Jean Rollin

Jean Rollin
Jean Rollin
Born	Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil (1938-11-03)3 November 1938 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Died	15 December 2010(2010-12-15) (aged 72) Paris, France
Occupation	Director, actor, writer
Years active	1958–2010
Spouse(s)	Simone Rollin (?–2010) (his death)

Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil (3 November 1938 – 15 December 2010) was a French film director, actor, and novelist best known for his work in the fantastique genre such as the vampire film Le Viol du Vampire (1968) and the first French gore film Les Raisins de la Mort (1978).

Early life

Jean Rollin was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine (now Hauts-de-Seine), France to Claude Rollin, an actor and theatre director, who went by the stage name "Claude Martin", and Denise Rollin-Le Gentil, thus being born into an artistically inclined family. His half-brother was actor Olivier Rollin.

Career

Early career and short films

Jean Rollin at the premiere of La Morte Vivante (1982)

He had a passion for cinema from an early age. He saw his first film during the second World War, it was Capitaine Fracasse, a 1942 film directed by Abel Gance. Jean decided he want to make films when he grew up; his father, being a theatre actor, was a heavy influence on him. During his teens, he developed an obsession for American serials and read comic books. These serials were an obvious influence on him as a teenager. When he was 16, he found a job at Les Films de Saturne, he was there to help write invoices, and earned himself some money, and of course wanted to be involved in cinema. They specialized in creating opening and closing credits and short cartoons, but real films were also shot, and industrial shorts and documentaries were also made. Jean was part of the crew in a short documentary about Snecma, a big factory in France which built motors and planes. He arranged the tracking shots, laid the tracks, checked the electricity, and helped the cameraman. When Jean did his military service for the French army, he worked as an editor in the cinema department alongside Claude Lelouch. They worked on army commercials, Lelouch directed, and Jean did the montage, and also did two films, Mechanographie, a documentary, and La Guerre de Silence (The War of Silence), a real film with actors and a story. In 1958, he directed his first short film Les Amours Jaunes (The Yellow Lovers), which he directed after he left the army. He shot it on a 35mm Maurigraphe camera, and used a beach in Dieppe as his location, the same beach that was used in his later films. In 1960, Jean decided to direct his first feature film, but later abandoned the project as he had no money to finish it. His next short, Ciel de Cuivre (Sky of Copper), was directed in 1961, and was quite surreal, it told a sentimental story. He did not finish the film because he ran out of money and because it was not very good. The footage is now lost. In 1962, he was as an assistant director on the film Un Cheval pour Deux (A Horse for Two), which was not a great experience for him, and he decided to approach cinema in a different way. In the early sixties, Jean became interested in politics, and made a short documentary in 1964 called Vivre en Espagne (Life in Spain), it was about Generalissimo Francisco Franco, thirty minutes were filmed and it wasn't very good, but he risked a lot to get it made. Jean and the crew found themselves pursued by the police and just managed to make it back into France. Jean also directed a short film in 1965 called Les Pays Loins.

1968–1979

Rollin prior to receiving the Life Time Achievement Award at the Montreal Fantasia Film Festival on 15 July 2007

In 1968, Jean directed his first feature Le Viol du Vampire (The Rape of the Vampire). At the time he was still not known in the world of cinema, having only done a few short films and documentaries. The film was shot on a low budget, and consisted of two parts because it was originally supposed to be another short film, the second part was later added so that it was released as a feature film. The release of Le Viol caused public scandal and outrage, his strong inspiration of American serials did not attract viewers. It was released during the events of May 1968, and due to the riots, it was a rare theatrical production at the time. Jean himself was also threatened due to this scandal, because of this, Jean briefly decided to give up making films. His second feature La Vampire Nue (The Nude Vampire) was his first film in colour. It was mostly inspired by the 1916 film Judex, and also surrealism in general. Jean wanted to do something a little more temperate than Le Viol, a traditional mystery film. It is exactly the same kind of film as his first feature, it also has the same spirit. Le Frisson des Vampires (The Shiver of the Vampires) was heavily influenced by the trappings of the hippie movement. The film was his most successful and commercial film to date, it was made on a shoe-string budget and was a dreamlike fantasy film, a theme his films are known for. In 1971, Jean directed Requiem pour un Vampire (Requiem for a Vampire), which became one of his most successful films, and it was another low budget production, which almost took no money to make. There was no dialogue in the first forty minutes of the films, this was to simplify the story, direction and cinematography.

During his lifetime, Rollin never shot his films on video but reverted from 35mm to 16mm.

In the mid-70's, lack of regular work led the director to direct mostly pornographic films under various pseudonyms, a process he kept on going up until the 80's.

Death

Rollin died in December 2010 after a long illness. He is buried at cemetery Le Pere Lachaise in Paris, where his second son Carel also rests.

Filmography

Director/crew
Year	Title	Crew	Notes
1958	Les amours jaunes	Director	short film, other title: The Yellow Lovers
1961	Ciel de cuivre	Director	short film, other title: Sky of Copper
1962	Un Cheval pour Deux	Assistant director	Other title: A Horse for Two
1963	L'itinéraire marin	Director, writer	Project abandoned
1964	Vivre en Espagne	Director	short documentary
1965	Le pays loin	Director, writer
1966	Tristesse des anthropophages	Producer	short film
1967	Faire quelque chose	Producer	short film
1968	Le Viol du Vampire	Director, writer, producer	Other title: The Rape of the Vampire
1969	La Vampire Nue	Director, writer	Other title: The Nude Vampire
1970	Le Frisson des Vampires	Director, writer, producer	Other title: The Shiver of the Vampires
1971	Requiem pour un Vampire	Director, writer	Other title: Requiem for a Vampire
1972	La Rose de Fer	Director, writer	Other title: The Iron Rose
1973	Jeunes filles impudiques	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
	Christina, princesse de l'érotisme	Director (dream sequence)	Other title: A Virgin Among the Living Dead
1974	Les Demoniaques	Director, writer	Other title: The Demoniacs
	Tout le monde il en a deux	Director, writer, producer	credited as Michel Gentil
1975	Lévres de Sang	Director, writer	Other title: Lips of Blood
	Phantasmes	Director, writer	Other title: Once Upon a Virgin
1976	Douches pénétrations	Director, writer	credited as Michel Gentil
	La comtesse Ixe	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
	Amours collectives	Writer
	Apothéose porno	supervisor	uncredited
1977	Saute-moi dessus	Director, writer, cinematographer, editor	credited as Michel Gentil
	Hard Penetration	Director, writer	credited as Michel Gentil
	Vibrations sexuelles	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
1978	Remplissez-moi...les 3 trous	Director	credited as Robert Xavier
	Petites pensionnaires impudiques	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
	Lèvres entrouvertes	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
	Hyperpénétrations	Director	credited as Robert Xavier
	Les Raisins de la Mort	Director, Writer	other title: The Grapes of Death
	Discosex	Director, writer	credited as Robert Xavier, uncredited as writer
1979	The Cannibals	Writer	uncredited
	Fascination	Director, writer
	Gamines en chaleur	Director	credited as Robert Xavier
	Bouches lascives et pornos	Director	credited as Robert Xavier
	Pénétrations vicieuses	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
	Jeux d'adultes pour gamines expertes	Producer
1980	La Nuit des Traquées	Director, writer	other title: The Night of the Hunted
	Minouche, fillette insatiable	Producer	other title: Unlimited Girls
1981	Les paumées du petit matin	Director, writer	other title: The Escapees
	Le Lac des Morts Vivants	Director	credited as J.A. Laser
1982	Rêves de sexes	Director	credited as Robert Xavier
	La Morte Vivante	Director, writer	other title: The Living Dead Girl
1983	Sodomaine	Director, writer	credited as Robert Xavier
	Folies anales	Director	credited as Robert Xavier
1984	Les Trottoirs de Bangkok	Director	other title: The Sidewalks of Bangkok
1985	Ne prends pas les poulets pour des pigeons	Director	credited as Michel Gentil
1988	Emmanuelle 6	Director, writer	uncredited
1989	Perdues dans New York	Director, writer	television film, other title: Lost in New York
	Killing Car	Director	later released in 1993, original title: Femme Dangereuse
1990	La griffe d'Horus	Director, writer	television film
1991	À la poursuite de Barbara	Director	uncredited
	Et le temps s'en va...	Exclusive producer	short film
1994	Le parfume de Mathilde	Director, writer	uncredited as director
1997	Les deux orphelines vampires	Director, writer	other titles: The Two Orphan Vampires
2002	La fiancée de Dracula	Director, writer	other title: Dracula'a Fiancee
2007	La nuit des horloges	Director, writer
2009	Le Masque de la Méduse	Director, writer
Actor
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	Crime et Châtiment	Le prêtre chantant	uncredited
1966	Tristesse des anthropophages	Un client du restaurant scatophage	uncredited
1968	La femme-bourreau	Un flic	uncredited
	Le Viol du Vampire	Villager	uncredited, other title: The Rape of the Vampire
1973	La Rose de Fer	Man in Cemetery	uncredited, other title: The Iron Rose
	Le sourire vertical		other title: The Vertical Smile
1975	Phantasmes		other title: Once Upon a Virgin
	Lévres de Sang	Le gardien du cimetière	uncredited, other title: Lips of Blood
1976	Douches pénétrations	Le chef cuisinier
	Amours collectives	Mike Gentle the Vampire	scene deleted
1978	Remplissez-moi... les 3 trous
	Lèvres gloutonnes
	Hyperpénetrations
	Les Raisins de la Mort	Worker at Vinyard	other title: The Grapes of Death
	Discosex	Sound Engineer
1979	Entrez vite... vite, je mouille!		credited as Michel Gentil
1980	Clinique pour soins très spéciaux
1981	Le Lac des Morts Vivants	Stiltz	other title: Zombie Lake
1982	La Morte Vivante	Salesman	uncredited
1984	Les Trottoirs de Bangkok	Un Tueur	uncredited
1985	Sanguine	L'éditeur
1989	Killing Car	Bandaged man in car	later released in 1993 credited as Michel Gentil, original title: Femme Dangereuse
1991	À la poursuite de Barbara
1992	Trepanator	Dr. Roll	direct-to-video
1993	Dinosaur from the Deep	Professeur Nolan	direct-to-video
1997	Marquis de Slime	Homme du gouvernement	short film
2007	Life Like	The director	short film
2009	Le masque de la Méduse	L'homme qui enterre la tête

Works

• Rollin, Jean. La petite Ogresse. ISBN 978-2-914227-24-7
• Rollin, Jean. Bestialité. ISBN 978-2-35072-015-9
• Déraison, by Jean Rollin. Éd. Films ABC. ISBN 978-2-915160-04-8
• Rien n'estvrai, by Jean Rollin. Éd. Films ABC. ISBN 978-2-915160-02-4
• Les voleuses de foudre, by Jean Rollin. Éd. Films ABC. ISBN 978-2-915160-00-0
• Alice et Aladin détectives de I'impossible, by Jean Rollin. Éd. Films ABC. ISBN 978-2-915160-03-1
• Jean-Pierre Bouyxou contre la femme au masque rouge, by Jean Rollin. ISBN 978-2-84608-121-4
• Le temps d'un visage (1990), Jean Rollin. Éd. Saint-Germain de Prés. ISBN 978-2-243-03253-6
• Les deux orphelines vampires / Two Orphan Vampires Series, by Jean Rollin.
  • Les deux orphelines vampires ISBN 978-2-914227-38-4
  • Anissa
  • Les Voyageuses
  • Les Pillardes
  • Les Incendiares
• Ombres vives (1996), by Jean Rollin. Éd. Saint-Germain-des-Prés. ISBN 978-2-243-03542-1
• La statue de chair (1998), by Jean Rollin. Belles lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-82007-1
• Enfer privé (1998), by Jean Rollin. Belles lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-82004-0
• Monseigneur Rat roman (1998), by Jean Rollin. Belle lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-49126-4
• La cabriole a disparu (1998), by Jean Rollin. Illustrated by Michel Solliec. Liv'éditions. ISBN 978-2-910781-66-8
• Cauchemar d'anniversaire (1998), by Jean Rollin. R. de Surtis. ISBN 978-2-912271-25-9
• Les dialogues sans fin précédés de quelques souvenirs sur George Bataille, Maurice Blanchot et Michel Fardoulis-Lagrange (1998), by Jean Rollin. Éd. Mirandole. ISBN 978-2-912965-10-3
• La promeneuse romans (1999), by Jean Rollin. Belles lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-49137-0
• Vies et aventures de Jean-Pierre Bouyxou (2001), by Jean Rollin. Éd. Films ABC. ISBN 978-2-84672-009-0
• Tuatha (2001), by Jean Rollin. Belles lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-49154-7
• Gargouillis glauques (2001), by Jean Rollin. R. de surtis. ISBN 978-2-912271-98-3
• La petite fille au cerceau (2001), by Jean Rollin. Éd. Films ABC. ISBN 978-2-84672-010-6
• Estelle et Edwige, les demoiselles de l'étrange (2003), by Jean Rollin. ISBN 978-2-84608-108-5
• MoteurCoupez!: mémoires d'un cinéaste singulier (2008), by Jean Rollin. ISBN 978-2-84608-253-2
• Bille de clown (2009), by Jean Rollin. ISBN 978-2-84608-254-9
• Jean Rollin: Écrits complets Volume 1 (2010), by Jean Rollin. ISBN 978-2-84608-277-8
• Jean Rollin: Écrits complets Volume 2 (2011), by Jean Rollin. E/dite. ISBN 978-2-84608-281-5

Further reading

• Virgins & Vampires: Jean Rollin, Contains essays by Jean Rollin, edited by Peter Blumenstock; Includes CD soundtrack from Les Deux orphelines vampires – Limited edition of 300 copies, autographed by Jean Rollin (Crippled Publishing, 1997, ISBN 3-9805820-0-0)
• Video Watchdog, Edition 31; Peter Blumenstock interviews Rollin (1995)
• Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horror Movies 1956-1984 (1994) by Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs – Dedicates a chapter to Rollin
• Jean Rollin: cinéaste écrivain (2002) by Pascal Françaix (ABC Films Editions, ISBN 978-2-915160-05-5)

External links

• Jean Rollin at the Internet Movie Database
• The Official Jean Rollin website
• J. Newman "The Cinema of Jean Rollin" Images 9, 2000
• Blood poetry – The cinema of Jean Rollin Kinoeye, 15 April 2002