53. BLOOD AND ROSES
53. BLOOD AND ROSES
(1960)
Directed by Roger Vadim
It troubles me to have to preface this entry with a disclaimer but that's just what I'm going to do. I saw this movie only once and it was several blurry years ago but it left a lasting impression on me and there was no way I could leave it off this list. When talking about vampire movies (which seems to happen often) I always have to bring it up. Sure I was far from sober during this single viewing but I am trusting that my memory hasn't betrayed me. Everything I've read about "Blood and Roses" since then leads me to believe that it really was as good as I recall. One thing is for certain: in the crowded realm of the vampire movie this one clearly stands out as unique. There are many flavors to bloodsucking cinema but movies that make a serious attempt to be poetic are hard to find. It's the first re-telling of the LeFanu story "Carmilla" that actually resembles the tale (pre-dating the rash of lesbian vampire movies I just wrote about that exploded about a decade later) and is probably the best thing that director Roger Vadim ever had a part in. Annette Vadim, his wife at the time, plays Carmilla and she has her eyes set on the irresistible ashen throat of Georgia Monteverdi (played by Elsa Martinelli). Vadim, for the record, was once married to Brigette Bardot and would later direct the charmingly atrocious "Barbarella" (1968) along with some forgettable exercises in soft porn.
(1960)
Directed by Roger Vadim
It troubles me to have to preface this entry with a disclaimer but that's just what I'm going to do. I saw this movie only once and it was several blurry years ago but it left a lasting impression on me and there was no way I could leave it off this list. When talking about vampire movies (which seems to happen often) I always have to bring it up. Sure I was far from sober during this single viewing but I am trusting that my memory hasn't betrayed me. Everything I've read about "Blood and Roses" since then leads me to believe that it really was as good as I recall. One thing is for certain: in the crowded realm of the vampire movie this one clearly stands out as unique. There are many flavors to bloodsucking cinema but movies that make a serious attempt to be poetic are hard to find. It's the first re-telling of the LeFanu story "Carmilla" that actually resembles the tale (pre-dating the rash of lesbian vampire movies I just wrote about that exploded about a decade later) and is probably the best thing that director Roger Vadim ever had a part in. Annette Vadim, his wife at the time, plays Carmilla and she has her eyes set on the irresistible ashen throat of Georgia Monteverdi (played by Elsa Martinelli). Vadim, for the record, was once married to Brigette Bardot and would later direct the charmingly atrocious "Barbarella" (1968) along with some forgettable exercises in soft porn.
posted by scottra at 12:00 AM
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