Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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A woman & two men carry a body into a musty crypt late one night. The figure, covered in a white cloth, is still breathing as it is placed into a coffin. Two more coffins lie alongside as the lids are securely fastened. As they leave, the men position a small crucifix upright by the doorway.

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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At a classy Parisian party, a man notices a strange picture of a remote ruined castle, which reminds him of something long forgotten from his childhood. He remembers spending the night in that castle in the company of a young girl, who he swore he loved. Desperate to recover this wisp of memory & imagination, he tries to discover where the castle is, but finds the photographer sworn to secrecy. He sees strange visions of the girl in the deserted streets of Paris, & pursues her through the night.

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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The films of Jean Rollin are it’s fair to say, something of an acquired taste. Lips of Blood is no exception to this, & is perhaps not the best starting point for those new to his work. However, those who have seen & enjoyed the likes of Fascination or The Living Dead Girl should make this essential viewing, for it is one of Rollin’s most hauntingly ethereal & potent films. Rollin forges in Lips of Blood a darkly gothic romantic fairytale in which a surreal mix of reality, dreams & memories combine to create an oddly fractured sense of dislocation. Like much of this director’s work, it’s a film which rewards those who can go with it’s dreamily elegant flow & not think too hard about logic or precise character details.

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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Rollin’s romantic sensibility (this is essentially a highly unconventional love story) applies to the material & produces some highly startling images, such as the scene in the cinema or appearance at the station. Characters are often dwarfed by their surroundings, whether they are huge fountains or grand modern day statues, & Rollin often keeps the characters small in the frame. There’s a quartet of nubile female vampires (two of whom are the Castel twins) who wander the streets wearing only see-through coloured cloaks, which whip around wildly in the wind, revealing absolutely everything. It’s not a particularly scary image, but it is oddly otherworldly & provokes the thought that if you’ve gotta go, there could be far worse ways. Also notable is Rollin’s portrait of Paris. More Don’t Look Now than Diva, this is a Paris of desolate nighttime cemeteries, of deserted boarded-up streets, where death & decay lurk around every corner.

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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At the centre of the story is the struggle between two dominant female influences. Our hero finds himself caught under the influence of his mother, who is simultaneously wanting to protect him, & also to not lose him to another woman – the vampiric young girl. Of course, in this instance you’d think she would be right to want to protect him from the denizen of evil, but this being a Rollin film it’s far more ambiguous than that. The relationship with the vampire is portrayed as being the most pure & natural thing in the film & the only way our hero can achieve true happiness, leading to one of the most brilliantly odd & yet utterly perfect endings to any film I can think of. Indeed, the interfering mother trying to keep love apart & prevent our hero from discovering his true self, even though she’s acting out of the best of intentions, is as close to a villain as the film gets.

With it’s slow, dreamy pace, & simple elegant score, Lips of Blood is certainly not a film for everyone. For every person who enjoys it, there are probably hundreds who would just find it to be a load of somnambulistic old arse. But you won’t know unless you try & watch it.

Horror View

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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The movies of Jean Rollin are an acquired taste. He specializes in haunting, sensual, visually impressive movies that frequently concern memory, or memory loss, and obsessively feature beautiful naked women, usually vampires. Maybe Rollin's therapist can fully explain why his movies deal with this subject matter over and over, but hey, I don't care, it sure works for me! If you haven't seen any of his work, 'Lips Of Blood' is as good a place to start as any, but frankly I've never seen a bad movie by him yet. They're all good. I'm hooked!

Jean-Lou Philippe stars (and co-scripts) as a thirty something man who becomes obsessed with a photograph which reminds him of of his almost-forgotten childhood, which is sketchy at best. He attempts to track down the location in the picture, and this brings back memories of a beautiful and mysterious girl (the lovely Annie Belle/Briand, who also worked with Deodato and D'Amato) he once met. He finds himself uncovering a family secret and his life goes in a direction he could never have anticipated.

'Lips Of Blood' is yet another wonderfully evocative, dream-like film from Jean Rollin. A truly unique film maker who creates fascinating worlds that are both seductive and dangerous. Rollin is one of the best kept secrets in horror, and a master of erotic fantasy.

IMDB Reviewer

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Lips of Blood / Lèvres de sang (1975) [Collector's Edition, Uncut] [ReUp]

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Special Features:
DISC ONE:
- The Film
- "Introduction by director/co-writer Jean Rollin" -featurette (in English, no subtitles - 10:01 min)

DISC TWO:
- "Cette Plage Qui Me Suit AKA This Beach That Follows Me" -featurette (in French, with optional English subtitles - 24:39 min)
- "Interview with actor/co-writer Jean-Loup Philippe" -featurette (in French, with optional English subtitles - 16:01 min)
- "Interview with actress Nathalie Perrey" -featurette (in French, with optional English subtitles - 12:23 min)
- "Interview with actor Serge Rollin" -featurette (in French, with optional English subtitles - 13:14 min)
- "Interview with actress Cathy Tricot (Catherine Castel)" -featurette (in French, with optional English subtitles - 14:47 min)
- Photo gallery (4:29 min - 51 photos)

DISC THREE:
- Audio commentary with director/co-writer Jean Rollin and the moderator (in English, with no subtitles - Selected scenes only, 32:55 min)
- “Les Amours Jaunes - Evocation De Tristan Corbiere AKA These Jaundiced Loves - Impression Of Tristan Corbiere (1958)” -short film (in French, with optional English subtitles - 10:10 min)
- French theatrical trailer
- Bonus trailers (French): “Demoniacs AKA Les Démoniaques”, and “Requiem for a Vampire AKA Requiem pour un vampire”
- Essays on “Lèvres de sang“ and “Les Amours Jaunes - Evocation De Tristan Corbiere” (along with complete narration) by Jean Rollin, from October 2005