Writers/directors Pete Tombs and Andrew Starke cover a lot of ground concerning Do-It-Yourself maverick indie cult French filmmaker Jean Rollin and his strikingly poetic, erotic, and singular body of work in the horror and exploitation genres in this engrossing and illuminating episode of the documentary show "Eurotika." Rollin in his interview comes across as an admirably honest, likable, and down to earth fellow: He admits that he isn't a big fan of gore and prefers beauty instead. Moreover, while Rollin confesses that he saw making hardcore movies in the 70's as a political statement against the repressive establishment, he ultimately reveals that he really did those explicit pictures as a means to keep himself afloat. Other subjects addressed are Rollin's fixation on a certain beach, a pair of vampire girls who are recurring figures in his films, Rollin's highly personal and atypical take on vampirism, and his collaborations with Brigitte Lahaie (who Rollin perceives as a kind of living statue). Clocking in at a tight 24 minutes, with quick interviews with Lahaie, Cathy Castel, and Monica Swinn, and loaded with choice uncensored clips from Rollin's films, this nifty and informative documentary is recommended reviewing for both seasoned Rollin buffs and newcomers to his work alike.
2 Reviews
Nice overview of Jean Rollin's quirky work in the horror genre
Woodyanders12 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Nice Interview with Rollin
Michael_Elliott8 March 2012
Eurotika! Vampires and Virgins: The Films of Jean Rollin (1999)
*** (out of 4)
The first entry in the "Eurotika!" series takes a look at the films of Jean Rollin and even features an interview with the director. We start off getting a very brief history of him as we learn what got him into movies and we hear about his first low-budget movie. From here we see clips to countless films including SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRE, THE LIVING DEAD GIRL, TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES, FASCINATION, DEMONIACS and many others. Rollin talks about the type of movies he makes and gives an honest answer by saying he prefers sexual or erotic movies because he loves beautiful women. He talks about why showing a nude woman on a beach is a lot more erotic than viewing them in a bed and he talks about what happened once France changed their laws. The law change meant that no one wanted to watch his softcore movies because they wanted the real thing and this here caused the director to start making porn movies. He also talks about how at the time making porn wasn't looked down upon because it was seen as a political move. Fans of Rollin will certainly enjoy this interview as he's quite open and comes across as an extremely likable person. Monica Swinn comments briefly as well.
*** (out of 4)
The first entry in the "Eurotika!" series takes a look at the films of Jean Rollin and even features an interview with the director. We start off getting a very brief history of him as we learn what got him into movies and we hear about his first low-budget movie. From here we see clips to countless films including SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRE, THE LIVING DEAD GIRL, TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES, FASCINATION, DEMONIACS and many others. Rollin talks about the type of movies he makes and gives an honest answer by saying he prefers sexual or erotic movies because he loves beautiful women. He talks about why showing a nude woman on a beach is a lot more erotic than viewing them in a bed and he talks about what happened once France changed their laws. The law change meant that no one wanted to watch his softcore movies because they wanted the real thing and this here caused the director to start making porn movies. He also talks about how at the time making porn wasn't looked down upon because it was seen as a political move. Fans of Rollin will certainly enjoy this interview as he's quite open and comes across as an extremely likable person. Monica Swinn comments briefly as well.
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