Fascination: The Jean Rollin Experience

(CONTEST CLOSED) Win a Free Copy of Finders Keepers New Jean Rollin Limited Cassette Release!

2012-02-02T09:45:00.012-08:00

***A great big congratulations to Derek Hill for correctly answering the questions. Enjoy the collection Derek and thanks for participating!***

The great team over at Finders Keepers Records recently announced that their next release in their Jean Rollin soundtrack series will be the scores for Requiem for a Vampire and Fascination! While the CD and vinyl versions will come out in March, Finders Keepers have just released a special cassette of the scores that is limited to just 200 copies and I have one to give-away here. These hand-numbered editions are extremely cool, and will be wildly collectible, and I appreciate my friends over at Finders Keepers for supplying me an extra to give to one of my lucky readers here. Before we get to the contest details, take a moment and head over to Finders Keepers for more information about this exciting release and, if you can, drop them a line to let them know how much we appreciate these Jean Rollin releases!

Doing giveaways here are a bit tricky because I know most of my readers are Rollin devotees, a fact that makes a screenshot or trivia challenge difficult. So, I thought I would attempt a challenge that focuses on a couple of films that have some very loose connections with Rollin. It might still be super-simple but hell the main thing I am trying to do is get this tape to another fan. So okay, be the first to leave a comment with the correct answers to the following and you win the tape! After I announce the winner, you will just need to email me your address and I will ship the tape to you...that's it and now here we go:

Here is a still from a 1971 French film that has often been called very Rollinesque, although he had nothing to do with it. Name the film.

This 2001 American film was set in the late sixties and had a number of striking film references including a humorous nod to a director of Rollin-like erotic vampire films. Name the film.

A Look at the new Jean Rollin Blu-rays

2012-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

For months now many of us have been wondering if the newly remastered releases of The Nude Vampire, Shiver of the Vampires, The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood and Fascination from Kino Lorber and Redemption would be worth the wait. This past week we all breathed a great sigh of relief when we found out the answer was a resounding YES! These five key-works from Rollin have never looked or sounded better and the amount of coverage they have been getting has been nothing short of astounding (who would have ever thought a publication like The New York Times would have been celebrating the work of Jean Rollin?). I have written on these five films in detail before so I am just going to discuss the technical aspects of the discs and the extras. For those interested in reading my thoughts on the films themselves you can click on the links below (or pick up the new issue of Rue Morgue where I write on each). Needless to say, these are five of Jean Rollin's best films and I can only say that I am jealous of newcomers who get to be introduced to his work via such gorgeous transfers (it's a long-way off from the VSOM tapes that I found Rollin through in the nineties).

The Nude Vampire: As far as upgrades go, the new disc for The Nude Vampire is the most startling of the bunch. Redemption's old disc looked positively dreadful with its washed-out blurry mess of a transfer. The Nude Vampire is positively dazzling looking on this new disc with its eye-popping color photography finally looking as vibrant as we always knew it should. The print is clean throughout, with just some occasional and very slight print damage, and Redemption's new disc brings out an amazing amount of depth and clarity to Rollin's unforgettable images (I felt like I could reach out and touch both The Castel Twins). Watching this disc was like seeing The Nude Vampire for the very first-time again. On the sound-side I had no issues and the addition of the English-language dub, along with the original French-Language track, was very welcome.
Extras include a brief two-minute introduction from Rollin and a terrific twenty minute talk with Rollin filmed by his assistant Daniel Gouyette. The chat is informative, and quite moving, and stands as one of the best interviews with our much-missed man I have ever seen. Natalie Perrey is also on hand for a short, but valuable, discussion. A handful of trailers round out the disc's supplements.

The Shiver of the Vampires: Up next is a film that already been featured as great presentation via The Encore Box-set, so the fact that this new Blu-ray improves on that already great collection is most welcome news. Again, the colors are unbelievably vibrant here (Jean-Jacques Renon would be very proud) and the film just has a more textured and effervescant look about it. I would actually say that The Thrill of the Vampires disc is the most surprising of this first batch, as I wasn't expecting that big of an upgrade from Encore's terrific set. Again an English-language dub is included in addition to the French-language track.
The Encore edition does easily trump the new Blu-ray as far as extras go but both the introduction by Rollin and especially the near forty-minute discussion between Rollin and Dr. Patricia MacCormack are terrific new extras to have.

The Iron Rose: My favorite Jean Rollin films gets a most welcome visual upgrade via this new Redemption disc and, again, it simply blows their older poor-quality transfer out of the water. Some have noted already that this transfer is notably darker but it is also considerably sharper and, truth be told, the new darker visual-scheme only adds to the film's already bewitching allure. You can tell a lot of hard work went into making The Iron Rose look and sound as great as possible and there is simply no comparison with the older versions of this. Again, the English language dub is included along with the (preferred) French track.
Redemption has gathered together some great extras for The Iron Rose including another introduction by Rollin and a longer interview with Perrey plus another batch of trailers. The best supplement is a twenty-minute plus talk with the charming Francoise Pascal, whose memories of Rollin are both fresh and moving. Pascal even mentions my blog at the end which, I must admit, almost brought me to tears.

Lips of Blood: Of all of the new transfers, the one that gets the least upgrade (at least compared to the Encore Box-set) is Lips of Blood. The film already looked gorgeous via the Encore set, as does this new Blu-ray but I didn't notice a huge difference, outside of a generally sharper look and a cleaner print. That said, Redemption's new disc does correct the framing issue present on the Encore disc and the issue with the end-credits has been corrected. Unlike the other discs, an English-language track is not available.
Extras are light on Lips of Blood with only a fascinating ten-minute interview with Perrey and short introduction by Rollin (along with the trailers again) on-hand. Lips of Blood is probably the least-essential of the new discs (if you have the Encore version) but it is still a terrific release of a masterful film.

Fascination: Along with The Nude Vampire, Fascination needed the biggest upgrade(due to Redemption's disappointing older release) and boy does it get it here. Rollin's gorgeous film has never looked more beautiful and rich. The print is clean throughout (save for some expected speckles and minor-scratches) and Brigitte Lahaie looks like she could climb right out of the TV (which I don't think anyone would complain about). Fascination has never looked anywhere near this good and this new Redemption release is easily the definitive version of this haunting film. Again, like Lips of Blood, only the French-language track is available.
The extras presented for Fascination are a bit different than the other releases. No new interviews are found but we do get two longer, and more explicit, sex-scenes Rollin shot for a proposed harder version of the film and a terrific looking remastered version of the great Eurotika program Virgins and Vampires, an indispensable look at Rollin's films that has never looked better.

In closing, I highly recommend all five of these truly great releases. The transfers are incredible (and the booklet with each by Tim Lucas is very valuable) and the amount of hard-work and time Kino and Redemption put into these is worthy of applause. Our man is finally in the best of hands and I can't wait for the next batch of films!

...

Françoise Pascal's As I Am Now Available

2012-01-27T04:34:00.000-08:00

Françoise Pascal's autobiography As I Am is now available to order from Amazon UK. More information on the book from the star of Jean Rollin's The Iron Rose can be found at Pascal's official site here. Also, Françoise is featured on a terrific 22 minute interview on the new Blu-ray release of The Iron Rose sharing her warm memories of working with Rollin on one of his greatest works. For those who haven't read it, my older Q&A with Françoise can be read here.

Take a moment and order her book where I am sure she will share some more of those memories.

Le Parfum de Jean: A Musical Tribute to Jean Rollin

2012-01-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

La Parfum de Jean, a really fine musical tribute to Jean Rollin, has just been released by EarSheltering and it is available as a free download at this link. This unique mix is just another example of how the legacy of Jean Rollin is continuing to influence young artists all over the world! Thanks to EarSheltering for putting this together and for making it available as a free download.

And the Winner is....

2012-01-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

The Jean Rollin Blu-ray Giveaway is now officially closed and the winner is John Mattie of New York, NY! Congratulations to John and I hope he enjoys the discs that Kino sends him.
Speaking of the new Jean Rollin Blu-rays and DVDs. They are officially out now and all five are truly splendid. I will be posting a report on them soon and if you haven't already ordered them that are available via all the major online vendors. If anyone happens to spot them in-store anywhere, snap a pic and send it my way and I will post it here!

...

The Official ABC Films/Jean Rollin Site

2012-01-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the Official ABC Films/Jean Rollin site that has, I believe, just recently appeared. The site, which Rollin's son Serge is working with, has some truly remarkable images from Rollin's archives and private-collections. The site is in French but a Google translate button is located at the bottom corner of the page.

The Hidden Cinema of Jean Rollin: Suce Moi Vampire (1975)

2012-01-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

Among the most mysterious titles in all of Jean Rollin's filmography, Suce Moi Vampire (1975) is a film that Rollin had long denied making before finally admitting it about thirty-years after its release. The rather infamous Suce Moi Vampire (Suck Me Vampire) is indeed a hard alternate adult-cut to one of Rollin's most moving and powerful works (Levres de Sang) and the fact that it turned out to be the higher-grossing of the two films upon release is sad, so it's not surprising that Rollin attempted to separate himself from it.

The failure of Lips of Blood in French Theaters was a turning point for Rollin as it truly signalled that his more personal visions were simply not connecting with audiences at the time. Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs would write in Immoral Tales that, "horror fans shunned" Lips of Blood "along with everybody else" due to the fact that it, "was released" during the height of the adult "invasion of French Cinemas."

Rollin took the failure of Lips of Blood personally and found himself in debt (financially and spiritually) to the producers of so he, "allowed the outtakes and alternative takes to be used" for Suce Moi Vampire according to Tohill and Tombs, who would go onto point out that Rollin was, "adamant he didn't make" the film.

Rollin denied making Suce Moi Vampire to Tohill and Tombs in 1993 as they were preparing their monumental volume on Euro-Cult Cinema. Several years later Rollin was still stating that he didn't have anything to do with the production in 1997's Virgins and Vampires when he wrote in the book's filmography that the work had been, "directed by an unknown French director" using numerous scenes, cast and crew members" from Lips of Blood. The filmography also mentioned that producer Lionel Wallmann and Rollin himself were used as actors in Suce Moi Vampire by this mysterious 'unknown French Filmmaker."

Rollin was never one to shy away from his adult ventures so his refusal to acknowledge his involvement on Suce Moi Vampire might seem a little odd but when one considers just how personal a project Lips of Blood was (and how fresh it still would have been to Rollin in the mid-nineties) perhaps the mention of Suce Moi Vampire was like pouring salt on a particularly nasty wound.

Suce Moi Vampire is indeed the work of Jean Rollin and he finally stated such in the excellent liner notes of Encore's Lips of Blood collection. Written around Halloween in 2005 Rollin would write that he, "took some copies of certain scenes, added two long X-scenes and knocked up" Suce Moi Vampire. Rollin admitted it was for his financier Jean-Marc, who he recalled was, "nearly down and out" after Lips of Blood's financial failure and that the successful release of the completely inferior Suce Moi Vampire marked, "the end of Rollinian vampires".

Encore's booklet would offer up some photos from the scenes Rollin shot specifically for Suce Moi Vampire but sadly the footage wasn't included as an extra on the set. As you can see from my stills the only currently available copy of the extremely elusive Suce Moi Vampire is a rather terrible looking grey market print that is as battered, beaten and faded as one can imagine.

Suce Moi Vampire is a confused and sloppy work made up partially of footage from Lips of Blood and the new sex scenes Rollin shot with some of the cast of Lips including Claudine Beccaire, Anita Berglund, Béatrice Harnois, Martine Grimaud, Sylvia Bourdon and Jean-Loup Philippe. While the film itself is really just a curiosity for Rollin devotees it does prove a rather fascinating experience if you love (or are just familiar with) Lips of Blood. It's jarring to see the haunting footage from Lips of Blood paired up with lazily shot sex-footage but intriguing none the less. While Suce Moi Vampire is an undeniably inferior work in every-way compared to Lips of Blood it does contain a rather unforgettable closing shot involving adult-actress Eva Quang (and possibly Rollin himself) that stands as one of the most perverse in all of Rollin's filmography.

While it is doubtful that Suce Moi Vampire will ever get a proper re-release of its own it would serve as a welcome extra on a future re-release of Lips of Blood, if the proper film elements were available. Hardly an indispensable film to view, Suce Moi Vampire is undeniably important in Jean Rollin's filmography as it stands as his first hesitant step into the adult-film world.

Jean Rollin at Cult Collectibles and in Rue Morgue

2012-01-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

Mark Jason Murray over at the terrific Cult Collectibles has just announced that Jean Rollin is going to be the next film figure represented in their “Weird Wobbler” bobblehead figure series. The limited to 250 seven-inch creation will be released later this year and will come with full color packaging and an exclusive trading card! Head over to this link to find out more about this fun Rollin collectible and to read Mark's moving memories of why Jean Rollin is so important to him.

Also, Jean Rollin is featured heavily in the new issue of Rue Morgue Magazine. Issue 119 (Jan-Feb 2012) includes a really nice piece by Eric S. Eichelberger focusing on Rollin's last interview.

The issue also includes pieces on The Nude Vampire, Thrill of the Vampires, The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood and Fascination written by yours truly (in what is my first appearance in a magazine). I'm thrilled to have some of my work on Rollin in print and I hope everyone here will pick up a copy.

Enter to Win a Set of Redemption's Jean Rollin Blu-rays!

2012-01-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

I'm very pleased to announce that Kino Lorber and Redemption have set up a very special page in order to give away a set of the new Jean Rollin Blu-rays to one of my lucky readers here. The rules for entry are as follows:

Winner must reside in the USA or Canada, Valid e-mail address required. Customer must respond within 30 days at which time another entry will be chosen. Entries will be accepted through January 23, 2012. Only one entry allowed per-person.

To enter simply go TO THIS CONTEST PAGE over at Kino Lorber and fill out a brief form for a chance to win a copy of The Nude Vampire, The Shiver of the Vampires, The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood, and Fascination. I will announce the winner on January 23rd and Kino will ship out your discs...it's as simple as that! Thanks to Kino and Redemption for partnering up with me to do this special giveaway, and I hope everyone who enters the contest will check out the rest of Kino's site for more information on all their great releases. Now go submit your entry and good luck!!!

A Fascination Q&A With Kino Lorber's Bret Wood

2012-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season and that 2012 is getting off to a great start. Tonight I have the great pleasure of presenting this new Q&A I have conducted with filmmaker and Kino Lorber Producer Bret Wood on the upcoming Jean Rollin releases that all of us are so excited about. 2012 is going to be a great time for Jean Rollin fans and I've got some big stuff planned for Fascination as well. I think this interview is a great way to kick-off what is going to be an exciting year. A huge thank you to Bret for taking time out of his busy schedule to participate in this for us.

To begin with can you tell us a bit about Kino Lorber and some of the great archival work the company has done in the past?

Kino Lorber is a film/video distributor that focuses on independent and international cinema. As a DVD/BluRay producer, my primary focus has been the archival releases (previously on the Kino International label; now Kino Classics). Among the films we're famous for are the Buster Keaton films, various versions of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the films of Erich von Stroheim, D.W. Griffith, and others. We work with the major archives (as well as with collectors) to try and create the definitive versions of classic films, and supplement them with as much bonus material as our resources allow. Some of my classic projects in 2012 include Louis Feuillade's serial Les Vampires (BluRay and DVD), three early films by Fritz Lang previously unavailable in the U.S. (Hara-Kiri, The Wandering Shadow, and Four Around a Woman: DVD only), and Keaton's The Navigator.

Kino is a wonderful company so I was thrilled when they acquired these Jean Rollin titles. How did all of this come about?

Kino Lorber formed a partnership with Redemption as a practical matter. Redemption's contracts with its current distributor were expiring and Redemption founder Nigel Wingrove was looking for someone to keep the films in print and more aggressively market their library. We quickly realized that the Redemption library contains a lot of fascinating films that deserve to be treated with respect and marketed not only to horror fans but traditional cinephiles. It is our hope that by carefully remastering the films and presenting them as important rediscoveries, supplemented with interviews and other bonus material, we can expand the audience for Jean Rollin's films -- and build a label that will offer the same treatment to other cult directors.

Tell us about the Rollin titles coming in January and will they only be available on Region 1 discs?

The first wave of releases will be comprised of five titles: The Nude Vampire, The Shiver of the Vampires, The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood and Fascination. With Redemption's blessing, the DVDs and BluRays will not be region-restricted. The only territory (to my knowledge) where the films will not be commercially available is France, where the films are controlled by another party.

Will we be seeing more Rollin titles from Kino in the future after this first batch is released?

Absolutely. We've already mastered four additional titles in HD, and are putting into motion two additional Rollin films.

The stills and clips that have been released from the upcoming titles look amazing. Were they remastered from the original negatives and can you take us through that process a bit?

Redemption controls the original negatives of Rollin's films, and these were shipped to the U.S. where I oversaw the transfer of the elements to video. The process we followed was to scan the films on a Spirit Datacine machine and saved as digital files. We then color-corrected these raw files with a Baselight system and carefully balanced the colors and density of the picture -- aiming not only for visual consistency but also trying to give the films a more "intentional" look. What I mean by that is this. If you simply transfer the negatives and aim for maximum color and clarity, you will end up with a film that is very bright and colorful and lacking in character. Some of the previous Redemption masters have this look (The Living Dead Girl and Demoniacs are probably the best examples). I tried to give the films a more subtle look. Scenes that occur outdoors at night now look as though they occur in moonlight, rather than beneath a bright spotlight (if you compare the old and new versions of The Iron Rose, you'll see what I mean). This wasn't easy. Some of Rollin's night scenes were shot in broad daylight, and it took a lot of experimentation to find the proper visual balance (Requiem for a Vampire suffered from this problem). At times, Rollin uses bold color very intentionally, and I preserved this whenever possible. I believe viewers who have seen the old Rollin editions will gratified to see how atmospheric the cinematography is, when properly mastered.

I can't stress enough what a rare opportunity this has been for me. Someone who produces DVDs and BluRays lives for the chance to help rediscover a neglected filmmaker. But to have access to that filmmaker's original negatives is almost unheard of. And not just the negatives to a handful of films, but almost his complete body of work. It boggles my mind and I really hope that I can do Rollin justice.

While getting pristine copies of these special films is top-priority, a lot of us are also interested in the supplemental material that will appear on the discs. Can you tell us a bit about some of that material?

Organizing supplemental features is an ongoing challenge. The Dutch editions, released on DVD by Encore, have amazing extras, but we were unable to license those for these editions. Since Rollin died in December 2010, we had to rely upon previously existing material. Redemption had some interviews that had been previously issued on their DVDs, and we repurposed a couple of those. I was fortunate to come in contact with Daniel Gouyette, who worked with Rollin for several years, and shot a number of interviews with Rollin as well as Natalie Perrey (who worked as an actress, script supervisor, costume designer, and pretty much everything else for Rollin). Daniel was gracious enough to share these interviews, and they comprise the bulk of the new bonus material. I've just made contact with someone who has a lengthy videotaped interview with Rollin and we're negotiating for the right to include it on a future BluRay release.
My personal favorite of the special features are the interviews with Natalie Perrey. She tells a story about the making of Lips of Blood -- how difficult the production was, how she was on the verge of giving up, and how something happened that inspired her to carry on -- that never fails to put a lump in my throat. Rollin was fortunate to have such a loyal collaborator, and we are fortunate to have someone who can talk about the making of the films with such a sharp memory, sharp wit, and profound insights.

While this is such an exciting time to be a Jean Rollin fan, I know a lot of us are filled with sadness that he couldn’t see these new releases happen. Did you get a chance to ever meet him in your preparations for these releases?

I wasn't involved in this project until May 2011, by which time Rollin had been dead about five months. It is tragic that he did not live to enjoy the resurgence of interest in his work. It saddens me greatly to think that -- had he lived a couple more years -- the re-release of his films on BluRay might have rekindled enough interest in his work that someone might have funded another project. Unfortunately, there will be no new Jean Rollin films, so we had better treasure the ones that we have.

Turner Classic Movies recently showed my personal favorite Rollin film The Iron Rose. Do you know if they might be willing to air perhaps more titles in the future, and did you hear any feedback of the showing of The Iron Rose?

The Iron Rose aired on TCM thanks to the support of Millie De Chirico (who essentially curates their "TCM Underground" slot) and Senior V.P. of Programming Charles Tabesh. Both Millie and Charlie have expressed interest in broadcasting other Rollin films. The difficulty is in the fairly explicit sex and violence that appear in Rollin's films. To their credit, TCM does not edit films, and has gotten steadily more bold in its presentation of R-rated material... so we all hope and expect to see more of Jean Rollin's films on the network. But the films will have to be carefully selected and presented in order to not offend more traditional viewers (or TCM's Standards and Practices department).

Tell us a bit about how you initially discovered Rollin and what your own personal favorites are.

I first learned about Rollin from the magazine Video Watchdog (of which I've been an avid reader from issue #1). To be honest, I was skeptical of some of the praise that was being heaped upon the films. "If the films are that unique," I thought, "Why haven't I heard of them?" When I finally saw one, I was quickly humbled. The films were every bit as hypnotic and poetic and fantastic as VW editor Tim Lucas said they were. And I set out to track down copies of every Rollin film I could get my hands on (not always an easy task). I was proud to bring Tim into the project and ask him to write an essay for the first wave of releases. He also consulted with me about which titles to release first. He deserves the lion's share of the praise for reviving interest in Rollin's work.

Prior to working on the new masters, Fascination was always my favorite. But now that I've seen the movies repeatedly, backwards and forwards, I probably like The Shiver of the Vampires best. But then, as soon as I say that, I remember things that I love about The Iron Rose (the spinning camera, Françoise Pascal's performance), Lips of Blood (how heartfelt and personal it is), The Nude Vampire (the opening sequences) and I start second-guessing myself.

Finally, I know you are a filmmaker in your own right. Can you tell us a bit about your own work and what some of your future goals and plans are?

I'm generally drawn to stories that explore perverse sexuality, and the psychological chess matches that people engage in as they navigate the treacherous waters of "morality." Last year I made a feature film called The Little Death, which Kino Lorber will release on DVD in February 2012. The DVD will include a 17-minute short, entitled The Other Half, that I made the previous year. My other credits include the documentary Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films (about the notorious death-on-the-highway driver's ed films of the 1960s) and the narrative film Psychopathia Sexualis.

Wish me luck. I'm in planning stages of a feature film entitled The Control Group, which I hope to shoot in 2012.

Thanks so much Bret and all the best of luck on your upcoming projects! Again, we really appreciate all your hard work and can’t thank you enough for helping to get these upcoming Rollin titles out. Thanks also for this doing this Q&A!

It's my pleasure, and I look forward to keeping you and your readers up-to-date on future projects.

Wonderful, thanks again Bret. This was a real pleasure!

...

The New Jean Rollin Kino-Lorber Covers!

2011-11-30T13:19:00.000-08:00

The covers to the new Kino Lorber Jean Rollin releases have just appeared over at their Facebook page. Here's a look!

Jean Rollin meets The Kramford Look

2011-11-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

I recently came across this great YouTube mash-up and I wanted to share it here. It's great to see young artists from so many various mediums finding inspiration in Rollin's work.

The Hidden Cinema of Jean Rollin: Bouches Lascives (1979)

2011-11-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hitting French theaters just a few weeks before Christmas in 1979, Bouches Lascives was the final film Jean Rollin released in the seventies under the moniker Robert Xavier. Sandwiched in between two of his finest films, Fascination and The Night of the Hunted, Bouches Lascives can rightly be called one of the least distinguished films in Rollin's canon as it is, in fact, not really a proper film at all as it is just a compilation of two other works.

Looking to cash in on the popularity of the adult films Rollin had been directing in the seventies, Bouches Lascives was created using footage from two older Rollin directed adult-features, La comtesse Ixe (1976) and Lèvres entrouvertes (1978). In a way pre-dating the modern gonzo compliation films that flood the adult-market today, Bouches Lascives is a near plotless 75 minute work made up of pretty much nothing but sex.

Save for a charming hand-written title sequence and a few tricky over the head camera-moves, Bouches Lascives is stylistically and thematically a fairly empty film and there isn't much on hand to identify it as the work of Jean Rollin, save for the cast which features a few Rollin-film familiars.

The cast of Bouches Lascives is ultimately the only thing really notable about it. Legendary Frech-adult star Catherine Greiner gets top billing as Cathy Stewart and Rollin regular Alain Plumey appears as Cyril Val. Greiner and Val would appear again together a year later in the magnificent Night of the Hunted for Rollin and the two had worked for him numerous times before. Prolific Dominique Aveline also appears again for Rollin as is Chistine Lodes. The extremely popular Karine Gambier is also on hand, as are several othetr actors who had graced Rollin's adult output, including lovely Rachel Mhas.

Sadly, like the majority of Rollin's adult-work, Bouches Lascives feels like it is directed by an artist on auto-pilot and it could only be recommended to Rollin completists like myself. That said, I am very happy I was able to recently add it to my collection and I am glad to be able to share these stills from its endearing title sequence.

...

Tonight's The Night: The Iron Rose on Turner Classic Movies

2011-11-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Just a quick reminder that Jean Rollin's The Iron Rose is premiering in HD on TCM tonight as part of their Underground series! Be sure to set up your recorders, or just stay up late, to experience one of Rollin's greatest films on American television! It's important to show TCM we appreciate them showing one of Rollin's films so lets give this airing some good ratings. Also, feel free to send TCM a quick thank-you note on their contact page to let them know we appreciate seeing Rollin on their station and we hope to see more of his work on TCM in the futire.

Early Specs for The Jean Rollin HD Remasters

2011-11-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Kino Lorber posted these early specs for the upcoming Jean Rollin releases in January at their Facebook page and I wanted to share them here. The new extras sound fantastic and I can't imagine any Rollin fan not wanting these in their collection the minute they are released. Here you go!

FASCINATION: Original Theatrical French Trailer, Deleted Sex Scenes (16 min), Short Subject Documentary: “Virgins & Vampires” (24 min), Trailers for The Nude Vampire, Lips of Blood, Shiver of the Vampires & The Iron Rose. French language with optional English subs.

THE NUDE VAMPIRE: Introduction by Jean Rollin (5 min), French Theatrical Trailer, English Theatrical Trailer, Interview with Natalie Perrey (6 min), Interview with Jean Rollin (20 min), Trailers for Fascination, Lips of Blood, Shiver of the Vampires & The Iron Rose. Duel Soundtracks (French with optional English Subtitles or English Dub).

LIPS OF BLOOD: Introduction by Jean Rollin (5 min), French Theatrical Trailer, Trailers for The Nude Vampire, Fascination, Shiver of the Vampires & The Iron Rose, Interview with Natalie Perrey (10 min) and more! French language with optional English subtitles.

SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES: Introduction by Jean Rollin (5 min), French Theatrical Trailer, English Theatrical Trailer, Interview with Jean Rollin by Dr. Patricia MacCormack (40 min), Trailers for Fascination, Lips of Blood, The Iron Rose & The Nude Vampire and Duel Soundtracks (French with optional English Subtitles or English Dub).

THE IRON ROSE: Introduction by Jean Rollin (5 min), 2 French Theatrical Trailers, 2 English Theatrical Trailers, Trailers for Fascination, Lips of Blood, Shiver of the Vampires & The Nude Vampire. Interview with Natalie Perrey (9 min), Interview with Francoise Pascal (15 min),Duel Soundtracks (French with Optional English Subtitles or English Dub) and more!

...

A Preview of the Kino Lober HD Transfers!

2011-11-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

The great folks over at Kino Lorber recently uploaded this wonderful preview highlighting the new Jean Rollin transfers that are coming in January! Enjoy and prepare to have your eyes dazzled, especially by the new prints of The Nude Vampire, The Iron Rose and Fascination and the behind the scenes footage of the transfers!

A Rare Francoise Pascal Magazine Cover

2011-11-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

A friend over at Facebook recently scanned this from his collection and said I could share it here. Enjoy!

2011-10-31T12:53:00.001-07:00

The Iron Rose on Turner Classic Movies!!!

2011-10-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

The new HD version of Jean Rollin's The Iron Rose will be making its premiere on Turner Classic Movies on November 11th! To say this is huge news is putting it mildly, as this will help introduce the work of Jean Rollin to a huge new audience. More information can be found here at TCM. Also, I am very pleased to present these screengrabs from the stunning new transfer! Thanks to Kino and TCM for helping to get one of Jean Rollin's greatest works to a new audience.

Kino Lorber Acquires Redemption and Announces Jean Rollin on Blu-ray!

2011-10-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

In what is among the most exciting Jean Rollin related news to come out in quite awhile, Kino Lorber announced yesterday that they have acquired the Redemption Catalogue here in the states and their first releases will be five of Rollin's greatest on Blu-ray in the spring of 2012. The Nude Vampire, The Shiver of the Vampires, The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood and Fascination will be the first to hit Blu in newly remastered versions transferred from the original negatives! All will include new extras and these promise to be finest Jean Rollin presentations ever on home video. More details can be read over at Twitch Film and I will of course be covering these exciting new releases as they hit in the upcoming months!

...

A Jean Rollin Auction

2011-10-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

A kind reader has alerted me to the news that Jean Rollin's son Serge is holding an auction, that will be of interest to all of Rollin's fans, in Paris in early November at this address and time:

Résidence les Lilas
69 rue Haxo
75020 Paris
(metro Saint-Fargeau or Télégraphe)
Code : 837B
Building 12, 9th floor on the right

November 5th and 6th from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.

The auction will include some of Jean's personal possessions, movie-memorabilia, books, furniture and even actual film strips from The Grapes of Death! I hope that any readers here who might attend will stop by and share more information with us. I have posted a flyer above that was emailed to me advertising it and I will post more info. as I get it.

Clean-Up Time: A Note on Some Older Posts

2011-09-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings. I have gotten a couple of emails recently from readers alerting me to the fact that photos aren't showing up on a number of the pre-2010 posts here at Fascination. It looks like the problem is with the Zooomr, the image-hosting server I used here some in the early days of the site. Apparently Zooomr has crashed and burned and the photos are no longer accessible. Luckily I have all of the images on my hard drive so I can reload them to blogger but it will take awhile. So for those perusing the archives here, thanks for your patience as I go back and redo some of the older posts. I'm sorry I wasn't aware of this but I stopped using Zooomr quite awhile ago after Blogger added a lot of additional space for photos. I promise I will get the back-pages looking good again as I want this to be a great place for fellow Jean Rollin fans to come and hang-out.

Moments with Brigitte Lahaie: L'exécutrice (1986)

2011-09-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

In the fifteen plus year period between her roles in Jean Rollin's The Escapees and Two Orphan Vampires, Brigitte Lahaie maintained a fairly prolific pace in French Cinema and television. About five years after The Escapees failed to captivate audiences, Lahaie shot one of her most intriguing productions away from Rollin, the cheesy but fun L'exécutrice. Available on DVD outside of the US (as well as being available via a fan-subtitled version on the web) L'exécutrice has yet to find an official American release so I thought I would present some screenshots of Brigitte in the film for fellow devotees here.

L'exécutrice is a fairly routine police-based action thriller centered on a young detective named Martine, played by Lahaie, who is attempting to track down a young girl who has been kidnapped by a seedy gang of pornographers. Even though it is directed fairly-well by adult-filmmaker Michel Caputo, L'exécutrice would probably be mostly forgettable if it wasn't for Lahaie, who is both compelling and convincing in the lead. Caputo and Lahaie had worked on numerous adult productions before L'exécutrice and they both seem to be relishing the opportunity here to step out of the box and make something altogether unexpected for either of them. L'exécutrice benefits greatly from the stylish cinematography of Gérard Simon, an artist who has gone on to a lot of varied work in France, and is drenched with that Cinema-du-look feel that was so in vogue by the mid-eighties. L'exécutrice might be fairly by-the-numbers but it's fun and fans of Brigitte Lahaie will get quite a kick out of seeing her play a part that could have been written for Alain Delon or even Clint Eastwood had this been an American production.

Jean Rollin Opening Titles: The Iron Rose

2011-09-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Jean Rollin Streaming at Netflix

2011-09-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

I was very happy to discover recently that Netflix is now offering several of Jean Rollin's key films in their streaming program and I wanted to alert fellow members. The films currently available for streaming are Rape of the Vampire, The Nude Vampire, Shiver of the Vampires, Requiem for a Vampire, Demoniacs, Lips of Blood, Night of the Hunted, Living Dead Girl, Two Orphan Vampires and Dracula's Fiancee. With Netflix's prices for shipping discs on the rise, their streaming content is really the economical way to go and I was happy to see that they offer these Rollin titles.

Information on As I Am by Françoise Pascal

2011-08-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

Our good friend here at Fascination, Françoise Pascal, is getting ready to release her much anticipated autobiography, entitled As I Am, later this year and I wanted to direct everyone to her website where you can sign up to receive information on it. Outside of being the star to one of Jean Rollin's greatest films, The Iron Rose, Françoise has had both a fascinating life on screen and off and her book is sure to be an incredible read. Register here to show your interest in the book and, if you happened to have missed it, please check out the Q&A I did with Françoise here. I can't wait to read the book and I wish Françoise all the best of luck with it!

Support Finders Keepers and a Quick Personal Note

2011-08-20T19:04:00.001-07:00

I am sure most of you have heard the incredibly sad news that much of the stock at our friends Finders Keepers Records was destroyed recently during the fires and riots that plagued London. I wanted to ask everyone to head over to Finders Keepers and show them some love by ordering one of their tremendous Jean Rollin releases or one of the new Make Do and Mend compilations gathered together to support the label by great artists such as Jarvis Cocker and David Holmes among others. Finders Keepers is one of the best and most important labels on the planet and any support you can give is appreciated.

Also, I wanted to apologize for the lack of updates here recently. 2011 has turned out to be quite a stressful year for me and I have, frankly, been off my game for the majority of it. Please know I haven't given up on my Rollin site (or any of my other blogs) and I will be back in full-swing sooner than later. I have high hopes for 2012 personally and professionally and I wanted to thank everyone who has continued to visit here and thank you for your patience with me.

Fascination will start rocking again soon!

Behind the Scenes with Jean Rollin at Lunettes Noires

2011-08-20T19:00:00.001-07:00

I noticed that the blog Lunettes Noires has a really nice selection of behind the scenes photos that I wanted to alert everyone to.

Check them out at the links above.

Jean Rollin Opening Titles: Requiem for a Vampire

2011-08-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

A Review of Jean Rollin: The Stray Dreamer at Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire

2011-07-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

Many of you have probably already seen this but Pierre Fournier has a terrific and detailed review of the new documentary on Jean Rollin, The Stray Dreamer, over at the always awesome Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire.

I wanted to make sure and supply a direct link here for any that might have missed it.

A New Jean Rollin Documentary

2011-07-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the trailer for what promises to be a very exciting documentary on the life and works of Jean Rollin. This film just screened at the Fantasia Festival and it is heading to other festivals as well. Thanks to my fellow Rollin devotees Yvan and Matthew for alerting me to this!

Jean Rollin, le rêveur égaré - Teaser by Purple_Milk_Production

The Iron Rose at Breakfast in the Ruins

2011-06-27T15:30:00.001-07:00

Ben over at the always wonderful Breakfast in the Ruins has published an extremely personal and quite compelling look at my favorite Jean Rollin film, The Iron Rose, that everyone reading here should check out asap!

It's a marvelous piece with some really great screenshots added on for good measure.

Jean Rollin in the Eighties Poll Results

2011-06-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who voted in this newest poll centered on Jean Rollin's major works of the eighties. I am very pleased to see that Night of the Hunted came out on top in such a resounding manner but am a bit stunned that Zombie Lake beat out The Sidewalks of Bangkok! Here are the results with my own personal picks underneath:

1. Night of the Hunted 44 (80%)

2. Living Dead Girl 34 (61%)

3. Lost in New York 15 (27%)

4. Runaways 15 (27%)

5. Zombie Lake 10 (18%)

6. Sidewalks of Bangkok 7 (12%)

My own personal favorites:

1. Night of the Hunted

2. Lost in New York

3. Living Dead Girl

4. Sidewalks of Bangkok

5. The Runaways

6. Zombie Lake

Erotique Fantastique Masquerade Ball Video Link

2011-06-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

Jean Rollin fans can now watch the live score to a special re-vamped version of Jean Rollin’s Le Viol du Vampire, from the recent Erotique Fantastique Masquerade Ball, featuring Geneva Jacuzzi, Killing Spree DJs, Anworth Kirk & Demdike Stare at dublab. Just click this link to be taken to the video and enjoy. Thanks to Finders Keepers Records / B-Music, Cinefamily and dublab for offering up this very special tribute to Jean Rollin!

Jean Rollin in the Eighties (A New Poll)

2011-05-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

I've just launched a new Jean Rollin Poll here at Fascination that I invite everyone to participate in. This one focuses on the six major works Rollin directed in the eighties and I am asking that you choose your three favorites from the group. I am especially curious to see how Night of the Hunted will fair against The Living Dead Girl, as I know those are both major fan favorites. So, vote for your top three and we'll tally up the results in a few weeks or so. Thanks!

The Poster for Jean Rollin themed Erotique Fantastique Masquerade Ball

2011-05-23T07:16:00.001-07:00

Wow, isn't this gorgeous??? Here is the striking poster design for the upcoming Jean Rollin themed Erotique Fantastique Masquerade Ball at The Cinefamily that Finders Keepers Records is helping put on in late June. I so wish I could go to this and, once again, I extend an invitation to anyone who does attend to do a guest post here down the road. Click the links above for more information.

Moments with Brigitte Lahaie

2011-05-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

Jean Rollin Opening Titles: Le Frisson des Vampires

2011-05-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Moments with Brigitte Lahaie

2011-05-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Jean Rollin Opening Titles: The Nude Vampire

2011-05-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Jean Rollin Tribute Events and Screenings at The Cinefamily

2011-05-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

It looks like Los Angeles' The Cinefamily, along with Finders Keepers Records, are having two nights of Jean Rollin tributes in June. Follow this link to read about the special screenings of Shiver of the Vampires and Requiem for a Vampire along with the Rollin themed Erotique Fantastique Masquerade Ball! I ask that anyone in the L.A. area in June that might go to these to contact me about doing a guest post here to share some thoughts and photos. How I wish I could make it out for these!

Joëlle Coeur in Robbe-Grillet's Playing With Fire (1975)

2011-04-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

I have just posted a fairly lengthy post over at Moon in the Gutter on Alain Robbe-Grillet's startling 1975 production Playing With Fire. Jean Rollin fans will want to take note of the film as our lovely Joëlle Coeur appears briefly in the film. Joëlle shot this film shortly after making Les démoniaques with Jean and here are a few stills I captured for fans here. Enjoy!

Jean Rollin Opening Titles: Le Viol du Vampire

2011-04-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

The Night of the Hunted at Breakfast in the Ruins

2011-04-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

Ben over at the always great Breakfast in the Ruins has a very nice piece up on The Night of the Hunted that I wanted to direct everyone here to. I am always especially happy to find pieces on this particular Rollin title and Ben's article is really well-done. Here is the direct link for those interested. Also, for those who might have missed them, here is a link to all of Ben's looks at the films of Jean Rollin.

Jean Rollin: Memories and Music at Cinezilla

2011-04-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Jason over at the essential Cinezilla has just posted a wonderfully detailed account of visiting Jean Rollin's final resting place that I wanted to invite everyone reading here to visit. It is a haunting and moving account of a pilgrimage I hope to someday make as well.
Also, Jason has created an incredible Rollin Mix-Tape that he is sharing with us that is a real dream. Here is a link to the post and thanks to Jason for all the hard work he put into the mix and for sharing his incredible story!

Jean Rollin at Spellbound Cinema and in Sight and Sound

2011-03-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Daniel Orion Davis has written a really splendid piece on one of my favorite Jean Rollin films, Night of the Hunted, over at Spellbound Cinema and I wanted to invite everyone to check it out. Davis writes that Night of the Hunted, "is due for serious reevaluation, especially among the director's fans", and I completely agree. It's an excellent piece on one of Rollin's most haunting films.
Also, I have been informed by a kind reader that Tim Lucas has a piece on Rollin in the newest issue of Britain's prestigious Sight and Sound magazine. It's great to see Rollin finally recognized by the type of publication that typically ignored his work, or treated him with disdain, during his life.

Night of the Hourglass is Back in Stock over at Diabolik

2011-03-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Diabolik has some more copies of the Region 2 DVD of Rollin's Night of the Hourglass back in stock. I am still hoping for a Region 1 release of this eventually, but I figured those reading here who have systems that can play Region 2 might want to jump on this. Diabolik also has the Finders/Keepers Thrill of the Vampires CD in stock as well as some of the out of print Encore box-sets!

Schoolgirl Hitchhikers: Salvation's DVD of Jean Rollin's Jeunes Filles Impudiques

2011-02-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

Salvation's DVD of Jean Rollin's Jeunes Filles Impudiques (Released on Salvation's Jezebel Label as Schoolgirl Hitchhikers) is one of the most disappointing discs I have ever seen. Here we have the most pristine and colorful print, ever offered up for one of Rollin's rarest films, authored to DVD in the most lazy and shoddy way imaginable. Before the bad news though, let me first say that this is still the best that Jeunes Filles Impudiques has ever looked. Comparing it to the older circulating cut version, most readily available on the Grindhouse Experience Box-set, the improvement is quite remarkable as my following screenshots show:

GRINDHOUSE EXPERIENCE PRINT:

SALVATION-JEZEBEL'S PRINT:

GRINDHOUSE EXPERIENCE PRINT:

SALVATION-JEZEBEL'S PRINT:

GRINDHOUSE EXPERIENCE PRINT:

SALVATION-JEZEBEL'S PRINT:

Sadly though, Salvation's wonderful uncut print of Jeunes Filles Impudiques has been hampered by an atrocious DVD that is among the worst I have seen since the early days of the format. Given a not-so-generous selection of just three chapters, Salvation's non-anamorphic disc is plagued by problems throughout from an annoying blurring of the image everytime someone moves (perhaps caused by a botched PAL to NTSC conversion) to a sporadically jittery frame to an overly digitized look throughout. There are other issues as well, some of which can be seen in the frames below, but I won't go into listing them all here. Needless to say, Salvation's DVD of Jeunes Filles Impudiques had the opportunity to be a grand-slam but instead it's a foul-ball all the way. The whole package just has a real lazy feel about it.

Major problems with the authoring aside I do applaud Salvation for releasing the film at all and, again, it is an improvement on what we have had before. On a personal note, I also appreciate having a quote from my original review of the film on the back of the disc.
Extras are slim and included a previously seen interview with Jean from 2008, a why-bother slide-show and a handful of trailers. Jeunes Filles Impudiques is a wonderful little film from Rollin but it is doubtful it will be released anytime again soon, so Salvation's disc will probably remain, regrettably, the best bet in town. Here are some additional screenshots I managed to capture from the DVD, which wasn't an easy feat as so much of the disc is plagued by the issues I listed above.

A Jean Rollin Tribute in Video Watchdog 161

2011-01-29T06:17:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note to remind everyone reading here that the newest issue of Video Watchdog contains a Tribute to Jean Rollin, written by Tim Lucas, as well as reviews of some Rollin DVDs. Issue 161 (with its gorgeous Mimsy Farmer cover) hits newsstands in early March and it is obviously a must buy for all Rollin fans.

Click the links above for more information on this exciting upcoming issue.

Some Jean Rollin Book Covers

2011-01-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

I recently came across these terrific Jean Rollin book covers and I wanted to share them here.

Thoughts on Jean Rollin at Moon in the Gutter

2011-01-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago over at Moon in the Gutter I had the great fortune to interview writer and director Daniel Bird. Longtime fans of Rollin will no doubt immediately recognize Daniel’s name due to his invaluable writing on Jean via the excellent Necronomicon Book One from the mid-nineties. I think the interview is among the very best things I have ever had the privilege of posting, and Daniel discusses Rollin quite a bit, so I wanted to provide a link here for those who might not have read it yet.

La Vampire Nue Lobby Cards at eBay

2011-01-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

First off, a very happy new year to everyone. Thanks so much for all the continued support here at Fascination and I hope everyone has a terrific 2011. Just a quick note to mention that a French seller is currently auctioning off a rare collection of vintage Black and White lobby cards from La Vampire Nue. The listing is here for any who might be interested in snagging these. If any reader here happens to win, we would all appreciate some scans to share of the cards as well! Thanks again and all the best for 2011.

An Alternate Michel Gentil Titles Sequence at Tomb it May Concern

2010-12-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

David at the always amazing Tomb it May Concern has unearthed an alternate title sequence for one of Jean Rollin's Michel Gentil productions, and I wanted to supply the link here. Thanks to David for posting this very interesting variation. My post on this film, with the other different credit sequence can be found here.

A Lovely Video Tribute to Jean Rollin

2010-12-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

Valentine De Luxe has made this lovely tribute video to Jean Rollin and I wanted to share it here for those who hadn't seen it.

Jean Rollin, poète de l'image from valentine deluxe on Vimeo.

We Are Nearing 100 Memorial Links

2010-12-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I added a whole slew of additional Jean Rollin Memorial Links this morning. We are coming close to that 100 mark. Thanks to everyone who has been sending me the links and I will continue adding them as they come my way.

A Slight Rant and a Big Thank You

2010-12-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

Nothing gets under my skin more than elitist film critics, fans and self-appointed ‘experts’ who live to force their view of what ‘great art’ is, and isn’t, on anyone unlucky enough to be in their vicinity. Recently while perusing a certain message board concerning Jean Rollin’s untimely passing I was angered by one of these elitist blowhards who not only questioned Rollin’s place in film history but questioned that anyone actually cared that he had passed. I don’t ask that everyone be a fan of Rollin’s canon, one of art’s defining qualities is that it will never be universally loved, but how dare someone take it upon themselves to state that others shouldn’t admire his work and mourn his passing.

I get so sick and tired of so called film lovers who only admire what they consider ‘high-art’ and who dismiss anything they see as beneath them. My only consolation is that their ‘work’ will be forgotten while the films of directors they routinely reject like Rollin, Franco, Metzger, Sarno and Borowczyk will continue to prosper and find new fans and admirers with each passing year.

Since Jean Rollin passed away less than a week ago he has been granted some of the most eloquent and passionate tributes by a mostly online community of writers who have been touched by his work, often in a very profound way. These are talented writers who aren’t getting paid for what they do. They are writing because they have a very genuine passion for film, and they are among the most knowledgeable and articulate film historians on the planet.

I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has posted these wonderful tributes these past few days to Jean Rollin, an artist who faced harsh criticism throughout his career and will no doubt face the same jabs in death. Those snobby ‘lovers’ of film, like the gentlemen at that message board, look to take-out anyone who goes against their perceived and small ideas of what makes a great artist. They will sadly always be in our midst, looking to put out the creative fires of our most imaginative artists, but their narrow viewpoint ultimately means NOTHING.

Take comfort in THE FACT that Jean Rollin’s work will survive long after the words of these so called purveyors of fine-art are completely forgotten.

I know I do…

Jean Rollin Tribute Links

2010-12-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

I am getting ready to start gathering a collection of tribute links honoring Jean Rollin, as so many are beginning to appear all over the web. They are going to be placed on the right side of the page here so they can be easily accessed and updated. If you have posted a link, or know of one I don't have listed, please leave it in the comments space of this post and I will get it added. I am finding all of these wonderful memorials to the great man very moving so I want to share them here. Thank you...

Jean Rollin R.I.P.

2010-12-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

It is with great sadness this morning that I have to report that our beloved Jean Rollin has passed away. I first heard the news yesterday afternoon via a series of discussions on Facebook, and through some emails, but finding confirmation was difficult. I was hoping to wake up today and find that this was a mistake but the news of Rollin's passing is now being reported through various media outlets as well. While I have known that his health had been very poor this is still very shocking news and I am extremely saddened by it.

Yesterday while I was reading all of the various notes of concerned friends over at Facebook I was reminded of what an inspiring force Jean Rollin was to his fans. We live in a society that more often than not embraces artists that play it safe, where taught technical proficiency is embraced more than genuine passion. Jean Rollin was a confrontational and wonderfully rough around the edges artist who was the very opposite of safe throughout his career. Reading the outpouring of love yesterday on Facebook reminded me of the kinship that I feel with fellow fans who don't want their art to be easy and sanitized.

Jean Rollin loved the cinema and you can feel that passion in all of his works. You can also sense that passion in the inspiring, and quite remarkable, stand Rollin took in the last 15 years when he refused to quit working no matter how poor his health became. This man lived to create and we are all blessed as film and literature lovers who embrace art that dares be dangerous and difficult as well as haunting and poetic.

I can only offer up my most sincere best wishes to Jean Rollin's family and friends on this very sad day. I will begin offering up links to the various tributes that will no doubt begin appearing as well later today. I will also continue honoring this great poet of the cinema here at Fascination, as I believe with all of my heart that this is a valuable project and Rollin is deserving of the best tribute we can give him.

While we mourn the loss of Jean Rollin at the age of 72 let us also celebrate the incredible body of work he left for us to watch, read and admire. Here was a filmmaker and author that was truly unique, who played by his own rules and who was able to stand apart from all of his peers with his very distinct vision. Simply put, there has never been anyone quite like Jean Rollin and, honestly, how many other modern artists can you say that about?

Two Rare Mr. Cinema (Erotisme et Cinema) Jean Rollin Cards

2010-12-13T04:02:00.000-08:00

These two splendid, and quite rare, Mr Cinema cards recently popped up over at eBay and I wanted to share them here. These come from the short-lived Erotisme et Cinema series and the first highlights Rollin as a director while the second celebrates Fascination. I wonder how many more of these Rollin themed cards were printed?

I just found out that the excellent Medusa Fanzine has an additional one of these at this link...enjoy!

It's Finally Out!

2010-12-09T04:19:00.000-08:00

After quite a number of delays it looks like Redemption-Salvation's disc of Jeunes Filles Impudiques is finally out. Diabolik has the Schoolgirl Hitchhikers disc listed as "In Stock" for just 14.99 and the trailer (which features wildly improved picture quality from the grey market releases) Salvation has put together is posted above.
My copy has been pre-ordered from Amazon and I have my fingers crossed that it will be on its way soon.

Jean Rollin Interviewed in Fangoria #299

2010-12-07T13:32:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that the new issue of Fangoria (#299 with Natalie Portman on on the cover) features a new interview with Jean Rollin conducted by Carline Vie and Fango editor Chris Alexander. The interview runs about 3 and a half pages and, while it doesn't contain too much new information, it's a nice little piece which features Rollin talking about his career, health and upcoming film, The Mask of Medusa.
This was actually the first issue of the new Alexander edited Fangoria that I have purchased and I think it's a good issue. The pieces on Harry Kumel, Vampire Circus, Sage Stallone, Black Swan and Jeff Lieberman were all particularly solid. The near ten dollar price tag is steep but I know it's a sign of the times more than anything else.
Anyway, just a heads up on the Rollin interview for my readers here.

The Cinema of Jean Rollin: Les Deux Orphelines Vampires (1997)

2010-12-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

By the time of Killing Car’s brief release in 1993 most mainstream critics and filmgoers aware of Jean Rollin were all but ready to write him off as just a strange anomaly in French film history. Of course, Rollin had been a critical punching bag for years so the idea of relegating him to just footnote status would have have been fine to the most blood-thirsting critics. However in the mid-nineties, thanks to a series of articles and semi-legitimate video releases, Jean Rollin finally began to get some of the respect that had always alluded him. Most unexpectedly an ailing Rollin launched a cinematic creative comeback at the age of sixty with a work that would be defiantly ‘Rollinesque”, the startling Les deux orphelines vampires (Two Orphan Vampires).

The revival of Jean Rollin really began with the publishing of the Cathal Tohill and Pete Tomb’s Immoral Tales: European Sex and Horror Movies 1956-1984, a landmark book released in 1994 in Britain and then the United States. One of the great and most important film books ever published, Immoral Tales was at its most inspired and impassioned in its long chapter on Rollin, offering up one of the first retrospectives of his work up to that point. The chapter on Rollin was also respectful and fiery, as Tohill and Tombs had their critical arsenal fully-loaded against twenty-five years of undeserved and unfair criticism against Rollin’s distinctive brand of filmmaking. Immoral Tales introduced many younger film fans to the world of Jean Rollin, and Rollin himself would include a shot of the book in Two Orphan Vampires as a thank you to two film historians who finally saw value in his work.

Immoral Tales opened a floodgate of writing on Rollin’s once forgotten films, mostly in British publications like Flesh and Blood and Eyeball. The most important follow-up article came in from America though in Issue 31 of Tim Lucas’ Video Watchdog. Issue 31 of VW is still one of their shining moments and it offered a Rollin cover story that included a huge Peter Blumenstock interview with Rollin, as well as a number of Rollin reviews from Lucas himself. The issue, not coincidentally, also included a review of the American version of Immoral Tales.

The Video Watchdog Rollin issue coincided with grey-market dealer Video Search of Miami’s “Authorized Jean Rollin’ VHS collection. These over-priced (near 40 bucks a pop) tapes looked attractive enough in their clamshell cases and some even came with an exclusive camcorder filmed intro by Rollin, but once the packaging was broken what was inside were blurry looking dupes of British pre-records. The VSOM tapes did at least make some of Rollin’s greatest films available for the first time in the United States and, unlike Something Weird’s Rollin releases, they were uncut.

It was in this exciting period that Les deux orphelines vampires (Two Orphan Vampires) appeared. Taking its title from Adolphe D’Ennery’s French Novel Les Deux Prphelines and adapted from two novels Rollin had penned in the early to mid nineties, Two Orphan Vampires would be the first vampire themed film Rollin had shot in nearly 15 years. Rollin would explain to Blumenstock in the pages of VW that his, “recent increase in popularity had put (him) in a very favorable position”, and that he was the also producer with , “complete creative control”.

Rollin would explain to Blumenstock that, “the story of Two Orphan Vampires involves two little blind orphans (that) can only see at night because they are vampires and the film film tells of their adventures”. In other words, it was to be a classic Jean Rollin film running the same ground as essential works like Requiem for a Vampire. In hindsight Two Orphan Vampires might not be one of Rollin’s greatest works but it was astonishing to see in the mid-nineties, as it was a potent reminder that Rollin’s creative force hadn’t been diminished by health problems or nearly three decades of critical flogging.

Rollin described Two Orphan Vampires as his, “most accomplished and professional film”, in the essential book Virgins and Vampires. He also celebrated the fact that he had time to truly prep the film and that he got to, “rehearse with the two lead actors long before the filming took place”. Despite the fact that his health was very poor during the time of filming Two Orphan Vampires, the experience was a happy one for Rollin, his cast and crew. It would give him the opportunity to reunite with his greatest muse, Brigitte Lahaie, and work with fellow French legend Tina Aumont for the first time. It would also allow him to make a film in an atmosphere of appreciation and when his health made it impossible for him to work at full capacity collaborators like Veronique Djaouti and Nathalie Perrey were their to offer assistance.

In the spirit of some of his greatest casting choices, the leads chosen for the Two Orphan Vampires were almost complete novices, but they would both turn out to be quite inspired picks. Future-filmmaker Alexandra Pic had never shot a film before Two Orphan Vampires and the same goes for Isabelle Teboul, a talented young actress who sadly hasn’t worked much since. Rollin would write that both were, “full of invention and ready to do anything” and their delicate performances guide Two Orphan Vampires splendidly throughout.

Photographed by cinematographer Norbert Marfaing-Sintes, who would later work with Rollin on Fiancee of Dracula and Night of the Hourglass, Two Orphan Vampires operates as basically a series of connected vignettes, all of which deliberately recall Rollin’s past works as well as some of his major influences. It’s a gentle, almost childlike, film made up of, as Rollin would put it, “images that had been lodged in (his) head for a long time”. Like his best work, Two Orphan Vampires is extremely poetic as well and Rollin admitted that it followed his books closely, “even down to the dialogues”, so the striking, “literary feel” was very deliberate. Rollin would go so far as to have his two young actresses read sections of his book for the moments that the budget wouldn’t allow him to film, an act that makes Two Orphan Vampires an almost avant-garde film marked by experimentation.

Surprisingly perhaps Rollin decided to scale back the erotic quality that had driven so many of his past films and he noted that Two Orphan Vampires was indeed a “tamer” film. He thought this helped make it, “better constructed and more controlled”, but I am among those who miss the fierce eroticism of his greatest works. Ultimately it doesn’t matter though as Rollin in that Summer of 95 finally once again had “the freedom to film” exactly what he wanted.

Jean Rollin’s creative rebirth culminated at Fantafestival, where Two Orphan Vampires played, when he was awarded a much deserved lifetime achievement prize. It was a triumphant moment and it is fitting that the film he was presenting that night was such a strong statement of purpose. Jean Rollin was back on his own terms and, minor flaws aside, Two Orphan Vampires was a cause for major celebration.

Two Orphan Vampires is available in the States courtesy of Shriek Show and the DVD contains some really splendid extras including long interviews with Rollin, Pic and Teboul. Sadly the picture quality is lacking and is too dark (early copies of the disc were also not progressively scanned correctly, a fact that caused some horrendous blurry fogging in certain sections of the film). I haven’t seen any import copies of the film and would appreciate any input available on what the best currently available version might be.

Aida Ruilova's Life Like Starring Jean Rollin

2010-11-27T06:06:00.000-08:00

A small sampling from the six-minute short. Please visit Aida's website for more information.

Jean Rollin Reissues from Redemption

2010-11-10T04:09:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note for those interested that Redemption's Region 1 re-release of Le Frisson des Vampires is now available for pre-order at Amazon. The long delayed and much anticipated release of Jeunes Filles Impudiques is also up for pre-order over there. Redemption also recently re-released The Living Dead Girl here in the States with this new cover design:

Also, the British Sci-Fi Magazine SFX published a five-page Rollin article over the Summer. I haven't tracked down a copy of this yet so I can't comment on the quality or content. Anyone here wanna share some scans or comments on it for us???

Jean Rollin Lobby Cards: Le Frisson des Vampires

2010-10-19T04:02:00.000-07:00

Just when I had given up hope of finding anymore rare and incredibly cool Jean Rollin items on eBay, along comes this seller offering up these terrific vintage 12x16 Lobby Cards from Le Frisson des Vampires.

The Hidden Cinema of Jean Rollin: La Griffe D’Horus (1990)

2010-09-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

Among the most intriguing abandoned projects of Jean Rollin’s career is the proposed television production La Griffe D’Horus, a half-hour script Rollin had fashioned on pulp detective Harry Dickson. Sadly, due to the inability to get funding or find a home for the project, the only thing that survives for La Griffe D’Horus was a rough under three minute shot-on-video test that can now be seen on the German edition of The Grapes of Death as an extra. Rollin recounted the frustrating journey of the project to Peter Blumenstock in the pages of Video Watchdog and Virgins and Vampires:

“One day, a guy named Gerard Dole called me up and asked for a meeting. He said that he was a specialist on famous pulp-detective Harry Dickson and that he had also written a collection of related stories called The New Adventures of Harry Dickson…We approached Channel 1, and they were interested, but they said they would have to buy the rights to the character first. The problem was, the original stories were written by Jean Ray, and the film rights were absolutely impossible to get; the more recent ones were written by anonymous writers, which makes the matter equally difficult.
We found a small publisher…but the first thing out of their mouth was ‘Jean Rollin will never touch Harry Dickson as long as we live!’ They HATED me!”

Rollin called the extremely short surviving footage of La Griffe D’Horus more of a ‘screen-test’ than anything else and told Blumenstock that it was shot quickly in ‘one afternoon’ with Harry Dickson expert and book-cover designer Jean-Michel Nicollet starring.

Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs expand a bit on the story in Immoral Tales by writing that the footage compiled actually equaled ’22 minutes’, but that longer version has not appeared to my knowledge. They also noted that the short film was very much in the spirit of Rollin’s original works, as it shot with a, “group of friends, enthusiasts and non-professionals.” Noting that La Griffe D’Horus was just, “one in a long series of disappointments that the 1980’s brought to Rollin”, Tohill and Tombs description of the lost project reminds us that it could have been a really special work that could have helped Rollin in the roughest section of his career. Thankfully a rebirth was on the way…

A Report on Jean Rollin's Le Masque de la Méduse

2010-09-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Christian was kind enough to send me these links he posted over at Psychovision regarding Rollin's new film Le Masque de la Méduse. These links are in French but contain many enticing stills from Rollin's new film as well as photos from a recent retrospective. Here is the report on the film and here is the one on the Retrospective. Thanks to Christian for supplying these and for offering the exciting news that Rollin is indeed already hard at work on his next project!

A Fascination Q&A with Artist Cristina Natsuko Paulos

2010-09-27T03:04:00.000-07:00

***I always find it inspiring to see Jean Rollin's influence over other artists, so I was thrilled recently when I got an email from an extremely talented young artist named Cristina Natsuko Paulos, who shared with me some of her work inspired by Jean Rollin that is going to be on exhibit at WWA's upcoming Horrowood show. These works are truly striking and Cristina has been kind enough to participate in the following Q&A with me on her work and Rollin's influence. For more information on Cristina, please visit her official site and blog.***

Cristina, I know you are busy so thank you so much for agreeing to participate in this. It’s extremely inspiring to read about other artists influenced by the work of Jean Rollin and I really appreciate you contacting me. Can you begin by telling us a bit about yourself and where you are from?

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley (Valley Girl!). My mother is from Japan, and my father is Portuguese decent who grew up in Hawaii (pre-statehood). My mother is a graphic designer, she also went to CalArts in the 70’s. I grew up reading all her great art books.

I know from your bio that you graduated with a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts in animation. Would you say that animation is one of your great passions and who were some of your earliest influences?

I loved early cartoons like Fleischer Brothers, Ub Iwerks and Astroboy Cartoons. I responded to the characters of Betty Boop and Popeye. When I studied animation at Cal Arts, I found all my favorite animations were considered “crude” in style, and not following Disney’s traditional beliefs in animation. I’d wander around Calarts’ other departments; like the art, film and the puppetry schools. (Note: Calarts is a great place to wander around because there is always the sounds of Indonesian gong music practicing in the halls).
I learned the most when I wandered. There’s no fear in it and you have no idea where you are going, it’s just creating for the passion and fun. Always remember the things you loved when you were younger, they will save you from adulthood.

"Elliot I Spilled the Milk", 9x12, acrylic paint, watercolor paint, ink, charcoal on found cardboard

I came from studying a traditional animation background. I started focusing on characters, but over time my characters sort of lost their clothing and form.

For the upcoming Horrorwood exhibit you drew some inspiration from the films of Jean Rollin, specifically Requiem for a Vampire. How did you first discover Rollin’s work and what are your thoughts on it?

I learned about Requiem of a Vampire from a Painting class at school. It was playing in the background in the workshop. I didn’t know anything about the film, who directed it, didn’t know why it was playing. I just remember it was on. I then ran into his films again at a video store in Las Vegas with a very misleading clip-art cover box, rented it, and found a wonderful surprise!

"School Girls ("Requiem of a Vampire/Caged Virgins"), 20 x 30, acrylic paint, graphite, oil paint, charcoal, ink, and wine on watercolor paper.

I really respond to the dream-like qualities of Rollin’s films. I like Requiem of a Vampire because it lets you walk in a dream. I also admire how Rollins isn’t out to please the audience; he shows you imagery you might not want to see. The women characters are beautiful and comic like. They walk into the scenes and are stunning.

I actually have problems with watching most horror films. So it surprises me that I’m really taken with Rollin’s films. They seduce you, arouse you, and horrify you at same time. I’m still trying to understand why.

Artwork for Title Card by Jon MacNair
“Horrorwood”
WWA Gallery, 9517 Culver City, CA 90232
Opening Reception: Friday, October 15th, 2010 from 7-10
On Viewing: October 15th - December 4th
A Group Exhibition Curated by Industrial Squid

What was it about that still from Requiem that inspired you?

I like these stills!

Tell us a bit about your process and what went into creating your Requiem piece.

"School Girls", three-stage process

Since I was working in my portrait style, rather than another format, I first start by reviewing the subject, in this case the film, and any other resources such as blogs and images. I then rough out some ideas in a sketchbook that I always have by me. I then start to work on the piece, adding and removing line and colour as I feel. I have to work very slowly to avoid over working the piece. It can be difficult to tell when a piece is “completed”.
Due to the nature of Rollin’s characters, I used delicate lines to convey the girl’s innocence and sexuality. In the finished piece Rollin’s School Girls float an empty background and there is just a slight reminisce of the appearance of a gun.

Detail, "School Girls"

You also drew inspiration from one of Rollin’s lesser works (imo), can you tell us a bit about your Zombie Lake piece?

"Zombie Lake", 22 x 28, acrylic paint, graphite, oil paint, charcoal, ink, and wine on watercolor paper

It’s a blast to paint a fully-naked woman and pea green nazi zombies! I thought it would be funny and interesting to see artwork inspired from the film on Gallery walls!

Unlike the “Requiem” piece, I worked very fast and almost threw the colour and paint on in thick clumps.

Cristina, All of your work is really inspiring and I love how you have drawn on painting, animation, film and theater. Do you have any current artists in any of those fields that you draw inspiration from?

I like artists Francisco Goya, Giacometti, Araki Nobuyoshi and Corny Cole. The films of David Lynch, Julie Taymor and Ingmar Bergman. They all do very different work, but I feel there work has strong emotion and a contrasts of balance of beauty and darkness, which I respond too.

I also like the sense of humor in artists like Gary Panter, Edward Gory, Dave Cooper, Alfred Hitchcock, Chris Ware and Yoshimoto Nara.

I like to play with the themes of innocence, darkness, beauty and pure raw emotion.

You’ve certainly got an extremely exciting future in store for you, as all your work is really splendid. Can you tell us some your career and artistic goals and what are your plans after Horrorwood?

I currently show in the “Low Brow” scene throughout LA, having had a solo show at La Luz De Jesus Gallery recently. My work is currently being shown there, as well as Designer Toy Art Galleries like Munky King, in LA and Wootini in Raliegh, NC.

I enjoy doing everything! Painting, puppetry, comics/ (webcomics), cartoons, dirty drawings on bathroom walls. In the near future I would like to make a short live-action film.

My interest and experience in the arts is wide and varied. I’m working on playing all “the notes together”. I hope they will take me to a beautiful song one day. It’s a slow process. I’m taking more risks, becoming more daring and making some mistakes along the way. It’s all fun though.

Thanks again Cristina and my absolute best wishes for your future projects.

My best wishes to you, and thanks again for the great resource.

Cinezilla's look at Two Orphan Vampires

2010-09-15T04:08:00.000-07:00

Hey all, my apologies for the lack of updates here in the past couple of weeks. I am currently in the midst of a massive Paul Thomas Anderson tribute and blogathon at my main site Moon in the Gutter, and I am also getting married in a few weeks, so I have just been extremely busy. New posts are on the way soon here though. For now, head back over to Cinezilla as Jason has just written great piece on Two Orphan Vampires for us to enjoy.

Behind the Scenes with Jean Rollin (Various)

2010-09-02T05:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some more splendid behind the scenes shots taken from that German DVD of The Grapes of Death.

Jeunes Filles Impudiques Contest Winner

2010-09-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Thomas Duke over at Cinema Gonzo for winning a copy of Finders Keepers Jeunes Filles Impudiques E.P. with this excellent piece on discovering Rollin and celebrating The Iron Rose. I really love Thomas' piece on the film, where he connects Rollin to Bresson, and I hope he enjoys the record! Here is the first section of his article and the rest can be read by following the link at the end. Thanks again Thomas and enjoy the E.P.!

"I think my initial exposure to the films of Jean Rollin was a viewing of Requiem For a Vampire, the old U.S. Redemption DVD release. Considering the misleading cover, I was expecting something along the lines of one of the Jess Franco vampire films (like Vampyros Lesbos), but got something entirely different. I was immediately entranced by this nearly wordless fairy tale, taking place in and around a crumbling French castle, in a tangible world both darkly mysterious and beautifully decrepit; a fantasy of the earth. While not at all what I expected, I was instantly hooked, and sought out all of the films of his that I could find. Rollin’s films are often equated in terms of their sex and horror elements, as leisurely paced genre efforts, but I think this is a case of a director who works inside of a genre (the Euro sex/horror film) in order to do something of his own making, only containing several surface elements of what is normally expected of these kinds of films." Click here to continue reading the full post over at Cinema Gonzo.

Le Frisson des Vampires CD Now Available from Finders Keepers Records

2010-08-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

A landmark release from Finders Keepers Records, the 27-track Le Frisson Des Vampires Soundtrack is the first complete release of the legendary 1971 score from one of Jean Rollin’s most powerful films. Armed with a stunning near 20 page booklet, with beautiful stills and unbelievably informative notes by Andy Votel, this release of the tremendous Acanthus score is, simply put, one of the most essential Jean Rollin related products ever assembled.
I have dreamed of having the complete score to Le Frisson des Vampires since I first saw it shortly after discovering Rollin in the mid nineties. Even with the faded and quite scratchy print of the film that first came into my possession my mind was thoroughly blown by the hypnotic and exciting music of Acanthus. The several tracks that appeared on the quite rare Films of Jean Rollin CD wetted my appetite even more, but they were just a mere teaser to this new release by Finders Keepers.
From the explosive title-track to the frenetic "Runaway Train", the soundtrack to Le Frisson des Vampires is an absolute joyous listen. Switching gears easily from free-form hysteria to grooves of an extremely laid back nature, Acanthus’ score really comes into its own here as one of the key works of seventies French Rock. After years of hearing it as only an accompaniment to Rollin’s unforgettable imagry, it is such a pleasure to be able to sit back now and take this striking music on its own terms as its own powerful entity.
Of course a lot of the appeal of the Le Frisson des Vampires score has always been the mystery surrounding Acanthus. Up to this point not much had been known about the “inexperienced high school students” (The Films of Jean Rollin) that were said to have made up the group but Votel’s exhaustively researched booklet ends much of the mystery, but manages to add to the allure. Votel manages to uncover the history of the band and what happened to the key-players in his liner notes. He even reveals a rare 45 with an A-Side entitled "Rollin Five Years" from the band that formed out of Acanthus (Unity), that was no doubt a dedication to the director that had believed so much in them. I absolutely don’t want to give away too many of the book’s surprises here though, as there are many. I can say that upon reading, Votel’s notes immediately became one of my favorite pieces written on Rollin and they alone would make the CD worth buying.
Audio-quality wise it is hard to imagine these tracks sounding much better considering how rare they are. A great improvement over both the Films of Rollin CD, as well as the bonus samples found on Encore’s DVD box-set, Finders Keepers release seems taken from both the original tapes as well as directly from the film (as small bits of dialogue (English dubbed) and effects are heard throughout). Don’t expect Beatles remasters quality but Finders Keepers have obviously put a lot of care into this release and have gotten it to sound better than any of us probably could have imagined years ago.
This kick-off Rollin release from Finders Keepers is a really special one, and I have to admit I teared up a bit when I saw my name and this site mentioned in the credits. To say it serves as a great introduction to what will be a watershed series for Rollin fans is putting it mildly. Up next, according to the booklet, are the scores for Fascination and Requiem for a Dream, and fans that head over to Finders Keepers fairly quickly to order a copy will also see the company offering a poster reproduction of Fascination, in a limited number of just 100! I hope everyone here reading will order a copy of this very special release to support Finders Keepers and the legacy of Jean Rollin, it's a knockout.

Jean Rollin: Various Behind the Scenes on The Rape of the Vampire, Requiem for a Vampire and Killing Car

2010-08-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

***More shots taken from that German Grapes of Death DVD***

Jean Rollin Behind the Scenes with The Castel Twins (Various Shots)

2010-08-23T03:33:00.000-07:00

La Vampire Nue at Breakfast in the Ruins

2010-08-23T02:55:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to point everyone to a terrific new article on Rollin's The Nude Vampire over at Breakfast in the Ruins. It's an impassioned piece from a fellow Rollin devotee and it is a real pleasure to read...enjoy!

Jean Rollin Lobby Cards (The Grapes of Death)

2010-08-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

Behind the Scenes with Jean Rollin on The Grapes of Death

2010-08-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

A kind reader recently supplied me with a copy of the German Special Edition DVD of The Grapes of Death and it has some really splendid special features on it, many of which I will be sharing here in the upcoming days. To start with, here are some terrific behind the scenes shots from the making of the film.

Jeunes Filles Impudiques Vinyl GIVEAWAY Contest

2010-08-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

I’m sure by now you are all aware of the extraordinary Jean Rollin soundtrack program that has begun over at Finders Keepers Records. The inaugural release, a 5 track vinyl E.P. featuring Pierra Raph’s mega-rare score from Jeunes Filles Impudiques, is already out and it is a real winner. The five tracks are exciting, adventurous and make for an extremely cool listen, and Finders Keepers presentation is extremely well done. This sizzling little E.P. is only available in a very limited run of just 500 copies and I just happen to have an extra one (thanks to the kind folks at Finders Keepers) that I am looking to give away here.

I had wanted to be a little more creative with this giveaway, than just offering a typical run of trivia questions or something along those lines, so here is what I came up with. First off, consider this just a free sip and agree to support Finders Keepers upcoming Rollin releases. This is a really important chapter for the Jean Rollin legacy so hardcore fans need to snag these up and show some support to Finders Keepers.

Now…onto the contest. I have always wanted Fascination to be more interactive than it has been, so I would like to hear about your love affair with the films of Jean Rollin. Please submit a short (or long) essay to me via email (found under “About Me”) about how you discovered Rollin, and why you value his films, by the end of August. The piece that I find the most interesting, moving and genuine will get posted here and you will get the free E.P.

I realize this is a bit unfair perhaps as my opinion is of course subjective, but I promise that the majority of submissions will be posted and links will be supplied back to your sites. I am mainly looking at this as an exercise to hear other fan’s experiences with Rollin, but sadly I only have one E.P. to give away.

So, once again…submit an original piece detailing your introduction to, and love for the cinema of Jean Rollin, by the end of August for a chance to win Finders Keepers Jeunes Filles Impudiques vinyl E.P.. I will announce the winner at the beginning of September with their post, and will follow-that up with the other non-E.P. winning entries. Length is up to the writer and I will will credit you however you wish to be credited.

Any questions can be emailed to me or left in the comments section. Thanks, good luck and VIVA JEAN ROLLIN!

Finders Keepers Records 1st Rollin Release Now Available: Jeunes filles impudiques (Limited Edition EP)

2010-07-27T03:52:00.000-07:00

The first release in what promises to be an absolutely amazing soundtrack series dedicated to Jean Rollin is now available from Finders Keepers records. Here is the link to a five track EP containing music from Jeunes filles impudiques (Schoolgirl Hitchhikers). There are only 500 of these beauties being printed so I would advise you to get your order in soon if you want a copy. Thanks to Finders Keepers for kicking off the series with such a rare and valuable release.

The Hidden Cinema of Jean Rollin: The Scent of Mathilda (1994)

2010-07-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Jean Rollin had all but completed his tenure in the adult film world when he shot his final "Michel Gentil" production in 1979, Introductions Perverse. The adult films that he made, a few of which I have already covered here, were mostly shot for strictly financial reasons but Rollin had admitted later that he, and many of his peers, had viewed making the adult films of the seventies as a, "kind of revolution", celebrating the fact that they could now, "film what had always been forbidden." It was perhaps with that spirit in mind that Rollin returned briefly to the world of adult moviemaking with 1994's Le Parfum de Mathilde (typically translated as The Scent of Mathilda for English-language audiences).

Initially just brought on board by French producer Marc Dorcel (who was looking for an experienced director to take the place of the his in-house auteur Michele Ricaud, who had just recently passed away) as a screen writer, Jean would end up co-directing the made for video title as well. He would tell Peter Blumenstock in Virgins and Vampires and in the pages of Video Watchdog that he had indeed, "co-directed the film, though only Dorcel is credited." Rollin would also admit to Blumenstock that he wasn't, "too sad about it", as he would ultimately come to view the final product as just a "typical" adult title and, "not a good film at all", despite his initial ambitious intentions.

Centering on a young virginal bride named Agnes, who has been brought to a large countryside Parisian chateau by her new husband Remy to take the place of his former wife, the sexually adventurous Mathilda, The Scent of Mathilda is a an absolute step-above most adult films from the period but it's ultimately nowhere as interesting as Rollin had intended it to be. Pete Tombs would write, in his splendid look at the film in pages of Flesh and Blood, that Rollin's original script, "contains echoes from a whole range" of past literary and cinematic works including Beauty and the Beast, Belle De Jour and Rollin's own most ambitious adult feature, 1975's Phantasmes. Tombs would also correctly note that despite all these lofty influences, The Scent of Mathilda is finally just, "efficient, well-planned and workmanlike." The Scent of Mathilda is, at its core, just a sex film but it has enough very scattered "Rollinisms" to make it worth tracking down for major fans who are willing to give his adult works a look.

Visually the film is an all-right viewing experience. My copy, which was supplied to me by a very kind reader, comes from an American VHS put out by the uber-succesful adult company Vivid in the mid-nineties. Technically it has nothing on the groundbreaking shot on film adult-titles of the seventies, or the more recent quite impressive digitally shot productions from the past several years. It's a competent piece of work, done no favors by Vivid's unfortunate dubbing, highlighted by Dorcel's serviceable score and the photography of Francois About, who does the best he can given the budget and time at his disposal.

Unlike Rollin's seventies adult features, the cast of The Scent of Mathilda doesn't offer up any familiar faces from Jean's canon. Fans of the European adult cinema of this period will no doubt recognize Christophe Clark, Draghixa, lovely Julie Chanel and the very memorable Erica Bella. Dorcel himself also appears in the film, as this is finally much more his baby than Rollins.

Shot just after the underrated Killing Car, The Scent of Mathilda stands as Rollin's last adult production. He would make a forceful return to the classic "Jean Rollin film" just a couple of years down the road with the impressive Two Orphan Vampires, and The Scent of Mathilda most likely stands as his farewell to a genre that helped finance many of his most personal and greatest productions but sadly did him few favors artistically.

New Jean Rollin Soundtrack Release Coming From Finders Keepers Records, Plus News on Night of the Hourglass

2010-07-07T03:31:00.001-07:00

Cathy Castel steps behind the camera on the set of one of Rollin's Michel Gentil productions of the seventies.

Here's a really exciting bit of news for Rollin fans. It looks like the incredible label Finders Keepers Records are going to be releasing a double soundtrack compilation vinyl and CD in the near future. Here is a link that mention this collection, which looks to include music from Requiem for a Vampire, Fascination, The Nude Vampire and Rape of the Vampire. It's been awhile since we have had a Rollin soundtrack project so this is really terrific to hear. Also, the releases I have from Finders Keepers have all been top of the line (in regards to both sound quality and visual presentation) so this should be a real quality release. While the link at Finders Keepers just mentions the double LP/CD comp, this post at Salvation makes it sound like they might do a whole series. Either way, this is very welcome news.

Also, it looks like Night of the Hourglass is now available on PAL Region 2 DVD with an English subtitle option. Diabolik DVD has it listed but as of right now it is out of stock. I will be placing my order within the next couple of weeks and can't wait to see this film. Has any reader here had an opportunity yet to view this particular DVD???

Recent Rollin on the Web

2010-07-02T03:22:00.000-07:00

A few friends of Fascination have recently posted several interesting Rollin related goodies that I wanted to offer links to. First up the always excellent Zines has posted some rare scans of a French article on The Sidewalks of Bangkok. He has quite a few great Rollin items so keep scrolling at this link.
Next up the terrific Quite Cool has added some thoughts and screens on La nuit des horloges here. Keep on scrolling down here for more Rollin related articles and captures.
Finally the awesome Kate at Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire has added a couple of various Rollin related tributes lately as well. Here's the link to her posts.

On a personal note. Kelley, my fiancee, and I have been working on an upgrade to a larger apartment so I have been a bit occupied as of late. We should finish up this weekend so I hope to have some new posts going soon...including a look at the hidden Rollin title The Scent of Mathilda. Thanks again for all that continue to read here...keep those emails and comments coming!

The Cinema of Jean Rollin: Killing Car (1993)

2010-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

While the title might recall Christine, Jean Rollin’s Killing Car has thematically much more in common with Francois Truffaut’s 1968 revenge thriller The Bride Wore Black, rather than John Carpenter’s terrific Stephen King adaptation. Originally designed as a soft-core vehicle to be directed under the Michel Gentil pseudonym, Killing Car (originally titled La Femme Dangereuse) turned out to be one of the most personal and self-referential of all of Rollin’s productions. Acting as a bit of a coda to the career summarizing Lost in New York from a few years earlier, Killing Car is one of Rollin’s most interesting, if often overlooked, works.

Starring the lovely Tiki Tsang, in her only film role, as a woman bent on revenge who leaves a toy car at the scene of each of her killings, Killing Car is typically thought of as one of Rollin’s weaker productions. When one takes into consideration the fact that it was shot in less than a week for under $100,000, Killing Car becomes quite a remarkable little film in the Rollin Canon. Nearly entirely improvised with each section containing a nod to a past work, Killing Car is a captivating film that is a much more rewarding experience than most have given it credit for.

Of course, the key to enjoying Killing Car is having seen the majority of Jean Rollin’s other films first. This is just about the last Rollin work you would want to present to a newbie, as it will prove a head-scratching and frustrating experience at best. The joys, and there are plenty of them, to be found in Killing Car are all centered on its place as a bit of a greatest hits film in Rollin's filmography.

Rollin described Killing Car, in his introduction to the film in Virgins and Vampires, as “an assignment, therefore a challenge.” His goal was ultimately to take “a run-of-the-mill detective film” and treat it like a “fantastic film.” Rollin goes on to admit that the final product is flawed and “merited more time”, but he values the film and states that it is “in the same vein as The Sidewalks of Bangkok and The Rape of the Vampire.” Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs agree with Rollin’s mostly positive reaction to the film in their Immoral Tales when they call it “Self-referential-certainly; but sterile-never.”

Tohill and Tombs also put their finger on the most mind-blowing aspect of Killing Car, which is the idea that Rollin could manage to take material that originally wasn’t his own and put his undeniable stamp on it in just over a week’s time. They write, “The source of the images he presents lies deep inside him. They emerge through an unconscious process of selection.” Rollin, once he connects with the material, simply can’t make anything other than a “Jean Rollin Film”, a fact that makes him one of the only true auteurs we have left.

Like the majority of Rollin’s other late period films, Killing Car is a fairly easy target for folks who can’t develop a taste for his work. Nonsensical, sluggish and a bit daft at times, Killing Car isn’t one of Rollin’s more perfect films by a longshot. Rollin himself would tell Peter Blumenstock in Virgins and Vampires and in the pages of Video Watchdog that he knew, “it was no masterpiece, but that (it was) quite good considering the budget.” He’s right on the money with that thought, Killing Car is very much a film that has to be taken on its own terms and judged by the fact that it achieves what it set out to do.

Despite its easy to spot faults and the fact it was shot on 16mm with only a video release in mind, Killing Car is surprisingly a pretty handsome production, thanks to the cinematographer Max Monteillet. Max had shot the unforgettable Lost in New York as well, and some outtakes from that earlier collaboration can be seen in a couple of sections of Killing Car. Also worth noting is the lovely and quite haunting score from Philippe Brejean, a composer who had most memorably worked with Rollin previously on Night of the Hunted. Cast-wise a few familiar Rollin faces show up, including both Jean-Pierre Bouyxou and Jean-Lou Philippe, and Jean himself makes another one of his noteworthy cameos, this time as Tiki Tsang’s bandaged up lover she has been avenging. Rollin even gets to share a brief kiss with Tsang towards the end of the film in a moment that will be more than a little moving for long-time fans.

The shoot for Killing Car was rough and exhausting. Rollin admitted in Virgins and Vampires that his crew was “hostile and ill-humored” and that he was “morally empty” and finally hospitalized by the end of the shooting. While the film’s haunting final shot, surely one of the most devastating moments in all of Rollin’s canon, seemed to signal an end to his career he would persevere on and within just a few years would have a real return to form in the can, with the splendid Two Orphan Vampires. Killing Car is an unjustly neglected and often-ignored work though and it’s a pivotal one. It is currently available on Region 1 DVD from Redemption with no film specific extras, but the disc does come with an excellent half-hour tribute to Rollin from British television.

Willy Braque's Amnesie 25 (1967) Now Online

2010-06-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Another short film from Willy Braque is now online at Vimeo for our viewing pleasure. This 1967 short is also photographed by the great Jean-Jacques Renon so it is obviously a must for Rollin fans. Please leave Willy a nice comment over at Vineo after you watch the short.

Amnesie 25 from Willy Braque on Vimeo.

Jean Rollin Home Video Designs: The Scent of Mathilda

2010-06-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

***I am currently searching for a copy of this so if anyone has any tips (or can hook me up with a copy) please let me know. Thanks and new posts on coming very soon.***

The Sidewalks of Bangkok at Cinezilla

2010-06-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice piece on The Sidewalks of Bangkok over at Cinezilla that I wanted to alert everyone to. It features a fairly enthusiastic look at the film as well as some terrific screenshots from the new Import DVD. Enjoy...

Willy Braque's Chute Libre (1969)

2010-05-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to see that Willy Braque's fascinating 1969 short film Chute Libre is now online courtesy of Vimeo. Braque is of course a real favorite in the Rollin community and it is wonderful to see one of his own works. This terrific little film is also of special interest because it was photographed by none other than Jean-Jacques Renon! Enjoy and leave a good comment for Willy over at Vimeo.

Chute libre (1969) from Willy Braque on Vimeo.

A Fascination Q&A with Francoise Pascal

2010-05-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

Since starting Fascination, I have had the pleasure of coming into contact with several people who have known and/or worked with Jean. I have been most fortunate to become friends with the star of my favorite Rollin film, The Iron Rose, the wonderful Francoise Pascal. Francoise was recently gracious enough to grant me an interview here at Fascination and I am thrilled to present it here today.

1. Francoise, Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I consider your work in The Iron Rose to be the finest performance in Jean Rollin's canon, and I know my readers here are going to get a thrill out of reading some of your memories on making the film and working with Jean. Before we get to Rollin though I wanted to ask a little about your background. Can you tell us a bit about where you are from and how you got start in the entertainment world?

Francoise: Thank you Jeremy. I was born on the Island of Mauritius of French parents and was educated partly in Mauritius, partly in Paris and in London. May I also remind you Jeremy that I am writing my autobiography and must not divulge too much (Laughter)! I got started in Paris at the age of 11 with Jean Louis Barrault playing Cosette in Les Miserables. I played her in the theatre and had a chaperon at each performance.

2. What were those days on Top of the Pops like? Is there a particular behind the scenes story you would like to share and I have to ask what was Susan George like in that period?

The Top of the Pops days were carefree and I was growing up in London having fun and about to make my mark on the London scene in 1966. One particular moment that I remember so well was when the Producer of TOTP Johnny Stewart had asked one of the Camera man to zoom in on me as I was dancing vigorously. Once the song was over, they had selected some of us to stay around for the Gene Pitney song "24 hours from Tulsa", which they recorded for the next TOTP show. I stayed behind and hid at the back and so I thought, as they stopped the recording at some point of the song, Gene Pitney was looking in my direction and shouted ‘Beautiful Eyes’ and everyone looked in my direction and I looked left and right to see who he was referring to, he then shouted again ‘You, the girl in the Blue dress at the back, you have the most amazing, beautiful big eyes’. Imagine my embarrassment in front of everyone. He came over and asked whether I would have lunch with him the next day, which I did and he was a perfect gentleman.
Susan George was a gorgeous looking lady and is still a gorgeous looking lady she was a lovely, gentle and friendly lady and I adored her. She is still the best.

3. Was it exciting being in the midst of London in The Swinging Sixties and did you get to check out any of the bands from the period?

I remember the 60s with great fondness and am proud to have been part of that wonderful era. The discos, the excitement of Swinging London and believe me London was really swinging with its street paved with gold and its shops full of psychedelic clothes. Yes, the sixties was the era to be in and to grow up in if you were an aspiring actress. I distinctly remember meeting The Rolling Stones, The Animals and Eric Burden and my hero Joe Cocker. I also spent time with Julie Christie which was uber cool!

4. You began making films in 1968 with cult-director Norman J. Warren's Loving Feeling being one of the first. What was it like working with Warren?

Loving Feeling was a film that gave me publicity and a film in 1969 brought me fame with the start of my love affair with the British Tabloid.
Warren was a young Director who was ambitious and I don’t think he liked me very much as he became a partner of Pete Walker (a film that I did with him called School for Sex, and I hated working with him) another 70s film producer and director, and they knew of my fuss about taking my clothes off and they never employed me again for any film that they did with nudity. I never reckoned him as a Director but what do I know, I am a mere actor. It was my first film and I was green about the film business and besides I lied about my age and told them that I was 19 when I was a mere 17 years old, fresh from the Theatre. I laugh at this now!

5. In 1970 you got to act opposite the great Peter Sellers in There's a Girl in My Soup. Was it a good experience making that film and how was Sellers to work with?

I acted with Peter in two films in the 70s, There is a Girl in My Soup and Soft Beds and Hard Battles. I adored Peter as I was his friend and I got on extremely well with him. He was and could be moody! For example on There is a Girl in My Soup, I waited one month for Peter to come back from a trip because he did not want to start work, he was too enamoured with a lady friend, You got to love him. Hey! I was well paid waiting for him..... can’t complain there!

6. I seem to remember you mentioning you saw Elvis Presley live in this period. I have to ask the circumstances of that.

Yes I was staying with a boyfriend of mine in LA and he happened to have know the Producer of The Monkees and was also a close friend of Harry Nillson, who I also met and admired his music very much. Bruce (The boyfriend) got us two tickets to see Elvis in Vegas at The Intercontinental. I was in awe of this great man. Wow! I nearly fainted when I saw him sing and my eyes would not leave the stage and Elvis.

7. Throughout the seventies leading up to The Iron Rose you appeared in several films and television shows as well as doing some very memorable modeling. Do you have any particular favorites from this period or any stories you would like to share?

Several films and television including Napoleon and Love, Burke and Hare . Popular TV series Coronation Street, Incense for the Damned with Patrick McNee. There's a Girl in My Soup, The Beloved with Richard Johnson and Raquel Welch, Go Girl,
School for Sex, and Loving Feeling and One Plus One with the Rolling Stones.
My favourite of them all was One Plus One directed by the ever so unpredictable Jean-Luc Godard, what a great honour to work with him and also to be directed by him. I was in awe and will never forget the words that he said to me....’Never let go of your ambitions’. Words (loosely translated from French) words that I did not listen and forgot in my later years.

Modelling for Penthouse in Israel and for Men Only freezing my ass off near the Thames in a house that had no heating,,,, Would never do that again!

8. Okay, onto The Iron Rose. How did this incredible role come to you and what were your initial impressions of Rollin?

I had done There is A Girl in My Soup and I was in Paris doing another film with a fab Director called Jean (cannot remember his name) and I was introduced to the producer of La Rose de Fer who was American and his wife was Belgian. The next day my French agent called me (who also happened to be BB’s agent) and asked whether I would like to go for a casting, I went to the casting of the film and got it. I was not at all Jean Rollin’s choice, but Sam knew what I was capable of doing (acting wise) and asked Rollin to give me a chance that I would surprise him. I did not like Rollin at fist glance, I thought him arrogant and distant but then I got to know him better and I came to adore him as a human being.

9. The film could rightly be called a silent work at times. Did you have a script you were working off of was it more of an improvised production?

Yes I did have a script but Rolling actually directed the film without a script, he actually worked like Jean-Luc Godard at time. We exchanged ideas together to make the film work.

10. What was Rollin like as a director on set?

Lovely and very enlightening,,,,We worked well because we always had ideas and I bounced a lot of my ideas on him and he would either accept them or ignore them. Either way I knew we could work together.

11. Your performance is so incredibly poetic and moving. Did you do any particular preparation for it and what was it about the material that attracted you?

You are very kind Jeremy!…I think at times my performance was wooden and of course, it was a bit difficult at times but I have an enormous imagination (and still has) and I imagined myself being mad and believe it or not in my research some people that go a bit mad does tend to have poetic gestures. It was my film and I starred in it and I loved the story.

12. What was your working relationship like with your co-star Hugues Quester and tell us a bit about the remarkable cinematographer Jean-Jacques Renon.

I was not very fond of working with Hugues Quester. He was a bit of a pompous ass and though that he was above everyone and above all actors as being the best and the greatest. I did not like working with him because he gave me nothing in return in the film…The more I gave the more distant he became.
As for my darling wonderful friend Jean Jacques Renon the Cinematographer, I loved him very much as an artist and as a girl-friend during the filming. I now know why he photographed me so beautifully….Sadly I think Jean Jacques is no more with us….I adored him and he adored me and we sometime comforted each other in the cemetery as we were filming mostly from 10pm until 6am and I was always scared being in the cemetery at Midnight so Jean Jacques devised a method, we would drink a bottle of White Wine always Muscadet Sevres at midnight to the departed this way they will not come and haunt us….You know we were safe…… also we use to tell Jules Verne, he was buried in the Cemetery where we were filming, Amiens, to protect us, we use to shout it at the top of our voices. JULES, JULES PROTEGER NOUS!

13. Any particular behind the scenes stories from The Iron Rose you would like to share?

See 12!

14. What were your thoughts on the film when you saw it and how do you feel about it today?

My thought has always been that Rollin did his best and I was sorry that he lost so much money but he had achieved what he wished. I cannot comment on my films when I see it, as I am my worse critic! xxx

15. Have you seen Rollin recently?

No I have spoken to him, he is supposed to come to London soon, perhaps we will meet when he is over. He has my telephone number and he can call me when he is over here!

16. After The Iron Rose you had a few film roles but you basically switched to television work including the very popular Mind Your Language. Do you prefer TV to film as far as working goes and how do the two compare to each other?

I love working on all of the areas of show business. I love The Theatre above all. After all that is where my education was made for the love of the business. I love Films and TV but Theatre gives me the most satisfaction and pleasure as well as interacting with the audience that is what makes you a good actor/actresses……KNOWING YOUR CRAFT!

17. I know you have been working on an autobiography. How is that coming and when can we look forward to reading it?

My book is coming along very slowly as I am busy preparing an event for the Star and the Writer of Mind Your Language on September 12th. You can find all the info on FB and here is the link,.
The book will be out in May 2011. Hope you buy a copy and it will be interesting reading Jeremy! Promise! xxxxx

18. Thank you so much Francoise for taking the time to do this and thank you for your amazing work throughout your career and in The Iron Rose!

Thank you Jeremy for being such a fan of Rollin and The Iron Rose… We all appreciate you as well as Rollin, very much…I spoke to him about you and your blog! Xxxxx

Hope you had a great birthday Jeremy! xxxxx

Thanks so much Francoise! This has been a real treat and a highlight for myself and Fascination!

The Cinema of Jean Rollin: Lost in New York (1991)

2010-04-17T04:26:00.001-07:00

One of Jean Rollins greatest and most distinctive works, the under an hour 1991 production Lost in New York is an unbelievably unique film that operates as both a career summation and a brave new beginning. Rollin would write of the film in Virgins and Vampires that it was like, "an anthology of all the themes and obsessive images I have used in my films", and that it, "brought to an end what had been started within the previous 13 films."

Movies, and the movie-making industry, had changed during the eighties and as the decade turned the corner into the politically-correct obsessed climate of the nineties, the independent, horror and exploitation genres struggled more and more to find their way into theaters in Europe, Asia and America. Jean Rollin might have had trouble all through his career getting his particular brand of filmmaking made and distributed, but by 1990 it was next to impossible. The period of revolution and change that had helped to deliver works as profound and challenging as Rape of the Vampire and Thrill of the Vampires was over and in its place was a corporate fuelled world more interested in consumption rather than change.

To say Lost in New York is an anomaly is putting it lightly. Here is a beautiful and transcendent work made for no one, as the hope of it getting seen in theaters or on television was next to hopeless. The fact that Rollin's strange little work has survived and has indeed found an audience is thanks to the home video market and the necessary changes it brought on the film industry. If the first half of Rollin's career was marked by shocking film-goers in theaters then the second half has been about alerting potential fans to his vision on the small screen. The nineties would be a time when Rollin would gather legions of new and younger fans (myself included) thanks to both authorized, and unauthorized videos, of his works that would change hands through an excited and hungry collectors market, made up of fans looking to escape the increasingly bland Americanized cinema community.

Lost in New York got its start, as Rollin wrote in Virgins and Vampires, when "a producer friend of mine needed some scenes of New York for a TV-series he was working on." Rollin left his home and artistic-base of France and travelled to New York armed with the smallest crew possible and a 16MM camera. In New York Rollin got the idea to, "improvise a theme", which involved, "two young women separated and desperately looking for each other." This strange and wonderful New York footage, which feels both familiar and quite unlike any other footage ever taken of the city, appears sporadically throughout Lost in New York and is among the the most incredible Rollin ever shot.

Like the best of Rollin's work such as The Iron Rose and Lips of Blood, Lost in New York is centered on memory and how our the past never really leaves us. Much like the line in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia that says, "We may be through with the past, but the past isn't through with us.", Rollin's haunted looks at fractured memory is strikingly resonate and Lost in New York is one of his most profound and mesmerizing works. Rollin would write in Virgins and Vampires that Lost in New York was, "an intellectual key" to all of his past film and it is an emotional one as well.

A near silent piece heightened by some of the most oddly ordinary and yet surreal shots of Rollin's career, Lost in New York is an intentional concluding chapter to twenty odd years of personal and genre defying filmmaking. Punctuated by moments recalling most of Rollin's major, and sometimes minor, works Lost in New York is a solemn and strange farewell for Rollin even though it didn't become the end of his film career that he might have expected. It ultimately marked, as Rollin wrote, a period coming to an end and he has only worked sporadically behind the camera since.

I find Lost in New York one of the most difficult works in Rollin's canon to write about, which has been one reason this post has been delayed so many times. Thinking about the film and then attempting to write on it has been a bit like trying to recount a particularly vivid but abstract dream to someone. So, instead of attempting anymore, I will just leave it to Rollin who told Peter Blumenstock in the pages of both Virgins and Vampires and Video Watchdog that Lost in New York is, "a very beautiful film", and a, "little gem that deserves to be seen." That quite nicely sums up my feelings on it...

Lost in New York, Rollin's wonderful "index of all his obsessive visions" (as written by Nigel Burrell in Flesh and Blood), is sadly not one of his most commonly availble films here in the states. Import copies are available, including Redemption's Region 2 DVD, but none of them are fully-blown special edition releases like the Encore Sets. Fans, and potential fans, should seek any version out at any cost as it is one of Rollin's greatest works. A mesmerizing culmination of more than two decades of some of the most distinctive filmmaking in history, Lost in New York also stands as a defiant fist in the face to an artform that was being threatened in everyway by corporate greed and artistic blandness.

***A very nice, and much more detailed piece than mine, on Lost in New York recently appeared here at the terrific Cinezilla.***