often bizarre, and beautiful to look at. From my experience it's love it or hate it though. Even as a big fan myself I need to be in the right mood to enjoy his films. If anyone is thinking of blind buying, I would recommend as was suggested above and check a couple out on Netflix streaming first.

[fudgeismade]

Originally Posted by oildude

I am wondering if Kino will release a box set of the films a few months after the individual releases like they did with the Sophia Loren movies. The box set was cheaper than individual releases.

Is this all there is for Rollin or is this the first of a wave of his films? I seem to recall reading something a while back about there being more in the pipeline.

I'm guessing this is the first wave because there are a few films represented in the trailer that have not been given release dates yet (demoniacs, rape of the vampire, requiem for a vampire). Box set would be the way to go, it will probably be a while though

[Old Geezer]

I thought this thread deserved a bump so maybe a few more Rollin fans might jump on this. I pre-ordered 3 of these films and am currently on the fence about "The Iron Rose" which I've never seen. I have seen "The Nude Vampire" and not really interested in it at this time. Maybe I should go back and watch it again.

[Zen_Amako]

I bought several of the lavish limited edition DVD sets of Rollin's films released by Encore and I never got around to watching some of them! They do have great packaging, though.

Of the ones I've seen, I enjoyed Fascination and Shiver of the Vampires (the one where the nude female vamp emerges from the grandfather clock!). The Iron Rose - set entirely in a cemetery - is interesting, but it's very slow, so you definitely need to be in the right mood. I don't think anyone's mentioned Rollin's fascination with clowns - they turn up inexplicably in most of his movies.

He also did a "sexy pirate" movie called Les demoniaques, which I started but never finished. Maybe one day!

[Aristide Massaccesi]

Big fan of Rollin here, I have about all his films that were released on dvd. Glad to be selling off some of them in exchange for beautiful blu-ray editions.

[adgegavkyle]

I have never seen any of them. So after watching the trailers i decided to order shiver of the vampires. If i like it perhaps i will pick up the others.

[demoni]

Awesome news!!! Now all we need are some Jess Franco on Blu-ray.

[j2raymond]

I'm a fan, but I find his work more surreal art than horror. Plus, he seems to confuse vampires with lesbians a lot.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by demoni

Awesome news!!! Now all we need are some Jess Franco on Blu-ray.

yes, please! I'm a fan of Rollin, but I tend to favor Franco a lot more, for some reason. I know that 90% of his work is regarded to be awful, but what I've seen I've enjoyed! Definitely higher on the sleaze-scale than Rollin, though. I find them VERY different, even though they are often compared.

[DarknessBDJM]

Pre-ordered The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood and Shiver of the Vampires. I've never really cared for the erotica aspect of his films, but I love the horror-surrealism and photography (more so his color films, which take after the Mario Bava and Floyd Crosby style of gothic color cinematography). I'll probably order Requiem and Grapes of Death when those pre-orders come up as well.

[Kentai]

Originally Posted by j2raymond

Plus, he seems to confuse vampires with lesbians a lot.

I'm confused - are you trying to say that Robert Pattinson isn't a lesbian?

I'm sure I'll buy all of them eventually, but I'm especially excited to revisit Fascination and The Iron Rose in HD. Never did see Lips of Blood, come to think of it...

[Cut Monitor]

Originally Posted by j2raymond

I'm a fan, but I find his work more surreal art than horror. Plus, he seems to confuse vampires with lesbians a lot.

The first vampire novel was very lesbian. It's a very engrained genre trope.

[junyab]

Originally Posted by j2raymond

I'm a fan, but I find his work more surreal art than horror. Plus, he seems to confuse vampires with lesbians a lot.

Vampires have often been mythically portrayed as having no preference in gender...

[GxyExpress999]

Four of these showed up in my gold box so I pre-ordered for now:

Shiver of the Vampires
The Iron Rose
Lips of Blood
Fascination

Pity there's no slipcover...

[DarknessBDJM]

Hopefully the uptick in price is a temporary thing for those that missed the early 17.99 pre-order prices.

[deepred]

Hopefully the uptick in price is a temporary thing for those that missed the early 17.99 pre-order prices.

I know - bummed I missed that! I went ahead and pre-ordered Fascination and am blind pre-ordering Shiver of the Vampires and Lips of Blood.

My favorites of his are Fascination, Living Dead Girl, and Grapes of Death. I did see The Iron Rose and while I enjoyed it overall, it did begin to drag quite a bit imo.

Does anyone know if there are any plans for La Nuit Des Horloges (2007) to be released in the US? I've been waiting to see that one forever or since 2007.

[csdot]