Jean Rollin vampire films on Blu-ray - Reviews

[McCrutchy]

Covers:

[junyab]

meh...not a fan of the art...but, it could have been SO MUCH WORSE...so I guess I'm happy

[csdot]

Originally Posted by junyab

meh...not a fan of the art...but, it could have been SO MUCH WORSE...so I guess I'm happy

tell me about it, the Redemption DVDs had some of the most awful cover art ive ever seen.

[fudgeismade]

Originally Posted by csdot

tell me about it, the Redemption DVDs had some of the most awful cover art ive ever seen.

Amen to that. I wish Kino had just wiped the slate clean and done away with the Redemption association all together.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by fudgeismade

Amen to that. I wish Kino had just wiped the slate clean and done away with the Redemption association all together.

I'm sure the whole idea of the deal is so that Kino does not readily associate themselves with these films, which many people would (incorrectly) perceive as sleazy. Companies create subdivisions to do this all time, for all kinds of varieties of films, and in this case Kino merely resurrected an existing label.

[FulciLives]

I think his masterpiece is FASCINATION. Granted I haven't seen all of his films but I've seen 3 of the 5 here as well as others and FASCINATION is my favorite and other fans seem to (mostly) agree with me although REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE is another fan favorite (and for my money his 2nd best film after FASCINATION).

Anyway if you haven't seen any Jean Rollin films then you owe it to yourself to at least see FASCINATION if nothing else by him.

There's basically three really great Euro Lesbian Vampire films. FASCINATION is one of them. The other two are DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) by director Harry Kümel and VAMPYRES (1975) by director José Ramón Larraz.

All three are must see films for the Euro horror film fan.

[fudgeismade]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I'm sure the whole idea of the deal is so that Kino does not readily associate themselves with these films, which many people would (incorrectly) perceive as sleazy. Companies create subdivisions to do this all time, for all kinds of varieties of films, and in this case Kino merely resurrected an existing label.

I'm sure you're right. If this is the case, I feel it's a pity that Kino feels the need to hide behind the Redemption label rather than release these films proudly as the works of art that they are (like Encore did). They should have at least done away with the heavy-handed aesthetic sensibility and not featured the Redemption logo so prominently on every cover.

[jebhdb]

I watched The Nude Vampire on Netflix and I'm not sure what I think about it. Part of me thinks it may be one of the worst movies I've ever seen, and then part of me thinks I might actually want to watch it again. For me there wasn't a whole lot of the movie that made sense, but I found the visuals to be somewhat fascinating. If the other titles being released are similar to this one I definitely wouldn't recommend a blind buy to anyone, but definitely check them out on Netflix if you enjoy weird and different movies.

[Femmeslover]

Just Pre-ordered Fascination.

[csdot]

Originally Posted by jebhdb

I watched The Nude Vampire on Netflix and I'm not sure what I think about it. Part of me thinks it may be one of the worst movies I've ever seen, and then part of me thinks I might actually want to watch it again. For me there wasn't a whole lot of the movie that made sense, but I found the visuals to be somewhat fascinating. If the other titles being released are similar to this one I definitely wouldn't recommend a blind buy to anyone, but definitely check them out on Netflix if you enjoy weird and different movies.

this is a good summation of Rollin's films in a nutshell. they arent for everyone, but if you are the type of person who can enjoy a film purely for the visual experience you wont be let down.

[SolidBlu]

which of these 5 is better (in order)? thanks

[DarknessBDJM]

Originally Posted by SolidBlu

which of these 5 is better (in order)? thanks

That's going to waver strongly from person to person. The erotic aspect is the aspect I least care for and could do without. My tastes tend toward how much the films feel like a flowing experience, like a dark dream/nightmare.

My rankings in order of most liked to least would likely go....

Lips of Blood.
The Iron Rose.
The Nude Vampire.
Shiver of the Vampire.
Fascination.

I pre-ordered Lips and Rose and cancelled my pre-order for Shiver after looking through it again and pre-ordered The Nude Vampire instead.

Personally I like Rose of Iron and Lips of Blood the most. They are the least overtly sexual, and rely more on an overall atmosphere and how the characters react to it with more consistent imagery. All of Rollin's films rely strongly on imagery, but these two have the imagery more intertwined with an overall feeling and the characters. Lips has the strongest plot of the five, while Rose is essentially two characters interacting with a strange environment that is more of a relateable surreal experience film than the others. When I mention plot, atmosphere, and character interaction I don't mean it in a way that negatively impacts the surreal experience, but they don't have as much of a feel of loosely connected set pieces, but have the flowing feel of a dream.

The Nude Vampire would probably be my next selection. It's not that sexual for a Rollin film, relies strongly on imagery, and has more of an overall atmosphere with greater emphasis on a plot and characters like Lips and Rose. The imagery isn't as strong as Lips of Blood and and more in line with Rose of Iron, and it has a bit of an era feel with some of the music and clothing and such that breaks out of the dreamlike feel.

Shiver of the Vampire is more sexual than Rose and Lips but a good amount less than Fascination, has some great imagery and an excellent look to it that will really benefit on the format, but the atmosphere and general plot and characters are weaker than Lips and Rose and it has a bit too much of a late 60's/early 70's vibe to it (the music being very telling) and I think that tie in to a time period hurts the overall dreamlike feel.

Fascination is the most sexually charged film of the lot (likely due to it coming after Rollin's 70's hardcore porn period) and relies on the erotic a lot more, but it also has some great imagery creating some of the strongest images of Rollin's career that will translate will to blu-ray.

[Femmeslover]

Originally Posted by DarknessBDJM

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

I hope so too because I really want to pre order The Iron Rose.

[OrchidClub]

The only ones I will be picking up for sure are Fascination and Lips of Blood. I still have to watch the rest before I decide to buy them! I like the covers. Not sure why people are complaining about them. Isn't it enough that we're getting Jean Rollin flicks on Blu-ray? I guess some people need something to get upset over.

[Femmeslover]

Originally Posted by OrchidClub

The only ones I will be picking up for sure are Fascination and Lips of Blood. I still have to watch the rest before I decide to buy them! I like the covers. Not sure why people are complaining about them. Isn't it enough that we're getting Jean Rollin flicks on Blu-ray? I guess some people need something to get upset over.

I agree with you I really like the covers too. I find nothing wrong with them. I think they look cool.

[Brett C]

The covers don't really bother me. They are most certainly an improvement on the god awful DVD ones from Redemption.

[PowellPressburger]

I pre-ordered all 5 when the prices were the lowest. Total blind buys for me but I think the films will be strange enough to warrant the purchase.

I think the covers are really decent. Only drawback is there is confirmation there are no Slipcovers for the releases, slipcovers would have been cool, however with the lower price points it is cool.

Kind of excited for the Redemption line.

[RodneyOz]

Great Q&A with a figure heavily involved with these titles (and others coming soon) - lots of info here

http://requiemforjeanrollin.blogspot...bers-bret.html

[Banned User]

For those that missed the Amazon 17.49 window they are available at DeepDiscount for 18.15.
I wish Amazon would lower their price again though. Otherwise I may have to pass until a sale.

[Brian81]

Speaking of Franco, wonder who currently has North American rights to 'Vampyros Lesbos' and 'She Killed in Ecstasy'? These two both need a serious overhaul, with the DVD releases being very flawed. Glad to see these Rollin titles on Blu and hopefully it opens the door for other Euro cult titles...