400-419 Jean Rollin

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Lips of Blood is a good next step. The more low-key, underrated Two Orphan Vampires is a much later Rollin but one I have a lot of affection for.

[mfunk9786]

Thank you! I know there's been some form of this question throughout the thread so I appreciate folks taking the time out. Just think the amnesia/government conspiracy plot of The Night of the Hunted appealed to me specifically, so already very curious to see how the other (much less interesting at first glance) plotlines go.

[John Cope]

I've liked every Rollin I've seen very much but of course I am also an ardent defender of Zalman King's work too (and King himself has explicitly drawn from Rollin, especially in his great and still under appreciated early 2000's series Chromiumblue). I would like to single out Two Orphan Vampires, however, as a remarkably mature example of Rollin's work and Requiem for a Vampire as an extraordinary distillation or summation, quite formally radical too with little to no dialogue throughout but plenty of his standard tropes and ideas on full display.

[therewillbeblus]

Glad I’m not the only one who thinks Two Orphan Vampires is his masterpiece

[thirtyframesasecond]

Also echo the love for Fascination, which looks great in the new release.

[tolbs1010]

I'm also new to Rollin and appreciate the recommendations in this recent part of the thread. Lips Of Blood is the only one I've seen, and while I can't say I really liked it, it had....something. A unique combination of mystery, poetry, and trash. It was enough to make me want to see more. Fortunately, Kanopy has many Rollin titles, including several of the ones recommended here. It's fun to explore when there is no consensus BEST film for a particular filmmaker.

[Murdoch]

I remember really liking the Living Dead Girl, which I bought years ago at an FYE because of the cover of the Redemption DVD that looked straight out of some Z-grade basement photoshoot. I decided to pick up Fascination and the Iron Rose based on all the praise in here. I've been meaning to dive more into Rollin after LDG, which felt like a dream.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Living Dead Girl is my second in a double bill of Two Orphan Vampires so it is indeed good to see it called like a dream. It's a good distance from Fascination which is why I didn't immediately recommend it to mfunk! I saw the Redemption European dvd of it at Half Price Books last month in one of their locked cases never having seen that more sophisticated cover. Two weeks later someone had bought it at what I think was double the msrp so it definitely has devoted fans. It, Iron Rose, snd Lips of Blood were my most anticipated titles when Indicator announced the Rollin acquisition.

[MichaelB]

Another reason for not recommending it now is that it’s also getting the Indicator treatment - I can’t reveal the date yet, but it should be sooner rather than later.

[reaky]

The two major Rollins still to come from Indicator are Living Dead Girl and Grapes of Death, though I know they plan to release more.

[JSC]

The only Rollin films that I didn't like were Sidewalks of Bangkok and Killing Car. That's mostly because these
feel like unfinished films, almost like rough cuts with hasty placeholder credit sequences (I also seem to recall Rollin was
quite ill during the production of Killing Car).

I hope the The Night of the Clocks and The Face of Medusa get an Indicator release even though they were
shot on digital cameras. They do represent a summing up of Rollin's ideas and themes.

[Orlac]

Can't wait for Zombie Lake!

[Peacock]

Sorry if this was posted long ago but I just saw on the Salvation Films website this nugget of info:

Speaking of Rollin, our licensing deal with Indicator is seeing many of the titles in our catalogue remastered in 4K, which, over time, will include all of the Jean Rollin films, including obscurities like Killing Car, The Sidewalks of Bangkok and, amazingly, La Comtesse IXE in all its hardcore glory; something we would have deemed nigh impossible a few years ago!

[reaky]

It’s a shame PHANTASMES isn’t part of the Park Circus deal, since from what I’ve read, it seems much more Rollinesque (chateau, forest, twins, dungeon, beach), with added hardcore. I found this quote from Rollin:

“I was sure that, with this type of film, one could come up with something new and of interest. I tried with Phantasmes but failed miserably.

“The reason for the death of French hardcore culture, if you want to use that term, is that the audience just doesn’t care. They don’t want cinema, they want people screwing and that’s it. That’s why after Phantasmes, I made my porn films in a rather uninspired way.

“I was very disappointed with the failure of that film. I really tried to make something out of it and nobody gave a damn. It was a porno with a real story, with real direction and real actors.”

[currentlyachoo2]

Looks like a teaser "Coming Soon" screenshot of Dracula's Fiancée on the latest Indicator email.

[Derek Estes]

They have been teasing both Grapes of Death and Living Dead Girl on instagram. Since the pattern for releases has tended to be one high profile film as well as a lesser seen or appreciated release, it’s interesting that the last two big releases are being teased together.

[MichaelB]

Fascination and Lips of Blood came out together.

[Orlac]

They have been teasing both Grapes of Death and Living Dead Girl on instagram. Since the pattern for releases has tended to be one high profile film as well as a lesser seen or appreciated release, it’s interesting that the last two big releases are being teased together.

They've also teased Zombie Lake.

[MichaelB]

Not in connection with the next announcement.

[MichaelB]

Specs for the two latest releases, The Grapes of Death (Les Raisins de la mort, 1978) and The Living Dead Girl (La Morte vivante, 1982) have been added to the start of this thread.

[reaky]

Newsletter clue is Zombie Lake, confirming Indicator's Rollin project will extend beyond the titles available to licence via Park Circus/Screenbound.

The likely spines:

400 The Rape of the Vampire
401 The Nude Vampire
402 The Shiver of the Vampires
403 Requiem for a Vampire
404 The Iron Rose
405 Schoolgirl Hitchhikers
406 The Demoniacs
407 Lips of Blood
408 Countess X
409 The Grapes of Death
410 Fascination
411 The Night of the Hunted
412 The Escapees
413 Zombie Lake
414 The Living Dead Girl
415 The Sidewalks of Bangkok
416 Killing Car
417 The Two Orphan Vampires
418 Dracula's Fiancee

Lost in New York will presumably not receive a spine number, and instead be featured as a supplement?

So now we know that the remaining numbers are 408, 414, 415, 416, 418 and 419. My guesses include a couple of double-bills.

408 Comtesse Ixe
414 Zombie Lake
415 Sidewalks of Bangkok / Lost in New York
416 Killing Car
418 Dracula’s Fiancée
419 Night of the Clocks / The Mask of Medusa

[EddieLarkin]

Zombie Lake cannot be 414 if they want to keep things chronological, which is why I assumed it was 413. I assume ZL was licenced later than the others and so will probably just have a random post 419 number.

[MichaelB]

Mondo Digital on The Grapes of Death.

[MichaelB]

The Living Dead Beaver.