Upcoming Jean Rollin Blu-rays

Kino Video are releasing a batch of Jean Rollin movies on Blu-ray over the next week in the US. Jean Rollin is one of those love or hate kind of directors, sort of in the same ballpark as Jess Franco to an extent, though possibly a little more consistent (which is not saying too much). From his early movies (the sixties onwards) Rollin mixed eroticism and vampirism in unique and idiosyncratic ways, creating microcosms that stood several yards away from anything most other film-makers were doing around the time or even since.  The films are easy for many to dislike, possibly coming across as a little amateurish or downright strange, but if you get into them there is much in way of Gothic sex-charged delight to be had.  Like many directors, he lost his way later on (mainly from the mid eighties onwards) but the legacy of his early work survives.

In the distant past, Redemption did UK fans (including myself) a great favour during the nineties when they unleashed a number of Rollin's movies on video cassette (and even video CD!).  Later on reasonable DVDs were issued, obviously improving on the old tapes but leaving something to be desired as the modern hi-def age approached (Requiem for a Vampire in particular was a bit of a mess).  Finally there is something to really celebrate!  The first five (of hopefully many more) that Kino are releasing are some of the director's best movies, each having been mastered in high definition with French and English language audio options, a duplicated booklet, and extras including interview material with the director.  They include (chronologically) The Nude Vampire, Shiver of the Vampire, Iron Rose, Lips of Blood, and Fascination.  All of these are absolutely essential if you have any appreciation for Jean Rollin, and I'll be picking all of them up as soon as my bank balance will permit it.  Kino's website for further info can be found here.